Month: July 2010

Thanks Rav


Just returned home from a great evening.

Good food, good wine and best of all, Good Company.

Thanks Rav for the spread. Nothing beats a good curry with all the trimmings, and those fried peppers fresh from the garden were the business.

3 Cheers For Jackie Cobell


Who at the age of 56 has just swum into the record books for the slowest channel crossing. It took her just 28 hours and 44 minutes to complete the 65 mile swim.

Congratulations Jackie.

Full story here

Tony Hayward – Demon ???


What a witch hunt the BP saga has turned into.

I understand that Hayward has been,in recent times, the visible face of BP and that he could have, should have been a bit more diplomatic with some of his statements.  Many of which, published by the worlds media,  have been quoted out of context. Some comments, under the circumstances and in the cold light of day, are wholly understandable.

He wasn’t personally responsible for what happened on the rig and there are quite a few other company bosses and rig owners who are thinking “There but for the grace of god….”.

However, it seems these days we aren’t satisfied, until someone’s head has fallen. He is now being lined up as a sacrificial lamb.

But lets not forget that Hayward was running BP, a company that he had been working for since 1982. He didn’t get to that position by being a total duffer.

So for all those who are baying for blood and feel that he should be cut loose without a penny, I ask ” How would that be fair compensation for all those years of effort”.

Of course the answers will come back “What about all those whose livelihood has been destroyed by the oil spill ?”

Well of course BP are going to foot the bill for compensation and I know its going to take years and there will be folks who will never be compensated for the stress and anxiety during the in-between times.

Also, what a boon the disaster has been for Obama.  Sure he’s getting lots of pressure from the people of the USA but hey, he can honestly say “It’s not my fault”  and he has that demon Hayward who works for that British company that he can blame and wring dry for compensation.

But just a minute didn’t this start with an explosion on an oil rig rented from a company called Transocean who probably supplied the equipment and operations personnel too. They were originally incorporated in the US state of Delaware moving to Switzerland via the Cayman Islands but their roots go back to the Birmingham, Alabama based Southern Natural Gas Company.

Not so’s we should be worried at all but Transocean owns nearly half of the 50 or so deepwater platforms in operation around the world. Oh, and by the way, Transocean are headed up by Steven Newman who just happens to be an american. Although the US House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent letters to Transocean we don’t see the  same ferocity of attack aimed at Newman as is being suffered by Hayward.

The buck definitely stops with BP, they have the ultimate responsibility and have to head the clean up operation.

But lets not demonize Tony Hayward.

Wave Goodbye To Speed Cameras


I say Hooray. Lets get rid of them all.

I am one of the school who believes that they were only ever a money-raising mechanism. Especially when you take a look at where some of these cameras were situated and not necessarily on accident black spots.

I have never understood why we don’t use the same method of speed reduction that I saw on the road south from Alicante, Spain.

There they had installed radar controlled traffic lights. All the while traffic maintained a legal pace the lights remained at green. If someone broke the speed limit the radar detected the infraction and switched the lights to red.

Everyone stopped.

Then the lights changed back and the traffic got underway again.

Eventually everyone, well the locals anyway, are trained to keep their speed down. On my trips down that road it was typically the holiday makers in hire cars who were triggering the lights to change.

I would suggest that here in the UK this would be better than having signs that flash up a motorists speed. My experience is that this type of sign is largely ignored by the regular users of the road covered and it is only the newcomer who is “startled” into slowing down. At least with radar controlled lights all motorists would have to stop. The warning could not be ignored.

Pope Asks For Cash


Call me a cynical old bastard but did anyone actually ask the Pope to come visit.

Yet here he comes and suddenly all we hear is how the Catholic Church has got its hand out asking the parishioners to dip into their meager resources to pay for his visit.

We have also already been told that his visit will cost around 12 million pounds, not including policing costs !!!

