KT53 we called Mother Boadicea, she was blown over a wall into bramble bushes by a Bomb that hit Craythorne Police station, had to get two buses home (yes they ran, what was a bomb here or there) arrived home tattered and scratched dirty from her foray into the bushes and was still back to her war work next day. She was an electrician at the big bomber base near us and went by train each day, one day as they approached the stop a plane coming back from a raid crashed on the line and burnt. The driver stopped the train with their carriage over the flames, by the time he got it going again they had burns and smoke inhalation. Taken to the medical centre they got the usual sniff of Sal Volatile and a cup of tea then were told it would be best to go to their work as being the best treatment for shock, she arrived home frazzled hair no eyebrows and clothes smelling of smoke, finished the meal I had prepared and back to work next morning.
She would have shrugged off all this hoo ha called the politicians some choice names then got on with life which she enjoyed into her 80's. I learned from her, when the muck hits the fan wash it off and carry on with life, they have their world we have our real world and now the infighting starts, it will all be different this time next year.
These stories are certainly putting the current situation into perspective aren't they?
My paternal grandmother lived in Coventry during the war. They went home after one of the bombing raids and were unable to unlock the door. When they finally got in and removed the lock they discovered the inside of it had completely melted. The assumption being that a piece of shrapnel had entered via the keyhole and done the damage.
Sadly, she also experienced far worse. The story is that during another raid a parachute was seen falling, and Polish troops who were stationed nearby went to get what they assumed was a downed German pilot. It wasn't a pilot, it was a parachute bomb so you may imagine the carnage. Gran was an auxilliary nurse and one of the first on scene. In later years she totally lost the plot and it's thought that experience was part of the reason.
Our worries about financial impact seem trivial by comparison, troubling though they are.
Fairygirl, we also bought a 2 bedroom flat, in he 80s, mortgage rate was 12%, 18 months later it was 16%, I ended up with 4 jobs, to make ends meet, and folk complain about it being 5% now. Am always hearing the "poor young people" today, cannot afford a house, but most of the ones I know (worked with) 2 good incomes, but spend a ridiculous amount of money on getting married, often £20.000, when they already live together. They want the 3 bed semi, and everything in it, a couple of cars, holidays abroad. We started out renting a couple of rooms, in 1970, I had a mangle, no washing machine or fridge, (kept milk in a bucket!) Our first "house" purchase was a caravan, neither of us drove, I got a bicyle, seat for my kids. No holidays. THEN in 1989, THAT Husband tried to kill me, had taken out mortgages on our house, which was re-possessed, so middle aged, started out all over again, with nothing. Get very cross being called a "babyboomer" lucky not to have a mortgage.
I didn't say we know more, just that we have a wider view because of where we are.
I see the same thing with local Belgians who don't really look beyond their town, region, country because they only look that far. Many are as disaffected with their politicians as the British clearly are.
Lots of strife here with the Flemish wanting independence from what they see as the lazy Walloons. The Flemish have developed from being a largely peasant farmer economy to well educated, hi-tech light industry and innovation whilst the Walloons have inherently created their wealth with old style heavy industry - coal and steel - which have now gone, like in Wales, Yorkshire, the North east. There is a strong tradition of unionism and Socialism and little appetite for innovation in old industrial Walloon communities so high unemployment and the Flemish don't see why they should underwrite Walloon pensions and benefits.
Similar problems with north and south Italy and also between the more liberal northern economies and the poorer southern economies across the EU even before you look at the strides that need to be made to bring the old communist block members up to economic speed.
When the dust settles and negotiations start reality will hit and I just worry very much that it will be harder for everyone with the UK going alone than it would be working together for economic and social security and standing up to the US trading block. it would have been so much more productive for the Brits to have brought together the Scandinavians, Dutch, Poles and Baltic states to put a brake on the German and French drive for ever closer unity and integration at a speed which is way too fast for the peoples affected.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
When the dust settles and negotiations start reality will hit and I just worry very much that it will be harder for everyone with the UK going alone than it would be working together for economic and social security and standing up to the US trading block. it would have been so much more productive for the Brits to have brought together the Scandinavians, Dutch, Poles and Baltic states to put a brake on the German and French drive for ever closer unity and integration at a speed which is way too fast for the peoples affected.
I strongly suspect that the Germans and French thought we were bluffing about leaving and that our Government would back down. They are now seeing that they were wrong, and it's too late. If the EU is going to be worse off with the UK outside maybe it should be them coming back with proposals for change which might be able to stop the process. Also, there was nothing to stop the Scandinavians etc approaching the UK with proposals to stop further integration, but they chose not to.
