WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Marilyn]

Not in my experience, Plaquey!

[Wendyf]

What exactly is a 'jock' in Oz Cathy?
What attracted my attention was the arrival of Ian in the back yard with a gift of a bag of pears from their tree. I see stewed pears in the near future. I also made a small request for him to keep his eyes open for some 1/8" mild steel rod for me. I am without any stock! (He isn't as isolated as I am.)

We have a supply of 5mm and 6mm steel rod, gleaned from library map hangers, so if you need any thicker stuff let me know.

[Whyperion]

The election news from the States cheers me up. I hope the 'experts' are right and that Trump is on the slide.

Eldest (?) Trump Jnr has been rolled out, appealing to the Red, right-wing of the USA and laying into Biden - mostly on the arguement that individuals are better making their own choices , retaining their own money and not having federal taxes imposed as Biden would/might. Now has the Covid experience re-inforced such ideas or is the sharing of risks in communities by taxes (who spends more effectively i guess) more acceptable to the majority of states?

If and when USA goes to the right ( and I would tip Trump Jnr to run after DTs term is up ), does the UK follow - as it gives more space for the Farages / loony tories to have thier ideas flagged up.

[Tizer]

It was only the other day I watched a TV programme showing African men building their village huts from bamboo and now I find the Aussies make their underpants from bamboo. Whatever next?

[Big Kev]

There's an Australian company advertising bamboo underpants, with lycra panels, to stop inner thigh chafing on a few of the satellite channels. I've seen it on Quest and Dmax which are part of the Discovery Network.

[PanBiker]

I had to google that and came across this:

"Bamboo Benefits For Hoo-ha

Bamboo has unique antibacterial and antifungal bio-agents found naturally in the fibre and the fabric maintains this quality. Even after multiple washes the fabric continues to fight off bad bacteria.
Bamboo is highly water absorbent and can take in up to three times its weight in water. The fabric retains this ability, allowing any moisture to be pulled away from the skin and evaporated.
Bamboo fabric is odour-resistant due to its ability to fight off bad bacteria.

Bamboo is ultra-soft, making it the perfect fabric for sensitive areas."

All well and good but checking the price, that particular supplier do 5 pairs of ladies briefs for $85.00, is that a tad expensive or am I living in cloud cuckoo land?

[PanBiker]

The lighting string I ordered from Ebay turned up today and the supplier has sent the wrong item It should be a sting of 10 LED globe lights each about 50mm diameter. What has been sent are LED lights OK but 1000 pin lights. Grrrr






Repacked and return already accepted by the supplier for a refund. Free tracked postage courtesy of Ebay, I will order some more from another supplier, lots of outlets are selling them.

Remember these. Ebay supplied the pre-addressed returns label with the suppliers details which I used to send them back. Well they have been returned to sender (me) today marked as "not known at address". Looks like we have won some fairy lights. I have already been credited for them under Ebays guarantee terms and spent the money on something else. I reckon that despite these purporting to have been from a UK supplier, I reckon they came direct from China, so the UK warehouse doesn't actually exist. Only quoted as Royal Mail for the delivery service.

I have had plenty of other stuff that has come directly from China, my recent antenna purchase for one. They are normally correctly shown that way and use the Speedpack service which is a massive logistics company that handle international deliveries. Sometimes it can be quicker to get stuff from China than via our own domestic services.

[Big Kev]

The tv ad I've seen is for these https://uk.stepone.life/?gclid=EAIaIQob ... gL6ffD_BwE

£17 a pair with reductions for bulk orders, certainly not cheap. I'll stick with my cotton 'trunks' from M&S

[Tizer]

`Ofqual chief Sally Collier steps down after exams chaos' LINK

[Stanley]

I saw that Peter and it stinks.
Wendy, that would be very handy, I am low on small steel rod.
I'll stick with my M&S as well Kev. Ill bet bamboo still collects skid marks! I've done it again haven't I, nobody talks about them.

[Tizer]

Stanley, we might get a different story from Collier now that she's stepped down (hehe!)

I heard a discussion on Today this morning about the rioting in the US and they were talking about the police and civilians as if they were different entities. I'd always thought that the police force was civilian, not military. I've searched on the Web and it seems to be a very confusing issue with some people saying the police are civilians and some they're not: and even those who were in the police forces seem to have differing views! (My searches were not confined to one country.)

