Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

RMweb is slow again.

[rockershovel]

16 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Can’t run, can’t breathe properly, eye defects, can’t bite but has a lovely temperament. Also may need AI to breed.

You think bulldogs can't bite? 

 

I have a bridge you may be interested in...

 

 

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

You think bulldogs can't bite? 

 

I have a bridge you may be interested in...

 

 

The modern bulldog’s lower jaw is so deformed they can’t bite in the way the breed did originally. There is no way they could hang on with determination to a bull as did  the original now extinct version. . Breeding them is illegal in some countries. People who breed such deliberately deformed dogs are not good people in my opinion. I am sure there are other dogs that could represent whatever a “British” character is meant to be. 
All dogs can of course bite but the English Bulldog was bred for its bite strength. I once had to remove some Christmas decorations from my Spaniels throat. They are not supposed to have a strong jaw but the grip on my hand as I wiggled my fingers down his throat seemed pretty strong. When he was young he used to crush golf balls, but eventually gave up when he realised they didn’t contain food. 

Edited August 28 by Tony_S

[Coombe Barton]

... When I eventually got started it was filling dustbins. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/postcards-from-home-2024-08/

[polybear]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

If people want to rename us we should rename them, any suggestions?😄

 

Ar5ebadgers?

 

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I am sure there are other dogs that could represent whatever a “British” character is meant to be. 

 

Bear's money would be on a B&W Collie Farm dog.

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

Bear's money would be on a B&W Collie Farm dog.

That would be a nice dog to represent Britain. I wondered if a Jack Russell would do quite well. I sponsored one for years that couldn’t be rehomed but amazingly has been. Living on a farm now, yes really living on a farm! 

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Our Great Big House was (a) dumb enough to believe them, and (b) stupid enough not to keep pace with their stock of modern armaments.

Recent histories of the period claim that Chamberlain was well aware of the duplicitous nature of Hitler and the Nazi regime and through various meetings and “agreements” with Hitler was buying time to get Britain’s armaments industry up and running.

 

It’s also a myth that the German armed forces had 100% state-of-art equipment; despite propaganda promoting the image of thousand of tanks, half-tracks and all-motorized infantry; the truth was that much of Germany’s armed forces were horse-drawn (and remained so for the duration of the war). The  British Army, after the BEF had to leave all their equipment behind in France; was forced by circumstance to completely reequip almost the entire army. Resulting, by about 1941/1942, with a completely modernised military that in many regards, far outstripped that of the Germans.

 

Another point to consider was that, in the years leading up to the outbreak of war, such was the fear of communism* that there were many highly placed and influential people across Europe (and in Britain) who were of the opinion that “that Mr Hitler goes a bit too far, but he has the right idea”  and whilst Hitler would not have been adverse to a peace treaty with the UK (he actually thought of Britain as an natural ally against communism) it is thanks to Churchill that Britain stood firm andremained  a bulwark of freedom until the Soviet Union came in to the war and the German war machine turned its attentions to the East.

 

Supposedly, during the planning for Operation Seelöwe (the invasion of Britain), there was talk in certain highly placed circles in Berlin, that after a successful invasion of Britain, the Nazis and the British puppet government would have put the Duke of Windsor back on the throne (as King Edward VIII) and made Wallis Simpson Queen (an offer I don’t think either of the Duke of Windsor or Mrs Simpson would have turned down). 

 

* and both overt and covert antisemitism was rife across Europe as well.

[PhilJ W]

Collies and Jack Russells are two breeds of dogs that haven't been messed about with by so called breeders.

[polybear]

Bear here....

 

Another W/H Day - with lots of out n' about plus W/H Missions; Izzy reckons Bear has wander 3.5 miles today, so that's a Tick.  Not a D-Day though....but it was a C-Day - so that's another Tick.

The day started early when Bear discovered their kitchen sink was blocked - so unblocking it was Bear's first (self-appointed) mission of the day was unblocking it.  Bonus Brownie points awarded accordingly**.

A bonus plate of iced cup c*kes was offered around later in the day as well (by someone from "upstairs".....and of course Bear wouldn't want to offend......

 

**To go with those earned yesterday when A Certain Bear was asked by one of the shops we were delivering to if I knew how to set up their new Till, Card Reader, Receipt Printer and Fake Note Detector.  I didn't - so I made it up as I went along and somehow got away with it.  Tea earned as a result - but no sign of the Bikky Tin though 😢; the usual Manager wasn't in, otherwise Bikkies would be in free-flow mode.....

 

As for "Staff Handbooks" of the likes that the BRC seem to favour - well as it's a "somewhat smaller" Charity (but still spending the fat end of £10M every year on care) I've no idea if such a thing exists or not (I've certainly not seen or heard any reference to such things); what I do know for sure though is that all the Staff (paid and volunteer) that I work with would treat such a thing with the contempt it deserves if it were in any way similar.....

 

Right, zeddy time approaches so BG.....

