http://www.rememberseptember44.com/
From the page:
“On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider up to 150 km behind enemy lines. Their goal: to secure to bridges across the rivers in Holland so that the Allied army could advance rapidly northwards and turn right into the lowlands of Germany, hereby skirting around the Siegfried line, the German defence line. If all carried out as planned it should have ended the war by Christmas 1944.”
Be sure to watch Off Kilter, the three-part series written and presented by Jonathan Meades, which starts on BBC 4 at 9pm on Wednesday.
There is almost no corner of culture that remains alien to Meades, or unscrutinised in his original, penetrating way.
This series is about Scotland, but don’t let that put you off. Meades gives us Scotland as probably even most of the Scots do not understand it.
http://www.hedweb.com/welcome.htm
To quote Dr. Hildegarde Langstrom:
“Schopenhauer was right, wouldn’t you say?
Life without pain has no meaning.
Gentlemen, I wish to give your life meaning. “
England expects either a rare victory or a record breaking achievement from the Aussies. Whatever happens I shall be following events with interest.
http://www.crestock.com/blog/design/propaganda-parodies-part-2-join-the-proctological-corps-183.aspx
A bit of a mixed bunch but some made me smile.
Bite Bigger
by John Hartley, (1839 – 1915)
As I hurried through t’ taan to my wark,
-I were lat,(1) for all t’ buzzers had gooan-
I happen’d to hear a remark
At ‘ud fotch tears thro’ th’ heart of a stooan.
It were rainin’, an’ snawin’, an’ cowd,
An’ th’ flagstones were cover’d wi’ muck,
An’ th’ east wind both whistled an’ howl’d,
It saanded like nowt bud ill luck.
When two little lads, donn’d(2) i’ rags,
Baat(3) stockin’s or shoes o’ their feet,
Com trapsin’ away ower t’ flags,
Boath on ’em sodden’d wi’ t’ weet.
Th’ owdest mud happen be ten,
T’ young un be haulf on’t, no more;
As I look’d on, I said to misen,
“God help fowk this weather at’s poor!”
T’ big un samm’d(4) summat off t’ graand,
An’ I look’d just to see what ‘t could be,
T were a few wizen’d flaars he’d faand,
An’ they seem’d to hae fill’d him wi’ glee.
An’ he said, “Coom on, Billy, may be
We sal find summat else by an’ by;
An’ if not, tha mun share these wi’ me,
When we get to some spot wheer it’s dry.”
Leet-hearted, they trotted away,
An’ I follow’d, ’cause t’ were i’ my rooad;
But I thowt I’d ne’er seen sich a day,
It wern’t fit to be aat for a tooad.
Sooin t’ big un agean slipp’d away,
An’ samm’d summat else aat o’ t’ muck;
An’ he cried aat, “Look here, Bill, to-day
Arn’t we blest wi’ a seet o’ gooid luck?”
Here’s a apple, an’ t’ mooast on it’s saand,
What’s rotten I’ll throw into t’ street.
Wern’t it gooid to lig theer to be faand?
Naa boath on us can have a treat.
“So he wip’d it an’ rubb’d it, an’ then
Said, “Billy, thee bite off a bit;
If tha hasn’t been lucky thisen,
Tha sal share wi’ me sich as I get.”
So t’ little un bate off a touch,(5)
T’ other’s face beam’d wi’ pleasure all through,
An’ he said, “Nay, tha hasn’t taen mich,
Bite agean, an’ bite bigger, naa do.”
I waited to hear nowt no more;
Thinks I, there’s a lesson for me;
Tha’s a heart i’ thy breast, if tha’rt poor;
T’ world were richer wi’ more sich as thee.
So I said, “Lad, here’s twopence for thee,
For thisen.” An’ they star’d like two geese;
Bud he said, whol t’ tear stood in his ee,
“Naa, it’ll just be a penny apiece.”
“God bless thee! do just as tha will,
An’ may better days speedily come;
Though clamm’d(6) an’ hauf donn’d,(7) my lad, still
Tha’rt a deal nearer Heaven nor(8) some.”
1. Late. 2. Dressed. 3. Without. 4. Picked.5. Small piece. 6. Starved 7. Dressed 8. Than
http://www.yorkshireheritage.org.uk/
August 1st, Yorkshire Day
“At last by t’ side o’t’ bank they stopp’d,
Where Wharfe runs murmurin’ clear,
A beautiful river breet an’ fine,
As onny in wide Yorkshire.”
Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere
http://master-li.stumbleupon.com/review/34756791/
My map of the local area is bilingual, and NOT in Japanese.
One of the more unusual creations to emerge from the construction sheds at Wassat Moor.
http://www.blackcurrantfoundation.co.uk/
“Bred especially for their deep purple colour which indicates a high level of anthocyanins – important disease-fighting antioxidants – British blackcurrants are a deliciously healthy addition to recipes.”
http://www.sheep101.info/Images/sheep_racing.jpg
“I don’t care if Monday’s blue
Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don’t care about you
It’s Friday, I’m in love
Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn’t even start
It’s Friday I’m in love
I don’t care if Mondays black
Tuesday, Wednesday – heart attack
Thursday, never looking back
It’s Friday, I’m in love
Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday – watch the walls instead
It’s Friday, I’m in love”
http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/reports/dragons.php
Here be dragons…
Himalayan trekking permit issued by His Majesty’s Government to, me actually.
