WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

Do we really need to know? Especially about her morning sickness. Chart of bowel movements next?

[LizG]

Methinks it will be a very long pregnancy.

[Bodger]

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/l ... -landfills

[Tizer]

Seeing Thomo mention that Private Johnstone had served in the Boer War then in the Great War makes me think how much change such soldiers would have seen in their equipment and materials during their service time. One simple example is that they would have started their service life in brightly coloured uniform and then seen the change to khaki and camouflage. I don't know what the Black Watch wore in the late 1800s but many British soldiers died in the early years of the Boer Wars still wearing bright red uniform and providing an easy target for the Boer snipers. Cavalry still rode into battle on horseback with sabres drawn at the start of the Great War but eventually became the tank regiments - I wonder if there were any instances of horse cavalry fighting alongside tank cavalry, I wouldn't be surprised!

Having written the above post I later read an article in Saturday's issue of The Times saying there would be a ceremony in France yesterday to mark the centenary of the last lance-on-lance action of the British Army which took place on 7th September 1914. Two troops of the 9th Lancers defeated a squadron of Prussian Dragoons at Montcel-Fretoy in the Battle of the Marne.
More here: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/World ... story.html

On a change of topic...David might like to consider this for a future Barlick event or an addition to the Barlick beach:
`Chard gets giant outdoor water slide for charity event'
A giant outdoor water slide has been installed in a Somerset town, inspired by a similar ride in Bristol. Some 350 local sliders, aged from six to 80, have donated to the Mayor's Charity fund to be able to have a go at the attraction. Hundreds of people were soaked as they went head-first down the 90m (295ft) slide in Bristol in May. The slide was installed in Chard's High Street and was operational between 10:00 BST and 16:00. One of the first sliders was the town's mayor, Jenny Kenton, who said local people "really pulled together" to make the event happen.
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/World ... story.html

[Stanley]

I was watching videos of sea salvage yesterday to pass the reading time. Found the accounts of the salvage of the Kursk and the Tricolour (the car transporter that sank in the channel after a collision). Fascinating accounts of great engineering feats. Well worth seeking out!
I heard a news item on World Service and followed it up. See THIS for a report about a man who went on the web using an assumed identity and persuaded young people to commit suicide. It's a very strange world out there!

[David Whipp]

Huge quantities of berries in the hedgrows.

[Stanley]

It's going to be a very productive back end in the hedgerows this year. No frost and no high winds in Spring meant a good blossom set.
See THIS for a nice positive piece on the benefits of walking for half an hour a day. So nice to see confirmation of what I have always believed, it's not marathon running that helps you but regular gentle exercise. Best reason for walking a dog you could have!

[Marilyn]

I don't have a dog, but I walk my husband every day.

[Thomo]

The Lady who lives near here, and will be 90 at Christmas. She received a free book as a Rohilla descendant. On Sunday evening she bought another one, now on its way to America, last night she bought another two, also bound for overseas, and she has just been back for another, all at double the minimum price. "With people such as these"!

[Wendyf]

The Oscar Pistorius trial. I can't see beyond the simple fact that Reeva Steenkamp locked herself in the en-suite bathroom with only her partner (supposedly fast asleep) in the apartment ...why would she do that unless she was trying to get away from him??

[Stanley]

Maz, who's the companion animal....?
Wendy, more to that lot than meets the eye I think.
Despite promising to Step down, Sepp Blatter is standing for the chair of FIFA again. Funny how his main rivals have stepped down....
The news of the fire in the kennels at Harpurhey in Manchester was bad enough but now we find a 14 year old accused of arson.... (LINK)

[Thomo]

Over a number of years I have heard this so many time's: Rolls Royce Merlin Engines were built here. As a result of the two Lancaster's being over here on Sunday, this is again at the forefront, and so here are the facts:- Rolls Royce Merlin engines were never built in Barnoldswick, yes they were here, but brought here. In a deal, production of the R2B Welland engine was moved to the Midlands, and in exchange, Merlin engines were brought here for conversion to the Meteor Tank engine. Stripped down and non essential parts removed, ie. supercharger and relevant gearing. This engine was also know as the Rover Meteor, many having been converted in Rover's factories elsewhere.

[Stanley]

The main reason Rolls came to Barlick was that they swapped one of their factories and the job of making the Meteor engine with Rover and got Bankfield and the gas turbine research in exchange. All the rest followed.

[Stanley]

Yet another beheading video. The pressure mounts on the West.... I hate to think of where it might lead and am normally against escalation of any kind in a dispute but must admit that these people must be stopped.

[Thomo]

I think that they have made it perfectly clear that they are completely devoid of any kind of normal human feeling, compassion or rational thought. They are in this for themselves and no one else, not even those of their own supposed faith. This is a snake with many venomous heads, all of which must be sought out and destroyed. Any kind of dialogue is now out of the question as human rights and the Geneva Convention have no place in their warped ideology. They are oblivious to the terrible burden that they have imposed on the decent members of the Islamic faith, and this could have far reaching consequences.

