Sign of the Times?

Having been grumped at from an avid reader in Wales for neglecting the blog here is a very small reparation in honour of St David's Day  

I assume that Preston City Council have a surplus of signs that they thought they should deploy somewhere even if it was quite unnecessary

And to answer another reader's enquiry - yes Preston is a city. It received city status as city number 60 to commemorate the Queen's 60th anniversary..

Year of the Fire Monkey

Watch this

What more can I say?

Happy New Year

Monday February 8th is the first day of the 

 Year of the Monkey

in the Lunar Calendar

So today is New Year's Eve and there are things you must do and not do

DO THESE THINGS

• Clean the house thoroughly on Sunday, New Year's Eve, A clean home means sweeping away any misfortunes to make room for a fresh, ordered start to the New Year. 
• Look out if you're a monkey. According to Chinese philosophy, those born with the same zodiac sign as the year's designated animal are going to have a particularly difficult year. Those born in the Year of the Monkey – 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004 – are urged to lie low.
• Decorate your home with red lanterns and the "Fu" or luck character.
• Come together as a family, traveling home to relatives, especially for a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. 
• Eat fish, which is essential to the reunion feast. The words for carp sound like "good luck" and "gift". Place the head in the direction of the most distinguished or oldest guest, who eats first, then utter the lucky saying "Niannian you yu". Homophones or "puns" explain the choice of many New Year foods, said Cao Yin, curator of Chinese art at the Art Gallery of NSW. Spring rolls resemble gold bars. Tangerines stand for success and pomelos bring wealth. Celery (for wisdom), plums (for a sharp mind), chicken (with the head and feet attached), steamed buns (piled high), lettuce (for being alive) and sweets (for a sweet year) are also customary. Dumplings, or "jiaozi", resemble old Chinese currency, while long noodles and peaches symbolise longevity. "Niangao" or steamed rice cakes, are a southern delicacy, "gao" meaning "high", as in to make better or improve. 
• Paste spring festival couplets around your front door, calling for blessings on the home and land. Written on red paper in black or gold calligraphy, the scrolls must have parallel structures and antithetical meanings, such as:  "丹凤呈祥龙献瑞 Dragon and phoenix bring the prosperity / 红桃贺岁杏迎春 Peach and apricot blossoms welcome the spring / 福满人间 Blessing on the Land".
• Wear new clothes. Out with the old, in with the new – particularly if they are bright, happy colours. Red symbolises prosperity, so monkeys are advised to wear red (underwear included) to up their good fortune quotients.
• Give red envelopes, or "hongbao" stuffed with money. Ms Cumines said that married people are expected to give the packets, often containing coins, but more regularly, notes, too, to children.
• Set off firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. This, from a former Shanghai resident: "There are so many fireworks – professional grade, being lit at street level with no mortar - that it snows ash, constantly. You can spot the locals because they're either lighting the fireworks or running down the sidewalk, with helmets and goggles on, ducking and diving as if they were on sniper alley."
• Move slippers and shoes indoors before going to bed, to protect them from the thieving hands of evil spirits.
• See a dragon or lion dance and pray for the year ahead at the temple. 
• Settle debts by New Year. Fresh starts are no time to be beholden to others. 

DON'T DO THESE THINGS 

• Buy new shoes until after day 15 so as to avoid rough seas in the year ahead. Another homophone, shoe, or "hai", sounds like "rough".

• Eat congee or rice porridge on New Year morning. It symbolises poverty. "Congee is mainly water boiled with rice, it can be seen as a poor man's food.

• Wear white or black, which are traditional colours of mourning.

• Buy, give or do four of anything. The word for four has the misfortune of sounding like the word for death.

• Use sharp objects in the three days or so of the New Year.

• Give sharp objects, scissors and knives as presents. In fact, gift no-nos extend well beyond things that cut, to include shoes, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, clocks, pears, cut flowers, black or white objects or mirrors.
• Sweep the house on New Year's Day, so as to avoid sweeping away good fortune. 
• Swear and use foul or negative language or talk about death, ghosts and the past year. Now is a time to be positive and look ahead, not at times gone by. 
• Take medicine or break any household objects over the holiday. Illness or harm done during the festive season are believed to cast negativity on the year ahead.
• Wake family up or use their name to wake them on New Year's Day for fear of rendering them bedridden and lazy all year. 
• Go outside on Scarlet Dog Day. Traditionally – and very rarely nowadays – the superstitious avoid leaving the house on day three so as not to encounter the god of anger. 
• Wash hair or visit the hairdresser, so as to not wash or trim all that freshly accumulated luck away.
• Allow babies to cry on New Year's Day. The sound is believed to bring bad luck, so infants are fastidiously placated.
• Beg in any way. Bad habits forged in the New Year set the tone for the entire year. 

