It's still not ...

... come home yet but it could be on it's way - mojo, that is *LOL* 

It seems to have been a busy week this week.  Not sure how, or am I? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday?  Can't remember what went on there, other than the normal visit to Dad on Tuesday.  He said he'd had problems with the TV, or rather that the TV had gone wrong and was giving him lots of pictures with things he didn't want.  TV was fine and was on his normal channel and, when that was pointed out to him he told me it had 'come right' all by itself.  Now either he'd managed to get his thumb on the remote buttons and was continually changing channel without realising or he'd put TV on and it was a programme he wasn't expecting to see.  Either way, there didn't seem to be a problem so told him not to worry if everything was OK now.  He was really trying hard to explain what he meant but I'm none the wiser now.  

Thursday, Friday and Saturday ... and today ... well, I know what's happened on those days and they've been busy!  Unfortunately they've also given me a back I'd rather leave behind.  It is causing me huge discomfort at the moment so I've tried to rest it today.  Tomorrow I've got a back massage so hoping that will help if I ask them to concentrate on the base of the spine. Fingers crossed!

Anyhow, Thursday was spent with crafty friends at Greta's.  We actually got some projects made, or partially made, as well as a good old natter and one heck of a laugh courtesy 'de moi'!  All because I didn't get a 'joke' the first time round but found it funny anyway, for a totally different reason.  When penny dropped - ching! - later in the day we were in tears with laughter.  It's been a while since we laughed like that. Appleby Magna and apple pie beds came to mind as well as an incident in Spain last year, of which I can't remember the story that caused it but can remember the laughter!  Strange how it's crafty meets involved both times *lol*

On the way home I was supposed to stop to get fish and chips from local chippy for dinner.  No problem, it's just ¾ mile from chippy to home - or it should be.  Well, it is and it should be easy to get to chippy on way home.  Crossroads, turn left and park.  Except ... I couldn't turn left!  Road had been closed so I had to drive another mile, round the houses, to get to chippy!  Then I had to drive all round the estates to get home instead of the direct route because I couldn't turn left out of road either!  Reason for road closure?  Major roadworks at crossroads which have been going on months.  Started last November, had a break for a few weeks over Christmas and then they came back with a vengeance.  They're putting in filter lanes and moving pedestrian crossings partly due to the increase in traffic expected (or not expected if the official line is taken) due to the new local monstrosity nearing completion at the bottom of the road!  Yep, the football stadium (or the Amex Community Stadium as it's been named) is nearing completion.  The lovely eyesore which was supposed to blend in with the local area - the local area of outstanding natural beauty.  

Roadworks - from my position in queue at traffic control.  3rd car back, chippy in sight (blue shop signage) and my destination before home.  Needed to take a left turn here and couldn't!

Yellow sign in pic below says East Brighton County Hospital.  No idea where or what that is 'cos we don't have an hospital called that.  It's the 2nd sign on this road directing people to that hospital.  It was put up the week before the Brighton Marathon (April 10th) and they're still there.  Anyways, we have a Royal Sussex County Hospital (with an A&E), a Brighton General Hospital (no A&E) and a Nuffield Hospital (private), but no East Brighton County Hospital.

The following photos I've found by Googling so copyright isn't mine.  

If they belong to you and you'd prefer I didn't reproduce them here then please let me know.  

Anyhow, this is 'blending in with the natural landscape'.  Whoever even thought that would be the case lives in cloud cuckoo land but I guess they got their way on where it would be situated, despite there being areas that would have been far less invasive on it's neighbours.

The view I get every time I leave home to go anywhere other than along the coast road (Sussex University Campus in background).

Aerial views.

Top picture shows part of the A27 Brighton bypass in the bottom right hand corner - a 4 lane dual carriageway.  Just above that is the railway line and local station.  Between the railway line and the bypass - lower right hand side - is Southern Water HQ and the smaller buildings roughly centre of picture (which aren't actually that small but are low rise) are the Falmer Campus buildings of the University of Brighton with Falmer High School behind them.  How was the big blue monstrosity ever going to blend in?  It dominates everything around it.

The following picture also shows the stadium in proximity to the Falmer Campus and High School (right corner), Southern Water (bottom left) bypass and railway and, in this picture, upper left, Sussex University.  Also, top centre, above the stadium is the beautiful, picturesque Falmer village.  The village residents objected strongly to the stadium being built in such close proximity, forcing a public enquiry but, because they come under Lewes District Council and not Brighton & Hove (this being as close to the boundaries as can possibly be) they did not have any choice in the matter.  Plenty who could object, did object - me being one of the objectors - but unfortunately not enough objected although it was close.  A larger turnout of voters could have forced it to have been built in a more appropriate place.  

