Month: July 2021

Only Fools and Horses-Grandad’s reaction

https://youtu.be/mIMv8ZyfnJ8

Upon receiving the boat and examining the cabins one of the guys removed a large glass evil eye from the main cabin. My reaction to the evil eye being taken down and put away was the exact same as Grand Dad’s in this video clip.

I had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. A very bad feeling. And I should have listened to it.

Our boat was a 50ft, 12 berth Beneteau Oceanis and it was beautiful.  Myself and a friend were first into the main cabin when we noticed a very large glass eagle eye adorning the wall space above the dining area. The evil eye is a well-known middle eastern talisman that wards off evil spirits. It is used as a decoration or a piece of jewelry to bring luck to a home or the wearer.

My friend was having none of it as he wanted a break from all things middle eastern. He took it off the wall and hid it in the back of one of the storage cabins. I mentioned the fact that it was there to bring us luck and he said that we had our own Irish luck with us. Meaning myself.

Two days into the trip and we hit a storm with gale force winds.  None of us had sailing experience, which of course was foolhardy to say the least.  We were completely reliant on our skipper and Captain.

In hind sight I wonder how we managed to charter a boat at all as I am sure nowadays that the companies would insist on at least 30% of the passengers having some kind of sailing experience.

 

To be continued tomorrow

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

I was reminded today by a good friend of a time in the early 90’s when I went sailing on a holiday in Turkey. I took time off from my nursing in the Middle East.

It was singularly the greatest adventure of my life.  And as all good adventures are, one of the greatest disasters.  I have dined out on this story many times and to this day still dream of going back and sailing around the Turkish coast again.   Besides who doesn’t love a big dirty kebab? ………Just me then.

It started with 12 of us from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia wanting to charter a boat and sail around the Mediterranean. One of the gang was a sailor and suggested we head to Marmaris in Turkey as he had skippered chartered boats from there before.

We were all keen to leave the Middle East for some well-earned rest and relaxation. Not having to wear an Abaya and listen to prayer calls all day was great freedom for us all.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time in Riyadh (apart from my jail experience. See blog for further details http://adeleleahy.ie/riyadh-jail-part-1/ and http://adeleleahy.ie/riyadh-jail-part-2/) and enjoyed the culture immensely but we all looked forward to a reprieve from the Muslim way of life at times and a bit of western wildness.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

 

I forgot about this video and how intelligent and cute gorillas can be. My forgetfulness reminded me of driving my car yesterday wondering where I had put my phone. Whilst simultaneously looking at it, Google Maps guided me to where I was going.

It was a thought-provoking moment.  My forgetfulness was not what bothered me at the time.  More so the fact that my phone has become such an integral part of me that I can fail to differentiate at times whether I have lost it or not.    Figuratively as well as literally.

I than began to think of the fact that my phone is called an ‘Android’. Was I the Android or the phone?   Who was guiding who at times?    It was all way too much thinking for me as my brain began to hurt.    It did, however, inspire me to write a short story for a competition that I am planning to enter.

Lately I have entered quite a few such competitions just to keep my writing juices flowing. One of the competitions reminds me of when I did drama and elocution as a child.

We often did improvisations and this was always my favorite part of the class.    The writing competition used the same concept with a time limit.   We had 48 hours to write on a genre, location and object of their choosing. If successful there are two more rounds.  Wish me luck.

Sorry for the bum note but looking back on this video now makes me sad to see these beautiful animals in captivity.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

I must admit I had to check the dictionary to remind myself of the correct meaning of ‘wokeness’ as I needed to calibrate exactly how woke I am today.

When I first heard the word, I thought that maybe it was a lake close to Loch Ness, just down the road from Puffiness (Where Puff The Magic Dragon lives) . Having enlightened myself I like to think that I am woke.   At least I was when the alarm clock went off this morning. I jest.

However just when I think that I can qualify as being woke I realize how easy it can be to offend nowadays and how I can be taken down by cancel culture.  It is hard sometimes to keep up on the correct terms required for new social norms.

Certain celebrities are now being ostracized for having made hateful racist comments back in the 90’s which is fair as being racist then is no different to being racist now. That is one word that will never lose its meaning.

