IF YOU HAD THE CHOICE WOULD YOU SHAKE THE HAND OR THE THROAT OF SOMEONE INVOLVED IN BLOWING A RELATIVE TO SMITHEREENS?

Yesterday ol' PRINCE CHARLIE went over to IRELAND and quoting an Irish news paper journalist and editor, GERRY ADAMS  who ,apparently is always on the hunt for a photo oppertunity and "would upstage the bride at her wedding"given half a chance, decided he would show up and  instigate the most famous handshake in recent history. I don't know if that was the plan all along ,or just 'happened' ...... As we all know the leader of SINN FEIN ,who as we all know had absolutly nothing at all to do with the I.R.A. during 'DE TRUBLES!!'......The horrendous years from the late 60's up until relatively recently, in fact some still think the good fight still, if not rages ,smoulders on. Adams met with CHARLES who was over to see the site where his favourite relative ,mentor and godfather ,LORD MOUNTBATTEN was blown to smithereens by an IRA bomb on his fishing boat one sunny afternoon in the late 70's. And on that same tragic day a pile of men of the parachute battalion were killed.

So the man who 'had nothing to do with any of this !'....Met the still grieving relative and he is also the colonel in cheif of the para's ,so it was a double whammy for CHARLES . So if Charles had shook Adams by the throat who'd've blamed him. 

I'm not particually a ROYALIST, but i do like and admire the ROYAL FAMILY and think we should be proud to have them. I like Charles ,he has his own mind and as he showed yesterday he has courage and strength.

I remember growing up during the 'Troubles' and the horrors that occurred on an almost daily basis. As my family are Irish i spent a lot of time over there and in as i got older and my beer intake grew with the size of my mouth got into rows and arguements with people about it. I saw a few army disposal robots blowing packages up on the streets of Liverpool, so it wasn't that far away.

Also found myself one day in an IRA rally as they took over a shop in O'CONNELL ST in central DUBLIN and i'm there with a new short haircut and an old BRITISH ARMY COMBAT JACKET!!!!....But i survived.

When the hunger striker BOBBY SANDS died i was in a village where the family hail from called COOTEHILL in the south and just slurping a pint in the sunshine (it does shine sometimes)  and i noticed two men in black ,mean looking and dropping into shops up and down the street ,they just looked odd. I later found out they were a couple of 'THE BOYS'..suggesting it might be a good idea to close up shop as a mark of respect on the day of the funeral.....It was reported how shops all over the south closed 'as a mark of respect!'....Thats as near as i wanted to get to any of 'the shit!'

Life seems to be relatively normal ,thankfully ,i can't pretend to understand all what went on and don't particually want to. People say "Give Ireland back to the Irish!?"....Seems to me they have it in the south, its up in the North where Loyalists and Republicans want totally opposite things and Britains stuck there basically, wether it likes it or not!

JUST A NORMAL THURSDAY MORNING FOR ME AND THE DUKE OF KENT

Aainst all the odds and with an extreme, for me physical and mental strain  i awoke with the alarm clock, which has been quiet and unused for quite a while now, until yesterday when at the ungodly hour of 7AM the not so dulcet tones of that pain in the arse, CHRIS EVANS awoke me from my slumbers. With lightening reflexes, well for that time in the morning , with a single bound i leapt from the bed and headed for the toilet, shower and razor to begin the '3S's'. Well it was the least i could do, i mean i was going to meet royalty, wasn't i?....Yep i wuz!

Recently i started going along to an art studio in an old community centre in Warrington centre, just to meet a few eople and the guy who runs it, a nutter called MORRIS RILEY might teach me a little oil painting. The olod building was due to be demolished by the council, to be replaced by 'YUPPIE FLATS!!!!!'.....Yep more 'effin' 'yuppie flats ,just what every local community desperatly needs.....What in gods name would they need a community centre for when they can have yuppie flats?....Or would it be something to do with the property developers? Now c'mon, Tim, the ol' cynic in you is coming out!

A very strange thing then seems to have happened. The local people who nobody would normally listen too, esspecially the council who faithfully (?) serve them......Actually listened to them. They asked for their community centre and were given it! But if it didn't 'work' it was going to be demolished as originally planned. So they went ahead and got the place going and gawd bless'em the place is' bouncing' with all kinds of activities, and only gone and won some royal award!

It was for this reason that i was walking up a wet grimey street at 8.30AM and the street looked suspiciously quite, totally empty. I walked in and a few people were around, but piles of police, bomb squad, sniffer dogs who weren't that interested in exposives as the new canteen, which was being opened by the mayor this day was cooking a buffet of all kinds and the dogs were more interested in sarnies then semptex!

I  headed for the kettle and started my umpteenth attempt at a DANIEL CRAIG caricature, originally attempting an acrylic picture,but decided to ink over the paint, and a black and white ink drawing of 'our glorious leader'DAVID CAMEROONE.....We also stuck a few cartoons on the wall, Morris esspecially wanted the caricature of the Queen rocking and rolling from the concerts of her Diamond jubillee. He reckoned we'd get done for high treason when the DUKE OF KENT saw it, and come Friday morning we'd be chained to a dungeon wall in the'Tower' nibbling bread and water......And i'd loose my knighthood!

 

                                                                                  So eventually the DUKE OF KENT came around and we shook hands and had a little chat, my daniel craig got the royal seal of approval. I pointed out the DAVID CAMEROONE, referring to him as"Our glorious leader!"....With a wicked touch of humour in his eyes he gave a long "HMMMMMMMMM?"...I believe "Our glorious leader" isn't too highly thought of  in the hallways of  'Buck-House'!!

He seemed a nice bloke and spent a lot of time talking to the 'people', he didn't want ,press,councillors, politicians, mayors, etc,etc, they came later to open the canteen and guzzle the'bucks fizz, which we were happy to help with.

Quiet
 day today.....Meeting the pope!