hauxwell

9 hours ago, Longcol said:

 

Trump keeps saying he'll bring peace to the Ukraine conflict in a day.

 

Presumably by offering Putin free rein in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 

 

"Oh, and is there anything else you want Vlad? Maybe Finland, Poland, Czechia? You know where to transfer the money to."

When Trump was President he accused NATO members of not paying there fair share towards it. When it showed you how much NATO allies contributed towards it Germany and France were the worst offenders they paid  no were near what the UK was paying, it was disgusting, Trump praised UK for paying there fair share to NATO.

I’d like to think that since then all NATO countries are contributing more towards it, if not and Trump is the next President I think he will threaten to pull out of NATO. 

Some say Trump will create WIII with Russia if elected. 

I don’t think he will, I certainly can’t see him saying to Putin our bombs are bigger than yours as he said to Kim Jong Un. I’m sure the USA and Russia both have the balance of power when it comes to nuclear weapons. Although Trump has seen the poor performance of the Russian Army in Ukraine. The same as China they have now become a super power. 

The only way I can see wars with these countries is sanctions and cyber attacks.  

1 hour ago, echo beach said:

That barley wine was lethal. Favourite drink for the ladies though.

Twas ‘63 and my first Christmas at work. All the office staff finished early and retired to a pub on Fulwood Road.  Being the new kid on the block and the lowest paid I accepted the generosity of all those there until I was legless and my boss had to take me home in his car.

Lesson learnt, not quite.

Years later I had a short period working in one of the local hospitals which shall remain anonymous.  Boy did they know how to party at Christmas. Each department had its own little soirée and the idea was to circulate,, socialise and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I reached Pathology before almost passing out and I’m sure spirits were added on the side to the pints I drank. When I didn’t come home my wife rang the hospital and the porter found me slumped on the floor in my office.

I think the lesson was learnt that time because although I enjoy a drink most of the time I always do it now within reason and never touch spirits.

The days of whiskey and soda, Cuba Libre and vodka and lime are long gone distant memories now.
Wouldn’t turn down a Black Velvet though. Just for nostalgia’s sake, you understand!😆

 

echo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

echo

Nice story echo enjoyed reading it.  My husband use to drink Guinness and Cider mixed, think that is a Black Velvet or a version of it. 

Not an alcoholic drink but tea, I detest it.  

1 hour ago, francypants said:

Both myself and my husband love our air fryer.   Before buying it we wondered if it would become one of those appliances you use a few times then banish it never to be seen again.    Turns out it's one of the best kitchen appliances we've ever bought.   Since we bought it about 9 months ago I bet we've only used the main oven half a dozen times. We use it every day and wouldn't want to be without it now.     

Have to agree with you francy, it was after reading your post on another thread about how good they are I decided to buy one.  It’s definitely one of best kitchen appliances I have bought along with the microwave oven, they are to very different things tho.

15 hours ago, hackey lad said:

Well , I cut my grass and while I was at it  did my neighbours , while he was out . First time I've done it but he's getting on now and got lots going on ,so I will do it whenever I do mine . He came round asked if it was me that did it , thanked me and walked off smiling . Hope I brightened up his day . 

That was very considerate of you hackey cutting your neighbour’s grass. Pity there wasn’t more neighbours like you.  You even thought about men not getting there Sunday lunch on time to.

Peaks and Valleys

I enjoyed this survival film in the Alaskan wilderness about a man and woman who are brought together by fate.

Although a bit predictable there was a twist at the end of the film.

8/10

Blair and Bush junior should never have invaded Iraq. 

As for Afghanistan that was NATO and other allies who sent the military there with the intention of training the Afghanistan army, they didn’t make a very good job of it tho. The Taliban soon took over the country after America withdrew, I don’t think Biden anticipated that to happen so quickly.

Could Biden have handled Americas withdrawal from Afghanistan better? It seemed very messy at the time. 

Putting pressure on Biden to stand down was the sensible thing to do. He’s well past his sell by date who should never have been the president of the USA..

Yes I was feeling glum today, it’s been a funny day. 

Late getting in and just didn’t want to cook the dinner, must be suffering with cooking anxiety. 

It’s been raining since late afternoon, can’t understand why the North East seems to be missing out on global warming, we have had two washout summers. 

Making my way home walking past the River Tyne hadn’t worked it’s magic which normally cheers me up. 

Then just read Daddy’s, Padders and hackeys post on this thread and I thought they were funny so feeling a bit better.

Better keep off the politics thread as I’ll probably go and throw myself in the Tyne.

8 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

Tbh it sounds like heaven. A real community,  something that seems to have almost disappeared in the UK. 

Yes I agree.  I can remember my grandma saying you could leave your back door open and no one would pinch anything, probably because there was nothing to pinch, but folk would help each other.  Times have changed but there is  still good people, not everything in the UK is bad.  

1 minute ago, The_DADDY said:

Yeah I enjoyed reading it too. Makes me want to visit there. 

I have never been but know a few who  have, admittedly on holiday and  they loved it, 

6 minutes ago, trastrick said:

 

Come on down!

 

Poor by your standards but happy, content, hard working, smiling , dancing, singing, helpful, kind, family, community, no racism, no homophobia, no homeless, no protests and no politics. A few Haitian squatters occupy the odd abandoned buildings, but they are respectful, clean, and hang their washing out on the line every day, and work hard at any job they can find.

