Surgery

I have a trapped nerve in my vertebrae and surgery is required to alleviate this problem. I have been suffering leg pain for some time and finally it has been confirmed that this is the cause. A skilled surgeon is going to insert a clip in my backbone to widen it and therefore relieve the pressure and hopefully this will stop the pain. As the consultant said he cannot give me a new engine but can perform an MOT! There will be at least 12 weeks recovery and at present I am trying to get as fit as possible to maximise the speed of that recovery.

I have no fear regarding this procedure though no doubt there will be some when it happens, at a date yet to be given. I am almost 66 and the consultant brought home my impending mortality when he said, if successful, I should have no need to concern myself about a recurrence in my lifetime!

And there you have it a little terse but my normal verbosity is not required, it is plain and simple,so wish me luck. 

I'm awake buy barely!

I have been remiss in visiting this medium for some considerable time. Nothing in the world has changed that much and if anything has become worse. The UK is in a mess over Brexit, Mr Trump continues to harangue everybody and anybody with his blustering ugly presence, we have had a heatwave,which I have mostly enjoyed, and so life goes on. Many philosophical comments or clever sophistry could be written but frankly I'm not sure I really give a shit anymore! The world will keep on turning and people will come to predominance and disappear, they always do.
One should appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them to the full!
And there you have it!

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am currently with our American cousins!Its bad enough that they voted Trump to become President, a worse choice cannot have been conceived than this monstrosity of a man! and now after yet another school massacre by another crazed individual with an assault rifle, do we get universal horror and some traction to stop it ever happening again or at least the will to lesson the chances, no. the same rhetoric is wheeled out.
The NRA start once more with their ceaseless bollocks regarding the constitutional right to bear arms. which century are they living in? Do they need to defend their homesteads? Is the USA going to be invaded? How much hunting can you do? If they are so worried about defending themselves then perhaps they should have an army and perhaps armed law enforcement! It is simple give people guns and they will shoot each other

Sick

It appears that I have been absent from this medium since last year. Its not from a lack of things to comment on just not been able to motivate myself to do so. Even now with so much happening in the world I feel as though I am just repeating myself as the events themselves seem to do. I've written much about many of the current headlines because ....well they keep happening!
I have over the last two weeks be very ill with a particularly nasty chest infection which although I am improved, I know is going to hamper me for some time yet. Naturally like anyone I hate being sick. It is miserable and debilitating. No appetite, listless, depressing and physically tiring, just to mention some of the effects. I have lost weight perhaps a good thing if not the way one would wish to.
It has kept me in the house and I admit I have watched far to much television, an accompanying consequence of too much enforced inactivity. I have subscriptions to both Netflix and Amazon so I have not been entirely reliant on the normal mass boredom of channels that have proliferated over the last 20 years. 
I have discovered some gems that I might not have otherwise watched, chief among them is Jerry Seinfields Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. He drives a varied selection of cars, anything from an Aston Martin to a VW. He picks up another comedian and they drive to have coffee. Simple, each programme is only about 15 minutes in length and there is an intimacy to each, that you very rarely get from the more formal talk show. I now understand the phrase "binge watch" because I have watched almost four series! 
The second series which has fascinated me, SKY's Portrait Artist of the year. I like art am a bit of an amateur artist myself, though nowhere near these artists level, the process that these amateur and professional artists go through to produce their portraits is an education. There are as many different techniques as there are participants and the results vary accordingly, it is certainly true that art is very much in the eye of the beholder 
Rather not have been incapacitated but there is always a silver lining!

Lets stop abuse

It's been a while but Guestling is back on the page and as usual being his grumpy self.
It is closing in on that Xmas time, those of you who may have followed my musing in the past will know my well voiced opinions regarding the festive time of year and my ambivalence towards it, so I will not dwell on it here. No my subject today is women and more especially men's abuse of them.
Its been a tumultuous few years with many a celebrity biting the dust over their wretched past behavior and rightly so. There is utterly no excuse that could ever justify the abuse of any person be they male or female, it is simply unacceptable and therefore condemned in the strongest terms with the appropriate punishment being handed out.
What has prompted my rant today is a fairly innocuous small headline in the news section of my IPAD (how pretentious!). The person reported on is irrelevant, let us just say that she has recently taken part in a very popular dance show and leave it at that. She was reported as posing for pictures "showing off her cleavage" in lacy bras! No let me first say that if that is what she wants to do in order to keep her profile in the public conscientious, she is perfectly entitled to do so. After all there are many millions of images that are daily available that are far far more explicit than these rather tame and innocent photos. Women posing for the camera is nothing new, as is men objectifying them. Now old Guesty is the last person in the world to condemn the admiration of the female form and I enjoy a picture of an attractive woman as much as the next man and you'd rightly call me a hypocrite if I did! Back to my point (yes there is one!) These photos prompted a discussion between the fabulous Lady Thorn and myself , we both espoused the view that while women are prepared to (even innocently) present themselves to the public in these poses how will the prevailing attitude of men ever really change. I will hear people say women should be able to do whatever they wish without prejudice and of course I agree, however if the we are to educate men then everyone must play their part.
I am not innocent enough to believe that abuse of a sexual or any other nature will ever be eradicated, it won't be. Men it seems have a predilection for acts of this nature and it appears that even when they understand it is wrong they still go ahead. We are all responsible and must play our part in stopping any form of abuse.
Well there you have it the final rant of 2017 from me.
May I wish you all a fine Xmas and pleasant 2018.
And may I end with a happy photo of a great friend of ours with his first grandchild Olga

