Well, how did your off-spring do, A? New levels of despair, angst … and that job-for-life at a burger joint has just kicked them in the Big Macs?

And they are still in their teens, pneumatically active, spotty, awkward and destined for a no-hours contract about as useful as a Coke Zero.

No jobs, no two-car family, no two weeks in Benidorm, no two-for-one at Harvester, no two-up-and-two-down, no baby or two. In fact life appears to be nothing more than a double bluff with an empty pot of gold dumped in a discarded fast food container…

If it makes you and your very expensively educated child feel any better though, I have to admit I got NONE! Not one!

A? I hear you say!

Yes, it’s true! In my GCSEs – or the equivalent – I passed art with flying colours because I was good at spray cans and my name is Banksy…

And I got English, apparently, because I spelt my name right.

But that was it!

So, unqualified, not an ology between my ears or a university education in sex and drugs I went on to do quite well for myself actually, a writer, broadcaster, presenter, travel writer, music pundit and campaigner.

I live in a 300 year old cottage with a garden so big National Car Parks want to take it over … so as Bob said “there is no success like failure …”

I mean this in a positive way – you don’t need lots of bits of paper saying how brilliant you are and how qualified you are to pick litter on an asbo.

And that old gorrilla of guile Jeremy Clarkson agrees.

In tweets over the last few years he has tried to provide comfort to those who might not receive the grades they hoped for, by pointing out they’re not the be-all and end-all for success.

In 2014: “If your A level results aren’t joyous take comfort from the fact I got a C and two Us. And I have a Mercedes Benz.”

2015: “If your A level results aren’t great, be cheered by the fact that I got a C and two Us. And I’m currently sitting in a villa in St Tropez.”

2016: “If your A level results are disappointing, don’t worry. I got a C and two Us, and I’m currently on a superyacht in the Med.”

2017: Jeremy bragged about having his chef prepare truffles for his breakfast – although the jury is still out on whether that one was entirely accurate.

2018: “Don’t worry if your A level grades aren’t any good. I got a C and 2 Us. And I’m sitting here deciding which of my Range Rovers to use today.”

2019: “A level results a bit rubbish? Don’t worry. I got a C and two Us and I’ve rented this place for the summer,”

2020: “A level results not great? Don’t worry, I got a C and 2 Us and I’m currently building a large house with far reaching views of the Cotswolds.”

2021: The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter faced huge backlash after continuing with his annual tweeting tradition amidst the pandemic as students forced to study at home for almost the entire academic year.

2022: Yep, more of the same … good on ya Jezza!

OLOGIES ARE NOT KEYS TO THE DOOR OF THE FUTURE!

#alevels #students #education #topgear #grandtour #jeremyclarkson #schools

A short post on social media has announced the death of Valerie James at the age of 93.

Her family had, for their own reasons, kept a respectful public silence over her loss three months ago on May 8^th.,

^{Coincidently, that was the day her late husband, Carry On star Sid James, was born way back in 1913.}

He died at the age of 62 in 1976.

News of James’ passing was confirmed with the post on social media saying: ‘In very sad news, Valerie James, lovely wife of Sid and a performer in her own right in her early days, has died aged 93.’

Together with their children, the James’ had lived in Buckinghamshire close to Pinewood Studios where the Carry On films were shot.

#sidjames #valeriejames #carryon #buckinghamshire

Who Is Valerie James Husband, Wiki, Age, Biography, Death, Cause Of Death, Family (mymorningtea.in)

A girl aged five is being hailed as the world’s youngest author.

Bella-Jay Dark, who lives Weymouth, Dorset, decided last year she was going to write a book.

Bella-Jay’s story, called The Lost Cat, features a pet who goes on an adventure and learns important lessons.

Parents chef Chelsie Syme, aged 27, and plasterer Myles Dark, aged 30, said: “’We are just so proud of Bella and honestly can’t believe how amazing this is.

‘We’re also so grateful of the support and acknowledgment she has already received so far and she deserves this so much.

‘She has always thrived off positivity from people – she just loves reading and drawing.”

Bella-Jay said of her own book: ‘This is the best book ever, and I just want everyone to buy it,”

‘She has done all the drawings by herself apart from one towards the back her older sister Lacey-May produced’, said Chelsie.

