Boadicea's Chariot

It was bound to happen. Father Time. Time waits for nobody. Every day you get older, that’s a fact and so on and so forth. Well, that day has come to pass.

Old(ish) respectable me has been asked to give someone a character reference for a job. He’s definitely scraping the bottom of the bucket coming to me but I will still do my utmost to help this acquaintance. And then I remembered I’ve forgotten how to write a letter. The bottom bit anyway.

Is it yours sincerely or yours faithfully? From what I recall being taught it’s sincerely for addressing a friend and faithfully for a formal business letter. But this was back in the dark ages. Language mutates. Going against all my principles I googled. And as I expected google clouded the matter further. Too many minds out there offering advice. Information overload. Every man and his dog has an opinion.

One school told me that If my name was mentioned in correspondence (it was) and the sender gives his name (he did) I should reply with a sincerely. I much prefer the old fashioned faithfully, however, another board said faithfully has been dropped like third year French and replaced by “yours truly” for a business letter.

I think I’ll go for a “yours &c”

I fart in your general direction!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10985111/British-inventor-builds-giant-fart-machine-to-fire-at-France.html

There seems to be a constant litany of complaint that bodies have been moved and some taken to the morgue.  Also the site has not been safeguarded for the powers that be.  Russia is behind the whole thing etc etc.

I have the following questions.

Continue reading “I seriously don’t get this. Re M17”

Early reports in the past hour indicate that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has been shot down over Ukraine with the loss of all 298 souls on board. It was at a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when contact was lost and is a tragedy for the families and for Malaysian Airlines after the loss of MH370.

In my previous incarnation when I flew around the world several times a year, I often looked down from a similar height or above on thousands of square miles of nothingness, just wondering if some illiterate raghead, out of his skull on arak or worse, would look up from his flock, see some twinkly lights in the sky, burp and shoulder his missile launcher just for fun.

Likewise coming back into London, flying finals at 5,000 feet and 150 knots over Hounslowistan with gear, flaps and spoilers extended. It don’t take much for one of the ‘Allah akbar’ brigade to ask the mullahs for a missile.

Rather glad I’m no longer required to make such flights.

OZ

It was the good old, bad old days. I had been introduced to MyT by my wife’s godson who sat fairly close to Ped at the launch in the DT offices. Still got the online photo to prove it. I arrived at the MyT party in due course and have enjoyed the frivolity and gadflying therein and hereon ever since. I have mainly kept my anonymity.

Proper name disclosed by e-mail to hmb, Brendano, Ferret, Bearsy and Boadicea. I have met the aforementioned uxorial godson and Ferret in person. I have heard the voices of Ara and Bilby chatting in their garden in an audio posting and I have spoken on the phone to godson and Ferret. Continue reading “An Absent Friend”