Balloon releases
Head above the parapet but why do certain demographics think that a mass balloon release is a good way of remembering a young persons life ? As are tying lots of balloons to where the deceased sadly met their end.
All it creates is more environmental mess, a danger to wildlife and contributes zilch positivity to the memory of the departed.
Why don’t the mass of people, primarily young people, spend an hour cleaning a park or some old persons garden ? Or anything with a constructive end result ?
Just something else that rattles the cage of an increasingly curmudgeonly, dyslexic old frat.
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Another gripe of mine is folk who will take time off work to go to someone’s funeral to pay their last respects. But would never actually take time to visit them when they were alive.
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Because 'certain demographics' can't/don't/won't think. Cows try to eat the balloons when they come down in a field - bad news.
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Grief by association, people have such shallow lives.
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Everything is someone else's fault.
Nothing is ever your fault.
Never take responsibility for the consequences of your actions.
Flew to a Mediterranean island at the height of Summer and had to be evacuated? Not your fault - obviously.
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>> Flew to a Mediterranean island at the height of Summer and had to be evacuated?
>> Not your fault - obviously.
Are you seriously saying they should have foreseen these wildfires and, unless willing to take the risk, stayed home?
The bit that does irritate me is the expectation that the holiday company can just find buses, planes and 11k+ beds at the drop of a hat at the height of the UK and European mainland's holiday seasons.
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It's learned helplessness - an inability to think, application of a blame culture, and a misplaced expectation that government will somehow sort all out.
Imagine a major fire in the UK. The Greek government insist they take control of events. Likely to be told (bluntly) p155 0ff. Rhodes - the tour operators and the Greek authorities should take responsibility although it may be right the UK offer assistance.
Fires are a regular occurrence around the Med in summer and will inevitably get out of control occasionally in summer. Some people in a part of Rhodes have had their holiday ruined for which I have some sympathy. AFAIK no-one had died as a result.
If the media were to be believed the entire island is a smoky burning hell - a complete exaggeration.
Rhodes is about the size of Hertfordshire. widespread fire in (say) Watford would be of zero consequence to residents of bishops Stortford 45 miles away.
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I'm sure there are some unthinking people out there but those interviewed on TV last night were grateful for what the Greek Government had done and expresseed sympathy for their Greek hosts. I imagine that they were in fact fairly typical.
It must be quite stressful to have to flee your hotel in the middle of the night in a foreign country.
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Yes, I had to do it in Scotland once due to a fire alarm.. The funny thing was there was someone else from my office also turfed out, one of whom seemed to have found a temporary female companion!! Paid, we think!!
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>> Yes, I had to do it in Scotland once due to a fire alarm.. The
>> funny thing was there was someone else from my office also turfed out, one of
>> whom seemed to have found a temporary female companion!! Paid, we think!!
ISTR a similar tale regarding a colleague but way back in eighties and memory fades.
If you've got infirmities that stop you running downstairs to the fire assembly area make sure you, and anybody who is in your party, know what the procedures are for refuges ec.
We went away c2016 for Mum's 90th. Fire alarm went at 06:30 on last day - chap working in the area and showering before work didn't close door - smoke alarum activated.
We were stranded in the corridor - her, me, my Daughter and D's Fiance.
Mum should have stayed in her room from which fire service would have removed her - via window if necessary.
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I turned down a place at an excellent day service because a lot of activities were upstairs, including overnight stays, with lovely old wooden stair cases and panelling. My son is slow on his feet, particularly on stairs. I could see panicking people knocking him flying. Their response was he would be locked in a room until rescued was not reassuring. He would have been terrified, and looking at the remoteness and design of the building, chance’s of rescue not that great.
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>>one of whom seemed to have found a temporary female companion!! Paid, we think!!
....claimable on expenses under "horizontal entertainment".....
Last edited by: tyrednemotional on Mon 24 Jul 23 at 20:34
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>....claimable on expenses under "horizontal entertainment".....
Reminds me of the jest about Orange Free State in the 80s.