The BBC reports that folks in Scotland will need to obtain “Pilgrim Passes” and the Catholic Church is suggesting a “donation” of £20 would seem appropriate.

£20 is quite a high fee to expect some folks to stump up even if they will get a “gift” pack and a CD.

See article …. HERE

Be Careful Out There Gentlemen


Older Men Scam

Women often receive warnings about protecting themselves at the shopping centres and in dark car parks, etc. This is the first warning I have seen for men. I wanted to pass it on in case you haven’t heard about it.

A ‘heads up’ for those men who may be regular B&Q, Wickes, HomeBase, or even Asda customers. This one caught me totally by  surprise. Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping. Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be  quite traumatic. Don’t be naive enough to think it couldn’t happen to you or your friends.

Here’s how the scam works:

Two seriously good-looking, college-aged girls will come over to your car or van as you are packing your shopping into your vehicle. They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windolene, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. (It’s impossible not to look). When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say ‘No’ but instead ask for a lift to McDonald’s.

You agree and they climb into the vehicle. On the way, they start  undressing. Then one of them starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen Sep. 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th, & 29th. Also Jum. 1st & 4th, twice on the 8th, 16th, 23rd,  26th & 28th, three times last Monday and very likely again this upcoming weekend.

So tell your friends to be careful. What a horrible way to take  advantage of us older men. Warn your friends to be vigilant.

Asda has wallets on sale for £2.99 each. I found even cheaper ones for £0.99 at Poundland and bought them out of stock in three of their stores. Also, you never will get to eat at McDonald’s.

I’ve already lost 11 pounds just running back and forth from B&Q’s, to Wickes, Homebase, Etc.

So please, send this on to all the older men that you know and warn them to be on the lookout for this scam. (The best times are just before lunch and around 4:30 in the afternoon.)

Ferrari – Inglorious Bastards – Cheats & Liars


Here we go again. Ferrari and their blatant cheating.

First there was Schumacher & Barrichello and now we have a repeat performance with Massa having to give way to Alonso. It appears that Schumacher says he understands the Ferrari team positionbut then he would say that wouldn’t he……See Here

Ferrari should be banned from any more races this season let alone a paltry $100,000 fine.

Get them out of F1 and strip Alonso of his place and points

Who “Dan Dares” Wins (sorry)


Hip Hip Hooray

Hero of my childhood, Dan Dare, is coming to the silver screen.

It is purported that actor Sam Worthington,  will lift our dashing hero from the pages of the Eagle and transform him into the living being that resided in my head all those years ago.

No word yet on who will play Dan’s sidekick Digby or even Dan’s arch-enemy “The Mekon”. Suggestions on the back of a postcard please.


RED BULL GIVES YOU WHINGES


I make no apology for copying the following selection from Planet-F1’s current pages.  And yes the title of this post is a direct steal too.

It put a smile on my face hopefully it will put one on yours.

The whole page can be read at planet_f1.com

RED BULL GIVES YOU WHINGES
Angry Austrian Dr Helmut (Skid) Marko has said that if anyone it’s Mark Webber who the team seems to be favouring. The Red Bull motorsport advisor is said to be particularly incensed at the Silverstone incident because it detracts from the Red Bull catchphrase – Red Bull Gives You Other Drivers’ Wings.
In an interview with AutoSprint this week he suggested that conspiracy theorists would think that the team actually favoured Webber not his German team-mate. “If I was Vettel then I would have suspected the opposite. Which car has permanently had something damaged?” ranted (full-face) Helmut. “Did Mark have the defective spark plug in Bahrain, the loose wheel in Australia, the broken brake disc in Barcelona, the defective chassis in Monte Carlo, the transmission problems in Montreal and now the broken wing at Silverstone?”
Suggesting that there might have been sabotage within the team at the opening race of the season is a pretty extreme view, however Mark Webber has now had clear-the-air talks with team boss Christian Horner and they have agreed a way forward. He is going to change his name to Willi.