Castle Aching

[Annie]

14 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

however, nothing daunted they're setting about a replacement gaff. They'll neither know nor care whether I'm still here to see their next clutch.  On they go.  I find that strangely reassuring. 

Yes by and large the animal kingdom couldn't careless about the crisis the human are having.  They are simply getting on with it.

 

14 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

And at least we live in the age of freeview TV and internet streaming, so those of us still alive for the time being can keep our minds off things.  If Covid had struck during my childhood, I'd be staring at this all day ...l

Despite the abuses the internet is put to it makes an enormous difference to my own quality of life since I'm able to make contact with other like minded folk around the world as well as quickly find information towards whatever project I'm working on at the time.  I don't watch movies so often since I tend to fall asleep, but I find the considerable range of audio books available on the web to be very useful.

 

Edit:  Audio books tend to have better moving pictures.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Annie
more to say

[drmditch]

42 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

I fear that there is nothing I can say that would be helpful or any less depressing!

 

Or perhaps I can.  Readers will recall that the Estate sent some chaps round a while back to replace our rotten sashes.  They removed the swifts' nest in the corner of our bedroom window.  Yesterday the swifts returned, to find it gone.  I think I heard the swift equivalent of "bloody typical!". Judging by the activity today, however, nothing daunted they're setting about a replacement gaff. They'll neither know nor care whether I'm still here to see their next clutch.  On they go.  I find that strangely reassuring. 

 

I agree. During these solitary weeks I have been vastly entertained by the animals using my garden. 

The best of all has to be the large Crow which, early on, learned to unfasten the hooks of the bird feeders so that they fell to the ground and he could get to the contents. After I first wired them, he quickly learned to break the wire. He is a bit stumped at the moment 'cos I've used thicker wire. I think I need to make a special box so he can learn to open a lid. At one point another bird, which I think might have been Mrs Crow turned up, presumably taking her allowed 10 min break from incubation, and they did a little dance together. Mr Crow is visiting more often now, presumably with hungry mouths to feed.

 

Then there the Magpies and Blackbirds and Thrushes and Robins, not to mention all the coloured variety of smaller birds.

 

Magpies are very acrobatic and entertaining.

 

Unfortunately, I think I frightened a pair of Hedgehogs this week, by attempting to take a picture without realising the flash was turned on.

 

As Mr Edwardian says, they are not bothered whether we are here or not, although I suspect the Corvids are finding supplies of roadkill are lower than usual.

 

If we were not here, much of the planet would carry on quite happily.

 

And anyway, who needs television?

Or is it just me who is fortunate enough to live in a house full of books, and a railway of course!

(Just taking a break from constructing an NER Central Division Signal Cabin (Type C2b)

 

And also....

Just in case anybody would like to read it, below is a small memorial for VE Day.

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by drmditch

[drmditch]

VE Day 2020 – under Covid-19 Lockdown.

 

Places in my life.

 

Shrapnel in the window frame, and the story told.

Factories burning

I cannot hear the bombs falling, or the screams

 

Near where I grew up, one mast still stands. I think the last.

The company where my parents worked.

The electronic systems were effective; just enough.

 

Flying off to Europe, high in the blue sky.

Comfortable  aircraft, with a G&T.

Sun veiled in cloud, no spitting fire, no sudden agony, no death today

 

Disused airfield on a misty, eerie afternoon.

An engine running, stuttering

Nothing to try to land with damaged wings and gear.

 

Out on the North Pier; out into the grey, uneasy sea.

Tide-predicted ships,

Sunk with fierce explosions in the night

And who lies with them?

 

A concrete pillbox, much neglected now

Near a happy pub, children on the beach.

Horrors that didn’t happen.

Here.

 

Take a walk in the sand dunes, near my brother’s house

Concrete landing craft, built for practice.

Young men running to shoot and be shot at, young men struggling in the water, young men dying.

 

Near my other brother’s house

A whole field full of more young men.

Their allied-flag flies bold and brave and sad.

They came to help

Who do we and they help now?

 

 

Other people caused it.

In places far away, they were not us.

We can always blame ‘them’, the others.

All the differences, all the divisions, all the “ism’s”

Poverty and exploitation, daily struggles not admitted.