Are You a Monkey?

If you were born between these dates, you are a Monkey in the Chinese Zodiac

Monkey Year	Start	End
2016	February 8, 2016	January 27, 2017
2004	January 22, 2004	February 8, 2005
1992	February 4, 1992	January 22, 1993
1980	February 16, 1980	February 4, 1981
1968	January 30, 1968	February 16, 1969
1956	February 12, 1956	January 30, 1957
1944	January 25, 1944	February 12, 1945
1932	February 6, 1932	January 25, 1933
1920	February 20, 1920	February 7, 1921
1908	February 2, 1908	January 21, 1909

The Lucky and Unlucky Things for "Monkeys"

• Lucky numbers: 4 and 9
• Lucky days: the 14th and 28th of any Chinese lunar calendar month
• Lucky colors: white, blue, gold
• Lucky flowers: chrysanthemum, crape-myrtle
• Lucky directions: north, northwest, west
• Lucky months: Chinese lunar months 8 and 12

The Unlucky Things That "Monkeys" Should Avoid

• Unlucky colors: red, pink
• Unlucky numbers: 2 and 7
• Unlucky directions: south, southeast
• Unlucky months: Chinese lunar months 7 and 11

Monkeys' Fortune, Career, Health, and Love Prospects in 2016

Everything points to disaster for Monkeys in this Monkey Year. Those who will be 12, 24, 36, etc., this zodiac year watch out! However, you can turn misfortune to fortune by seeking the blessing of lucky stars.

2016 — an Unlucky Year for Monkeys?

2016 is a Monkey year. Monkey years are believed to be an unlucky for people born in a year of the Monkey. A year of one's birth sign is believed to be the most unlucky in the 12-year cycle. “Monkeys” (who take Chinese astrology seriously) are particularly careful about their health, love lives, career, and investments in Monkey years. Read more suggestions on How to Be Lucky in the Year of Your Birth Sign.

Career: Maybe Prosperous, if...

Monkeys can have prosperous careers in 2016, if correctly aligned with the Tai Sui star. They will be able to make breakthroughs, if they focus on their career and discipline themselves. If not, they will hardly achieve anything. They should guard against untrustworthy people and discipline themselves in order to avoid trouble. The luckiest months for them will be the second, fifth, and twelfth Chinese lunar months, during which they should seize opportunities instead of missing them.

A Year of Money for Monkeys?

Great unexpected fortune will find its way to Monkeys in 2016, so they will not have to worry about food and clothes. The best months for them to make their fortune will be the second and twelfth Chinese lunar months, during which they should make full use of their time to invest and cash in. They should avoid gambling, speculating, and collecting illegal or greedy gains, or they will lose everything they have, especially in the third Chinese lunar month. They should also guard against becoming poor due to greed. Monkeys should not show off their wealth, or they will be persecuted by others.

A Year of Health Risks, Especially Traffic Accidents

Monkeys will suffer from minor illnesses; however, they will not come to much harm if they are careful. If they take their medicine, the symptoms will lessen. They should be aware of traffic safety as they go about their daily routine, and never take risks. Great attention should also be paid to food safety to ensure illness is avoided. Their health horoscope is never above neutral, but worst in the fourth and tenth Chinese lunar months.

Monkeys may have difficulty in relationships in 2016.

Monkeys' relationships will be rather colorless in 2016. The more they long for a relationship, the harder it will be for them to get one. They may encounter a romantic relationship if it happens naturally, especially in the seventh and twelfth Chinese lunar months. They will have a happy ending if they seize the right opportunities.

The Monkey's Traits: Sharp, Smart...

People born in a year of the Monkey are witty, intelligent, and have a magnetic personality. Personality traits, like mischievousness, curiosity, and cleverness, make them very naughty. Monkeys are masters of practical jokes, because they like playing most of the time. Though they don't have any bad intentions, their pranks sometimes hurt the feelings of others. Monkeys are fast learners and crafty opportunists.
They have many interests and need partners who are capable of stimulating them. While some like the eccentric nature of Monkeys, some don't trust their sly, restless, and inquisitive nature. Although they are clever and creative, monkeys can't always exhibit their talent properly. Monkeys like to take challenges and they prefer urban life to rural.

How "Monkeys" Should Keep Healthy

Usually Monkeys are very healthy, partly due to their active lifestyles, and wanting to experience the flavors of life. If they do experience illness, it is usually of the nervous or circulatory system. People born in a year of the Monkey often spend more time at work. Therefore Monkeys need to remember to take breaks to save their energy during their busy schedules. Since Monkeys usually do more outdoor activities, they should pay attention to safety, and while traveling or driving.