 

 

[jamie92208]

Regarding how to address people.  In the late 90's I had to brief a group of officers in Pontefract to go into the town centre to find volunteers for an ID parade.  Being careful, I said "We want white males in their 30's, not very tall, a little overweight and with not much hair". A broad Yorkshire voice came from the back of the room, "You mean you want us to find some short fat slap heads then boss." 

 

 

Jamie

Edited August 29 by jamie92208

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

find volunteers for an ID parade.

I have probably mentioned this before but my Dad was asked to volunteer for an identity parade and got identified as the accused person! Fortunately he had an alibi. 

[PupCam]

23 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Regarding how to address people.  In the late 90's I had to brief a group of officers in Pontefract to go into the town centre to find volunteers for an ID parade.  Bei g careful, I said "We want white males in their 30's, not very tall, a littlecoverwightband with not much hair". 5A broad Yorkshire voice came from the back of the room, "You me and you want us to find some short fat slap heads then boss."

 

I resemble that remark ....    🤣

 

Of course, one could get very offended ...... (by the facts)   But this one doesn't!

 

ION

 

Quite a busy day.   We met Mrs P's niece and husband for coffee and a chat in Hitchin which was very pleasant.   He and I were able to compare notes on embedded electronics 🤣

 

Then this afternoon a trip to the hospital to get the wound from last week's op checked.   Very well it would seem although the size and depth surprised Mrs P.    Junior P said it looks like a lunar crater.    The nurse said it would fill and blend in over time and not be so noticeable.   Frankly I'm not worried by the appearance; if it offends or scares others sobei!.  All I'm concerned about is that it heals properly and most importantly all nastiness has been banished.   Of course, the Jury will be out on that one for a while yet.

 

I seem to be making progress with the two versions of MPCB.     One tailored towards the green driving box form and the other the black kettle.

 

Right, I think it's bedtime.

 

Night All

 

 

[PhilJ W]

I was asked to take part in an ID parade over fifty years ago. I never did as the perpetrator owned up.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The foxes are very noisy this evening though it seems a little late in the year for cubs which I haven't seen many off if at all.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[monkeysarefun]

6 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

We were "lucky" as it was restored to us around noon, but there are still 29,000, as of this morning, still without power. Apparently, SOME may not get power restored until sometime tomorrow!

 

 

Same here last night. The winds here have been epic for the last day or so and at 9:17PM everything went out. At 9:20 I got a text message

from the electrical company ()which I reckon was pretty prompt!) saying they were aware of an issue and were working on it but there was no estimated time.

 

It was still out when I left for work this morning and the energy website estimates it'll be 6:30PM but I think that's just a time they made up to stop people calling them all through the day!.

 

Annoying thing is that being on tank water, I've lost the water pump so have no running water either, though for emergency toilet flushing I can fill  a bucket from the garden tank.

[monkeysarefun]

55 minutes ago, PupCam said:

I resemble that remark ....    🤣

 

 

 

 

You wouldn't have that problem  here,  (in the 70's at least) thanks to Lord Jim.

 

[Tony_S]

This morning I adjusted some of my recent layout scenic additions as they were preventing smooth running as some locos were getting stuck . The scenic items were meant to be removable to access tracks and I thought I had allowed enough vertical clearance but some sag in the scenery caused problems. Sorted now I think. 
Then I was asked to cut the front lawn. I did that and also used the strimmer to tidy up where our lawn meets the pavement and removed some weeds where the dropped kerb meets the road. It doesn’t get done by the council now. Once upon a time the road got swept. Occasionally now a drain cleaner appears. 
The strimmer needed new nylon cord installing. I couldn’t  remember how to do it but Google and YouTube explained all. I originally bought this strimmer as every other one’s string feed failed to  work. I went to a specialist mower establishment and asked for one that would work. It does but it is heavy and also too big for a short person to use. 
It was sunny enough to need a hat today. Aditi has an eye test tomorrow that requires dilated pupils so it will probably be sunny, it usually is when I have similar eye tests. 
 

[TheQ]

01:44, and there's a recovery lorry with a transit van on top doing a 3 point turn using the road junction outside our house... Most odd..

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

One of my pet hates is people calling children "kids".

Never bothered me much, but "kiddos" sets me off.

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

it is thanks to Churchill that Britain stood firm

He deserves credit for that after May 10, 1940, than at the time of the Munich Agreement - and he wasn't the first choice as PM.

 

Let's remember that he wasn't elected. The Labour opposition called for a division in parliament during the Norway/Narvik Debate and as a consequence, Chamberlain resigned.  HM,GVIR only asked WSC to form a government after Lord Halifax declined the 'honour'.

 

Churchill would later shunt Halifax off to the US as Ambassador in January 1941, where he would remain ('safely' out of British politics) through Truman's inauguration. There he made some faux-pas, not really comprehending how FDR 'worked' Congress and the isolationist sentiment there.

 

Edited August 29 by Ozexpatriate

[rockershovel]

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

That would be a nice dog to represent Britain. I wondered if a Jack Russell would do quite well. I sponsored one for years that couldn’t be rehomed but amazingly has been. Living on a farm now, yes really living on a farm! 

