WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

That seems to be the case China.
News this morning that Iranian gunboats attempted to interfere with a British registered tanker in the Strait of Hormuz but were warned off by a Navy Frigate that was accompanying them. Risky situation.

[Wendyf]

All pig classes at the Great Yorkshire Show have been cancelled because one pig showed signs of illness at a recent show. There must be concern in the pig breeding community.

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

I hadn't heard about these `radio aids' used to help deaf kids in schools and sometimes at home. Let's hope more councils provide them. I've checked and Somerset County Council has a unit to provide them.
`It means he's not left out: How radio aids helped my deaf son' LINK

[Stanley]

Oversleeping two hours, that grabs your attention! (I feel better for it....)

[plaques]

In his later years Churchill was getting very deaf and in the 1953's had a radio system fitted in the House of Commons so that he could hear what was going on. He also had one fitted in the cabinet room but would switch it of when people were making their replies. No different today I believe. Its taken 70 years to work down to the plebs.

[Tripps]

Just heard that my granddaughter is going here Celtic Harmonytoday. Looks like a lot of fun.

[Stanley]

I agree! Much underrated the Celts... Wherever they settle the Welsh start a choral society and the Scots a Caledonian Society. I always liked the fact that a community of Welsh Miners in S America kept their national identity and language. I believe Welsh is still spoken there today.

[Stanley]

Serena Williams being brought down to earth decisively by a younger player. It had to happen and she will not be pleased but there's a sort of arrogance believing that you can always win. Time marches on!
Still on sport, Mercedes have the front row at Silverstone but Lewis is second. Good! It will make for a close race and I hope they both keep their heads!

[Stanley]

The nail-biting finish at Lords....
How good a sleep I had, in bed at 21;00 and a bit late up. Jack and I slept like logs.
Lovely cloudscapes we are having.

[Marilyn]

Watched VERA tonight. I love that woman!
If I ever live alone I shall be Vera. Lives in a dusty farmhouse, no hint of cleaning skills or cooking skills. Watched as she poked holes in a Ready Meal tonight and stuck it in the microwave ( while she poured a dram of Whisky into a coffee mug) . She has no sense of fashion and wears that ridiculous hat...but she is as sharp as a tack and has a big heart.
I'm not thinking she will make old bones. But I sooooo love her lack of giving a damn! She is "a classic"!

[Wendyf]

I love Vera too! Try reading the books that the TV series is based on. The author Ann Cleves also wrote the Shetland books, on which another wonderful tv series is based. She has now put both Vera and Shetland to one side and is starting with a new character in Cornwall I think.

[Marilyn]

I love Shetland too...but Vera is wonderful.
I shall look out for books, and a Cornwall series.

[Tripps]

I like the TV series, and watch it quite often. I lived and worked in the area, for a few years, and retain much affection for it. I sometimes think the episodes could be a bit shorter - two hours is sometime too much, and there is a great deal of PC 'box ticking' which makes it all all a bit unconvincing.

I bought a book on Wendyf 's recommendation, and enjoyed it.

[Big Kev]

20190715_121829.jpg

[Stanley]

I've seen multiple comments about the effect of school holiday regs on holiday prices. One rip-off I don't have to worry about!
Airedale at 09:00. Must gird my loins! Last one of this round.......
The successful separation of the conjoined twins at Great Ormond Street. So sad that it had to be done but what an amazing achievement. They seem to be recovering well, I wish them all the luck in the world.

[Stanley]

Vicki, who lives at Kayfield Farm at Salterforth told me yesterday that they are having an outbreak of arson. Roadside verges, wooden stiles and baled hay in the fields are all being fired. I reminded her that we never did find out who the notorious Fire Bug was in the 60s..... She said they were hoping for rain.....
Donald Trump's continued naked racist attacks on the senators. He says he 'hasn't got a racist bone in his body'! Makes you wonder what his definition is. He is acting disgracefully and it's all part of his re-election campaign, appealing to the red necks who are part of his core vote. What a terrible man he is and as has been pointed out elsewhere, Boris is hell bent on a 'relationship'. Why should England tremble.....

[PanBiker]

Yesterday actually, Allan Turing selected to be the image for the reverse of the new £50.00 note. Good, he was my choice in the online poll and about time he was recognised for his massive contribution to code breaking during WWII and ground breaking work in IT and digital computing theory and practice.

