alastairq

In itself perhaps now an anomaly? Given C of E bleatings around falling attendances, etc in church....I get the feeling we live in a new world of hypocrisy. Surely our churches should be full to bursting every Sunday, given the sheer number of people posting on social media, whereby the first thing they utter is OMG? ** It follows then that if so many people feel the need to invoke God [their God]...either hypocrisy reigns supreme amongst social media-ites [like the medonites, but less hairy?]....or the church isn't doing enough to capitalise on this outpouring of religious belief..? ** No, I don't believe the exclamation refers to ''Oh My Giddy-Aunt''....

I caught what turned out to be Mexican or swine, flu at that time. I remember having to telephone an NHS number, and a box of Tamiflu was posted through my letterbox. This, the day before Xmas Eve, too. Not surprising I caught it, given that where-I-worked, a lot of unhealthy individuals were crammed in together in close proximity. These unhealthy individuals refused point blank to report 'sick' as they wanted to be out of the establishment toot sweet. Anyway, I reacted adversely to tamiflu. Managed to speak to my own GP on Boxing day.who told me not to bother with them. It lasted about 2 weeks...living on one's own meant I could not simply 'retire' to bed. Since I was on leave at the time, that had to be cancelled , to go on the 'sick'....but with it being deffo the mexican bug, I stayed [legitimately] away from work [on full pay]until the end of February. The establishment learnt to 'do without me'....A struggle really, as so many of my co-workers[colleagues, etc] were off sick with it at the same time....and since it was a recognised bug, and the establishment was unable to do anything about limiting its transmission, the 'sick' didn't count towards my normal quota for the year. Since then, despite the best efforts off various types of flu, I haven't caught a damned thing....not really even a cold,either. So I declined an offers of a flu jab. {Since the flu jab is likely to give one a mild dose of whatever the variety-of-the-year happens to be, I don't see the point in poking the wasps nest!} PS..I wonder if the Taliban have all had their two jabs? If not, nature may d the job for us?

This is what is wrong with our Government! It's all in the wrong hands!...[I just knew there was something untrustworthy with Tony Blair, et al!]

Rubic cubic inches, praaaphs?

But....exactly who do we talk to, or deal with? I think we, as a ''western'' nation, are to blame, not just for the situation in Afghan, but for even financing the Taliban as well. It is known the Taliban financed their operations using the drugs trade [nothing new there then?] But, if it wasn't for countries like the UK, with the financially-comfortable young things who like to indulge themselves in 'recreational' drug taking [not forgetting recreational alcohol abuse?]...creating a huge market for drugs in the first place, then folk like the Taliban would be in a struggling situation. The big mistake we made [as a western influence] {IMVHO} is to make more affluent a 'ruling' elite in Kabul, leading to inevitable corruption [the place couldn't run without corruption]...So maybe throwing money at the plot isn't such a good idea in the long term? I think the world will end up with another Iran, the way things are going? Without the missiles? The Mullahs have taken power yet again...

Shades of Burt Munro??

Lemmings, and a can of Red Bull springs to mind..................

Really? Nothing? ''Prevention'' is impossible. Imposing fines on the RKs whose vehicles are spotted/reported to be on the road is easy. Imposing fines on uninsured vehicles is easy too [with ANPR], and round here, when an uninsured vehicle is stopped, it is also impounded....end of journey in that particular vehicle. On major routes round here, there are ANPR cameras linked to DVLA, simply recording the reg number of every vehicle that passes. Of course, like any offence, regardless of nature....bringing an offender to Court, then getting anything out of them, is another story altogether. Therefore, if any citizen is concerned about a vehicle being used unlawfully [or otherwise, ] then it is easy enough to check, and report as necessary.

The insurance policy will state [words to the effect] that the policyholder may drive any vehicle, not owned by the policyholder, or hired to the policyholder[and the cover is for 3rd party only, to cover basic Road Traffic Acts insurance requirements] Be aware, being the Registered Keeper, does not mean one is the vehicle owner. That is stated on the front to the V5c.

There have been supercharged [with Shorrock vane blowers] bikes in drag racing too...although I'm not sure if the bra and tights were mandatory or not? I like blowers. I have three sitting in boxes in my downstairs loo. Blowers, especially vane blowers, are excellent for bottom end torque. which is what's needed for ordinary day-to-day riding / driving [the sub 3000 rpm stuff we all inhabit day after day] Downstream carbs are fine providing they can resist the pressure. [The SU carbs used on turbo metros simply had their throttle shaft seals turned the other way around....pressure didn't affect the float bowl one jot, as was feared] One advantage of a supercharger is, the carb, if upstream, can be sited almost anywhere. Within reason. {Next doors gazebo is out of the question]

I blame men! The present issues in Afghanistan are down pretty much to men! They must be a pretty insecure bunch to feel threatened by women actually learning something? In fact I think the biggest issue with any religion stems from being male dominated. As if males are actually afraid of females?

