Boadicea's Chariot

Sack this dangerous idiot.

A trillion pounds of public debt, at least 100 billion more in the pipeline and this whacko – along with his dear leader – wants to waste another 2 billion quid’s-worth of taxpayers’ hard-earned for no return except that a few corrupt politicians and their criminal and business cronies in Africa and S America buy themselves a few new Mercedes, or Ferraris.

Building windmills in Africa is going to do absolutely SFA for the people who really need help. It’s not even better then doing nothing – in fact it’s worse then doing nothing because the wasted money could have been spent on something which would actually have helped African people – roads, for example or real power stations – coal, which is plentiful in large areas of Africa or a couple of Nukes.

Money for agriculture in Columbia? Narcotraffickers are estimated to control about 10 million acres of land, including about half of the most fertile and sought-after land in the country, and infiltrated the highest levels of institutions like the presidential intelligence service (DAS) and the Medellín branch of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, as well as controlling local politicians and elements of LEA. Where does he think that cash is going to go?

What we spend waste on foreign aid each year would build two nuclear power stations at home and keep the lights on – and the equipment working in our hospitals and schools.

Time to stop this nonsense once and for all.

Bravo’s recent ‘Moments’ post got me thinking about those milestone moments we all recall from time to time and today’s DT article about Oxbridge interviews pealed another round in my belfry.

Fifty two years ago, come the week before Xmas, I took the train for a 48-hour stay at the college which had invited me, a callow 17 year old from the grammar school, for their ‘scholarship’ exams. It was perishingly cold, despite an extra sweater under my school suit and mac, and it was almost dark as the porter showed me to a dismal, first-floor room in the far reaches of the college buildings. Continue reading “Plus la même chose”

Watching QI yesterday with my son, one of the panel was introduced as having been born ‘before there was television.’ I was born before there was television too… OK, television existed before I was born, but there really was no television – generally available – until I was, what, 5 or 6? The first time I aw a TV, and watched it, was HM’s coronation in 1953. We went across the road – St Andrews’ Road in Deal – to a neighbour’s house, along with 20, maybe, other neighbours to crowd into their tiny ‘front room,’ around a huge cabinet with a tiny screen, all of us dressed in our Sunday Best for the occasion, men in suits and ties and ladies in posh frocks.

One of my earliest memories is of waiting at a tram stop in Forest Gate in London when I was two +/-. There was what I now know to be a bombsite behind the stop which had become water-filled where there were always what I called ducks, which were probably seagulls, but to me, it wasn’t a bombsite, it was a magic place 🙂

I’d be interested to know what other charioteers earliest memories are?

This is very difficult. There have been some superb pictures submitted, all much better than my humble example.

Pseu: Beautifully coloured leaf. A wonderful picture.

Low Wattage: More dickie birds from LW, but what a great picture.

Ara: Trees and bushes on the turn. Very nice

OZ: Evergreen autumn. Fascinating.

Plus a few moans from our Antipodean and Southern Hemisphere cousins that it ain’t autumn there! 🙂

Anyway, after the consumption of much post-lunch brain juice and much pondering, I think that the subject matter and great colouring of LW’s Geese at Dusk photo just shades it. (And this time, it is in focus!)

Over to you, Sirrah!