“For a child cries :
Oh, find me … find me, nothing more
We are on a sullen misty moor
We may be dead and we may be gone
But we will be, we will be, we will be, right by your side
Until the day you die
This is no easy ride”
The prosecutor turned and started prosecuting me
Man, that cat gave me the third degree
He says “Where were you on the night of June 29?”
I said “I was home in bed” and he said “Judge this man is lyin’ “
…an arena for competitive, accountable predictions (Long Bets).
…a forum for focused discussion and debate about prediction.
…an attractive tool for philanthropic giving.
…a way to foster better long-term thinking.
People making long term predictions and prepared to put their money where their mouth is. Some bets are a bit ridiculous though.
Update 2023: Some bets have already finished and from my observations most were wrong. e.g.
It would be good if the site owners made site navigation better and had a section for bets which have finished.
John Mock and Kimberley ONeil have 30 years of experience of trekking in the Hindu Kush and other mountain ranges. If you like mountains then I’d recommend this site as it lists a lot of resources.
“Dyson spheres need great big walls
To keep the world from spilling out
They make them out of buckyballs
And use gravitons for grout”
Originally found at http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/dysonFAQ.html but the site is no longer active
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx
“I tried to phone the Swine Flu hotline, but all I got was crackling…”
May the 4th be with you….
Tul Bahadur Pun, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
He was refused entrance to the UK by British officials in Nepal as it was claimed he “doesn’t have strong enough ties with the UK” for him to be allowed to settle there. On June 1, 2007 this decision was overturned by the British Asylum & Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne, due to the “exceptional” nature of the case.
Yet Learco Chindamo is allowed to stay in Britain for the rest of his life.
He is the Italian-born murderer who knifed headmaster Philip Lawrence to death outside his London school in 1995.
However, we can’t deport him, an immigration tribunal has ruled, because this would breach his human right to a ‘family life’.
Recently, Gordon Brown’s government has ruled that Gurkha soldiers who have loyally served this country for the last 150 years do not have the right to stay.
Luckily, the House of Commons did not agree with him and in a symbolic vote defeated the government and demanded that all Gurkhas be allowed to settle here if they wish.
Gordon Brown shame on you, it’s not often that politics gets me angry but you and your government are morally bankrupt.
How dare you go to visit troops in Afghanistan say what a great job they are doing and then treat them like this.
“You have been sat too long here for any good you have been doing.
Depart, I say, and let us have done with you.
In the name of God, go!”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tul_Bahadur_Pun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/stumbleupon_breaks_free_from_ebay_-_founds_buy_it.php
Stumbleupon, so good they sold it twice…
"Sir Clement Freud, who has died aged 84, was perhaps best known for his deadpan performances on Just A Minute, BBC Radio 4’s comedy panel programme.
Here is one of his best known jokes…
"The Inland Revenue decide to audit Cyril, summon him to their office for an appointment with their most thorough auditor, who is not surprised when Cyril arrives with his solicitor. The auditor says: ‘Sir, you cannot deny that you have an extravagant lifestyle, no full-time employment, and pay no taxes on the grounds of your contention that you win money gambling. I have to tell you that Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise finds that explanation difficult to believe.’
"’I am a great gambler and can prove it,’ says Cyril. ‘Would you like a demonstration?’
"The auditor considers this for a moment and agrees. Cyril says: ‘I bet you a thousand pounds I can bite my own eye.’ The auditor thinks for a while, finally says: ‘It’s a bet.’
"Cyril removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor looks sick.
"’I’ll bet you two thousand pounds that I can bite my other eye,’ says Cyril. The auditor can tell Cyril isn’t blind, so he accepts the bet. Cyril removes his false teeth and bites the good eye.
"The stunned auditor now realises he has bet and lost £3,000, with Cyril’s solicitor as a witness; he gets very nervous. ‘Double or nothing?’ Cyril says. ‘I’ll bet you six thousand pounds that I can stand on the righthand side of your desk and piss into the bin on the far side without getting one drop anywhere between.’
"The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now but examines the proposal carefully. Cyril is not a tall man, the desk is eight foot wide; he decides there is simply no way Cyril could do that, so he agrees again.
"Cyril stands at the side of the desk, unzips his trousers, strains for all he is worth but cannot make the stream reach the bin on the far side, and finishes up having urinated pretty well all over the auditor’s desk. The auditor leaps with joy, realising that he has just turned a major loss into a sizeable win, then notices that Cyril’s solicitor is moaning, with his head in his hands. ‘Are you okay?’ asks the auditor.
"’Not really,’ says the solicitor. ‘This morning, when Cyril told me he had been summoned to this audit, he bet me £20,000 that he could come in here, piss all over your desk and you would be happy about it . . . and I took the bet.’"