To claim the official Guinness World Record accolade of youngest author, Bella needs to sell 1,000 copies of the book.

She has met the other two criteria – namely, that the book be published by an official company and that she be younger than seven.  

Ginger Fyre Press have produced the book, which is now available to purchase on Amazon and Waterstones for £4.

Last year Abhijita Gupta was hailed as the world’s youngest published author – aged seven. Abhijita from Ghaziabad, has been recognized as the world’s youngest writer by the International Book of Records. At such a young age, she has also won the title ‘Grandmaster of Writing‘ by the Asia Book of Records for her great poetry and writing skills. 

#author #bella #cats #novel #writing #self-publishing #traditionalpublishing

Bella J Dark, age 5, is the world’s youngest female author | Guinness World Records

By Andrew John Teague, international parental alienation campaigner

A note to myself everyday.

Prepare for the worst… anything less is a godsend.

Often I speak of how contact denial kills.

Yes, trauma takes its toll. But its not only the trauma – its being able to understand the trauma.

Not only have I been through contact denial myself, twice. I deal with parents and grandparents everyday who are going through it too.

Anyone who has never been touched by contact denial and the draconian family courts would never even come close to understanding the trauma.

Parents who spent everyday with their children suddenly through separation left in turmoil. 

Parents to afraid to speak out or seek help  for the trauma they are going through for fear of it being used against them.

Every parent i speak to who go through the trauma is a reminder of what i went through.

Yes our daughter has her dad in her life because this dad had to take up the fight for her. This dad fought for her while fighting for others too.

Proud glory no sadness that in this stainage we have to fight to be a parent.

I felt the wrath of the bullies behind family courts I witnessed the terrorism 

It truly is shocking how a parent can use not only the system but their own child too.

The bad parent the ex with an axe to grind bitterness anger jealousy rage control and benefits drive them. 

The worse of it is they only have to start the drama. The rest will be taken u0 by the family court advisors lawyers barristers social workers and eventually the actual family court judges. 

Broken desperate parents grandparents and families torn to shreds.

Children forced to endure the child abuse as the family courts ignore the rule of law in favour of bullying and terrorising vulnerable all ready targetted parents.

There should be absolute accountability no one not even a judge is above the law.

Bullying and terrorising driving fear into all ready targetted parent is like a hate crime in itself.

For every single lost soul, for every parent driven into the trauma. We have to keep on keeping on. Banging the drum to keep raising the awareness. Pushing to educate the building blocks for the foundation for true change.

Save the forgotten innocent children who end up entrenched and also traumatised.

No child abuse should brushed under the carpet. 

The non-accidental psychological injury in the child is as bad if not worse than the non accidental physical injury in the child.

Transparency and accountability would be a start to helping save children from continuous child abuse.

Its tough. its trauma, its tragic and its child abuse 

Weaponising children, using children to gain ground in family court. BARBARIC 

our aim is to educate from the bottom to the top 

To help children understand their mental health and well-being 

#dedicate-to-educate 

#childrensmentalhealthandwellbeing

#parentalalienaiton #abuse

HOW A CHEAP GUITAR, A SPLASH OF BRUT AND SOME STOLEN ‘SHAPES’ CREATED THE KING

Where were you when Elvis finally left this world behind?

I was a music journalist manning the newsdesk of a tawdry little city newspaper in the UK when the ticker-tape started in the background.

THE KING

IS DEAD

I was in my early twenties and I was devastated … yep, by 1977 Elvis was a fat old man dressed like Liberace and full of drugs and self-doubt and the music scene was changing fast and I loved Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan and the rising of the punk era.

But the death of Elvis left me in shock. So, as was my way back then, I went on a pub crawl…

Sequins of sadness were everywhere.

And since that day Elvis has NEVER left the building for me… where were you when you heard the news?

SOME ELVIS FACTS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW:

Elvis’s first guitar cost less than $8 from his hometown’s Tupelo Hardware Company. He got it for it his 11th birthday.

As a teenager Elvis loved the gospel group The Statesmen. His dance moves were based on James ‘Big Chief’ Wetherington (The Statesmen’s bass singer),

Elvis’s first recording – at Sun Records – was self-funded in 1953. He cut My Happiness and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin on acetate.

