WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

I agree P. I've always been pretty good at heights when on a chimney stack with my steeplejacks but never felt safe on a roof. As I said to Kev, horses for courses! As I got older and realised my balance wasn't what it was I saw the light and gave Doc my ladders!
At last the Deepcut affair is becoming clear. Lord Dannet calls for a public enquiry. About time to. What has always struck me is that whilst the regime in which I did my initial army training was far more severe, to the point where the army admits that modern youngsters couldn't stand it, there was never any sign of bullying and because we were a monastic order, no women, sex never reared its ugly head!

[Big Kev]

Does anyone in Barlick have a roof ladder I can borrow for an hour please?

Got one

[Stanley]

Be careful Kev.....
How nice it is to sleep between sheets dried outside!
Engines taking shape nicely....

[Big Kev]

Be careful Kev.....

I will, I've had practice, 15 years glazing roofs back in the 80's and 90's. Alexandra Palace and the National Art Gallery in that there London are 2 of my 'claims to fame'

[Tizer]

At last the Deepcut affair is becoming clear. Lord Dannet calls for a public enquiry. About time to.

Another of those situations where there were plenty of people who knew what was going on, some of them in senior ranks, but they didn't do anything about it.

[Stanley]

They are the root of the problem Tiz because they allowed the ethos to change to the modern style of more extreme training just like the US Marines. They confused discipline with bullying. The training we had in the 1950s is seen these days as being to harsh, I've heard modern officers say that the modern intake would rebel against it and go over the wall but there was no excessive shouting or bullying and we always knew that we had good care beneath the psychological changes that they were imposing on us. I'm not saying it was cushy, it wasn't, but it looks to me as though it was fair and effective. The other thing that surprised me was that a lone sentry was put on a back gate, that would never have been allowed in my day, there would have been a pair of them. And then there is the fact that they had live ammunition. Anyone who has read me memoirs knows that in all the time we were in Berlin on an active service posting, the only time we saw live rounds was when we were on the range. This was of course when we had a proper hostile enemy at the gates and even, as I found out much later, when we were guarding Princess Margaret! Remember also that at that time Berlin was a hotbed of spying and infiltration. The level of deaths alone should have signalled that something was badly wrong. I never heard of a single death in my two years in the army. Things have changed and not for the better.



Getting to the stage where I have two engines ready for their valves. They are close to being runners!

[Tizer]

Nasty storms in Australia.

[Big Kev]

Be careful Kev.....

I will, I've had practice, 15 years glazing roofs back in the 80's and 90's. Alexandra Palace and the National Art Gallery in that there London are 2 of my 'claims to fame'

'tis fitted, that'll keep the buggers out

[PanBiker]

All day session for exams after half term, back in one Wednesday for the same.

[Stanley]

Good, glad you are in one piece....
Talking to daughter Margaret I realised she is 55 years old..... Who'd have thowt it! These kids can bring your age home to you. I have a grandchild who is 25.....
The fact that Barlick was warmer than Perth. Should I ditch my vest?

[Big Kev]

Guard.jpg

[Stanley]

The Jackdaws will need bolt croppers....
Just got up after my afternoon sleep. Thunder rumbling round and Jack is not amused! I shall pull the plug on the FM3, don't want any spikes spoiling the fun!

[Stanley]

Only a few odd rumbles of thunder and no problems.
Slow cooker is a success. I was impressed by how little leccy it used.....

[PanBiker]

The Jackdaw pair in the pot on Ash Grove are bringing feed furiously.

[PanBiker]

We had a visit from the Exams Inspector today during Geography Paper 2, all OK and he left happy.

[Tripps]

I heard this on Radio 4 this afternoon - Saddleworth Moor mystery

It amused me that the BBC managed to cover the whole story without using the local name for the spot where this guy was found. It was a popular destination for an adventurous day out,when I was in the Cubs in the early 1950's and always known as Indian's Head. From a distance the silhouette looks like an Indian feathered head dress.

The Manchester Evening News were more authentic M. E. N.

I guess the BBC would have had to call it the 'Native American's Head' or perhaps 'First Nation Head' - neither of which is quite as snappy.

[Stanley]

If I had intended suicide I wouldn't have bought a return ticket.....
By the way David, how did you get on with ripening the tomatoes?
How much better I feel after cutting my hair off..... But of course it will trigger cooler weather!
The 'interesting' revelations in the Select Committee as they probed the BHS failure.... Remember the phrase 'The Unacceptable Face of Capitalism'? Is this sort of behaviour the norm in boardrooms?

[Tripps]

"By the way David, how did you get on with ripening the tomatoes?"

I think it was a success. They certainly tasted pretty good. Not done to Tizer's scientific standards though. Needed to have some with onions, some with bananas, and some just on a sunny window ledge as a control. I'm trying the same method with a basket of peaches at the moment. Watch this space.

[Tizer]

Your standards are probably better than some of the professional science projects I read about these days!

[Tripps]

My first uploaded picture. Bit of a struggle - but I think I've cracked it.

[PanBiker]

No problem there Tripps, the more you put up the easier it will become.

[Tripps]

The site isn't the problem - it's finding the correct photo from 'browse'. That takes me somewhere I don't recognise. Anyway my solution is to copy the pic to a USB stick then I can easily locate it. I recall that on the old site you had to get pics approved before they were allowed. Doesn't seem to be the case now.

[Tripps]

This mystery man has intrigued me. First let me apologise to the BBC. They did say 'Indian's Head - just once.

Why a return ticket?
BBC. But then again the return would only have been £1 more expensive than buying a single.

I doubt this is important, but
BBC His head was uphill and his legs were straight downhill - perfectly straight. His arms were across his chest.”
M.E.N. His body was found by a walker at 10.45am the next day lying face upwards with his head pointing towards the summit, his legs together and arms by his side.


I'm surprised there is no CCTV after he left the station at 13:01. (Confirmed from CCTV).
He would have missed the 12:53 Number 180 bus from Piccadilly, and the next direct bus to Greenfield was 13:53 which did not arrive until 14:52. He was said to have been in the Clarence at 14:00. The only way would have been by taxi.

How did he make that journey without leaving any trail, in under an hour? It's a puzzle.

[Stanley]

Good quality pic David and the toms look fine! Is the oil lamp a runner? You might need it next winter!

[Tizer]

And Tripps, what's in that glass sphere on the extreme right of the photo. Is the sphere your crystal ball for predicting the future?

What grabbed my attention yesterday was a local lady describing to us how she had attended her son's wedding to a Chinese girl in China. They couple met as students at a British university and were married in the UK but wanted a Chinese wedding too. When Mum arrived in China she was met at the airport by the girl's parents plus about a dozen other people all lined up and paying their respects. It turns out the girl's father runs a car rental business and all his employees came along to greet Mum. He had arranged a convoy of limousines to collect them all from the airport and which cruised down the main street with all lights on and indicators flashing. Dinner at the parents' home was a big affair with many guests including the head of the local council. The wedding was amazing and all the guests walked about 1.5 miles to attend it, although traditionally they're supposed to walk 5 miles. Instead of wedding gifts you give the couple money in a red envelope, which sounds a good idea - the more people you invite the more money you get.