The Best Jobs and Careers for Monkeys

When it comes to their careers, Monkeys work very hard. They can adapt to different working environments. Good career choices for monkeys are accounting and banking, science, engineering, stock market trading, air traffic control, film directing, jewelry, and salesmanship.

How to Build Relationships with "Monkeys"

In relationships, Monkeys are not very quick in settling down, as they tend to be promiscuous and are easily bored. However, once Monkeys get a perfect partner, they commit to him/her in every possible way. Since Monkeys love to talk and are sociable, they can be communicated with easily.

Love Compatibility: Is She/He Compatible with You?

Love compatibility within the Chinese zodiac takes into account the unique characteristics of each animal. Only those whose characteristics match each other well can be good partners. See below the compatibility of the Monkey with other animals.

• Best with: Ox or Rabbit
• Worst with: Tiger or Pig

Brunel is Back

Do you remember the great BW scheme to attract businesses to the canal by equipping  some Dutch barges for office use and mooring them in the Paddington  Arm?  This great investment opportunity proved particularly attractive. But not to BW or C&RT as it now is. The barge Brunel, for instance,  cost £250k to buy and fit out. After a few years attracting no business interest  it was towed away to West India Dock in 2009. To navigate the canal bridges between Paddington and Docklands, Brunel had to be ballasted with 20 tons of water. It languished for a further five years in Docklands until it was auctioned in 2014.  It sold for £26k!  Of course this particular event may have missed your attention as during that time  BW was spending £21.5m on Prescott Lock on the Bow Back rivers to enable building materials for the Olympic site to be transported by canal. Only two barges passed through the lock in seven months!

Well, Brunel is back.

When I visited Paddington just before Xmas it was moored at  Sheldon Square.

Preston in the News

We completed the purchase of our bungalow a week before Xmas and planning consent was granted the following day.  So now the hard work starts getting extension and other work under way. Whilst that is going on we will remain in the rented flat in Preston, a city we are finding very interesting. Unfortunately Preston has been in the national news too many times this week for the wrong reason.

Photo: Blog Preston

Firstly there was the attempted bombing in Fishergate  
David Rutherford, 24, of Barry Avenue, Ingol, has been charged with making an explosive with intent to endanger life or injure property. He was arrested on Tuesday morning.
It follows an incident on Thursday 17 December where a crude explosive device was found in the men's toilets of the shopping centre.   The shopping centre was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day whilst police searched for any other devices.

Photos: Blog Preston

Secondly, there was a tragic event just down the road from us.
Liam Hewitson, 22, suffered from an epileptic fit  and died when he was attacked by his dog called Trigger.

A statement, released via Preston Police on behalf of Liam’s family, paid tribute to their son lost in what police are describing as a ‘tragic accident’.

His family said: “Liam was a happy lad who was always smiling and had lots of friends. He had a beautiful personality and he will be missed by his dad Phil, girlfriend Jess and sisters Melissa and Aleisha and brother Cordell.

Thirdly, Preston has not avoided the recent floods. To give you an idea of the impact, watch this video taken by a cyclist as he rode round the Guild Wheel, a cycle route which circumnavigates Preston. Part of the route skirts the River Ribble.

Season's Greetings

Seasons

 Greetings

from

Margaret

& Peter

St Lucy's Day

After the dreadful weather in the north of England I offer the following to brighten up your day.
Last year I wrote a piece about St. Lucia Day in Sweden which you can re-read here if you wish. Following that post I was admonished by one of my regular readers for missing the most important element of the festival: it is all about light and the celebrations start before dawn. As I write this  it is dark and I humbly offer a potted version of that post today to make ammends.

St. Lucia for Dummies
View the film here to understand all that I failed to convey in my original post.

Then watch this charming amateur film and wait for the rendering of Rudolf

EU Bull-Fighting Subsidy

In 2013 a team of Spanish MEPs estimated that the EU Common Agricultural Policy was worth £110 million to the farms that raised bulls for bull fighting. Three weeks ago 438 MEPs out of 687 voted  for an amendment to the budget that Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds “should not be used for the financing of lethal bullfighting activities”, adding that such funding “is a clear violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes”.
This should mean the end of CAP support for Spanish bull fighting. However, the devil is in the detail as it always is.  The inclusion of the word lethal in this amendment could mean that these subsidies may continue in Portugal where the bull is not killed.
Whatever your view of bull-fighting ,the use of agricultural subsidies to support it does seem tenuous. I wonder if race-horse breeders also receive CAP subsidies.
The budget now goes to the European Commission for consideration where the amendment could be deleted.  So it's wait and see time again.

Kiss & Ride

Parking restrictions do not have to be confrontational