OneGuyFromBarlick

I doubt it Maz, no cars about at the time it happened. I've posted on pets corner instead of scattering him all over the site. Have a look for the latest !

We encountered a rare species on a playing field a few days ago. It came towards us and we wondered whether to run or stand our ground. We risked standing still. On closer inspection it was...a county councillor! Quite useful, actually. We had a good discussion about a plan by the council to sell a piece of the playing field although the land had been donated in the past by a local man for use by the local community for recreation.

Copied from the Team Barnoldswick Facebook page.
David Whipp looking rather resplendent in 'shorter' shorts than of late

And without the people.

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Uneven flags is a much bigger problem than it used to be. There are several reasons.
We don't have 'flaggers' any more. These were men who did nothing but lay flags and kerbs.
The flags are not such good quality and won't stand pounding down with the large wooden maul that used to be used. This was essentially a large iron bound piece of tree trunk with two handles, much heavier that the rubber hammers used now.
All the old flaggers said that fly ash from coal fired boilers was best for laying flags on as it was very sharp grit and never moved once the flag was in. Sand moves about and settles.
Flags are laid too close together. The old flaggers used a bigger gap so that thin compo could be easily tamped in the gap to give better seating and edge support.
Lastly, flags were never meant for bearing the weight of large vehicles!
Later..... I saw THIS news item about the long running dispute over the Chagos Islands. The report talks about 'a secretive US base' on the islands and that's an understatement. I would have to go and search in my library but I have a book about US intelligence activities round the world and the base on Chagos is one of the most important. It will be interesting to see how the3 UN handles this one and what will happen....

Sally, on her way back from Stratford. Got to Leeds and the train was cancelled due to electrical lines being down. Had to get the provided bus to Shipley then back on the train after a 30 minute wait. Heading for Skipton now and will get a taxi home as she is nursing a bad back. Bad backs seem to be a bit endemic at the moment, thankfully I am currently upstanding.

I sympathise with her.
See Pets Corner for my latest preoccupation!
Last irrigation this morning at Airedale at 10:30...... Onward and upwards!

I'm glad to see more attention being given to the early years of children's lives, it's the most critical time in their lives. I like the message using the term `First 1000 Days', it's a good way to focus attention.
`Children 'failed in first 1,000 days', say MPs' LINK
`Families in England need more support in the early years to give children the best start in life, MPs say. The Health and Social Care Committee said the first 1,000 days were critical, but not enough was done. It warned cuts to children's centres, health visiting and services to support parents had left families vulnerable. Nearly a third of children are not "school ready" by the time they reach five, because they have not developed the necessary skills and behaviours. The cross-party group wants the government to pay for extra contact with health visitors beyond the age of two-and-a-half. The MPs pointed to the approach taken elsewhere in the UK - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all fund more than the minimum of five visits provided in England...'

The moor fire at Blacko was causing chaos with the traffic diverted from the A59 (It's closed at Chatburn due to a serious collision and westbound traffic is being sent on the A682 at Gisburn). Latest reports are the fire is under control now, the A59 is a different story and may be closed for a while.

I missed all that but noted how heavy traffic was in Barlick at 15:00. Not helped by the obstruction at the lights.....
My last big BCG irrigation. Helen was charming and said I was one her most trouble free patients. I shall be seeing her again for maintenance..... Looking forward to at least 3 weeks rest from treatment!

Dramatic photos of the moorland fire.. LINK

Was it dry vegetation that caused the Moorland fires?

There's usually a human involved Cathy, but the weather is unusually dry and hot for this time of year. Barlickers will know more about it than me. Brits are going to have to get up to speed on how to behave with fire in the countryside as the climate warms. You Aussies will have to give us lessons! Meanwhile, there's been a bad gorse fire at Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh and the photos here make it look like a volcano!
`Firefighters tackle Arthur's Seat blaze' LINK

Here's another Brit pastime, Cathy! `Gangs use vacuum cleaners to steal parking meter cash' LINK

The Americans know how to put out fires too, they get their fair share , and they are closer.
Sometimes it's just a spark from a motorbike that causes them or a piece of glass that is laying in full sun for long enough.
In SA bushfire arsonists can be imprisoned for a maximum of 20yrs, more if anyone dies due to the fire. It then becomes murder or manslaughter .

I'm confused, Saddleworth isn't anywhere near Blacko. Was there a fire there as well?
Susan coming this morning to check on me and Jack....
A 15 Minute slot on R4 called War Doctor. Fascinating and I was reminded of it when I read Ian's post on blood donors. The man did a major operation with only one pint of blood in hand, 'Fore-quarter removal' due to Gas Gangrene..... We tend to forget.......

Stanley wrote: ↑28 Feb 2019, 02:42 I'm confused, Saddleworth isn't anywhere near Blacko. Was there a fire there as well?

There was indeed.

Someone digging a trench down the side of the road and putting in cable ducting. We have been told it's for fibre optic cable running from Skipton to Blackpool! Passing us by probably.

More on wildfires in the UK here: LINK

First class 'fake news' - quite amazing how this story got going over the last few days.

Momo challenge

Of course some will say shortly that the charities have something to hide, and that it's the denial that is fake.

"the ensuing media hysteria could now be putting vulnerable people at risk by encouraging them to think of self-harm." That was the key phrase for me David. The present discussions about curbing the providers after the death of the girl associated with social media ensure that things like this land on fertile ground. Our 'crazes' when I was a lad used to be less harmful. The sudden change from skipping ropes to whip and top or marbles was about as radical as it got! I know I'm an old fart but things were much more simple then and dare I say healthier?
A nice visit from Susan and Mick..... I often wonder what my life would be like without the close bonds in our family....

Claire Balding's 'Ramblings' on R4 at 06:00 this morning. She was walking with a small group of ladies in the Lake District who are passionate about Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. As part of their effort to get into Dorthy's frame of reference they walk in heavy tweed bonnets, capes and skirts like the clothes she wore. Claire asked them if they found it hampered them and surprisingly they said not at all apart from needing more care walking uphill or in high winds as the clothes acted a sail. They also said that they were very warm and the skirts gave their legs more freedom. At one point they met two more ramblers on a narrow bridge and exchanged a few words and Claire noted that the strangers expressed no surprise at all at their unusual dress.
We see images of Victorian ladies walking and assume they were hampered, this is not necessarily the case!
I have a little bit of experience of course with the kilt and they too are very warm and give your legs more freedom. Incidentally, the skirts also gave the ladies more freedom to have a paddle in a tarn they passed.....

Competition

An up date for anyone interested, on my earlier post on the subject of the harsh world of commerce.

Tesco seem to be suffering - Aldi car park, which will surely be proved to be inadequate, has been full since they opened, whilst Tesco is half empty. I saw the Tesco manager in the store on his Sunday day off, and he looked concerned. He should be.

The barber on the other hand is coping well. I went yesterday, and the interloper next door was quite empty, whilst he had a five man queue. he says he's not too worried. He says he knows his customers, and went on to prove it. We had a good conversation about the latest Italian wine he just got from Aldi ( ) which he recommended, and I've ordered.

I don't know enough about Aldi in Barlick to make any assessment of how well they are doing. All I can say is that I have never seen the car park full but I don't pass it very often.... The Co-op car park seems as full as ever.
I frequently get requests for historical information and usually respond but occasionally I am asked for a slew of information that involves a lot of time and effort. I'm afraid my first thought sometimes is that rather than doing a site search it's easier to ask Stanley. I got such a request yesterday and ignored it. Now I have a vague sense of guilt. I am trying to ignore it. Does this make me a bad person?