Mistakes were made, but how could they have seen?

 

With pride and sorrow,

(and false pride and selfishness)

we think we care.

 

But words are easy, aren’t they?

And have we learned?

 

And now?

 

[Edwardian]

7 minutes ago, drmditch said:

 

I agree. During these solitary weeks I have been vastly entertained by the animals using my garden. 

The best of all has to be the large Crow which, early on, learned to unfasten the hooks of the bird feeders so that they fell to the ground and he could get to the contents. After I first wired them, he quickly learned to break the wire. He is a bit stumped at the moment 'cos I've used thicker wire. I think I need to make a special box so he can learn to open a lid. At one point another bird, which I think might have been Mrs Crow turned up, presumably taking her allowed 10 min break from incubation, and they did a little dance together. Mr Crow is visiting more often now, presumably with hungry mouths to feed.

 

Then there the Magpies and Blackbirds and Thrushes and Robins, not to mention all the coloured variety of smaller birds.

 

Magpies are very acrobatic and entertaining.

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, we have Mr Blackbird.

 

Mr Blackbird is a very proud and particular bird. He likes to make the effort for Mrs Blackbird.

 

Mr Blackbird perches on the ample wing mirror of my Disco to preen himself.  While doing so, he sh1ts all over it. 

 

Then, he hops onto the door window ledge to admire himself in the mirror.  He is very pleased with himself at this point, and celebrates by sh1tting all over my door.   

 

He then repeats this performance on the other side of the car.

 

He has not yet shown any signs of tiring of these narcissistic endeavours. 

 

My car looks like candle wax on a bottle.

 

I now have tied bags over the wing mirrors and streamers to the door handles.  

 

I hate that bird.

[Compound2632]

Ain't nature wonderful?

[Buhar]

On human nature there's an interesting and optimistic piece in the Grauniad today on some children who were shipwrecked on an island for over a year. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

 

It's linked to a book that speaks against the revert to savagery narrative. 

 

Alan 

[Edwardian]

14 minutes ago, Buhar said:

On human nature there's an interesting and optimistic piece in the Grauniad today on some children who were shipwrecked on an island for over a year. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

 

It's linked to a book that speaks against the revert to savagery narrative. 

 

Alan 

 

Obviously none of them was in the school choir ....!

 

But what a wonderful, fascinating and heart warming story. Thank you for that.  And b*gger the miserable world weary intellectual this story suggests Golding to have been. twisting such a positive story into dystopian nightmare.. 

[brack]

3 hours ago, Buhar said:

On human nature there's an interesting and optimistic piece in the Grauniad today on some children who were shipwrecked on an island for over a year. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

 

It's linked to a book that speaks against the revert to savagery narrative. 

 

Alan 

Yes, as shipwrecks and marooning on islands go it's a somewhat more cheery story than the Batavia....

[jcredfer]

3 hours ago, Buhar said:

On human nature there's an interesting and optimistic piece in the Grauniad today on some children who were shipwrecked on an island for over a year. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

 

It's linked to a book that speaks against the revert to savagery narrative. 

 

Alan 

 

I had the privilege {dubious description} to find a solution to a group of year 11 pupils, who had developed the thought that civilised behaviour was not for them and had caused serious misery for many around them.  Where I was fronted with this unpleasant group, 26 in number, was in their PE lessons, where opportunities for their very unpleasant behaviour were plentiful {including an attempt to crush a class towards a Teacher to push him onto the Javelin stuck into the ground behind him, at an angle aimed at the centre of  his back - nice children}.

 

Recognising that there was a complete lack of  their ability to see the effects of their behaviour on others, I went back to "their" square one - no rules, do as you please.  The group {26} was large enough to separate from the rest of the year {much to the relief of the others} and teach them as a class, where their rules applied  - ie. - none.  The first lesson was in the "confines" of the Sports Hall {i'm not completely stupid!} and based on a game of Rounders.  It didn't take long for a rush for the ball turned into a mass bundle on the floor.  Eventually the repetitive blowing of the whistle got the attention of the group and I offered the opinion that such "bundles" might end up with someone getting injured.  Was that something they wanted to happen, to their friends I asked and was relieved to be informed that they did not.  I proposed the idea that should a situation start to develop, such that there was a risk to one or more of them, then a single blow of the whistle would cause them to stop immediately.  They saw the sense in that and agreed.  { I admit to a certain relief at that response }

