WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

Belle, I noted that the programme was there but didn't watch it as it was fairly obvious exploitation of the emotions surrounding multi-culturalism. I think I watched the advertisement programme 'The Catholics' instead. I wondered if Richard Dawkins was watching....
Nurse measured me at Clinic yesterday. 5ft 7", I think I'm shrinking...

[Stanley]

David, my understanding is that by accepting the tow line the master of the disabled ship confirms the contract and if successful the towing vessel is entitled to a percentage of the value of the rescued vessel. No wonder the fishing boat refused help from the ocean-going tug. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_salvage
My favourite salvage firm, Smit Tak, has deep sea salvage tugs on station all over the world ready at the drop of a hat to go to a rescue. Very fast and powerful ships and they have to be, first come first served! There used to be one at Mallaig and I saw it set off one day on a rescue. Very impressive, when they opened up the engines the tug didn't move at first, it simply sank six feet by the stern as the multiple props dragged the water from under the boat. It was doing at least ten knots by the time it got to the end of the pier and vanished out to sea with a bone in its mouth. The marine equivalent of wheel-spin. I still see the image clearly in my mind's eye.

[Tripps]

Lovely bit of descriptive writing. I can picture it myself. I'd give you a 'thanks' but you've got enough.

[Tizer]

I'll second what Tripps said...."..vanished out to sea with a bone in its mouth.." - marvellous!

[Bradders Bluesinger]

Yep !

[Stanley]

Thanks for that. No skill on my part, just the power of the image. I love those tough boats, immensely powerful and built to withstand all weathers. They go out in conditions where everyone else is coming in. Lots of parallels with the lifeboats. The one at Mallaig had to cope with everything the shallow waters of the Sound of Sleat could throw at it. The crews earned their corn!


Mallaig lifeboat. Built for the job!

[Stanley]

The Huhnes are in court in October to face charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Report this morning that soldiers in training can't afford to eat properly. I don't understand, doesn't the army feed its recruits these days?
Reports also of a bright light in the sky sighted all over the place. Current theory is that it was a piece of space debris burning up in the atmosphere.

[Stanley]

I went looking for Smit ocean-going tugs. If you are in trouble at sea can you imagine a more welome sight than these two bearing down on you? Smit's MVs London and Singapore, two of the most powerful ocean going tugs in the world. I love 'em!
(One of the nice things abut Smit Tak is that all their images are high res and they permit use of them for any purpose.)

[Stanley]

The light in the sky is now being ascribed to a meteor burning up.

[Belle]

As we are about to launch one of ours off to sea for a couple of months I don't know if I am relieved or alarmed by all this talk of rescue!

[Whyperion]

Rather obvious sideline for Somali Pirates , just find a friendly inside chap to knobble selected vessels , then turn up with ones boat and claim legit salvage rights , honestly some guys have no imagination,

[SAC]

Stanley - re the companiom set you purchased from the hospice shop on Monday I can tell you it was made at work by my grandfather in the 50's he was called William Day who later became the landlord of The Greyhound Pub in Barnoldswick . If my mum remembers correctly he only made the holder and the poker we are happy it is been used and not gone for "scrap".

[Stanley]

Wonderful! Thanks for that SAC! Is Lily still alive and well? Ask her if she remembers barring me and Ted Lawson for emptying the bar when I put my ferret on Sid Demaine's hands. (She was stood on a bar stool at the time!) I could see the poker and the container were foreigners, the small poker, brush and shovel are a different scale. I liked it before but I like it a lot better now I know the connection. Thanks for that. Isn't this site wonderful!

[Stanley]

Polished Bill's brass-work, lovely shine, it's obviously been kept clean over the years.

[SAC]

Yep Stanley my Mum has lots of brasses and cleans them all regulary she finds it theraputic.
Lily died approx 22 years ago my mum is on holls so cannot get actual year .

[Tizer]

That's lovely Stanley, for you to have the companion set and to know who made it, especially when you bought it without knowing.

What caught my attention? When I logged on just now it said the latest new member is Daniel Meadows. Is it really the same, he who took the wonderful photo of Stanley's feet sticking out of the boiler? If you're reading this Daniel, and it was you, thanks, it has added a great deal of pleasure to my life. I treasure my copy of Stanley's book with the photo on the back - a marvellous image!

[Bodger]

A cure for prostate problems, and i think anything else, do'nt look if you have a sensitive nature !![BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdJZnFccVnM[/BBvideo]

[Tripps]

What grabbed my attenion - whilst watching Newsnight just now, a lady was being interviewed about the effect of recent mortgage rate rises. She was called Linda Hines, and is the manageress of the Vauxhall City Farm. That rang a bell - surely she asked about treacle on here, a long time ago. since they had two Kune Kune pigs called Honey and Treacle. Sure enough the camera pans round to such a pair of pigs, one black, one brown. It must be our old friends - they looked well.
Unfortunately a bit of further research showed that they are in fact called Jenny and Edward - or Jedward for short. How disappointing. I still think they are the same pigs - name changed by deed poll perhaps. What a memory for rubbish......

[Stanley]

I'd say it was impressive David. Yes Peter, it is Daniel, I mailed him to make sure.
My bum knee was having a good day so I walked to the butcher's a day early. These things become important!

[PanBiker]

Received a red elart from Lancaster University Aurora Watch. (could be visible anywhere in the UK). We are currently in the midst of a very large solar flare event, so clouds permitting, watch the sky.

Aurora Watch

[Tizer]

As I look at the aurora web site now (lunchtime, Friday) it seems to be showing it as good aurora conditions - but it's daytime, so presumably it means good conditions for seeing an aurora if it had been night?

[PanBiker]

The predictions are based on magnetometer readings from stations in the North. The earth is currently going through a period what used to be referred to as a solar maximum. Solar activity makes no discrimination as to whether it reaches earth during daylight or night-time hours. The effects will be the same, it's just that we are unable to see any visible aurora during daylight.

Doppler shift on VHF radio signals would also confirm if there was auroral activity. It will certainly be worth having a look tonight if there are clear sky's. The magnetometer readings have not been so high for some considerable time.

[PanBiker]

Just seen on a news program that aurora was visible in Sweden today during daylight hours. It's certainly not unknown but obviously exceptional high intensity activity to create the phenomena to be visible in daylight.

[Stanley]

Could the solar activity have influenced my knee?

[Tardis]

Could the solar activity have influenced my knee?

That might be confusing causation with correlation