WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[PanBiker]

Nice video of people helping each other. Wonderful... I saw an earlier video of the threat developing and wondered what had happened. The question is of course, if there are drains there capable of taking the water, how does it accumulate in the first place?

The short answer to that is that the drains and culverts are not properly maintained. David Whipp has posted over on Facebook an email exchange with LCC regarding the present state of lots of problem spots with the local drainage system and asking for emergency action. In one reply LCC quoted 20 days lead time as the normal response for drain clearance. You will see in the video that the local effort the other day included one of the tractor pumps being used to clear one of the drains. Apparently it has emerged that they retrieved some type of plastic lid that was blocking the flow in that one. Many others around the area are blocked and need urgent attention but I suppose it comes down to cost and the availability of equipment. Reduced funding from Cameron's lot is rearing it's head, plenty more of this will become the norm but you are already aware of that.

[Marilyn]

Don't they use "trash racks" over there"?
( large nets that catch rubbishy/leaves in major water sites, that can be cleaned out or replaced regularly)

[PanBiker]

Culvert entrances and the like on the main watercourses do have screens, not sure about the normal street drains. Problem is regardless of whatever screens are fitted LCC are not maintaining them sufficiently. A service that used to be the norm that is now just another victim of government imposed austerity.

[Marilyn]

Maybe they should impose a levy to cover such service.
( we pay a river levy and emergency services levy...on top of GST of course)

[PanBiker]

We already pay for all these services through various forms of taxation and community charge. Drain maintenance is the responsibility of the County Council which gets it's budget from central government, this has been slashed year on year by the austerity policy adopted by the Tories. We pay local precepts within the community charge for services provided by town and borough councils. Drains are the responsibility of the County though.

[Marilyn]

I see...all a bit different to us...but one would expect services to be maintained...I do agree.
I guess agencies just hedge their bets that a "once in a 100 year event", such as a flood, won't happen on their patch this year!

[plaques]

once in a 100 year event

If I remember rightly a roulette wheel has 36 numbers including a zero where the casino collects the lot. They seem to make a very good living from these odds. From what we read the extreme weather events have now moved closer to the casino odds than 1 in 100. Perhaps its time for a rethink on how we are going to react to climate change.

[PanBiker]

At the end of the day under funding of basic infrastructure is a massive mistake. From a flooding point of view it does not just affect those immediately inundated by way of the cuts. Road, Rail, Electricity, Gas are all hit with knock on effects so its a no brainer really where the priority funding should be going. On a simplistic level there should be no one unemployed whilst there are holes in the road or drains and watercourses that need maintaining.

When my dad came back from 6 years service in the Army without a trade as he had been scooped up just at the time he would have taken one. He had no option other than to take up snow shifting each day during the winter of 46/47. When my older brother was due to be born he had to refuse once due to my mums imminent confinement. He was struck off the dole and had to look for an alternative way of feeding his family. Not saying it should still be as harsh as this but a lot of basic maintenance of infrastructure could be done by anyone currently unemployed.

[Tizer]

There was a potato crisp factory in Harwood Street, Blackburn, called Bensons.

The British retail industry seems to have lost its way. Our TV recorder died and today we went to buy a new one in town. The Curry's shop had the model we wanted advertised on its web site at about £169.99. We found the machine in the shop and then had to join a very long queue for the two tills that were manned (even though there were several more unmanned). Eventually we got to the till, the lady scanned the bar code and said £199.99 please. We told her she'd got it wrong so she trailed us across the store to the shelf to check it. It turned out the shelf had been stacked with a more recent model although the old price had been left on. She said they had the old ones in stock but they were in the warehouse and would take a week to be delivered. We said thanks, but no, we could get it just as fast if not faster than that for the same price and free delivery from Amazon. And the few extra features on the new model were no use to us. We said it was a shame for her too and she told us that `it happens all the time, I'm always having to go and check the shelves because the prices aren't right'. I've lost track of the number of times I find that shops don't have stuff in stock or the details and/or prices don't agree with those advertised.

[Stanley]

I've been banging on about blocked gulley grates for years, passing notable ones on to David Whipp. What is needed is for the gulley grates to be walked during a period of heavy rain as it is only then that the faults become obvious. I wonder why that doesn't happen. Again, private contractors are used quite often for routine gulley grate cleaning, I would say they are probably paid on the number of grates they can clock up, a quick suck and a flush doesn't hack it for a grate that has a serious blockage.
I remember Benson's crisps Tiz....
As for the TV recorder... I ditched mine when I fitted the new Humax Freesat box because I can access play back. Having fibre means it is a reliable service. I find that whilst I miss the ability to record certain films, I can live without a recorder. If I did decide to do it it would be a relatively inexpensive external HDD.

