Category: Believe It Or Not

The Waterlooville Wally(s) Of The Week Award – Lidl


https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7517927/lidl-gin-staff-call-police-couple-daughters/

‘VICTIMS OF STUPIDITY’ 

Lidl staff call police after middle-aged couple try to buy £12 rhubarb gin with daughters aged 11 and 14

 

I haven’t had cause to issue one of these for some time but this article really takes the biscuit. This ranks up with the story of the couple refused entry to their local cinema because their babe-in-arms was to young for the movie certification. It beggars belief.

So, to the Staff and Management of Lidl, Jointly I award you, “The Waterlooville Wally Of The Week Award”

UK citizens may soon need licenses to photograph some stuff they already own


http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/12/you-may-soon-need-a-licence-to-take-photos-of-that-classic-designer-chair-you-bought/

This is just another example of the insidious bureaucracy that is blighting the UK.

If this is allowed to go ahead, every casual photographer will be at risk of being criminalised without their knowledge.

And, surely, the onus should be placed on the holder of any work of art to warn of their copyright entitlement. Will they be obliged to post warning notices. That will look nice on the lounge wall alongside your treasured Conran furniture.

“Family and Friends are reminded that under Copyright Law… Blah blah… the taking of photographs, family snaps etc. etc. are only allowed with the appropriate license”

Just how far will liability reach?

Consider the ubiquitous selfies, created on millions of smart phones, then promulgated via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Do the owners of those apps then become liable?

This legislation should be dumped in the trash can. Or at least kept in a dark place until it has been seriously rethought.

If You Have The Bottle ……


I have just received this story by email. I don’t know if it is true but I do like the story, it has the requisite chortle factor …..
BristolZoo

UPDATE: I just did a bit of digging on the interweb and discovered that this is a bit of an urban myth which has been around since about 2009.

The Dark Side Of Paradise


A Maldives court just sentenced a 15-year-old rape survivor to 100 whip lashings.

It is hard to believe that, in this century, mediaeval barbarism still exists in our world. However, time and time again we are reminded that not all nations practice the same levels of tolerance and morality that we enjoy in the west.

Many times we have considered going to the Maldives for a holiday. This is certainly making me think again, but this time I am thinking about striking them off my wish list.

I received this in an email.

Dear friends,

It’s horrific! A Maldives court just sentenced a 15-year-old rape survivor to 100 whip lashings. By threatening Maldives politicians’ precious tourist income we can save this child and stop these outrageous public floggings. Let’s quickly build a one million strong call, then place ads in travel magazines and websites:

Sign the petition
It’s hard to believe, but a 15-year-old rape survivor has been sentenced to be whipped 100 times in public! Let’s put an end to this lunacy by hitting the Maldives government where it hurts: the tourism industry.

The girl’s stepfather is accused of raping her for years and murdering the baby she bore. Now the court says she must be flogged for “sex outside marriage”! President Waheed of the Maldives is already feeling global pressure on this, and we can force him to save this girl and change the law to spare other victims this cruel fate. This is how we can end the War on Women – by standing up every time an outrage like this happens.

Tourism is the big earner for the Maldives elite, including government ministers. Let’s build a million-strong petition to President Waheed this week, then threaten the islands’ reputation through hard-hitting ads in travel magazines and online until he steps in to save her and abolish this outrageous law. Sign and forward this email now to get us to a million:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/maldives_global/?brpgHdb&v=23290

The Maldives is a paradise for tourists. But for women there, it can be hell. Under harsh interpretations of sharia law, women and children are routinely punished with flogging and house arrest if found guilty of extramarital sex or adultery. It’s nearly always the women who get punished, not the perpetrators. A staggering one in three women between ages 15 and 49 have suffered physical or sexual abuse — yet zero rapists were convicted in the past three years.

Winning this battle can help women everywhere, as the Maldives government is right now running for a top UN human rights position – on a platform of women’s rights! Global outrage has already forced President Waheed to appeal the sentence in the 15-year-old’s case. But that’s not enough. Extremists inside the country will force him to abandon further reforms if international attention fades. Let’s tell the Maldives that it stands to lose its reputation as a romantic tourist hot spot unless it changes its attitudes to and laws about women.

If enough of us raise our voices, we can get President Waheed and his MPs to face down the extremists. The president is already on the back foot over this shameful, tragic story – let’s seize this moment to prevent more horrifying injustices against girls and women. Sign the petition, then send this email widely:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/maldives_global/?brpgHdb&v=23290

Avaaz members have fought many battles in the global war on women. In Afghanistan, we helped protect a young woman who bravely spoke out about her horrific rape; in Honduras, we fought alongside local women against a law that would jail women using the morning-after pill. Let’s now protect the women of the Maldives.