 

Having established that, small initial, process of mind, the next week we ventured outdoors, to an area of grass bordered by a path and small conifer hedge.  The game was simple, one plastic bucket at each end of the area, two teams and two tennis balls.  The aim was for a team to get both tennis balls in their opponent's bucket at the same time {one ball would concentrate the whole group on one target, but two splits the attention  } - a timely reminder of the whistle rule and away they went.  Shortly after the start, one of them was hurled into the conifers along one side of the grass area.  A whistle got the instant response desired {Great, well done!} and it was explained that some of the branches in the conifers were broken off and the ends were rather sharp.  A rummage in the branches revealed an example, along with a description of the damage that might cause to one of their friends.  With that in mind it was suggested that they might avoid pushing each other into the conifers and also be looking for other objects which might cause damage to their friends {Like the tarmac path on the other side}.  Unanimous agreement - Bingo, the beginnings of civilised behaviour!

 

At that point, it was possible to lay down an alternative for them. -  The rest of the year group were doing activities they had opted for {Ice Skating, Football, Ten Pin Bowling, Aerobics, Badminton etc} and the offer was that 3 weeks of civilised behaviour would allow any one of this group to join an activity to their choice.  The alternative options to the group were gradually taken up by a considerable percentage of them, leaving the small remainder to find their attitudes being more isolated.  

 

It took the best part of a year, for all but the hardened last 5, however, sticking to the principle that what guided their behaviour to each other was up to them got some recognition within even them and they even started to enjoy badminton and table tennis.

 

The learning for me, was to start by listening to/watching them to find where they are, accept that's where their experience has got them to and work from there.  Above all, be honest about where their ideas might lead and offer more positive alternatives, a little patience is useful and rather effective, too.

 

Julian

 

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

7 hours ago, lanchester said:

Evolutionary 'progress' (note the quote marks - evolution has no vision of the future so can't 'progress' towards anything, the best it can do is a better fit to the present) is further compromised. As well as natural selection in the sense of favouring traits that leave you alive long enough for successful reproduction, there is sexual selection which means that particular, presumably desirable, traits (like compassion, mebis?) are favoured in the pairing-up process. Unfortunately, since the human male will mate, with consent or without, with anything with a pulse, sexual selection may not really work for the genus . (We'd better do this at genus level, because the sapiens species may already be below the critical population level for survival).

 

Yes an interesting point. Evolution is quite blind in that every slight change is not necessarily beneficial to the species. Many are simply harmful and because they are they will be removed by the natural selection/dominance of those species members who have not acquired them. The beneficial changes are likely to survive because they bestow a benefit on the species members who have them. But that's quite obvious as we know.

 

The crucial thing is that whatever the nature of the changes they tend to be slight and it can take a number of generations before the benefit or harm starts to kick in and the species begins to encourage the beneficial ones. That process can be unconscious or conscious depending on the cognitive awareness of the species. As a rough example a species that is a natural prey of specific predators could evolve several defence strategies. Large herbivores which are slow moving, and need to consume high amounts of food which demands slow grazing behaviour must sacrifice speed and agility because these are high energy consuming activities, and they therefore evolved herd behaviour which sacrifice herd members either infirm or too slow to the random attacks of predators. Small herbivores like rabbits evolved both high rates of breeding and also burrowing capabilities which combined protect them and provide the same overall species protection. In herbivores those behavioural forms were adopted as the smaller sub-groups within the species who had acquired the behavioural trait came to outnumber those that didn't. The crucial point being that the predators need only to take a few of their prey to satisfy their survival needs which therefore means that the prey species will continue to survive without lowering their species numbers below species survival level.   

 

However all that evolution of beneficial species behaviour takes time and species which are quick to reach sexual maturity and breeding will have faster evolutionary process than those that don't. That's why insecticide manufacturers have to constantly increase the potency of their products because insects breed in such colossal numbers that you only need a relatively small number with a genetic mutation that has given them immunity to the insecticide and next fly season is as bad as the last. Viruses like Covid-19 are even harder to control because as we have seen its reproductive behaviour is so rapid that it has already evolved a newer strain. That didn't evolve as a response to efforts to control it but because it was just doing what its biological template caused it to do. 