[Tizer]

Outbreak of arson...there was a strange outbreak in part of the Lake District a couple of months back and I don't know what became of it. Not arson but someone attacking the expensive National Trust gates and stiles, presumably with a chain saw. They were cutting pieces out to render the things useless. There are some odd folk about.

Trump telling those senators to `go back' even though they were born in the USA. I wonder if anyone has suggested that he `goes back' to Scotland? The Scots wouldn't like it! By his definition everyone except the indigenous native descendants should go back. On second thoughts, they'd have to leave too - there was a time when their ancestors where still in Eurasia!

I agree with Ian about Turing. It's good to have him celebrated and it's good for technology too.

[Stanley]

Couldn't agree more about Turing. Tortured and killed eventually by a harsh social attitude.
The fact that once more my immune system has won, I am improving rapidly!

[Tizer]

Even now with the anniversary celebration of the moon landings I read that 20% of people believe it was all a con trick. People believe in enough ridiculous things already but YouTube is encouraging them...
`Flat Earth: why is YouTube helping spread conspiracy theories?' LINK

[PanBiker]

why is YouTube helping spread conspiracy theories?'

because it's a numbers game for the hits that any given video gets, advertising driven one way or the other. It doesn't matter if it's fiction as long as folk watch it and take in the other stuff in the side bars or whatever.

I saw a brief report on Jodrell Banks feature that they are running at the moment, "Small Blue Dot" or something like that on the NW news last week. Based on the role they played in tracking the moon landings. The director said that if anyone wanted proof they have traces of the Eagle making it's descent to the lunar surface that they tracked at the time directly to what became Tranquillity Base. They have similar records for all the other Apollo missions as well. Of course the conspiracy theorists will say that they also are all made up. This despite scientists on earth still bouncing signals off the mirrors left on the surface to increase the accuracy of distance measurements between the Earth and our Moon. Optical telescopes now anyway can see the Moon Rovers where they were abandoned on the surface and the landing /launch pads left behind from each mission.

[PanBiker]

Back on Earth, I have just come back from my first drive in our new to us car in 11 months. I went out of town via West and East Marton and dropped Sally off at the Cross Keys, she's walking back home on the cut bank, (nothing to do with my driving, just her afternoon walk). I continued on to the outskirts of Skipton and round the periphery towards Bolton Abbey but turned off on the Ilkley road and then picked up Otley Road back down into the centre of Skipton, through Caroline Square and over Belmont Bridge, Broughton Road, Niffany and back onto the A59 towards home, Elslack, Thornton and down into and through Earby, Kelbrook, then back up Kelbrook Road and home. A nice variation of A trunks, B's, busy town centres, roundabouts and junctions. Still in one piece as is the car and not stressed, reverse parked it up when I got home.

No real problems apart from having to remember to relax my left leg as it has nothing to do. No problem really with the accelerator and brake, a bit more difficult finding the sweet spots for 30 and 20mph which is a lot easier and was second nature with a manual gearbox. I'm sure that is only a case of practice with the feel of the car. Taking our Jack to Ben Rhydding tomorrow night to one of his schools nights out, meeting his girlfriend there (her school bash), they will taxi home.

[Tizer]

The director said that if anyone wanted proof they have traces of the Eagle making it's descent to the lunar surface that they tracked at the time directly to what became Tranquillity Base.

That would probably be the bushy-bearded Tim O'Brien unless it's the new bloke who has taken over. But Tim has been doing his best for years to convince people that the landings really did happen. A good bloke. Of course as well as the mirrors you mention we have the geological samples of moon rock brought back then. In the 1970s for a short time I worked on geochemistry in the lab of one of the people who analysed the moon rock samples so I'm biased in favour of believing the astronauts landed on the Moon.

It's great to hear that you're driving again and enjoying it!

[Stanley]

I have a theory that the conspiracy theories are latched on to and perhaps even propagated by the sort of person who says that membership of MENSA is as good a qualification as a university degree. They can't be bothered to think or work so get attention by the lies. There will be people who will say that Ian's head can't have been that bad because look, he's driving again. In it's own way that operation was as big a miracle as the moon landing.....