 

At my age I don't make a fuss about my birthdays, I prefer to let them pass.

 

The locals in my neighborhood are always asking me how old I am, and I just smile. My partner let the cat out of the bag though and told them my birthday, this past March.

 

They all got together, young and old, shopkeepers and motoconchos and the young guys got the rudimentary barbecues set up and plastic chairs in front of the grocery story on the corner, the ladies cooked up big pots of stew, and barbequed chicken and pork and served it to all the folks in the neighborhood. We drank cheap rum and cheap beer. It went all day and most of the night, and I was the only white guy in a crowd of Haitians and Dominicans.

 

I tell you this, because, at times like this, people should be reminded that there's a world out there of love and community, that is so far removed from the experience of most godless "First World" countries, that would blow your mind!

 

 

Enjoyed reading this.  You sound contented where you are living and that’s the main thing. 

2 hours ago, Al Bundy said:

America is a fantastic country, don't be put off by what you read and see.

I agree and so are the American people.  

10 minutes ago, echo beach said:

This incident reinforces my view that, of all the countries in the world that I’d like to visit, the USA isn’t one of them.

 

 

echo.

I would go back to America again.  In a few years time the American tourists might say exactly the same, Avoid the UK if we don't stop the small boats crossing the Channel. 

I'm sorry for the person who died, and the injured hope they make a recovery. 

You could see the defiance in Trunp as he was taken to his car, waving his arm in the air, and I think shouting I'm OK. 

Did the murderer think he was going to stop democracy.  

The Unions still seem to have a lot of power.  There was  a six week bus strike in the north-east just before Christmas, it was like the lockdown all over again. We have also seen the disruption that unions have caused with train strikes and also the doctors strike.  I was beginning to think that the unions were running the country and not the government.

I think it’s a waste of money holding an inquest, is it going to open old wounds?

7 hours ago, Longcol said:

Losing Penny Mordaunt was a huge blow for the Tories chances of getting a credible leader who could perhaps make a stab at getting something like say 30% plus of the electorate behind them.

Yes I agree, I wanted her to be the Prime Minister instead of Liz Truss. God knows how this lot of conservative MP’s are going to sort themselves out. 

On 09/07/2024 at 09:48, rogets said:

Why not give Larry the Cat a chance?

 

He has been Chief Mouser for many years. so why not give him a chance at the top job?

Good idea but I don’t think that’s going to work now, he’s still living at Downing Street

and he’s purring up to Sir Kier.

Padder’s for Prime Minister. He would keep the backbenchers in there places.

27 minutes ago, Anna B said:

I hate this. I'd much rather see seasonal stuff sold only in the season it relates to. I know some people like to get ahead, and I understand that, but honestly, the shops should be full of summery stuff right now.

 

IMO Christmas stuff should only be available after October. It keeps it special, and Christmas treats something to look forward to.

I agree with you Anna.  Then on 2nd of January Easter eggs suddenly appear on the shelves.

However I can cope better with seeing the Easter eggs than the Christmas stock on shelves in August.

Last year Tesco and Asda started to fill their shelves with Christmas foods in August. Not long to go now.

Supermarket across the UK have shocked shoppers by filling shelves with Christmasfoods and drinks, with weeks of the school summer holidays still to go.

Both Tesco and Asda are selling Christmas related goodies, with shoppers snapping photos of chocolate, mulled wine and festive sweets already on sale.

While the weather certainly feels autumnal,  many shoppers have been left confused by the goods, saying that it's not even Halloween yet.

I did most of my banking there when I lived in Sheffield.  End of another era for me.

9 hours ago, janie48 said:

Though I've only seen Liam Neeson in two films - Schinders List, and the Mission. I really admire him as an actor and think he should have won an Oscar for his performance in Schinders List.

Liam Neeson was very good in Schindler's List. I always thought he did win an Oscar for the film, he definitely should have.  

I remember seeing bits of the film before it was released and I wasn’t impressed when I knew it was going to be made in black and white, apart from the young girl dressed in red, but it did work, the holocaust was life without colour. I don’t think it would have had the same emotional impact if made in colour. 

Tommy a tall bronze statue at Seaham, that represents the Armistice that went into effect at 11 am on November 11,  1918.

On 04/07/2024 at 17:16, m williamson said:

 

I agree with that. I went to see an old work colleague and friend of mine the other day who is now in a care home. It was seriously upsetting to see him in the state he is in now.

Back in the day he played cricket for Yorkshire Colts and later was a badminton partner of mine. We worked together for years at three different companies he was brilliant at his job and was a mentor of mine when I started in the industry.

 

He is now incapable of moving around without assistance, requires a hoist to get him into bed and assistance to use the toilet. I feel incredible sympathy for him, I don't want to end that way. My family has a ' tradition ' of sudden death caused by heart failure, and providing I don't harm anyone else if it happens that way to me it's what I'd prefer.

I'm going to visit my friend again as his wife told me he enjoyed the visit, but I have to admit it's not something to look forward to.

It must be awful having someone to help you with personal care or as Anna said going in a home and sat all day drooling away.  As awful as it is visiting your friend in the home must help him from being stressed and to break up his day.