 

We humans as the current top predator are faced with a massive problem when we try to build any sort of herd immunity. We began as one of the slowest breeding species because hominids are among the slowest species to achieve sexual maturity. But we compensated for that by evolving cognitive abilities which enabled us to adapt in the short term to threats either from predators or natural disasters. However this higher cognitive level then encouraged us to add a non-natural behavioural trait which discourages breeding when sexual maturity is reached, and replaced it with encouraging breeding only when certain social norms are reached like sufficient wealth and the education to support that standard are reached. So as our current Western society and economy has developed this has actually placed ourselves at a disadvantage vis-à-vis Covid-19.

 

Does this therefore mean that as some commentators have surmised that things like Covid-19 are the new norm and the future will see us having increasing battles of the current type to ensure species survival. Certainly our hospitals are now very dangerous places because of the existence of immune species of staphylococcus bugs. If these resistant bacteria and viruses are the new norm then we really ought to have a long hard look at that other destructive trait we have have which is to politicise pandemics (as in a certain country) and instead look at the possibility of real catastrophe if we fail to. Because if we don't then the fact that evolution is blind to consequences will see us out rather messily.                

[Edwardian]

5 hours ago, Malcolm 0-6-0 said:

 

However this higher cognitive level then encouraged us to add a non-natural behavioural trait which discourages breeding when sexual maturity is reached, and replaced it with encouraging breeding only when certain social norms are reached like sufficient wealth and the education to support that standard are reached.       

 

Perhaps true in general, but, again: Wisbech.

[jwealleans]

I can't honestly claim to have read this entire phase of the thread, but I have to question the relevance of any part of Norfolk to a discussion on evolution.   I'd suggest it is more the exception which proves the rule.

[RedGemAlchemist]

12 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

Perhaps true in general, but, again: Wisbech.

I was going to say Thetford.

[Edwardian]

53 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

I can't honestly claim to have read this entire phase of the thread, but I have to question the relevance of any part of Norfolk to a discussion on evolution.   I'd suggest it is more the exception which proves the rule.

 

Cambridgeshire

 

Having lived in the Cambridgeshire Fens for 8 years, I'm afraid I do consider that I have earned the right to be mildly satirical on the subject!  I think we all know a Wisbech, or a Whittlesey [insert name of insular and deprived  town of choice here].

 

Welcome to Wisbech!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Edwardian

[jwealleans]

Quote

Having lived in the Cambridgeshire Fens for 8 years..

 

 Beat you.  I did 13.

 

Littleport.  It was the largest village in England when I moved there, became a town (no-one seemed to know how or when that happened) and Wikipedia has now demoted it to a village again.  The only famous person with even the remotest connection to it moved to live half the globe away.  My wife went to antenatal cooking and nutrition classes and was shocked to see the tutor holding up common vegetables and explaining to the bemused attendees that they were edible and how to prepare them. 

 

To save typing it again I refer the honourable members to this post.

[Nearholmer]

8 hours ago, Malcolm 0-6-0 said:

to add a non-natural behavioural trait

 

I would propose that what you describe isn't 'non-natural' at all for two reasons:

 

- we are part of nature, whatever delusions we periodically develop on that point, so a behaviour develop is part of nature; and,

 

- it looks very much like the common behaviour of females selecting mates who are likely to be able to provide sufficient nurture and resources for their offspring (= gene line) to permit them to grow to fit maturity and reproduce. I was watching a pigeon trying to demonstrate his fitness as a mate yesterday, doing flying displays and strange dances to a potential 'spouse'; no different from (often laughably clumsy) displays of maturity, wealth, intelligence and warm wit by young men.

[uax6]

Littleport... ah a location that for work purposes I can call home, for the last 12 years... Inhabited by what appears to be two clans. The Littleportions (who have a small brain) and the Sh*tallportions (who don't even have that much...)

 

They seem to suffer from eyesight issues too, as they don't appear to be able to work out what 6ft looks like, even when we have drawn it on the pavement for them...

 

But the view out of the box window on the boatyard is nice enough....