I heard recently that certain old movies are being cancelled also.  Such as ‘Gone with the wind’ as it sentimentalizes slavery.   Which it does.  I completely agree. And it is wrong.

Regardless of the fact that Hattie McDaniel won the best supporting actress.  Reports note that she was not allowed to sit with the rest of the Hollywood elite due to her color.  However, it will not deter me from watching it again as I love it.

The list of banned/questionable movies is increasing daily.   ‘Dumbo’, ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Aladdin’ all required the following warning statement in 2019 ‘may contain outdated cultural depictions’.

Times are changing. We are all changing but it is impossible to re write history.  We will forever require it as a reference to see how far we have come. I am off to indulge in some dreaminess following this post swiftly followed by some laziness.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

How cool are these bats?   Who knew they could shimmy the way that they do?  I can’t help but feel that they all look a bit smug.   Maybe because they don’t have Covid and are hitting a night club during lockdown?  If they are courting does the female bat, bat her eyelashes at the male bat? Just sayin.

I had to research the term ‘Batshit crazy’ as I can attest to being partial to this state of mind at times. Apparently, it comes from the old term ‘bats in the belfry’.

A belfry housed the bells at the top of a church.   As bats use high frequency sonar, they are highly sensitive to sound and would never reside in a belfry where the bells were working.

Subsequently uninhabited belfry’s often housed bats, therefore the saying would intimate that there was nothing going on upstairs.ie. the bells were not working.  ‘Batshit crazy’ goes one step further to describe the abandoned belfry as being coated in batshit.

Perhaps somebody doing the moonwalk around a park whilst walking their dogs could be described as ‘batshit crazy’.  Or doing the ‘bend and snap’ move from Legally Blonde whilst picking up their dog poop (I have mentioned these scenarios in previous blogs) could also be described in the same way.

Either way I insist on embracing my crazy as I believe it is the best part of me. Mediocrity can take a hike.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

thttps://youtu.be/TkOAUht3G5o

God rest Mr. Milligan and the best acceptance speech ever.  I am sure even Prince Charles had a giggle when he referred to him (affectionately) as ‘The little groveling bastard’.  This must be the very first and last time that he was called that.   Acceptance speeches can be so boring at times particularly when they are used for political gain.

Opinions differ on whether awards ceremonies should be used as a platform for a celebrity’s political agenda. Possibly the most famous one was when in 1973 Marlon Brando refused his award for ‘The Godfather’ in protest of the treatment of native American Indians by the American film industry.

Sacheen Littlefeather spoke very eloquently on his behalf.   However, she was booed off the stage.   Brando was way ahead of his time in representing people that were marginalized.

https://youtu.be/2QUacU0I4yU

Ricky Gervais has to be the King of presenters at The Oscars.   No one is safe. He roasts everyone regardless of whether they are Hollywood royalty or not.  In the spirit of writing about the Oscars I have penned my acceptance speech for my screen writing Oscar. Here goes

‘I would like to thank my parents who made me. They had a job raising me as I was a cheeky little minx. That dreamcatcher (a salutary nod to the native Indians) I bought has paid huge dividends. I have dreamt of this moment every year since I first watched the Oscars. Thank you all for being my heroines and heroes growing up’.

I will need to pen another one for my best actress award. Just putting it out there.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

Now, which one would you choose?  I particularly liked him in Peaky Blinders as the semi villain opposite Cillian Murphy.  He is a Legend and a Warrior.   I predict that he will be the next James Bond.  There, I said it.   My crystal ball has been working overtime of late.   It works best when it is shaken and then the visions are stirred….’Shaken, not stirred’…… Many more predictions to come.

His hell raising past is common knowledge and he openly admits that acting helped to save his life.    He has made this powerful video about his recovery where he is so honest and humble.   Even if you didn’t like him before it is hardy not to when you have seen this.

https://youtu.be/psJcbEbxk4c

Apparently, he is a huge dog lover and has been noted to have said that he prefers dogs to humans.  He’s not alone there as I think many people do.  I have decided to give both my dogs second names in his honor.  Buzz shall now be known as Buzz Tom and Finn shall be Finn Hardy. Once I have obtained their consent name tags shall be altered. When I am happy that they have no objections, I will release a statement to the press.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

 

https://youtu.be/14Te3Kq6gtE

This guy cracks me up.  He never fails to offer the ultimate insults to either his guests on 8 out of 10 cats or some poor gullible audience member. If being politically correct is a passion of yours it is best to steer clear of this as his ability to offend is stellar.

