My new addiction - "Nothing to Declare"

I am knee deep in several projects, thus I have a weary body and tired limbs by the time I plop down to sleep at night.
However, during the day I do take a lunchtime break where I feed Mr. Brownbie and myself and then settle into an hour of my favourite soap opera "General Hospital."
Two weeks ago I was scanning the channels when I came across Sky Living and a really good show....
"Nothing To Declare" Border Security.

 

Filmed in Australia the episodes detail the lives of the men and women protecting the borders at the Melbourne and Sydney airports, including the mail and quarantine areas as well.
Arriving passengers that are pulled aside and checked have all kinds of illegal items...bags of foodstuff, plant material and seeds, hidden drugs and other items that I'm learning about as I become more and more engrossed in the episodes.
The reasons that these passengers give are outrageous and borderline hilarious.
Some episodes I have watched thus far have also included raids on businesses employing persons who have overstayed their visas, as well as checking large containers and trailers being imported with goods.
Talk about a learning experience.

I already knew that there is a whole heap of sophisticated equipment being used now for scanning  baggage and persons etc, but had no idea how detailed it was.
Two years ago my blog pal AfricanAussie stressed to me that she could not receive seeds in her country after I volunteered to sneak some in to her....bad idea she warned.
I had absolutely no idea.
The mail sniffer dogs take their jobs seriously.
My gosh those dogs and scanners detect everything...good thing I adhered to her warning.
The show is brilliant...why do people "think" they can outsmart the technology that is so high-tech it can analyze drug content from a a small swab and anomalies in packages can also be seen quite clearly.
The lengths that the drug smugglers go to is truly amazing.
All kinds of illegal material is confiscated and destroyed and fines and arrests are made.
As a Caribbean national when I travel to visit my friends I am always laden with all kinds of homemade goodies.  I hardly pay attention to the line on the declaration card about bringing food.
I will be ticking the YES box from now on....this show scared me straight.
A really good show with interesting story lines and does not appear to be heavily scripted...just plain old filming...in my opinion that's the best kind of reality show.
Believe it or not I now want to visit Australia more than ever.
No more chat, off to take care of my morning chores so I can watch Border Security later.

Here is a link to the show....enjoy.
If you get hooked like me here is another link to many more episodes.

I can't believe it

Maurice White

Founder of the band "Earth Wind & Fire"

Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and arranger.

December 19, 1941 - February 3, 2016 

Just read the sad news online that Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire (my favourite all time group) has passed.
Last night at his Los Angeles home, he died peacefully in his sleep at 74 years old. 

On the band's Facebook page, his brother Verdine White wrote the following:

"My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep. While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected as we start what will be a very difficult and life changing transition in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes."

The tears are falling.
I have loved EWF from the time when I discovered and fell totally in love with their music as a teenager.  I have fond memories of saving all my allowance for weeks on end in order to buy their music.
I have ALL their albums in cd format and ALL their released concerts on dvd too...the never ending fan.
I listen to their music whenever I can.  It's clean and crisp and my ears are never assaulted with swear words.
As I type this, their album The Best of EWF is playing in the background.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, I don't think Maurice ever had any idea when he founded the band how many music lovers worldwide (including me in Barbados) would become lovers of the music forever.
Maurice founded the nine member band with his brother Verdine, Philip Bailey (falsetto) and other members back in the 1960's and made sure it included a horn-driven section.  It was named Earth Wind & Fire after the three elements in his astrological chart.

Maurice was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease back in 1992 and he ceased performing with the band in 1995.
He announced it publicly at the band's induction to the Hall of Fame.
He played all the band instruments, but I especially loved when he played the African thumb piano...the kalimba.
Earth, Wind & Fire have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide with hits like September, Fantasy, Reasons, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone. 
I had the opportunity to attend two of their concerts. The first occurred one weekend while driving many many miles and crossing the Canadian/US border to get to the Fox Theatre in Detroit to see the guys in action....it was a magical night....one I would never forget.
The second time was when they performed in Barbados, my friends and I were practically first in line to attend the show.....another wonderful night for me.