 

I would have suggested Chatteris as a better case study...

 

Andy G

Edited May 10, 2020 by uax6

[Edwardian]

Ah. Littleport.  IIRC, it has a tyre re-cycling depot.  They never seem to be able to recycle them quickly enough, so, every so often, the tyre mountain would mysteriously catch fire and the back-log would be reduced.  Possibly insurance claims followed.

 

We saw the huge clouds of billowing black smoke periodically on our horizon. 

 

Very Ukippy, and the local Conservatives definitely fulfilled Grant Shap's description of "swivel-eyed loons". ln my mind, the opening chords of duelling banjos would often come unbidden as I drove about the Fens!

 

 

[Hroth]

16 hours ago, Annie said:

All the watertight compartments did was slow down the sinking.  Too many compartments in the bow had been opened to the sea by the iceberg so the weight of water in the bow pulled the ship down to the point where water could flood over the top of each compartment in turn.

 

Which in a way is what they're there for.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Titanic#/media/File:Titanic_side_plan_annotated_English.png

 

The problem with Titanic is that, as built, watertight bulkheads C to J were two decks lower than all the others. and the biggest hull splits were between B and E.  The number of flooded compartments that could be sustained before sinking was based on the large percentage of low bulkheads. If the bulkheads had been full height, it may well not have foundered before the Carpathia arrived, or at least allowed a more orderly distribution of passengers in the available lifeboats and the deployment of the collapsible lifeboats.

 

However, the low bulkheads were easilly overtopped and flooding proceeded along the ship, like a row of dominos.

 

The lowered bulkheads were due to the requirement that passenger spaces were not impeded by having bulkheads blocking circulation, especially for the First class...

 

Passing onto other things.

 

16 hours ago, drmditch said:

Magpies are very acrobatic and entertaining.

 

Our magpies are fun to watch.

 

One hangs on the cage holding a suet slab and pecks vigorously away.  the rest of his mates hang around below, picking up the bits that fall down. They seemed to have picked the habit up from the Jackdaws, who started doing that first, copying the Tits hanging onto the fat feeders.  Again one hangs on and bashes away, whilst the others pick up the bits that have fallen off.

 

14 hours ago, Buhar said:

On human nature there's an interesting and optimistic piece in the Grauniad today on some children who were shipwrecked on an island for over a year. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

 

It's linked to a book that speaks against the revert to savagery narrative. 

 

14 hours ago, Edwardian said:

But what a wonderful, fascinating and heart warming story. Thank you for that.  And b*gger the miserable world weary intellectual this story suggests Golding to have been. twisting such a positive story into dystopian nightmare.. 

 

I never liked Lord of the Flies, despite being forced to read it (one of the O level books that year).  It seemed completely unpleasant.  I'm glad to hear that real life turned out to be completely unlike Goldings prurient wishfulness.

 

 

[jwealleans]

Quote

....it has a tyre re-cycling depot.  They never seem to be able to recycle them quickly enough, so, every so often, the tyre mountain would mysteriously catch fire and the back-log would be reduced.  Possibly insurance claims followed.

 

Has it ever been fully put out?  My recollection is that it was always at least partially smouldering the whole time I lived there.

 

Quote

...the opening chords of duelling banjos would often come unbidden...

 

You should visit the Show.  We did.  Once.   It was what I imagine an Anthropologist's wet dream would be like.

 

Quote

They seem to suffer from eyesight issues too...

 

I don't envy you having to try to close those gates every hour as my recollection is that it didn't matter how closed they were, they'd still try to squeeze through.    Didn't they build some houses to close to the OHL just by the next crossing in the Up direction as well?

 

[Donw]

One thing we have changed is the mobility of the human race. It was a long time ago that we spread to nearly every corner of the world  (rather an odd epression for a global world) but increasingly we have speeded up the time it takes to go to somewhere else and also the number of persons doing so.  At the same time the population has grown and we have clustered in larger concentrations than ever before. The factors have increased the rate at which a pandemic would spread which is born out by the Covid19. 

