WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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Julie in Norfolk
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Julie in Norfolk »

Stanley wrote: I note that there are reports of private back yard poultry being allowed outside in spite of the bird flu ban. This will be affecting Wendy......
There is a lot of heartache at the moment for lost flocks, be they small or large. It may cause some businesses to go under. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... lancashire

The national outbreak map does not look very promising! https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mi ... 999935&z=7

If anyone reading this is contemplating moving their birds outside before the government lifts its restriction, please think again. You may end up losing what you thought you were helping and you may impact on your neighbours as well.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

You are right Julie, it is getting serious.
My Friend Ben Russell's exhibition on robots is getting a good press, See THIS for a Guardian report. It's all a bit worrying for old farts like me who remember the post-war debate about 'automation' when the workers were told not to worry about it because what it meant was more leisure and higher living standards. The skilled workers got the higher standards and the overtime, the unskilled got the leisure but they called it unemployment. Modern 'robots', CNC machines and computers, pose the same risk and are eating away at even more jobs, many of them now in the 'white collar' classes who previously regarded themselves as safe. The problem is that the dividend of efficiency and increased profit is not distributed evenly and at least the lower 75% of the working population are seeing a drop in real incomes. Add to this the current report on the economy from the IFS and I see nothing to cheer about.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Wendyf »

My hens are confined and pretty miserable about it. As it looks like the restrictions may continue beyond the end of February we are working on netting over a larger area of run.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Tizer »

A short video about the Berlin air lift... LINK
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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Funny isn't it. The Bankfield shed has been mentioned several times since July - September with photos of the white tips of the northern lights just showing. Today I drove over the canal bridge and glanced over to see the whole roof had gone AWOL. Just one big open space as though it was a go-cart track. For those who don't get down to this end too often can you do some pics for us David?
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

P, David posted pics of the demolition not long ago.
Tiz, the video about the air lift brought back memories. They didn't mention Gatow aerodrome where I was stationed but that was used as well as Templehof. They are right when they say it had a great affect on the Berliners. We found nothing but friendship when we mixed with them, they never forgot the air lift.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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Something that some of us have suspected for some time, the Daily Mail has been rejected as a reliable source of information for entries in Wikipedia. D Mail Quote."editors said its "reputation for poor fact checking, sensationalism and flat-out fabrication" were enough to justify the ban". Well who would have thought that?
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

Not surprising P for those of us who read PE 'Street of Shame' each fortnight. Old established journalists are being 'let go' and replaced by click-bait sprogs who believe everything that is posted on Tinternetwebthingy. Garbage in, garbage out!
What is grabbing me is the tsunami of impressive reporting on the BBC on the state of play in our hospital A&E departments, especially Blackburn where they have been filming all week. This is good reporting of a clear and present danger which has been forecast for years and totally ignored by policy makers. The bottom line is that we are spending too little on basic health care and as Bob Smith dais one, "We have plaited sawdust for too long and now the pigeons are coming home to roost".
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Tizer »

The American company Nextdoor has taken over the UK company Streetlife....no, it meant nothing to me either, so I did a bit of googling and found that they are social media web sites meant to provide places for local communities to discuss local issues. Trouble is brewing because Streetlife didn't make public its users street addresses and real names whereas Americans seem less concerned and such information is public on Nextdoor. Streetlife customers now find their personal information is no longer hidden. In its original form Streetlife would probably have been useful for our village but I'm not sure it would garner so many users now they have to put their full details in public
`Streetlife users in Nextdoor privacy row' LINK
Streetlife: LINK
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

American companies, many with a very dodgy reputation in the States, are finding easy pickings here in taking outsourcing roles like probation and prisons. The NHS is firmly in their sights and our leaders seem to be all in favour of it as it is 'foreign investment' in their terms. Who owns Britain?
I was given the job of organising a great day out on the canal by some of my closest friends, including Uncle Bob and his wife. It's all going well and it looks as though it will happen on August 31st! Yippee!!
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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You already know that the NHS is in deep trouble and that the care home business is struggling too. Listen to this episode of Bottom Line and find out `from the horse's mouth' just how serious things are for care companies...