 In 1954 Elvis auditioned for a place in gospel quartet The Songfellows. The band rejected him.

Sam Phillips’s first session with Elvis later that year produced a cover of Arthur Crudup’s That’s All Right Mama. Memphis radio DJ Dewey Phillips played it repeatedly for two hours.

Sun received an 6,000 pre-orders.

Elvis’s television debut was on Louisiana Hayride on 5 March 1955.

Elvis made the best-selling single of both the 1950s (Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel (1956)) and the 1960s (It’s Now Or Never (1960)).

During his two-year stint as a Private in the US Army, Elvis donated all his pay to charity.

On May 18 2006, Uri Geller bought Elvis’s ranch-style Memphis home on eBay for $905,100.

Elvis’s favourite aftershave was apparently Brut…

73 things you (probably) didn’t know about Elvis Presley | MusicRadar

#elvis #bobdylan #punk #memphis #graceland #guitar

This isn’t a fantasy … now Rowling in death tweet fears over her sympathy for Rushdie

JK Rowling has received a death threat following her reaction to the horrific attack on Salman Rushdie  in New York.

Rowling, aged 57, sent screenshots to Twitter of a message from a user who said “don’t worry you are next”.

It followed Rowling tweeting she felt “very sick” after hearing the news and hoped Rushdie would “be OK”.

Latest statements said the police are investigating her fears.

The horrific stabbing of Rushdie is being seen as a brazen attack on the freedom of writers to investigate things that others hold in their hearts and souls. Just like lifestyle, religion, politics, doctrine and beliefs.

Booker-prize winning author, Ian McEwan, said it “represents an assault on freedom of thought and speech”. Stephen King said the attack was “horrifying”.

Sadly, it has emerged that writer and campaigner Henry Reese, who had been due to interview Mr Rushdie at the event, suffered a head injury. Henry is the co-founder of a non-profit organisation that provides sanctuary to writers exiled under threat of persecution.

Rushdie was about to give a speech about how the US has served as a haven for such writers.

The novelist was forced into hiding for nearly 10 years after The Satanic Verses was published in 1988. Many Muslims reacted with fury to it, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad was a grave insult to their faith.

The Satanic Verses investigates a short text reputed to have been included in the Qur’an at the suggestion of Satan rather than by divine inspiration when Muhammad was issuing authentic verses.

But as writers, it is our job to investigate boundaries and draw conclusions on the walls of our man-made borders.

We need to be able to write about the tracts of human fears.

Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the liver, the back, the neck and the face on stage in front of hundreds of people in New York city.

He is now recovering and is talking to visitors.

Salman Rushdie over thirty years metamorphosed from being a rather irritating pundit with a poet turn of phrase into a world renowned writer – an academic in bottle-bottom glasses and a scraggly beard – then a cause celeb and a prisoner inside his own world and ours.

Then he became the victim of a murderous attack.

Today he is a survivor. And a hero to all of us who want to write the truth.

The suspected attacker was identified by police as Hadi Matar, 24, from New Jersey. He was charged on Saturday with attempted murder and assault. Matar and his family hails from the south Lebanon town of Yaroun, said its Mayor Ali Tehfe.

#rushdie #rowling #king #islam #newyork

The horrific stabbing of Salman Rushdie is a brazen brooding attack on the freedom of writers to investigate things that others hold in their hearts and souls.

Just like lifestyle, religion, politics, doctrine and beliefs.

All these things are the buzz in our blood. We are pack animals, afraid in the dark, who need these metaphorical fences and boundaries to keep us in – and the enemy out.

And as writers, it is our job to investigate these boundaries and their creators, even lampoon them, draw conclusions on the walls of our man-made borders.

We need to be able to write about human fears.

Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the liver, the back, the neck and the face on stage in front of hundreds of people in New York city.

The reason? An old man and a religion had decided that he should die because he had written The Satanic Verses.

The Satanic Verses investigates a short text reputed to have been included in the Qur’an at the suggestion of Satan rather than by divine inspiration when Muhammad was issuing authentic verses.

