WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[PanBiker]

The semi-tropical 12C we are promised today..... Do you think we may have wintered?

No, another fortnight to go and it will be proper Spring.

[Stanley]

What the season is called has got nothing to do with whether we have survived the winter Ian! Today's predicted high of 15C prompts me to ask the question again. I feel as though I have survived another winter.
At my age that's an achievement!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report that Boots ownership has gone private.
49 minutes ago
The US owner of high street chemist Boots says it will be taken private in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal. The move brings to an end nearly a century of trading on public markets for the Walgreens Boots Alliance. It has seen its debt grow as cost-conscious customers chose to shop online and opted for cheaper products. Around 300 stores of the pharmacy chain were recently closed across the UK as it shakes up the business. There are now 1,900 Boots stores left in the UK. The total value of the transaction could be worth up to $23.7bn, including debt and possible payouts down the line. Under the deal, US private equity firm Sycamore Partners will pay $11.45 per share for Walgreens Boots Alliance. That is more than its shares are currently worth on the US stock market. The shares rose by nearly 6% in extended trading in New York. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
This worries me. I don't know why it has been done but I fear it may have something to do with the effects of Trump getting his fingers into the NHS in any trade deal.

[PanBiker]

What the season is called has got nothing to do with whether we have survived the winter Ian!

Indeed but that was not my point, merely a statement. You are allowed to feel what you feel and report on the same any time you want. However, the pedant in me will not allow me to accept arbitrary dates adopted by the met office to make their records all neat and tidy.

Until I pop off I will still recognise that our annual planetary tilted tour around our local star is what dictates the timing and change of seasons not a bloke with a spreadsheet. Guess what, the very short warm period due to a slight shift in the jet stream we have had this week is due to change back to a colder spell as we head towards the Spring Equinox, 20th March this year.

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

Just seen on the BBC News...
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said work is under way to make all adult men in the country undergo military training. “We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war, so that this reserve is comparable and adequate to the potential threats,” Tusk says in a speech to the lower house of the Polish parliament.

Wow, might it happen here too. If so we might be in a new Dad's Army!

[Whyperion]

Just seen on the BBC News...
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said work is under way to make all adult men in the country undergo military training. “We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war, so that this reserve is comparable and adequate to the potential threats,” Tusk says in a speech to the lower house of the Polish parliament.

Wow, might it happen here too. If so we might be in a new Dad's Army!

I am afraid there are a lot of Poles in the UK, mostly enslaved to cheap booze, sometimes good workers on building sites, sometimes with excellent brains as electricians and plumbers, quite a mix really. Had a polish chap at college, he left after 1.5 years to go to fight in the revoultion in Poland. There was something on radio about that with the CIA ? getting cultural etc "banned" books into Poland to encourage their western / free thinking.

[Cathy]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PLUGGY.
.
Hope you have a Great Day
.

[Stanley]

Happy Birthday Stephen! I do hope you are well enough to be watching this.....

[Stanley]

I have received word that a dear friend of mine, a brilliant historian who was one of my tutors at Lancaster has fallen victim to confusion and is totally unable to function. I haven't said what the complaint is because I don't know. All I know is that in terms of his brain, he is no longer with us. I find this so sad.....

[Stanley]

THIS.....
There is a cheerful red awning and a newly painted cream wooden shopfront on the market square in Macclesfield. A new bakery cafe has just opened, offering ciabatta and sourdough loaves as well as hot cross buns, syrupy cakes, vegetable quiches and of course coffee. Like towns around the UK, Macclesfield has struggled with retailers closing, leaving empty stores, so there is a buzz around the new arrival. But Gail's, a brand that started in London more than 20 years ago, is controversial. It draws crowds and inspires social media memes, but attracts fierce criticism too. A recent spate of national media coverage has even asked why some people "hate" Gail's so much, focusing on everything from who owns it to what it does with unsold pastries. Its arrival isn't universally popular here either. "We don't need another coffee shop," says Linda Willdig. She is out shopping with her friend Nicola Tomlinson, who agrees. "There are too many," says Nicola.
There is much more.
What struck me is what constitutes national news these days.....

[Stanley]

I like THIS proposal which has surfaced in Blackpool.
Hand-painted adverts by renowned street artists Nomad Clan could reappear on the side of buildings in a seaside resort if planners give it the go-ahead. Urban Art Media has applied to Blackpool Council for permission for one of the adverts to be painted on to the gable end wall of a building on the Promenade. The adverts would be reminiscent of the early days of advertising 100 years ago, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Such advertisements painted on gable ends used to be common. Barlick had it's share.

[Stanley]

Remember that pixellation ew all get occasionally. I thought I'd report I have got it this morning. It's in both eyes. So it's from my brain. I had a bit of vertigo when I was out for my walk but no headache.
I shall wait for it to go away now....

[Tizer]

Such advertisements painted on gable ends used to be common.

A restoration...
`Balm Road’s Bile Beans advert restored' LINK

[Stanley]

The pixellation has gone away now.....

[Stanley]

Peter, I read the link about the Bile Beans advert, I missed it yesterday. I'm all in favour of restoring some of the most famous. Reading the article I was reminded of Beecham's Pills. They were sold in small paper screws and I'm sure my mother thought she'd die if she didn't take one every night.
And then there was..... 'Parkinsons Pink Pills for Pale and Poorly People'. God knows what was in them.....
I have to stop, the old slogans are flooding in.... 'Kruschen's Liver Salts. Every picture tells a story!' Can anyone remember 'Pee Green Pills'?

What actually got my attention was the problems I am having with Bob's Bits. I am still fighting to get back my subscription to MailChimp.

[Big Kev]

This popped up on my Facebook feed and made me smile

Screenshot_2025-03-13-09-42-32-535_com.facebook.katana.jpg

[Stanley]

[Whyperion]

BBC F1 Chequered Flag podcast is back. Looks at new season with British drivers who are title contenders. (3off). 3rd Practice / Quali (0500 GMT ) on the walled circuit begins on the 15th March 2025 so we can see how many cars actualy manage to make it round undamaged.

[Wendyf]

I hope you won't report any results until I have watched the Channel 4 highlights!

[Whyperion]

I hope you won't report any results until I have watched the Channel 4 highlights!

I wont be reporting results, or much else ongoing on F1, just interesting that the season has come round again. Race is 0400GMT and I normally put radio 5 (live or extra) on sounds on internet and listen in bed - mum hogs the TV so I never really see it - or/and watch the bbc text list reporting which is always a bit out of sync with the action - actually If I am awake late I run the audio at 1.5 speed till I catch up. Anyway I wish them all a safe race.

[Tripps]

This popped up on my Facebook feed and made me smile

I only just saw this photo. It's just about four miles from where I live! Shingay cum Wendy

[Whyperion]

This popped up on my Facebook feed and made me smile

I only just saw this photo. It's just about four miles from where I live! Shingay cum Wendy

Wandrie - a bend in the fiver ( I suppose from To Wander )
I always thought Wendy was a name invented for Peter Pan ( I know quite a few Wendy's today - all nice people )
I note the area also has a Croydon and a Clapton.

[Stanley]

I will have difficulty getting 'river bend island' out of my head every time I see Wendy's name....

[Wendyf]

I have never heard of Wendy before. Even when that road sign appeared on Facebook I didn't get round to looking it up so thank you Tripps! It's spooky that I was born in 1950 as the church was pulled down........