[Stanley]

A very good point Peter and one I have noted myself. Made worse in the US by the common ploy of 'calling in the National Guard' . I see tanks were deployed in Kenosha yesterday. Remember when Cameron went down that route and had tanks deployed at Heathrow? Going right back to Churchill and the Sydney Street Siege, troops were brought in if firearms were needed. Now the police have their own and some see it as a militarisation of the force. France seems to have a very blurred line as well.
I'd rather be policed by a civil force and I get the feeling most officers are of the same mind. Long may that continue. However, with central government increasingly moving towards central direction whilst devolving responsibility we have a very strange unbalanced situation. Worrying.

[Tizer]

This will cheer you up!
`Swanage RNLI lifeboat rescue recreated by 11-year-old animator' LINK

[Stanley]

The link didn't play for me....



The new normal. Social interaction Covid style!

[Whyperion]

The lighting string I ordered from Ebay turned up today and the supplier has sent the wrong item It should be a sting of 10 LED globe lights each about 50mm diameter. What has been sent are LED lights OK but 1000 pin lights. Grrrr






Repacked and return already accepted by the supplier for a refund. Free tracked postage courtesy of Ebay, I will order some more from another supplier, lots of outlets are selling them.

Remember these. Ebay supplied the pre-addressed returns label with the suppliers details which I used to send them back. Well they have been returned to sender (me) today marked as "not known at address". Looks like we have won some fairy lights. I have already been credited for them under Ebays guarantee terms and spent the money on something else. I reckon that despite these purporting to have been from a UK supplier, I reckon they came direct from China, so the UK warehouse doesn't actually exist. Only quoted as Royal Mail for the delivery service.

I have had plenty of other stuff that has come directly from China, my recent antenna purchase for one. They are normally correctly shown that way and use the Speedpack service which is a massive logistics company that handle international deliveries. Sometimes it can be quicker to get stuff from China than via our own domestic services.

Probably actually not worth them taking the item back - looks like a mis-reading in the order picking - which is odd as its normally by code/ bar-code to avoid errors. You might have got the refund just from a pic and an email.

[Stanley]

The weather. It seems not to have attracted general attention but we are having some very strange and unseasonal weather patterns. I hope it isn't an augury for what is to come this winter.
A useless fact for you. My favourite sauce, Worcestershire first appeared on this day in 1837. Not many people know that.....

[Tizer]

Seaweed farms and new uses for seaweed...
`Seaweed: The food and fuel of the future?' LINK

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz spotted this for us - lovely photos of happy times at the seaside, 1950s style. There's much more too if you visit the two links under the first photo...
`John Laing workers' summer holiday photos added to archive' LINK

[Stanley]

Crofters on the West Coast of Scotland have used seaweed as fertilizer for their lazy beds fro centuries and I seem to remember a firm 40 years ago producing alginate and I think iodine from harvested weed. One thing is certain, there is a lot of it!
I love Mr Malcom's plus fours and polished shoes... You never see 'pixie hoods' these days.
What grabbed me was the CH firing up yesterday.

[Marilyn]

I was making hubby a cup of tea tonight ( stood there waiting for kettle to boil) when I noticed sad faces looking at me from the fruit bowl. Just shadows caused by night lighting of course, but gosh they look miserable. ( lol)

[Tizer]

Better buy your fruit from somewhere else, Maz!

We had a long chat with our postman today and thanked him for all his more difficult work since lockdown began. He said the first couple of weeks were extremely busy, like the 2 weeks before Christmas. He's dreading the effects of a lockdown at Christmas. As we said goodbye and `Take care' he said: `I tell everybody the best advice is Stay Away From The Idiots!' I think that's worth keeping in mind...

[Stanley]

Good advice from the postie!
News this morning that an old friend has died. Nice that her daughter write to me to tell me personally.
The CH is on the heating season is upon us in August. This is extreme weather!

[Stanley]

This pic that Margaret sent me of a 4 trailer road train at the truck stop where they had lunch. 53 metres long and at least 600hp under the bonnet. Mick wanted to know if I could get it into the yard at Gisburn Mart, it was a cattle wagon. Then as icing on the cake a video call from them on a skywalk 1000ft above the river valley and 26C. I told her it was a bit of an improvement on Barlick!

[Cathy]

They’re quite a sight aren’t they, I wouldn’t want to come across one on an out-back road.
Hope the drivers are well paid.

[Stanley]

I'll lay a small bet they aren't paid what they deserve!
My attention has been grabbed by the fact that Merlin Sheldrake is on Start the Week. He is in my sights for my next exploratory reading. He is the man who understands the ecology of woods and the importance of the web of fung below ground which supports the trees and enables them to communicate with each other. Such fungal networks are the largest living 'creatures' on earth.