Care Homes LINK (Available as podcast or on iPlayer)
The care home business is heading for a crisis according to Evan Davis's guests in this edition of The Bottom Line.
The cost of providing care in this labour-intensive business has increased significantly because of the introduction of the National Living Wage. The fees paid by local authorities on behalf of poorer residents no longer cover the cost of providing accommodation, food and staffing. Care homes make up the shortfall by charging higher fees to privately funded residents. Social care analyst William Laing tells Evan Davis that private payers subsidise publicly funded residents by, on average, £8000 per annum. But this is not an option in less affluent areas with a shortage of fee paying clients.

John Ransford of the HC-One group provides care for mainly publicly funded residents. He tells Evan that 24 hour care for the elderly has to be provided for less than the cost of a night in a Travelodge. Evan's guests believe that the care sector's business model is unsustainable. Find out what they think will happen next.

Guests:
Dr. Jane Townson. Chief Executive Officer, Somerset Care Group
John Ransford, Non-Executive Director, HC-One
William Laing, Founder and a Director of Laing Buisson, Healthcare Intelligence Company
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

I can't tell you how much that depresses me. It used to be a given that Old Farts like me always complain that things are deteriorating but in these days of austerity we might have a point! Which is more important, having a nuclear deterrent and a bullet train or looking after the old folk? The priorities are all wrong and nobody in government seems to care.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by David Whipp »

Catching up after an absence of several days...

Will post a fresh picture of Bankfield later (maybe on Bank Edge view).

The Nextdoor issue is interesting... locally, Tory councillors put a lot of effort into getting groups going - including thousands of pounds spent on postage. And that's the last I've heard of it. I know a couple of people who signed up, but they've not reported any activity. The 'Barnoldswick Talk' facebook group is fairly fast at spreading news in Barlick.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by David Whipp »

Anyhow, this is what caught my attention on Friday evening...

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This column on Rainhall Road was hit by something around about half past five on Friday. As of yesterday evening, it was still standing. The barriers etc are what I put round to prevent folk being too close if it fell.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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I know OG members are interested in all things mechanical and I want to draw your attention to a book seller who specialises in those areas. I've bought and just received two books and can recommend him for having a wide selection of titles, good prices, sensible delivery charges, courier delivery, accurate description of the book's condition, robust packaging, rapid communication and a pleasant manner. And no, I don't have any connection with the man who runs the business, Derek Lunn! If you decide to buy anything from him send him an email first to check the postage charge - he'll combine items to keep down the cost. His business is called 'Dereks Transport Books' but his new web site address is secondhand-books.co.uk LINK

On the main page click on the green buttons down the left-hand side to buy direct from him, which is what I did. If you prefer to go through Abebooks then click on the right-hand blue buttons but you'll generally pay a bit more because he has to pay a % to Abebooks (now part of Amazon). At the bottom of the page are all his contact details, delivery charges, T&Cs etc.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

I noted the lamp post on Saturday morning when I went to the opticians. Couldn't see any obvious signs of impact. Did someone simply push it over?
Later..... This caught my attention and I was reminded of Tiz's posts on dangerous dams. See THIS. The Oroville dam in Northern California is still giving cause for concern even though the danger is seen to be lessening. Lots to be said for living on the watershed!
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by David Whipp »

The lamppost has some paint scraped off it at a height of a truck's guard or bumper. A Co-op delivery wagon was seen turning in the road at the time that the column was pushed over... putting two and two together, I may be getting five! I'm pretty sure that if a car had pushed it over like that, it would have been wrapped round the post.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Tizer »

Perhaps the Coop is as good at driving wagons as it is at running banks! Maybe Paul Flowers (remember him?) was demoted to wagon driver.