A problem shared

There are Agony Aunts but it seems no Agony Uncles, well if there are I've not come across them? Now, whilst many might disagree, I feel uniquely positioned to fulfill this role. I have wisdom, humour and an abundance of experience gained over many years of observing the human condition. Clearly I am older and therefore the issues of the young might be a little alien to me but I too was young and time has not altered, so much that the problems have fundamentally changed, just the context within which they are raised. Being an ex diplomat one has had to deal with a myriad of diverse  interactions with a variety of people and all the associated difficulties that go with them. One is asked to solve everything from a full blown international incident to making sure that a particular person has a tiny but specific thing set right. Believe me some requests are just as ridiculous as any diva that you might have read about, with their demands for what any reasonable person would deem outrageous. Yet these "necessities"  have to be met, lest the outcome one is trying to achieve may not come to pass. 

So with the skills learned in these encounters, I am armed with the requisite knowledge to advise and empathize with those whom it seems, find no other outlet, except to write to an individual, who they do not know and hope are able to help in a professional manner. I am sure for many, the need to pen a note of this kind, the very act of putting pen to paper or keyboard to email, is in itself therapeutic and generally the answer to their dilemma is already self-evident. These are persons who do not wish to hurt or upset someone close  and are trying to avoid the very same. Reassurance and kindness is they balm they require, although every now and then a firm reply must be returned.

So my ears and eyes are open if anyone wishes to lean on my metaphorical shoulder and I promise I will try to help.

Email: paul.primhak@ntlworld.com 

Been a while

Old Guesty has been a bit quiet lately but I am back with a few things to pass my observations about.

Where to start, well Brexit (oh how I dislike that word) is going well! The EU are cooperating and negotiations seem to speeding along at a breakneck pace? I cannot understand the apprehension that we all felt after the referendum, its all turning out nicely with hardly a hint of economic down turn in the UK. Mrs May and her cabinet, especially Boris are in complete harmony and big smiles all around as they steer Britain towards its golden future and unbound prosperity! The government and all of its internal machinations are a well oiled machine and we should unite and applaud their steadfast and prudent handling, of what this island of ours requires. The doomsayers were obviously wrong and we can all sit back and rest easy now that things are going so smoothly!

So that's Brexit sorted (oh how I loath that word)

Naturally Mr Corbyn is rubbing his hands with glee, as he waits in the wings like a wily spider expecting to take power at any time. After all his party keep espousing, that Labour actually won the election. Well I hate to pour cold water on their optimism but you have to win a general election. They did not!

Now some of you may have followed my totally justified persecution of Mr Trump, a man so in touch with the modern world and all it's sensitivities and complexities, that's is difficult to believe that he never threw his hat in the Presidential ring years ago! His grasp of diplomacy, his reluctance to speak his mind, his reticence to insult anybody, his understanding of the current problems with race and prejudice and above all, his towering ability as a statesman who has his finger on all the subtleties of relations with other countries and their leaders, it is staggering how we did not realise the magnitude of his talents. If only he could bring himself to use social media to voice his thoughts and opinions! It is obvious to me now, how wrong I have been and that his term is going to be one of the greatest Presidential reigns in history! I feel a fool for ever doubting the Trumpster. The loyalty that all his appointments and the Republican party have shown, only goes to prove the high esteem in which he is held. There hasn't been a whiff of scandal, corruption, misguided policies or knee jerk reaction to any events, whilst he has been in office, he has even had greater success with his hair, which has stood up to the pressure, add to that,  his serene facial expressions, he really is a model of calm and moderation, a man fully in control of his destiny!

Well that's all from for now, I know there are many other subjects that I could comment on but one does not want to over stay ones welcome. 

Look flowers!