 Earth Wind & Fire  - The Elements

The exuberant band members wear flashy outfits and really enjoy themselves on stage when they perform their music mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band.
If you have never experienced a GOOD horn-section, check them out....the guys are GREAT!!
Maurice's words in an AP interview back in 2000 are a reflection of the genuine spirit that he was:
He didn't just want to entertain, he wanted Earth, Wind & Fire's music to inspire people as well.
"That was the whole objective, to try to inspire young people to believe in themselves and to follow through on their ideas."
"We've touched so many people with these songs," he said.
In another interview with Newsweek he said :"We live in a negative society, "Most people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine."

The world has indeed lost another musical legend.
Rest in peace Maurice...I will miss you and your beautiful smile....your beautiful music will continue to shine on in my heart.

 

 Here is a link to their special kind of music.
All images are respectfully borrowed from Google Images

January 31st already!!!

I still can't believe how fast the first month of the new year has come and gone already.
I hope the rest of the year doesn't speed along quite that fast for I have so many things all lined up to accomplish.

Great News!! Mr. Brownbie is all well again.
His last "Septra" tablet was taken on Thursday, but he was already showing signs of a full recovery after two days on the medication.

 

 Here he is playing the "I can out-stare you" game with me after lunch.

 "I will win this game Mum...you know you lose all the time."
Yes, he did out stare me...I always end up laughing because his "serious as a judge" corky face is so funny after a while, I can't help but laugh.
YES we are headed into February....let's keep this 2016 party going strong, I'm hoping to post a lot more this year...fingers and toes crossed.

Thank goodness!

Today is Errol Barrow Day bank holiday here on the island.  All shops and offices are closed.
A day to spend with family and get some rest.
Yesterday Mr. Brownbie started vomiting which continued into the night.  It was then he started with diarrhea....neither of us got any sleep since he was up all night sick sick sick.
He paced and paced and paced and he just could not settle down not even for a moment.

 One worried sick mama and a sick bow wow.

I tried putting him to lay on the sofa with me, but he only stayed for a few minutes.
After giving him a few home remedies during the night, it seemed as his body was on the path to healing, but as the day dawned he continued to vomit and his stools became bloody, I immediately placed a call to my favourite vet at his home.
I felt a bit guilty because I'm sure he had looked forward to today's holiday to relax, and here I was calling him.
Once he heard my worried voice on the line, he simply said "Come on over and let's check the little one out."
Beast has a noise somewhere under the bonnet that he only makes when I'm driving and since he refuses to let the mechanic hear the noise, he is parked in the garage for the time being.
Daughter Dear came to my rescue and gave us a ride to see the good old doc.
The usual questions about Brownbie's health and eating habits, any poisons around the home....it was then the light bulb went off in my head....I think he may have ingested a snail that had eaten some of the blue snail pellets I had scattered around some of the plants that they were murdering in the garden...I certainly won't be doing that again.
An injection to settle his stomach and some tablets to take later, and we were on our way home.
I have been monitoring him all day and his body still has not settled down completely as yet, but at least he's on his way to recovery.
Thank goodness for Dr. Huey and his kind heart and healing hands and his willingness to attend to Brownbie on a bank holiday. 
Thank you Dr. Huey!!!  You are the best vet in the world!
Brownie sends you lots of grateful kissy kissy licks with lots and lots of love.
We are both so very very thankful for your care. 
Here is a link for toxins in the garden.

It's not my problem!

 Image from freedigitalphotos.net/images

We are all inter-connected in this world whether we like it or not.
Problems in other parts of the world affect us one way or another....like I said we are all inter-connected.
This world that we live on is our home....our one and only home....yet we continue to destroy it bit by bit.
Wars and more wars, and rumours of wars....is this all that we know now?
What happened to Peace and Love?
The news that terrorism is a serious threat and is spreading worldwide even to our little part of the woods was met with disbelief and indignation by a few commenters on a FaceBook page recently.
"Why would they bother to come here? We don't bother anyone. It's a big country problem....it's really not our problem."
I found this reasoning rather sad and selfish.
Then this story popped into my Inbox....so relevant.

SURE GLAD IT IS NOT MY PROBLEM... WELL THINK AGAIN.

A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the barnyard the rat proclaimed the warning; “There’s a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”
The rat turned to the pig and told him, “There’s a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!” “I am so very sorry Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers.”

The rat turned to the cow. She said, “Like wow, Mr. Rat. a rat trap. I am in grave danger. Duh?” So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s rat trap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.
Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the barnyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer’s wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

Moral Of The Story: So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole barnyard’s at risk.
Not sure of the source of this story so couldn't acknowledge appropriately.