More likely an excuse for adding a bit of bling?

Breather filter....

Wishful thinking, praaaphs?

I wonder if it was the Peerless that was serialised in its rebuilding in Practical Carsicks?

Seems..they've all been to Specsavers too....

I have 2 axles, and a diff unit, from one of these, sitting in my 'spares' stash. 5:1 final drive ratio, track around 3 foot 10 or so..ideal for fitting a 'modern' axle to many really really old cars, which generally had much narrower tracks than today's panzer-behemoths.

Perhaps it is time to simply avoid [or , ignore?] those places where the couldn't-care-less's tend to congregate or inhabit?

My S Scale Sty membership has just lapsed [stony-broke pensioneeer] But I only have a couple of bits of stock to show for my efforts in S scale. Regarding Minories? Iain Rice drew up a Minories theme [based on a south London commuter idea] which had but one platform [two faces] and a small goods yard [ essential services, house coal, etc] for when trains of coaches coming & going got too boring. Not quite as many locos or stock required compared to the conventional Minories, perhaps? Steve Rabone modelled in S, and I admired how he looked for alternative methods of acquiring power.....using Hornby tender drives, re-gauged...It got ''something running'' after all. I reckon a simple bit of motive power ought to get juices flowing? So simple, maybe a Sentinel or something similar?

But it has a Lotus badge on the rear wing, I think? [Not a Lotus Cortina...or even, a daffodil Cortina, someone paid a lot for a wannabe.]

Indeed. But when it came to the media spotlighting the issues last year, no differentiation was made. WHilst some private care employers only have one or two employees, many such small employers[in terms of client number] can have a whole team of carers employed. [An example close to me, one person profoundly disabled, needs a team of 6 to 8 staff, employed by the family, to provide 24 hour car, plus other needs...Plus, someone employed to manage the team....plus someone to take over team management to cover holidays, sickness....the staff list soon grows way above the basic carer-by-the- bedside, or whatever.] Therefore, even with but one 'client', the PPE needs can be significant.

There are an awful lot of private care providers who have but one client. Round here, quite a few private care providers [IE, private individuals or families, who employ their own care provider staff, rather than contracting out their care needs] were actively in denial last year about covid!! However, these small , private, care units get counted in with the big conglomerate care providers..

Then it is time to stop concerning oneself over what society thinks [of you or I?}, and use the [financial] legal system to confound the system? If in a position whereby one's lifestyle is perforce to be as minimalistic as possible...in other words, with little or nothing to lose, I'd be very inclined to use the financial system to upset the system by working towards personal bankruptcy. The financial system builds in protections [via interest ] against even this, and they don't really want ordinary poor folk to understand BR or go down that route....for it actually is a kick in the face for the whole system..it protects the bankrupt individual, and is very freeing. Guaranteed to set a poor person free of that financial millstone [or the threat of it?] from around the neck. Bankruptcy is not limiting in a any serious way, to a hard up individual. But it is a legal tool to enable the likes of us poor individuals to literally, pee on the whole system.. From a great height. There being, literally, nothing that the financial world can do about it! Oh dear, what a shame! OK, so there are societal prejudices, more than Divorce could ever bring about. But if not particularly bothered about material lifestyles [because we are poor?] then bankruptcy is quite liberating. Quite why society places more store on financial wellbeing [faked or otherwise] rather than ensuring the minimum basic comforts for the poorer or less able members of that society, I will never know, or tolerate.

I'll wait until the electrics are down to the prices of a basic Dacia Sandero before I can even consider changing over.... \especially as there is nothing on wheels made these past few years which even remotely take my fancy!

As a tall person of reduced flexibility, I find the conventional [as in, Interceptor] riding position to be tiring after a while. My knees end up knocking my elbows half the time. I find life uncomfortable if my knees are bent beyond the right angle position for any length of time. The Meteor [350] riding position would place my knees at a less stressed , less than 90 degrees angle, but not so far forward as the US -style easy rider stance. I also endure a lot of lower back pain with the 'leaning -forwards' riding stance as well, these days. I prefer to have a more upright seating position as a result...but with a higher seat height to suit my quite long legs....I end up with that forwards lean, to reach the bars. The problem I find with being tall [although I am shorter than I was 40 years ago!!]...I find is, in order to reach the ground to pick something up, I have to bend a lot further than my [much shorter[] daughter does. Which offsets her need to stand on a chair to reach the top shelves of her kitchen cupboards! I'd take the 350 over the 650 any day.....but then, I'd ride at the same speeds I'd drive my Dellow....not having any urges to top the ton at every opportunity. For me, speed is not the be-all-&-end-all..... Pace, on the other hand, is what I'm good at. Especially in the Dellow..or even my not-so-old Suzuki GV ....sadly made this century....just.