Because of his thoughts and interpretation of these verses he became the victim of a fatwa. He had become a rebel with only a narrow path to the future.

And that fatwa haunted him for more than 30 years. And like cancer to a smoker, almost inevitably, one day the horror of the past rose and wrapped its dark clouds around him.

Salman Rushdie, over thirty years, metamorphosed from being a rather irritating pundit with a poetic turn of phrase into a world renowned writer – an academic in bottle-bottom glasses and a scraggly beard. Then he became a prisoner inside his own world and ours.

A few days ago he became the victim of fate.

Today he is a survivor. And a hero to all of us who want to write the truth.

JOIN ME IN WRITING A FEW WORDS OF THANK YOU BELOW TO ALL WRITERS WHO STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT…

PLAY VID – INSIDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKOvnlVwAIA

Ozzy Osbourne came out of the shadows of Parkinsons and major surgery and rocked his hometown.

Ozzy, a little unsteady but determined, marked the end of the Commonwealth Games. He performed ‘Paranoid’ with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Tommy Clufetos and bassist Adam Wakeman.

The 73-year-old rocker recently underwent major surgery was simply Ozzy – and in good voice – as he showed again that old rockers should never fade away …

GOOD ON YA OZZY!

#ozzyosborne #brum #blacksabbath #commonwealthgames

Now even they admit justice is failing alienated parents…

Written by Andrew John Teague

England and Wales head of the Justice division Sir Andrew McFarlane. States 20 per cent of cases shouldn’t be in the family courts.

Sir Andrew has also spoken of the harm family courts cause to children due to long court hearings.

Sir Andrew where have you been?

Who will jump on looking for the muller, the pounds and the pennies?

Three years in family court certainly did affect our daughter.

And no doubt many many other children …

For over six years I have banged the drum for the forgotten children.

In 2019 Sir James Munby spoke of the review into family courts being independent.

It was anything but.

Interestingly, the statement he made referred to the forgotten children. Just like the likes of cafcass who play bat and ball with children’s lives making mistakes along the way.

Now we see Sir Andrew realising that he has no grip on the situation.

Failings cause the child abuse, delays allow the non-accidental psychological injury in the children..

The statement by Sir Andrew that the family courts should be the last resort…

How is it possible?

I have heard 1000s of parents who stated before court the ex-partner said “you want contact take me to court”… Any but last resort from the outset clear it’s the only port of call.

Absent parents have often tried every other way.

Risking their liberty and case before it even starts by trying to contact their ex for contact. They will have tried mediation often been rejected by the ex immediately or later Of course this all has an affect on child.

I don’t need a PhD or a judge to tell me what we’ve seen it lived through our daughter.

Our daughter got what she wanted due to me fighting for her. Yes it did have a cost and for sometime after I have to spend time helping her through the anxiety the worry the stress.

To those behind the family court I was the easy target (so the genuinely thought) Bullying me terrorising me threatening.

All the time knew there was a little lost forgotten soul who needed her daddy. Through the lows and highs it was a struggle for her.

Broken court orders really affected her anxiety beyond belief. No surprise when there was 14 broken orders…

Forgotten children, forgotten and broken by a system that should be protecting them. Thank you Sir Andrew McFarlane for highlighting what we all ready know.

How is this for a question:

WHAT DO YOU INTEND DOING ABOUT IT?

It’s time for change within the whole system process and methodology. Contact denial is killing parents and potentially children as they get older. To all parents grandparents family partners and friends #keeponkeepingon none of what goes on is your children’s fault they are the pawns in a wicked evil game.

Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old who had been at the centre of a legal battle between his parents and doctors, has died.

His mother, Hollie Dance, said: “Such a beautiful little boy, and he fought right until the very end.”

She said she was “the proudest mum in the world” as she spoke outside the Royal London Hospital in east London, where he died.

Her son’s life support was withdrawn earlier on Saturday.

He died at 12.15 BST, Ms Dance said, adding: “I’m so proud to be his mum.”

Archie had been in hospital since being found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex, in April.

He suffered severe brain injuries and needed life-sustaining support, including mechanical ventilation and drug treatment. He never regained consciousness.

Ms Dance earlier said she had done everything she promised Archie she would do.

#archie #archiedead