[Bodger]

Stanley, well woth half an hour if you havent already seen it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHD7Z1wae00.

[Stanley]

I hadn't seen it Bodge but Ill go back to it. This chimes with a discussion Tiz and I have been having in the Flatley Dryer topic.
I remember being curious about the regular bumps in the fields just North of Carlisle at Longtown and later discovered it was the biggest ammunition dump in the country. (LINK)
My two cleaners come today... I like being kept up to scratch!

[Stanley]

The pleasant feeling of knowing that my cleaning commissions/commissions had been rectified, and a clean shirt!
Shaun Wright bowing to the inevitable and resigning his post of Police Commissioner. Too, late, his reputation is ruined now and I noted that in his announcement of his resignation he made no mention of the fact that he had failed the children miserably, he put it all down to public pressure. Typical example of how a modern, power hungry, politician thinks. Don't admit any fault!
Later at 08:50. I like THIS report of irate passengers refusing to allow politicians onto a plane after they had held it up for two hours because they were late. Well done!
See THIS for President Obama's timely warning that the Ebola epidemic is gaining speed 'exponentially'. Not enough attention and resources have been directed at this. Watch the reaction if it jumps borders!

[Tizer]

A report on the radio about BBC journalists interviewing a Russian lady about her soldier husband being sent to Ukraine even though Putin claims he's not sending his military there. Although the interview took place deep in Russia the journalists were stopped by Russian police, then their sound recordist was beaten up and while they were elsewhere their car was broken into and hard disks were wiped. Luckily they'd already sent the interview back to London. All this stacks up with a detailed report in The Times on Saturday about the bodies of Russian soldiers being brought back from Ukraine secretly, sealed in zinc coffins and buried at night lit only by the lights of military trucks. Apparently this is an exact repeat of what happened when the Russian army left Afghanistan, the cover up by the Russian government to prevent the public knowing where their men were dying. But now the Russian public is much better informed due to social media on the Internet and because of the Afghanistan precedent. The returning surviving soldiers are being told to keep quiet and are kept in camp for a long time to prevent news escaping about where they've been. The Times believes that this will come back to haunt Putin because Russian mothers are angry, very angry and they are getting together to make their feelings felt. They already have a campaign led by a very strong-willed lady. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one of these Russian mothers, so it might prove to be a turning point for Putin. Let's hope so!

[Stanley]

On a very mundane note after that... The fact that Oneguy was AWOL this morning. I'll not go through the posts now as normal tasks have to be done, see you tomorrow.
Oh, one nice thing, I have been watching videos of blokes in their sheds on Youtube and I found one man who is a worse turner than I am. Very reassuring.....

[Stanley]

Oneguy back on line, thanks Pluggy!
My mate Graham Riley who was MSC manager at Ellenroad has died. Asbestos killed him... A good bloke to work with, we never had a disagreement.

[Bruff]

That's sad Stanley.

For every death that can be linked to asbestos - from mesothelioma - there is almost certainly another from another cancer, say a lung cancer. Which means 5000 people a year currently die from past exposure to asbestos, or a 100 a week. Cases should peak by the end of the decade, then then fall off reflecting the eventual controls and prohibitions from the 70s onwards (asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period, up to 50 years).

Richard Broughton

[Tizer]

I wonder if anyone has estimated the total historical health and mortality effects of another industry's product - the tetraethyl lead that was used as an anti-knock additive to petrol from the 1920s until...was it the 1980s? A very nasty toxin but defended and promoted by the industry for at least half a century. When it was first introduced there were deaths in the factories due to occupational exposure and the company concerned refused to admit it was due to the tetraethyl lead, they said the men died from `overwork'. It soon became obvious that the lead was emitted in car exhaust fumes and entered the atmosphere and then our lungs but the company still insisted tetraethyl lead was safe. They used other names for it and you would never find `tetraethyl lead' mentioned in any of their literature or adverts. How did they get away with poisoning us for half a century? Power, money, contacts, lobbying, misinformation, gullibility of some people...in other words, all the usual suspects.

[Bruff]

Associated Octel down the road in Ellesmere Port were largely about tetraethyl lead (the clue's in the name' the 'tel' in Octel being tetraethyl lead). They aren't called this anymore, they're Innospec Speciality Chemicals.

Richard Broughton

[Thomo]

Associated Octel's main plant was in Amlwch on Anglesey where they produced Ethylene Di Bromide from seawater, the anti knock ingredient for fuel. The Oil terminal at Ellesmere port was at the end of a pipeline from an SMB (single mooring buoy) near Amlwch and was operated by Shell. In every cubic metre of seawater, there is a considerable amount of base metals, Octel extracted what was required to produce Bromium, which was then reduced to become Ethylene Di Bromide. From my home in Bull Bay Anglesey, I could see the SMB and the Octel Plant, and had many friends who worked on both. The noticeable effect of some of this industrial process, was that is turned the seaweed black.