Right now, I'm house-cleaning  for the weekend; two dinners to prepare, for some wonderful friends of mine; one couple gave (yes, gave!) me a ticket to see Prince for my birthday, so really, it's all stops out for them.

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

You'd think I'm kidding. But while scoffing desserts at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair, Teen-Tobbot & I came upon the Newtree Chocolate people, who were offering such fine delicacies such as lavender favoured chocolate, and real chocolate spread. I wasn't too sure if you were supposed to put the spread on your toast; as Newtree don't use any vegetable fats there was no greasy feel to it, and there was a strong taste of honey, so I think I would prefer to use it as, well, use your imagination!

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

Depeche Mode - The Singles

"Home" which is a mini-chronicle about coming out of substance abuse, was sung by my absolute fave Russian singer, Pelageya, who has the voice of an angel.

He came 'round to my house last night, with his wife and two children, bearing a plant and two bottles of wine. Unfortunately I was at work, but Mrs Tobbot was there to receive the gifts.

Embarrassingly, not only did he express heartfelt gratitude that we stopped to help him on Saturday, his children also thanked her, and so did his wife!

Now it's my turn to make an embarrassing confession.

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

Someone I try to catch up with on BCUK is apparently on a break with his significant other. I can truly commiserate with him, the experience can be almost like this:

 Me: Why are you mad with me?

SO: I'm not mad with you.

Me: Yes you are, I can tell. You're doing that breathing thing.

SO: I'm not breathing.

Me: And you're quite vicious to the peach you're eating.

SO: I'm eating this peach quite normally thank you.

Me: Look, I know something is wrong. What's the matter?

SO: Well, to be perfectly honest, it's what you said.

Me: What did I say?

SO: You know perfectly well what you said.

Me: Well, I don't remember, (oops, first mistake)  what did I say?

SO: Well if you can't remember, then it can't have been terribly important then could it?

Me: Well, it seems important to you.

SO: Look, I don't want to talk about it.

Me: Why not?

SO: If it wasn't that important, then you should think about why it was important to me.

Me: What was important?

SO: If you couldn't be bothered to remember, then you obviously don't care.

Me: But I do care.

SO: Well, just think about what you said.

I hope it all works out Ironic!

Those of you who know me, or at least have bothered to read my blog will know one important fact; I am a proud biker. I ride a fantastic machine, a BMW F800 ST. For those of you who don't do bike-speak, I ride a fast sports bike, which I also use for touring loooong distances. There are a few mod cons; heated grips and ABS brakes: so that when the idiot in front of me decides to come to a screeching halt, I too can stop, rather than go through his windscreen.

Now, being a BMW rider, I obviously idolize this Teutonic manufacturer. This has been the case since I was 17, though then, my first BMW purchase was actually a 3-series car rather than a bike. It also goes without saying that I privately believe (make that "know") that all other bikes are, how can I put it...

Inferior.

Italian bikes are ridden by show-offs, Japanese bikes are ridden by the speed-obsessessed, the Yanks are all about the image, British bikers simply don't know any better... You get the picture, it's BMW or nothing for me. (Though really, I will stop and look at any bit of metal on two wheels, as long as it isn't a, "shudder" scooter, ridden by a 17-year-old oik.)

"Vork Sprung Durk Technik" good, everyone else...quite frankly, I couldn't be asked to rate such tripe!

Now, this very evening, while coming 'round a very busy roundabout, the Tobbot family chanced upon a poor biker who'd slid across some diesel and came off his bike. On seeing the accident, I immediately pulled over onto the roundabout itself, and rushed out to help the man. We went and picked up his bike off the road, and took him home, where he could call his sister and make his way to hospital for a broken thumb. I also offered to come and bring his bike home when he was ready.

Do you think I even stopped to check what bike he was riding?

At the time, I didn't even care! What was important, was that a fellow biker needed assistance, and it was time for "all units to the scene".

Now, the reason why I'm mentioning this;

Barney & Wendi, a couple of good friends of mine, make mention of the difficulties many are facing because of their religious beliefs.

Over in Iran and Egypt, Baha'is are denied education, employment and the right to congregate, while over here, people are harassed and fear for their lives for changing religions.

I'm sorry; you need to treat someone differently because of what they believe? Has the world gone stark raving mad? We're talking about personal belief here; what's more, it's a belief in a God we can't see, touch or hear. People the world over decide to read the writings of a man, they come to realise the existence of a Divine Creator, they choose to worship Him in their own way...And this gives them the right to persecute, kill and deny others for holding to, I'm sorry, a different belief?

A belief?

I could understand it if this was about which bike you choose to ride; we're talking about life threatening issues such as performance, speed, handling, and a dozen other exotic sensations directly wired to your pleasure centre. Maybe a bickering about which chocolate centre you prefer, or whether it should be dark or milk chocolate.

But executing someone...over a philosophy?

And I'm the mad biker!

And yes, I do hold opinions about what others ride, but I would never think they were lesser people for their riding choice, nor would I ever refuse to help when help is needed. As far as I am concerned, we all have made a choice to "ride the steel stallion," and that makes us brethren.

Maybe the day will come when people will realise that religious belief (or lack of it) is no more important than which mode of transport you prefer. Yes, it is a personal choice, but it is just that. You can tell me how much you enjoy what you do, and how you do it, and if I'm in the right frame of mind, I might even appreciate what you do and believe in.

But I'm sorry, however deeply personal your beliefs are, nothing is worth another person's life.

And no philosopher has ever said that his teachings give anyone the right to oppress someone else.

To those of you who actually bother to read "Tobstv on Life Itself," I have been away from my blog for quite a while for various reasons, mostly to do with the new school year.

'Till then, adios!

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

How exactly were we made? Some cunning clues as to how the world will be populated here

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

While buttering her toast, mini-tobbot managed to scrape a piece of butter closely resembling a bear! (See below for comparisons)

Just something to brighten up your Caturday.

Tobbot, aka Tobstv

Not only is this bulb 100% energy efficient, with 0% wattage, it is also highly suitable for those candle-lit dinners, vampires & die-hard 'The Cure' fans.

Tobbot, aka Tobstv