Road Engineers, a breed apart, are single minded and possessed. They learned that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and that is their philosophy – straight to the point. They don’t go round things like sites of special interest, but do go through Granny’s 400 year old cottage – so be… Continue reading Road Engineers,It and Stuff
Month: March 2007
Enforced Holidays 1930s 2
Floss was a handyman at Ramsgate’s huge funfair called Wonderland. He worked on the Big Dipper. Early every morning he sent two cars round the track loaded with sand bags, watching the reaction of the wooden structure as the car went round, to gauge any weaknesses. Next it was my turn for a free, if… Continue reading Enforced Holidays 1930s 2
Enforced Holidays 1930s 1
Parents used to make strange decisions, with the best intentions and even self- sacrifice, but with little realisation what they were condemning their children to. Single parenting is not, and never was, easy, conscience has to be weighed against pragmatism, welfare, economic resources and what is possible. My mother decided I should not be kicking… Continue reading Enforced Holidays 1930s 1
TV Shenanigans,The Change of the Watch
The latter was posted in August ’06 ` TV Shenanigans, essentially TV is a theatre in the home, hence one must expect poetic licence, deceit, and for things not to be what they appear. As a cynic I am prepared to accept much of what I see because it is entertainment, and consequently it is… Continue reading TV Shenanigans,The Change of the Watch
Tha Passing Out Parade
By the time you have read this you will appreciate that there is more than one meaning to ‘passing out’ and the one in a military sense is not intended. We had suffered more than our fair share of bad weather and our convoy duty had not been so much dangerous as stressful as well… Continue reading Tha Passing Out Parade
The Charade of ‘Defaulters’
I believe that the Service was suspended in the aspic of time, almost ever since the days of Nelson – until the war, with the sudden alterations in thought and deed which that emergency and the introduction of civilians forced upon it. In turn the Nelson syndrome was thrust upon us at every opportunity by… Continue reading The Charade of ‘Defaulters’
Illogical Hypocricy
I take exception to the illogicality of our Government’s Climate Change Bill,when presented with the fact that we are now using the very outlets that we are complaining of, concerning climate change, to create carbon emissions on our behalf to supply us with the goods we purchase. This is fatuous! As a nation, with only… Continue reading Illogical Hypocricy
Charactera 1
I assume there are as many characters today as there were in the 40’s, but the streets seem more crowded and they don’t stand out like they used to. There was a man with a military style to him, I used to see in front of the Belfast City Hall. Smartly dressed, wearing a trilby… Continue reading Charactera 1
Caravans and Second Homes
There is, rightly, concern for the loss of land to spec and council building. In the 30’s, in any industrial town, like |Newcastle on Tyne, the Black Country, Belfast, et al, you would have found street after street of ‘two up two down’ houses, bulging at the seams with people and children, at 75 to… Continue reading Caravans and Second Homes
The Soldiers In Belfast
Any right thinking person had to be sympathetic to the young men who were sent over here, whether they wanted to come or not, to become potential targets for hidden snipers. That was not all, their living conditions were apparently appalling and they were not permitted to mix with the Town’s people, for obvious reason… Continue reading The Soldiers In Belfast