My favorite clips are when one of his guests gives him the giggles as it does not happen very often. The most famous one was Peter Serafinowicz.  He completely blindsided Jimmy.  This has had over 9 million views.

https://youtu.be/Q0yTDwRAB5Q

It has always interested me to know who makes the comedians laugh. I have heard that ‘Tom Stade’ has often been tipped as a favorite. He is a super cool, gorgeous Canadian comedian who lives in Edinburgh.   I have had the pleasure of seeing him a few times when I lived in Dubai and I have to say he is hilarious.

One night however he made a remark to two couples from Pakistan where they all got up and left. It was touch and go for a while as he was worried that the police may cart him off. In my own mind there are very few things that are off limits in comedy but in fairness that night we all knew that he had offended the two couples. Here he is on his best behavior for your viewing.

https://youtu.be/Z2C5W0fCqbQ

However recently I have decided that Johnny Vegas has to be the new King of Comedy for me. He makes all the other comedians crack up.

In this clip he is trying to put Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdecombe off their lines in recording the show’s promos by saying the weirdest things.

Johnny Vegas messing with Adam, Alex and Josh in The Last Leg -Outtakes

 

https://youtu.be/V3RlWbzU8Hw

 

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

How many band names can you find?

It has been announced that Electric Picnic may well go ahead this year.   How I adore The Farm in Laois that becomes our field of D-reams. Take That! The Animals will be temporarily moved to make way for The Madness. There are Talking Heads all over this Big Country with The Verve of enthusiasm bursting through every pore.

I am getting The Hives with excitement. The Clash will, however, continue between those that agree to it going ahead and those that do not. Hopefully The Stunning line up will be revealed over the next few weeks.

They have moved the date to the end of September for The Vaccines to be taken up by more people. So, The Cardigans will be out for everyone to warm up. If it does go ahead, it will be mega.

This will be my fourth visit in the last 6 years.  It is awesome as it has been hailed as Ireland’s mini-Glastonbury.  As I am outstanding in my own field (with my red wellies on) I very much hope that this will happen for 2021.  Latitude in the UK went ahead and was a huge success. I heard that Griff (hailed as the new Lady Gaga) was amazing.

The lineup that was expected for 2020 included some of my faves, ‘Snow Patrol’, ‘The Chemical Brothers’ and ‘The Foals’- who I am completely obsessed with and have never had the joy of seeing.   It will definitely be fingers crossed that it goes ahead as otherwise the music industry will be in Dire Straits.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele

I can empathize with the doggie here. Maybe the poor thing has had Covid. Long Covid can be a bummer at times. From intermittent chronic fatigue, to palpitations, joint pains and a nocturnal wheeze.  I have had the lot.

Defiance is my middle name as I refuse to identify with it.   All was good before I got Covid and I will be fine once Long Covid subsides. Wim Hof guided breathing got rid of my wheeze.

Buzz has developed a bit of an attitude of late.   Previously on walks he would go wherever I would bring him however recently he has taken to making a stand-literally.

There have been times when I am heading to the park and he will not move.  Insisting that I bring him towards the direction that he wants to go in.   I can only imagine that it must be super sniffing territory.

There are a lot more cats near where I live recently and weirdly one of them actually likes dogs. He comes over and wants to play whenever he sees us.

Finn doesn’t like them and barks but Buzz wags his tail whenever he sees one. Which must appear quite passive aggressive from the cat’s point of view. Particularly if the cat is a master of psychology…. I digress.

Finn has been quite ill over the last week and I was on 24/7 diarrhea duty. I must add that it is not my favorite type of duty.   However, I decided not to employ a defaeces attitude (sorry, not sorry).   But at least he is on the mend now.

All the best

Stay fab

Adele