Don't get me started on 'baby boomers'. What a lot of the younger generation do not realise is that, many of us working class (not all thick) as some people llike to think went out to work at 15 years old and have done 40 years work in my case, so have earned what ever they get today. Also regarding Brexit nobody mentioned the countries that are waiting to join will they meet the criteria or will it be fiddled like it was for the Greeks to join and look at the mess it has got them into. They have to pay back an instalment on the bailout shortly that will be interesting. The EU was already proposing to raise the budget. They will miss our contribition.
Don't get me started on 'baby boomers'. What a lot of the younger generation do not realise is that, many of us working class (not all thick) as some people llike to think went out to work at 15 years old and have done 40 years work in my case, so have earned what ever they get today. Also regarding Brexit nobody mentioned the countries that are waiting to join will they meet the criteria or will it be fiddled like it was for the Greeks to join and look at the mess it has got them into. They have to pay back an instalment on the bailout shortly that will be interesting. The EU was already proposing to raise the budget. They will miss our contribition.
I can't use a link, as I don't subscribe to The Times on-line version but if you can get a copy of yesterday's edition, do read the article on page 28 by Giles Coren, the title of which is "Wrinklies have well and truly stitched us up";
If I were to write to him, this is what I'd say:-
Dear Mr Coren - I read with interest your article and have decided to alter my will as a result. I will now sell my house and other assets, and use the proceeds and my savings to spend the remainder of my life travelling round the world on cruise ships. First Class, of course. I won't leave a thing to any member of my family (or anybody/any charity) as not only will they not appreciate my past efforts and I won't, as you quite correctly say, be around to see them reap the benefits of an inheritance.
will it be fiddled like it was for the Greeks to join and look at the mess it has got them into. They have to pay back an instalment on the bailout shortly that will be interesting. The EU was already proposing to raise the budget. They will miss our contribition.
There was talk at one time that the EU was going to lend Greece the money to pay back the first interest payment on the previous bail out. How does that work then? If somebody was up their neck in debt, having already consolidated all their loans into one payment, how does it help by lending them even more?
KT53, have you never heard of a wonga loan. You can't afford the interest on the first loan, so we lend you some more to at the first lot back, and the interest is 12,000%
Hello HFCharley, long time no see, you are correct only in my day some of the children left school at thirteen and worked all their lives, Intelligent kids who passed the 11+ but parents could not afford the uniforms books and kit, what did they get, a lifetime of lowly jobs a meager pension and early death from overwork, do not get me started. My parents could afford uniforms and books so it was High School until 16, no chance of us going to College it was unheard of, so night school in our own time no day release. We worked earned and saved for our pensions and when I reached the age for the National pension I was told it was unearned income so they taxed the pensions I had paid into and worked for, I will pay income tax until I die very begrudgingly I may say.
I give the EU in its present form 10 years, all the governments will have changed by then expectations will differ from today's and the countries such as Greece Italy Spain and probably others will want to be free of the Brussels shackles and the monetary noose they are hanging in at the moment. Any one wish to take the bet?
Posts
KT53 we called Mother Boadicea, she was blown over a wall into bramble bushes by a Bomb that hit Craythorne Police station, had to get two buses home (yes they ran, what was a bomb here or there) arrived home tattered and scratched dirty from her foray into the bushes and was still back to her war work next day. She was an electrician at the big bomber base near us and went by train each day, one day as they approached the stop a plane coming back from a raid crashed on the line and burnt. The driver stopped the train with their carriage over the flames, by the time he got it going again they had burns and smoke inhalation. Taken to the medical centre they got the usual sniff of Sal Volatile and a cup of tea then were told it would be best to go to their work as being the best treatment for shock, she arrived home frazzled hair no eyebrows and clothes smelling of smoke, finished the meal I had prepared and back to work next morning.
She would have shrugged off all this hoo ha called the politicians some choice names then got on with life which she enjoyed into her 80's. I learned from her, when the muck hits the fan wash it off and carry on with life, they have their world we have our real world and now the infighting starts, it will all be different this time next year.
Frank.
These stories are certainly putting the current situation into perspective aren't they?
My paternal grandmother lived in Coventry during the war. They went home after one of the bombing raids and were unable to unlock the door. When they finally got in and removed the lock they discovered the inside of it had completely melted. The assumption being that a piece of shrapnel had entered via the keyhole and done the damage.
Sadly, she also experienced far worse. The story is that during another raid a parachute was seen falling, and Polish troops who were stationed nearby went to get what they assumed was a downed German pilot. It wasn't a pilot, it was a parachute bomb so you may imagine the carnage. Gran was an auxilliary nurse and one of the first on scene. In later years she totally lost the plot and it's thought that experience was part of the reason.
Our worries about financial impact seem trivial by comparison, troubling though they are.