[Marilyn]

Still waiting for someone to tell me when my washer will be replaced.
Hubby rang the number given yesterday and got someone with attitude who said "they were busy and would get back to him". ( some spotty teenager I expect)
Getting a bit sick of hand washing every morning.

[plaques]

Elderly 'reluctant to complain' over health care.(BBC). Link. Does this come as a surprise? History has endless examples of executions, beheadings, burning at the stake, transportation, victimisation, sackings and cards being marked to demonstrate that complaining to those in charge is not a wise thing to do. Even today there are quite blatant examples in politics and employment where this attitude is rife. Welcome to the real world.
See also Oliver Letwin Link

[Marilyn]

Spotted HOT CROSS BUNS in prime position in the supermarket this morning. ( it is just plain wrong on so many levels)

Will give a thumbs up to our supermarket in one way though. They have a three tier basket in the fruit and veg section full of free fruit for kiddies. I think that is excellent. It's always well stocked and the fruit looks good. Bananas in the top basket, apples in the next and I think it was Pears in the third today. I guess we all pay a bit more to give the kids "free" fruit, but who cares...

[Stanley]

Maz, one thing is certain, you will never deal with that company again! I wish you a resolution very soon.
P, dead right, despite all the agitation, being a whistle-blower is a dangerous occupation these days. If I had to do it I would find a way to be anonymous....
I like the idea of free fruit for kids, question is will they take it?
P, the Letwin revelation under the 30 year rule is disturbing. It makes you wonder how prevalent totally wrong attitudes are in the upper echelons of Westminster. I still haven't forgotten the attitudes revealed by Plebgate!

[Stanley]

The fire in the Dubai Hotel.....

[Stanley]

The can of worms being uncovered by the investigations into historic cases of possible homicide against troops in Iraq. (LINK)
I am not sure about this. Blatant cases need to be investigated of course but there must be a lot of squaddies who served in Iraq who will worry about this. War is a terrible thing and awful things happen. The culprit is not the men who thought they were doing their duty but the politicians who put them in what was often an impossible situation under extreme stress. One thing is certain, they will not be implicated. There is something very unfair about this process. What will it do for recruitment to the armed forces?

[Stanley]

David Whipp posting on the site again...... Lovely!
THIS caught my attention.... All children are to be taught up to their 12x table by the time they leave primary school. What a stunning innovation!! For God's sake! When did they stop teaching them? I sometimes wonder about the level of education of our legislators... Perhaps nobody taught them and that's why they think this is an innovation.

[chinatyke]

David Whipp posting on the site again...... Lovely!
THIS caught my attention.... All children are to be taught up to their 12x table by the time they leave primary school.

It was important to learn up to 12X table when there was 12 pence in one shilling. Shouldn't children only learn up to 10X tables nowadays?

[plaques]

Shouldn't children only learn up to 10X tables nowadays?

Nothing wrong with the number 12. Far more useful than the decimal 10. All down to vulgar fractions. By-the-way do kids learn about these before graduating to calculators where they disappear completely?

[PanBiker]

I had a sly grin when I heard the multiplication revelation this morning. Never mind learning by age 11, whats all that about? Every morning after registration our class teacher would choose children at random to stand up and recite any of the tables up to 12. We knew them forwards and backwards by the time we were 7 or 8. To help us along when learning, the whole set were printed on the back of every exercise book along with all the other weights and measures. I reckon most kids brains would explode if you asked them to multiply or divide without some buttons to press and how many would know what a lowest common denominator was or what it is used for?

[LizG]

I wish they would teach children 'proper english'. How to use there, they're and their, than and then, would have, could have, should have, and could have, not 'of'. It's hard to conjugate the verb of. Not to mention 'funner'!!!! AAGGHH don't get me started, I AM the grammar police!

[Tizer]

I've got to agree with that Liz. When they mentioned the `times tables' tests on the radio news this morning they said the test would be done on computer. All you need to do on a computer to multiply is click a button and you've got a calculator. I hope they didn't really mean that!

[Stanley]

You are all dead right. I agree particularly with P about 'vulgar fractions'. Try working out the calculations for tangential dividing without them and 'long division'. They are dead accurate, not an approximation that is 'near enough'. Consider time and arcs of a circle in degrees.... Think of the simplicity of 1/3 and compare with .3 recurring.... Never mind the kids giving up, the calculators do so as well. Divide 1 by 3 and you get .3..., Multiply the result by 3 and it reverts to 1 when it should be .9....
Don't get me going about Metrication....

[Cathy]

I sometimes find the 'new fangled ways' confusing.
At least for most of us our learning stayed much the same and relevant for many decades. Today's education won't.

I think next time I won't bother coming back

[Stanley]

I think you're right Cathy. Why can't they pay teachers well, give them status and let them get on with teaching the basics. These days they change the methods every year!
The fact that I had to spend money on topping up my stocks of 2BA nuts and bolts and threaded rod. My stocks were running low, all these bloody engines!