Jack Russells are the definitive "White Van Man" dog. The English do like them; I've seen no end of them in drivers cabs 

[rockershovel]

12 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

He deserves credit for that after May 10, 1940, than at the time of the Munich Agreement - and he wasn't the first choice as PM.

 

Let's remember that he wasn't elected. The Labour opposition called for a division in parliament during the Norway/Narvik Debate and as a consequence, Chamberlain resigned.  HM,GVIR only asked WSC to form a government after Lord Halifax declined the 'honour'.

 

Churchill would later shunt Halifax off to the US as Ambassador in January 1941, where he would remain ('safely' out of British politics) through Truman's inauguration. There he made some faux-pas, not really comprehending how FDR 'worked' Congress and the isolationist sentiment there.

 

No British PM is elected to the role; they are invited by the Monarch to form a government. They are, by convention a sitting MP (cf Sir Alec Douglas-Home) but do not need to be the Leader of the incumbent Party; they need only command the support of the HoC (hence they cannot be a member of HoL). 

[rockershovel]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Recent histories of the period claim that Chamberlain was well aware of the duplicitous nature of Hitler and the Nazi regime and through various meetings and “agreements” with Hitler was buying time to get Britain’s armaments industry up and running.

 

It’s also a myth that the German armed forces had 100% state-of-art equipment; despite propaganda promoting the image of thousand of tanks, half-tracks and all-motorized infantry; the truth was that much of Germany’s armed forces were horse-drawn (and remained so for the duration of the war). The  British Army, after the BEF had to leave all their equipment behind in France; was forced by circumstance to completely reequip almost the entire army. Resulting, by about 1941/1942, with a completely modernised military that in many regards, far outstripped that of the Germans.

 

Another point to consider was that, in the years leading up to the outbreak of war, such was the fear of communism* that there were many highly placed and influential people across Europe (and in Britain) who were of the opinion that “that Mr Hitler goes a bit too far, but he has the right idea”  and whilst Hitler would not have been adverse to a peace treaty with the UK (he actually thought of Britain as an natural ally against communism) it is thanks to Churchill that Britain stood firm andremained  a bulwark of freedom until the Soviet Union came in to the war and the German war machine turned its attentions to the East.

 

Supposedly, during the planning for Operation Seelöwe (the invasion of Britain), there was talk in certain highly placed circles in Berlin, that after a successful invasion of Britain, the Nazis and the British puppet government would have put the Duke of Windsor back on the throne (as King Edward VIII) and made Wallis Simpson Queen (an offer I don’t think either of the Duke of Windsor or Mrs Simpson would have turned down). 

 

* and both overt and covert antisemitism was rife across Europe as well.

King Edward VIII was well known in "certain circles" to be a Nazi fellow-traveller. I've always believed that the Abdication Crisis was at least in part, engineered to precipitate his removal. 

 

After all, his grandfather (Edward VII) was a flagrant womaniser and it wasn't regarded as a serious problem. The great-grandaughter of one of his best-known mistresses sits on the throne today, after all. 

 

Edward VIII's role as "Governor of Bermuda" was as near as you could get to Royal House arrest. 

 

I've never given much thought to the counter-factual question about Hitler making a peace with the UK. WW2 was a "world war" in a way that WW1 was not. Britain had a direct conflict of interest with Italy in North Africa and a critical interest in navigation through the Med and Suez Canal. The Sino-Japanese War spilled over into a general conflict against various Western imperial interests AND the USA. 

 

My Brit Con teacher at school espoused the view that

- WW2 was consistent with long-standing British foreign policy, that a primary goal was that the European coast should not be dominated by a single European power

- it was also consistent with foreign policy that the USSR began the War as a de-facto enemy power (German non-aggression pact) and ended the same way (Iron Curtain and Cold War)

- Italian ambitions in the Mediterranean were incompatible with British interests in the East

- the expansion of the Sino-Japanese War was inevitable (see J G Ballard's Empire of the Sun for a treatment of this little-understood matter)

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Jack Russells are the definitive "White Van Man" dog. The English do like them; I've seen no end of them in drivers cabs 

 

 

 

The equivalent here would be Tradie Dogs that ride in the back of utes to  the job site. Traditionally Blue or Red Heelers or Australian Kelpies, now American Staffies seem to be "on trend" as they say.

 

Not only companions, they are also tax deductible..

 

 

A TRADIE'S blue heeler is not only a loyal companion and talented ute surfer but a legitimate tax deduction.

 

Under Australian Taxation Office (ATO) rules, tradesmen who take canine companions to work can claim their pet's training,  food and vet bills as a legitimate work expense so long as the dogs provide a service - guarding the tradie's tools.

 

An ATO spokesman said pets could be claimed as tax deductions "provided you can show that your pet is used in the course of income production - for instance, workhorses, guide dogs, guard dogs and sheep-herding dogs As long as your dog is providing a service, for example guarding tools or property, their expenses can be claimed. You just need to show that your dog is used in the course of income production. You must record a "dog-log" -  this is a record of all the times your dog has been on site “working”.

 

(Sydney Daily Telegraph July 4 2010)

 

 

Edited August 29 by monkeysarefun