Against that the majority who get infected survive so I don't think the survival of the race is in doubt and I also doubt whether civilisation will collapse. Of course Governments may get the blame and lose elections this may or may not be a good thing depending on your view of those governments. It would be really good if the provision of healthcare for all spreads wider round the world. It may also be beneficial if for example Obesity is shown to be a factor in Corvid19 deaths and people took it more seriously. Somehow I hold little hope for that. As a race we seem very capable of ignoring inconvenient truths as some of the behaviour during lockdown shows. Are any of us on here still smokers? As for those who choose vaping I find it distinctly odd that people seem happy to dope themselves with a highly addictive substance whose main benefit appears to be that it taking it eases the tension caused by the craving for another dose and the physical reactions to not having a dose.

 

Don 

[ianathompson]

1 hour ago, jwealleans said:

Didn't they build some houses to close to the OHL just by the next crossing in the Up direction as well?

 

As another person who had the pleasure (?) of working Littleport box (amongst others) before retirement, the short answer is no.

They were built on the down side opposite the Black Horse, as was. (It is now the Swan.)

It was quite common at the time for a class 66 and a long freight train to be held down there for engineering work and to rev up on restarting.

Then one of the idiots, having bought a house next to the railway, complained that the trains were waking them up during the middle of the night.

 

I was a teacher in a former life but, having been sufficiently bribed by the management, left  to work as a seasonal labourer in the local sugar factory.

When the "campaign" ended I taught in Wisbech and Thetford on supply.

I can definitely report that Wisbech school was more civilised (shome mishtake shurely?!)

The school in Thetford (better remain nameless as I still see staff that taught there) was so bad that on the second day there some staff said, "My God, you've come back!"

At the end of the week the Headmistress came and shook my hand because they just could not get supply staff to work in the place.

 

Having seen that I was more than competent at dealing with loony adolescents the Wisbech management were keen to get me onto their regular supply list, I presume with a view towards a permanent appointment.

When I told them that I would be working in the sugar factory rather than teaching during the coming winter the look on their faces made it all worthwhile.

 

Mind you, soccer in the Lynn Sunday league twenty odd years ago was always interesting.

Playing for Southery at least we all ran towards the fighting rather than away.

We once "enjoyed" a sixty or seventy man brawl in one of the roughest areas of Lynn when the opposition spectators decided to join in.

Our supporters ran onto the park and engaged as well.

They invited us back to their pub but the lads with cars said that they preferred them to have wheels rather than finding bricks under them.

By the time I arrived back in Downham word had spread and we were legends in our own lunchtime.

At least our "reputation" meant that other idiots were dissuaded from trying that tactic again and we led a peaceful life playing football as opposed to the boxing/all in wrestling/cage fighting that generally prevailed.

 

Speaking of nutters living next to railway lines. 

My father told me that a bloke in York, who lived near the northern end of what in those days was the busy yard north of York, used to regularly come out, in pyjamas, in the middle of the night to complain to the crews of the class 37s who were waking him up!

Guess where the 37s were sent to clear their throats after that!

 

Ian T

[uax6]

1 hour ago, jwealleans said:

 

Has it ever been fully put out?  My recollection is that it was always at least partially smouldering the whole time I lived there.

 

 

You should visit the Show.  We did.  Once.   It was what I imagine an Anthropologist's wet dream would be like.

 

 

I don't envy you having to try to close those gates every hour as my recollection is that it didn't matter how closed they were, they'd still try to squeeze through.    Didn't they build some houses to close to the OHL just by the next crossing in the Up direction as well?

 

I think its well out now, the company have, I think, gone pop long since.

 

With the underpass now closed, it was amazing how many of the Littleportions actually resorted to climbing over the gates.... The vast majority don't understand that walking side by side with a gate in between you and them isn't social distancing... I find a rapid series of coughs makes them think a bit!

 

Yes they did, and they complained about the Sand train sitting there waiting for the road...

 

Andy G

 

 

[sem34090]

The only comment on my place of residence is that it's been b*ggered by royalty...

 

Make of that what you will. Needless to say we consider it superior to Portsmouth and Brighton... but still want to flee Northwards!

[wagonman]

For those of us pinning our hopes for a return to normality on the imminent discovery of a vaccine, may I just point out that the Common Cold – against which we have been fighting unsuccessfully for centuries – is a Coronavirus.

 

Have a nice day.