The white population was almost exclusively Afrikaner and Glub fearing members of the NGK (Dutch Reformed Church). On the sabbath all forms of entertainment were forbidden.
On Saturday night you couldn't have sex standing up in case it led to dancing.
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Had to evacuate from a hostel south of the river, London Town, in the early hours. Fire alarm.
Set off by a group of teenage SA rugby players…the most objectionable group of teenagers I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet. Police were called and they were ejected en masse.
A sad indictment on white SA youth, confirmed by a middle aged couple from Port Elizabeth whom I met, amazing coincidence , a short while later. They said it was par for the course..they were emigrating to NZ.
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>> It must be quite stressful to have to flee your hotel in the middle of
>> the night
Happened to us early one morning at a rellies wedding. MOTB had put a kettle on without a lid. Our room didn't have a window, fire escape was at the end of a corridor. I sleep au naturel. SWMBO had to shout at me as I was leaving the room.
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>> It must be quite stressful to have to flee your hotel in the middle of
>> the night
Once stayed in a holiday home. Fire alarm went off in middle of night as the Rayburn had caught fire, and set light to the tea towels in front of it and then the washing above it. Fire alarm mis-sited was on wall about a foot below the ceiling, hence place full of smoke when it shouldn’t have been that bad before the alarm went off.
We called the Fire Brigade, isolated the Rayburn oil supply, and extinguished the fire. Retained crew arrived, we provided tea. Fireman took Rayburn to pieces and said it was well overdue a service and was a fire hazard. Landlady somewhat abashed.
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>> Flew to a Mediterranean island at the height of Summer and had to be evacuated?
>> Not your fault - obviously.
If the fires were exacerbated by global warming, do you think it will occur to those affected they were responsible by flying there?
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I guess we all have to come to the realisation that human activities are affecting the climate and we need to change our lives if there is any hope of averting a disaster. Whether that can achieved is open to doubt.
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"Changing our lifestyles" is not the answer. You are simply tinkering with the problem. You are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Population control is the the answer. In my lifetime the world's population has quadrupled from 2 billion to 8 billion. The population of the UK has increased by 60%.
These figures are not sustainable. The world must control and reduce its population. It is no longer clever, or wonderful to have more than 2 children. Of course I will be long gone before the fertiliser hits the air conditioning.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
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Of course population control is only part of the answer. Unless you are suggesting drastically culling the existing population there would still be problems if no more children were born. Habits and expectations need to change.
Not mine though :-)
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Birth rates are declining around the world with the exception of Africa and parts of Asia. The problem the industrialised world faces faces is not so much too many people but too many old people who are unproductive and a drain on resources. A decline in the birth rate only exacerbates th problem.
Put AI in charge and it might sort the problem with a cull of the over seventies
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>Put AI in charge and it might sort the problem with a cull of the over seventies
Put IBM in charge and might sort the problem with a cull of the over forties (C-Suite excluded).
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The Chinese even tried putting Covid in charge but we foiled it.
(Err that's actually the opposite of my thinking - wasn't the Chinese and it isn't gone - so written solely for humour - and it fails on that too!!)
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Well I put it to you that if we carry on the way we are going the human race is going to wipe itself out. No, not in your lifetime probably, but very possibly in another 100 years or so.
The only feasible, long term solution is population control and reduction. Painful solution, yes? But what is the alternative? What we do about Africa and Asia? I don't know - nuclear war, perhaps? Not being completely flippant, either.
The sooner the governments get to grips with this problem, the better. They won't, of course.
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Population reduction is the only strategy that can deliver stability - environmental, political, social. Populations growing beyond the capacity to feed and house ultimately result in conflict over scarce resources. In the animal world over exploitation of resources leads to population collapse.
It is usually the under 50s that produce. Over 70s - the mind may be willing but the body less than cooperative. Culling the elderly defers, not fixes the problem long term.
Policies have consistently put population control at the margins of action to protect the environment, preferring to tinker on the edges. This simply delays the onset of real problems, it does not solve them.