Fairygirl, we also bought a 2 bedroom flat, in he 80s, mortgage rate was 12%, 18 months later it was 16%, I ended up with 4 jobs, to make ends meet, and folk complain about it being 5% now. Am always hearing the "poor young people" today, cannot afford a house, but most of the ones I know (worked with) 2 good incomes, but spend a ridiculous amount of money on getting married, often £20.000, when they already live together. They want the 3 bed semi, and everything in it, a couple of cars, holidays abroad. We started out renting a couple of rooms, in 1970, I had a mangle, no washing machine or fridge, (kept milk in a bucket!) Our first "house" purchase was a caravan, neither of us drove, I got a bicyle, seat for my kids. No holidays. THEN in 1989, THAT Husband tried to kill me, had taken out mortgages on our house, which was re-possessed, so middle aged, started out all over again, with nothing. Get very cross being called a "babyboomer" lucky not to have a mortgage.
I didn't say we know more, just that we have a wider view because of where we are.
I see the same thing with local Belgians who don't really look beyond their town, region, country because they only look that far. Many are as disaffected with their politicians as the British clearly are.
Lots of strife here with the Flemish wanting independence from what they see as the lazy Walloons. The Flemish have developed from being a largely peasant farmer economy to well educated, hi-tech light industry and innovation whilst the Walloons have inherently created their wealth with old style heavy industry - coal and steel - which have now gone, like in Wales, Yorkshire, the North east. There is a strong tradition of unionism and Socialism and little appetite for innovation in old industrial Walloon communities so high unemployment and the Flemish don't see why they should underwrite Walloon pensions and benefits.
Similar problems with north and south Italy and also between the more liberal northern economies and the poorer southern economies across the EU even before you look at the strides that need to be made to bring the old communist block members up to economic speed.
When the dust settles and negotiations start reality will hit and I just worry very much that it will be harder for everyone with the UK going alone than it would be working together for economic and social security and standing up to the US trading block. it would have been so much more productive for the Brits to have brought together the Scandinavians, Dutch, Poles and Baltic states to put a brake on the German and French drive for ever closer unity and integration at a speed which is way too fast for the peoples affected.
I strongly suspect that the Germans and French thought we were bluffing about leaving and that our Government would back down. They are now seeing that they were wrong, and it's too late. If the EU is going to be worse off with the UK outside maybe it should be them coming back with proposals for change which might be able to stop the process. Also, there was nothing to stop the Scandinavians etc approaching the UK with proposals to stop further integration, but they chose not to.
Don't get me started on 'baby boomers'. What a lot of the younger generation do not realise is that, many of us working class (not all thick) as some people llike to think went out to work at 15 years old and have done 40 years work in my case, so have earned what ever they get today. Also regarding Brexit nobody mentioned the countries that are waiting to join will they meet the criteria or will it be fiddled like it was for the Greeks to join and look at the mess it has got them into. They have to pay back an instalment on the bailout shortly that will be interesting. The EU was already proposing to raise the budget. They will miss our contribition.
I can't use a link, as I don't subscribe to The Times on-line version but if you can get a copy of yesterday's edition, do read the article on page 28 by Giles Coren, the title of which is "Wrinklies have well and truly stitched us up";
If I were to write to him, this is what I'd say:-
Dear Mr Coren - I read with interest your article and have decided to alter my will as a result. I will now sell my house and other assets, and use the proceeds and my savings to spend the remainder of my life travelling round the world on cruise ships. First Class, of course. I won't leave a thing to any member of my family (or anybody/any charity) as not only will they not appreciate my past efforts and I won't, as you quite correctly say, be around to see them reap the benefits of an inheritance.
Yours sincerely,
Hypercharleyfarley.
There was talk at one time that the EU was going to lend Greece the money to pay back the first interest payment on the previous bail out. How does that work then? If somebody was up their neck in debt, having already consolidated all their loans into one payment, how does it help by lending them even more?
KT53, have you never heard of a wonga loan. You can't afford the interest on the first loan, so we lend you some more to at the first lot back, and the interest is 12,000%
Hello HFCharley, long time no see, you are correct only in my day some of the children left school at thirteen and worked all their lives, Intelligent kids who passed the 11+ but parents could not afford the uniforms books and kit, what did they get, a lifetime of lowly jobs a meager pension and early death from overwork, do not get me started. My parents could afford uniforms and books so it was High School until 16, no chance of us going to College it was unheard of, so night school in our own time no day release. We worked earned and saved for our pensions and when I reached the age for the National pension I was told it was unearned income so they taxed the pensions I had paid into and worked for, I will pay income tax until I die very begrudgingly I may say.
I give the EU in its present form 10 years, all the governments will have changed by then expectations will differ from today's and the countries such as Greece Italy Spain and probably others will want to be free of the Brussels shackles and the monetary noose they are hanging in at the moment. Any one wish to take the bet?
Frank.