Stanley, thanks for remembering my dam warnings!
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

Tiz, I take notice of everything you say!
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

A very slight twinge in my back. First sign of the old enemy since I ditched my pillow.... I am keeping my eye on it!
See THIS for an account of the latest Rowntree Trust report on poverty. They say that many of the Just About Managing families are sliding into poverty as wages fail to keep up with rising prices. I have great respect for Rowntree and the terrible thing is that this is the same cause of poverty they were reporting at the end of the 19th century when Seebohm Rowntree first started what is now regarded as one of the most trusted social surveys in the world.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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House prices is one of those things that continue to fascinate people. Prices have risen by an average of 7.2% in some areas while in others there has been a depreciation. It will come as no surprise that the biggest increases are in London and the southern areas while the North West and North East are on a downward trend. Link To those who live in this area it still may be a surprise to see that the lowest cost area is Burnley. Ref. "The cheapest area to purchase a property was Burnley, where an average house cost £74,000". I've always said that this area is dying on its feet perhaps Burnley is already dead!
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

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We've got a plumber here putting in a new shower in the upstairs bathroom. I've just helped him carry up the big wall panel and it was a tricky job getting it up our staircase, which has a 90 degree corner in it, and then round the landing at the top. We were struggling with how to get it through. It was almost there but we couldn't quite figure it out . Then Mrs Tiz arrived on the scene and told us how to do it! She's always doing puzzles and loves a challenge. :smile:
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Big Kev »

This has been doing the rounds on social media, rather ironic I thought...
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Kev

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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by plaques »

The Night Watch, by Rembrandt van Rijn. I suppose this is the modern version, Afternoon watch by Apple.
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Re: WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

Post by Stanley »

I like that Kev.... it supports my theory that screen culture is destroying the ability to look and observe!
Tiz, I have a story about getting stuff upstairs. We were flitting my boss Richard to his new farm at Waddington........
"On the Saturday we washed HYG out and went to Yew Tree where we loaded all the bits that were left, beds and wardrobes mainly and the kitchen furniture. Flitting is a rotten job and always takes longer than you think. The last item we loaded was an enormous oak wardrobe. Normally these come to pieces but this was definitely an antique and had to be moved in one piece, we had a hell of a job getting it out of the house and weren’t looking forward to taking it off! When we got to Backridge we left the wardrobe until last but in the end couldn’t put it off any longer. We asked Ursula where it was to go and she said in the attic! We had tied the doors together to stop them swinging open and started off up the stairs, it was a pig! Every turn in the stairs was a puzzle, we backed into doorways and juggled the thing about but made slow progress. What was annoying both of us was the fact that there was something loose inside it and kept thumping from one side to the other. After almost two hours we finally got it into the attic. We stood it in the corner and David set off towards the door. I told him to hold on, I was going to satisfy my curiosity about a couple of things. The first was the puzzle of the doorway in the end wall of the attic, I knew it was an outside wall and couldn’t understand what use a door was. I opened it and found there was an outside flight of steps into the garden! This was quite common at one time as the farm men used to live in the attic and it saved them traipsing through the house. Pity we hadn’t realised this in the first place! The second item was to find out what had been rolling about and annoying us all the way up the stairs.
Five minutes later we were downstairs and sitting with Richard in front of the fire. I told him we deserved a whisky and his face fell. “You’re right, but there isn’t a drop in the house!” I told him that there mightn’t have been any until we came but there was now and pulled a bottle of Thin Red Line out from behind my back. We had found out what had been annoying us all the way up the stairs!
We settled back with the bottle and three glasses and sat there having a quiet drink while the sound of music drifted through the house. “It didn’t take the lasses long to get the record player working.” I said. Richard said “That isn’t a record player, it’s Ursula!” We went into the other room, and I have to say that my memory of this bit is different from Richard’s but I’m sure I’m right, Katherine was playing the piano and Ursula was singing, she had a wonderful voice and we just sat there listening. To cut a long story short, we finished up with Ursula playing the piano while we sang our way through all the favourites we could find in the Methodist Hymn book. By midnight we had finished the hymns, drunk the bottle of whisky and Richard said that as far as he was concerned it was the best house-warming party anyone had ever had! I remember driving home and having to be very careful, the road seemed a lot more tortuous going than coming!"
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