The road I travel most when I need to go anywhere is the line that runs from top right of pic to the bypass.  Travelling up the picture takes me to Lewes and beyond to the east, downwards takes me into Brighton (not that it's the way I go to get into town) or on towards the west (my friends Cally, Greta and others) or to pick up the A23 towards Gatwick, London and the M25.

Now that I've totally digressed I'll try to get back on track and off of the soapbox - *LOL!*

Friday I had a day at the Glitterpot doing a floral punch craft class with Jane Gill and yesterday I went and saw my nephew, Ryan, in his first semi-professional show.  I've never seen him perform before.  I'm so glad that it was this show I saw him in for my first time.  Footloose, the Musical.  He was one of the ensemble but he spoke, sung and danced - as well as having to do an American accent.  They were all young adults (16+) and most want to make a career in show business in one way or another.  They certainly had the audience clapping along and on their feet at the end.  It could have been a fully professional West End show on tour, it was that good.

Ryan, front right, blue tie, white shirt.

Promo photos in theatre foyer.  Ryan, top row, third from left.

My brother, Ryan and Ryan's girlfriend in background.

Today? I've rested but I've also finished my projects from this past week however, that's all for now folks.  Crafty projects another day - *grin*!

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I'm speechless! ...

... well, perhaps not quite but I'm certainly gobsmacked!

I've just been filling in a registration form and the County/State is a requirement, as it sometimes is (always, on US forms). I'm so used to putting in East Sussex as my county I've been totally thrown! I should explain I guess. Some years ago - in 1997, in fact - Brighton and Hove amalgamated as a town but it also became a unitary authority and as such we became our own 'county'. We separated from the county of East Sussex and became just Brighton & Hove without a county being part of our address. Since then, where forms have had to have a county entered I've always used East Sussex as that is what we used to be (since Sussex was split into 2 and became East and West) and is usually on any drop-down menu. Other than that I leave the State/County part blank, as it doesn't really apply to my address.

Today, I'm filling in this registration form and the State/County is a requirement. I click on the drop-down menu and - shock, horror - there's Brighton & Hove showing on the list! The first time evah! that I've seen it and where's the site based? In the good ol' USofA! Not even in my own country but across the pond and they've got a proper list.

UK based sites - please take note and update yours now 'cos I'm fed up of saying my home is in a county that it has nothing to do with any more!  You make me lie and I don't like it!

Thanks for dropping by .....
 

Aaaarrghhhhhhhh! ...

  ... politics! We're in the middle of a General Election Campaign and if I hear one more time Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister, not Gordon Brown, I'm gonna scream!  We don't elect a Prime Minister.  We elect a Party ... or that's what we should be doing!

Personally, when I vote, I vote for a Party and their manifesto and therefore the candidate for that party in my constituency. I've never actually seen a ballot paper with the name of Tony Blair on it (or any past Party leader of whatever persuasion) and I can guarantee that neither have the majority of the population! It's only the people in Blair's constituency that voted for him to be their MP and, because he happened to be the leader of the Party at the time, he became Prime Minister. The electorate gave the mandate to the Party- via their local MP - to act on their behalf therefore, when Tony Blair resigned his position it was up to Party to act on our behalf and bring in a new leader from the sitting MPs in the Party and we got ... for good or bad .... Gordon Brown. 

Now, I'm not saying that Labour would have won the last election had Gordon Brown been leader at that time but .... we don't elect a specific person into the position of Prime Minister. We vote for a representative of our chosen Party. The Party with the most elected MPs wins and whoever is the Party leader becomes the Prime Minister. If the Party leader changes mid-term we get a new PM and we, the electorate, have to rely on the relevant Party to make the choice for us. We do not, and never have, voted for a Prime Minister!

*LOL* Anyone would think I was a political animal but nothing could be further from the truth.   I find most of it quite boring however, when I keep hearing people say they never voted for Gordon Brown I'd say, you're right, you didn't. His constituents did, as their Labour candidate and hence, MP, just as Tony Blair's constituents did for him so where's the difference ... apart from Gordon Brown not being the Party leader at that time?  If I was voting for a personality I probably wouldn't vote at all - *LOL*

Off soapbox now ... *grin*

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