With hope and determination,

Jeremy, Mary, Nick, Alex, Ricken, Laura, Michelle and the whole Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

Maldives girl to get 100 lashes for pre-marital sex (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21595814

Maldives government to appeal flogging of rape victim (Dawn, Pakistan)
http://dawn.com/2013/03/01/maldives-government-to-appeal-flogging-of-rape-victim/

Rape victims punished, failed by Maldives justice system (Minivan news, Maldives)
http://minivannews.com/society/raped-victims-punished-failed-by-law-in-the-maldives-53760

Judicial statistics show 90 percent of those convicted for fornication are female (Minivan news, Maldives)
http://minivannews.com/politics/judicial-statistics-show-90-percent-of-those-convicted-for-fornication-are-female-44605

Lets Talk Rubbish


The national pastime in the UK is DIY. Saturdays and Sundays are filled with painting, papering, sawing and chiseling. All of which creates waste.

Another favourite pastimes is gardening, pruning, raking and mowing. Again creating waste.

So that they can step back and admire the fruits of their labour, and to prevent the great British public from disappearing under a great pile of waste or going fly tipping and therefore breaking the law , the local authorities invented municipal waste centres.

The idea is that you take the your waste to one of these centres where your waste becomes their waste which they then dispose of in bulk. For the provision of these centres the British public pays the local authority via a part of the “Council Tax”.

Over the last year or so my son-in-law has been renovating, refurbishing, painting, decorating and generally improving his house. As you can imagine, in this time, he has created a substantial amount of waste.

I should point out that my son-in-law is a “Council Tax” payer.

Imagine then his surprise, when he was informed, by folks at his local municipal tip, that they limit the number of visits one can make.

How can this make sense ?

Local and central government are constantly complaining about fly tipping and then some jobs-worth introduces a limit on those of us who are trying to do the right thing.

As a result of this arbitrary limitation, at a stroke they will cause the increase of an individuals carbon footprint due to members of the British public touring the surrounds seeking a municipal tip from which they have not been excluded.

Failing which they may be forced to find alternative disposal sites.

In other words these idiots jobs-worths will force an increase in fly tipping which will cost the local authority more to clear up. Not forgetting, of course, the expense of hunting down the perpetrators.

Should I also mention the increase in traffic on our local roads along with the resultant increase in stress levels, brought about by Joe Public not being able to enjoy their freshly decorated lounge, newly installed kitchen……. lanscaped garden…….

Egg mystery is a web cracker


When I was about seven, my dad was the village bobby in Westfield, East Sussex. The police station was a small flat-roofed extension on the side of the house in which we made our home. What made this house interesting was the garden which was well over 100 feet long. A huge space which my dad pretty much turned into a small holding. Along with the huge amount of fruit and veg my parents kept chickens and geese. I can remember seeing eggs of all colours, shapes and sizes. Only the goose eggs were as large as the egg which is the subject of the linked story. We never ever had an egg within an egg.

I can only say that, finding an egg within an egg which in total weighed nearly half a pound, this is EGGSTRAORDINARY.

Egg mystery is a web cracker – Odd Spot – Portsmouth News.

Idiotic Outpatient Appointment Rules


On Tuesday 9th October, 2012 I had just completed an appointment with the consultant dealing with my Prostate Cancer. I left the hospital clutching the details of my next appointment.

Having elected for  “Active Surveillance” the next appointment, to review PSA blood test results, was scheduled for four months time. i.e. 11:10 on Monday 18th February, 2013

A while later, seems like a couple of weeks, I was notified that the appointment had been cancelled and that I would be advised of a new appointment in due course. Time passed, Christmas came and went and no new appointment. Knowing that I had to arrange for a PSA blood test a couple of weeks ahead of the consult and not having a specific appointment I took a punt and arranged for the blood test to be carried out on Friday 1st February.

Well time flies by when you are enjoying yourself and here we are, half way through January and I still had not heard anything regarding a new appointment.

So I contacted the Urology Department at the QA where they explained that the original appointment had been cancelled due to government and/or NHS rules and I had been placed on the Outpatients Waiting List. However, very helpfully she said she would arrange a new appointment for me.

“I have an appointment for you in February” she said.

“Monday 18th” she said.

“That’s amazing”  I replied “My previous appointment was on that day”

“What time ?” I asked.

“11:10”  she replied

“Bizarre” I responded. “That’s when my original appointment was scheduled”

“Oh I can’t give you that time” she jumps in. “The diary is showing a conflict with your original appointment even though it has been cancelled.” “I’ll have to give you another time. How’s 11:20 ?”

Obviously I accepted the new time and she said she would mail me confirmation.

So in summary, the new rules meant that my appointment had been shifted by 10 minutes, had cost me a telephone call and cost the NHS/QA  three appointment letters.

WHY ?

I can only imagine that they are applying the same petty bureaucratic rules that stop me from being able to book an appointment, to see my GP, greater than a month ahead of time.