A bit like a fat bloke who tries all the latest fads in an attempt to return their physique to normal. Pizza only once a week, no chocolate on Saturdays, cut down on beer (4 pints a night not 6), join gym (never goes), salad with meals (well a bit of lettuce and cucumber), diet pills, hormone pills etc. The real answer is self control.
Assuming that all will be well as some developed economies are seeing reduced birth rates, and that the rest of the world will follow is (to my mind) complacent. A bit like assuming a cold winter in Scunthorpe means the threat of climate change is over.
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>> The sooner the governments get to grips with this problem, the better. They won't, of
>> course.
There is another alternative. Euthanasia of the elderly. They are a terrible drain 9n resources
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>>There is another alternative. Euthanasia of the elderly
Logan's Run ...!
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Soylent Green
Edward G Robinson’s final film. Oh the irony.
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>> Birth rates are declining around the world with the exception of Africa and parts of
>> Asia. The problem the industrialised world faces faces is not so much too many people
>> but too many old people who are unproductive and a drain on resources. A decline
>> in the birth rate only exacerbates th problem.
>>
>>
>>
In 2021 there were 7.64 deaths per thousand of the world's population compared with 17.76 births. It doesn't matter which parts of the world those people are born into because many of them move to richer countries, hence the UK population consistently growing.
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And there lies another problem, hotter climates will encourage populations to move to cooler ones.
Are we ready for the influx?
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Not only has the worlds population increased fourfold in the last seventy years, but carbon emissions have increased by many times that. In 1953 few people owned cars or televisions, mobile phones and the internet didn't exist, air travel was only for the wealthy and most of the consumer goods we take for granted today were out of the reach of most people or had not even been invented.
The future does indeed look very grim.
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I hadn’t been born then…I’m probably making up for it with my air miles but doing my bit in other ways.
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>>The future does indeed look very grim
Live for the now, as Eckhart Tolle would say.
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news.sky.com/story/will-extreme-weather-change-our-summer-holidays-forever-12927117
I wonder if we'll see a shift in travel habits? Possibly a small one. I can't see the countries in the Med worst affected discouraging tourists.
They're in a bit of a bind, fewer tourists in countries heavily dependent on them makes for a weaker economy. However the more that fly to their country the worse that climate change is.
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Ten days ago, whilst busy with physical Home garden projects, my left knee succumbed and same day my back went. The usual trapped nerve problem.
Saw the forecast and 48 hours later was in Lanzagrotty. I wanted to avoid the heat in the mainland Europe tourist hot spots. A pleasant high of 27/28C here, feels warmer late afternoon, but lots of sea swimming has repaired my broken bits.
Very surprising how quiet the sandy golden beaches are at Papagayo. The hotel pool areas I’ve walked past are packed in like sardines...80% of folks on the beaches are Spanish, probably avoiding the heat on the mainland.
Back to it Thursday...but not in the manner of a bull at a gate.
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Soil in your garden is probably high in mangy knees.
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I think there is an element of folk who go All inclusive because they are on a tight budget so know their costs upfront in effect. As a result they are often happy to stay in their hotel area for majority of the time.
In usually go S/C but I guess if I added up all my food and drink expenditure it would be cheaper to be AI at times.
Not my idea of fun or of holidaying but each to their own!
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www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/corfu-wildfires-greece-rhodes-b2381320.html
Appears some of the fires were started on purpose.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Wed 26 Jul 23 at 08:36
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The shepherds do it, I believe.
It renews the grass, or something.
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>> The shepherds do it, I believe.
>>
>> It renews the grass, or something.
It's done in the UK too though I think it's more to benefit birds like Grouse for shooting than the sheep.
Disposable barbecues are a menace for accidental or negligent ingnitions...
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Not many barbecues in my part of the world. Soggy fields, zero chance of wild fires.
One heavy downpour after another , with fleeting glimpses of blue sky.
Feel sorry for those in expensive holiday rentals in the Dales…plenty of tourists in my local last night, wandered in with brollies and waterproofs.
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>>One heavy downpour after another
Welcome to sunny Cornwall :(
>>Feel sorry for those in expensive holiday rentals
ditto down 'ere.
