I know this because I'm told it many times a day. Now I know that we are all special in so many ways but is there anyone out there as VIP as me?
Today I got my latest VIP update. It came from Wowcher which is basically an online selling platform that searches out bargains and of course these bargains are "especially for you". There's absolutely nobody in this world who is a VIP like me, I'm told this numerous times every day.
VIP has become a terribly overused phrase. Indeed today it's virtually meaningless and, even worse, a marketing ploy. Does it make you feel special when you know that thousands if not millions are getting the same messages telling them they are VIPs? The phrase has become totally devalued. In fact it should be changed to VOP (Very Ordinary Person).
It's got so bad that one group I am involved with and which is having a VIL (Very Important Launch) next year is looking to attract a VVIP (Very Very Important Person). Previously this VVIP would have been just a VIP - so it looks as if he/she has been promoted.
All this VIP stuff has the hallmark of stuff and nonsense. It's about as sincere as those "we look forward to seeing you again soon" that you get on aircraft etc when they have no ides who you are.
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I won't be shedding a tear over the passing of Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona. Last night at one football match involving a British team there was a minute's silence to his memory. This is plain ridiculous. Yes the man was a great footballer but as a human being he left much to be desired and ultimately he was a cheat.
English footballers were up in arms (almost literally) in 1986 by the infamous "Hand of God" goal against England. This was blatant cheating and something he never apologised for. At the time it caused a furore, as much as Thiery Henri's deliberately handled goal against Ireland in 2010. Now, with his death, professional footballers are all heralding Maradona as a "good old boy" and laughing about that goal, which certainly wasn't funny at the time.
Today with VAR the goal would not only have been disallowed but there is a good chance that Maradona would have been sent off. Now to have a minute's silence to his memory is hypocritical to say the least. Let's not celebrate cheats. Certainly the English goalkeeper beaten by the so called "Hand of God" goal Peter Shilton refuses to forgive him.
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No surprise that Hethersett like the rest of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire is in lockdown tier two. But there is surprise that such a wide area has been lumped together. Only three areas are in tier one. To me this smacks of a lack of understanding and thought.
I was watching the news yesterday morning where they had an article about Tunbridge Wells in Kent which has a very low COVID rate being in tier three along with the rest of the county and areas with a high infection rate. So nobody in Tunbridge Wells will be able to go to pubs, restaurants etc. So they will all drive over the border into Sussex which is in tier two. I have a particular interest in Royal Tunbridge Wells as many of my ancestors lived there.
It's the same with North Norfolk where the number of COVID cases has been very low. They have been bracketed in tier two with the worst affected places in East Anglia.
The situation in North Norfolk is a very interesting one. Over the summer and when lockdown was relaxed a touch the area was visited by many many tourists, including visitors from the Midlands and higher affected areas but the rate didn't increase, I wonder of that has something to do with the sea (just a thought).
Ultimately it's time for the Government to concentrate on getting the vaccine out and that will mean cutting through the red tape around it.
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With Christmas looming thoughts turn to listening to festive music. All the old favourites - Cliff, McCartney, Wizzard, Slade etc etc. I like to find more unusual pieces and Christmas isn't Christmas until I have listened to the St Nicholas Christmas Cantata by Benjamin Britten. It's a bit of an acquired taste I'll admit but I have loved it since my schooldays.
I have written in the past about the influence my music teacher Bernard Burrell had on my love and appreciation of music. Bernard introduced us to this piece of music. I can't even describe the indefinable quality of this piece of sublime music. If you've never heard it give it a try. You need to listen two or three times for its beauty to sink in.
One of the lesser known Christmas pieces I can recommend is "When The Thames Froze" by Smith and Burrows. This came out five years ago. I love the lyrics:
God damn, this snow
Will I ever get where I wanna go
And so I skate, across the Thames
Hand in hand, with all my friends
And all the things, that we planned
My son's eyes in the outline of his hand
And even though I hate the cold
Constant reminder that I'm getting old
Another year draws to its close,
Entire London slows
When I dream tonight, I'll dream of you
When the Thames . . . froze
And it has one of those choruses that you will end up singing all day, as well as a message of hope.
So tell everyone
That there's hope in your heart
Tell everyone or it will tear you apart
The end of Christmas day,
When there's nothing left to say
The years go by so fast,
Let's hope the next beats the last
It also has the line:
God damn, this government
Will they ever tell me, where the money went
Tom Smith is the lead singer in the rock band Editors and Andy Burrows was in Razorlight and We Are Scientists. This a piece of sublime music as is my next choice "Winter Psalm" by Ana Silvera. Ana is a brilliant artist and I will write much more about her in a coming blog.
A couple of years ago she released a wonderful Christmas-themed mini album entitled "Arcana". This included traditional material like a very slow and sparse "In the Bleak Midwinter" and also Winter Psalm - an original song that just oozes quality and once again the lyrics are sublime poetry:
I woke on a winter morning
Before the blackbird said its psalm
Crept in to see the children sleeping
Their eyelids soft and bodies safe from harm
Who’s dream had I been dreaming?
About a boy on a red, red bike
He was so fast, I could not reach him
And I was blinded by the bright, bright light
I comb my long brown hair and leaving
The kettle making it’s complaint
Step out to see the day, a wafer
Melt upon the tongue of night
The glass fogged, this house is breathing
A sound that only love can make
Three walls can’t keep a roof from caving
But three’s a tipi, three’s a layer cake
And in their pictures, there are hearts
And there are houses
With windows made of honeycomb
A spider swinging in its cradle
With silver bells all in a row
Boy do I wish I could write poetry like that.
Another brilliant and little known Christmas style song is "White Winter Hymnal" by American band Fleet Foxes. This is a more upbeat number. Check it out.
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This will be my hunt Hethersett lights weekend. I have a list of businesses and homes that are lit up for Christmas. So I will be out with my camera over the next two nights.
Last night I wandered round to the Great Melton Close/Park Green area to see the first night of their Christmas lights and I will talk more about this in tomorrow's blog.
Yesterday chair of Hethersett Parish Council Adrienne Quinlan was interviewed live on Radio Norfolk in the centre of the village talking about lighting up Hethersett for the run up to Christmas.
Finally in today's blog a couple of moody early morning Hethersett pictures from yesterday morning when the mist hung heavily.