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My garden projects have been rained off every day since I returned to miserable weather a few days ago. And the forecast is very poor for August.
If no improvement I’ll be chatting to mr O’Leary tomorrow to find the cheapest sunny destination at short notice.
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See it was total chaos down Victoria St/Albert Hill with the A65 closure.
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FC…chaos on all surrounding roads. Even the (only) bus service, the 580/1 ceased operations until A65 reopened. It’s couldn’t be resurfaced at night apparently. Milk tanker driver pal of mine couldn’t get to the nighttime storage depot so brought his wagon home.
I landed back at LBA same day…road reopened minutes before I got there ( live webcam was a major help ).
>> See it was total chaos down Victoria St/Albert Hill with the A65 closure.
>>
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Handy to know:
In England the weather is changeable and often wet.
;-)
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>> In England the weather is changeable and often wet.
>> ;-)
I checked the local forecast this lunchtime. Not encouraging for next week.
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>>My garden projects have been rained off every day since I returned to miserable weather a few days ago.
I bought a shed to erect back in June, but the wev changed and it's August on Tuesday.
I could do it in the rain (it'll get wet anyway!) but I like to take time over things and do 'em properly.
I've put it in my garage now and am seriously thinking about leaving it there till next year.
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Kids will be back at school in Sept. Weather will improve then for your shed building. :)
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Yea for an Indian summer in September.
Off to the Hebrides then for the launch of the Hearach Whisky - would be nice if it wasn't wet, cold and windy.
The weather I mean, the whisky will certainly be wet....
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 30 Jul 23 at 22:02
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Brompt, you go to Hebrides often.
Is there a right time of year to go?
Have only been once and it was in a big crisp wrapper, sorry I mean tent, in May and had lots of wind and rain.
Still have an IOU for a Barra flight but would also like to go over by car again with the dog for a week. Never sure if May June better than Sept?
Or being Scotland, there is no correct answer available when discussing weather!
Obviously don’t expect sunbathing weather but would like to be as dry as much as possible!
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We usually go in late May into June based originally on the (English?) late may bank holiday and school hols. Adjusted a bit latterly as kids gone/Mrs B retired from teaching.
On the whole it's a good time for weather. LAst couple of years we've had more or less wall to wall sunshine interrupted only by morning cloud over the Harris mountains. Formed after sunrise but usually gone by 11. I'd love to understand the meteo around that sort of thing.
Spring is good for bird watching, flowers on the Machair etc.
We had a couple of trips in later summer - August. Weather less settled and the bloomin midges were an issue. That may have been location related as we were on a cottage surrounded by bog!!
As with anything with Scottish weather nothing is guaranteed at any time.
We're going over in September this year in a hired campervan. One off for a specific event in around Tarbert.
Will be interesting to see what Harris is like post equinox; I'll report live while we're there!!
TL:DR - Best time is May/early June.
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...with a campervan, if you have time you might consider using one of the West Harris Trust's "camper spots". Bottom of the page here:
www.westharristrust.org/campinginwestharris
£5 per night donation (though I think many don't - we made a point of driving to their offices to pay).
Though I suspect the OH are more busy than when we did them in 2015, the spots along the road to Luskentyre were idyllic (though the weather helped - and the midges didn't!).
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>> ...with a campervan, if you have time you might consider using one of the West
>> Harris Trust's "camper spots".
We're intending to spend some time at Horgabost but may venture onto those spaces too.
OH, particularly around South Harris, has got massively busier between our previous sequence of vists in 2008-10 and more recently.
The removal of the Road Equivalent Tariff on the ferry for large Campervan/Motorhomes has at least reduced the number of behemoths that would be too large for single track roads even if the driver could actually reverse into a passing place.
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>> Kids will be back at school in Sept. Weather will improve then for your shed
>> building. :)
>>
...it'd better improve. I'll be taking my shed back to the continent for a month then...
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Good idea for a song: "It might as well rain until September"
:)
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Monday morning moan - henry k
