THE BRITISH THREAD II

@izzythepush,

I see a bit of it from time to time. It scares me.

I must have got mixed up.

@izzythepush,

To Spendi, not me the thread is stuck.

One of the few advantages to being widowed is that I no longer have to watch the soaps. At first I was putting on kid's channels too keep my 4 yr old's mind off what was going on. I slipped behind and realised I didn't want to catch up.

The only time I notice it now is when watching Pointless and a soaps question comes up. I must admit Pointless is a guilty pleasure, worth watching because of the banter between Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman.

1 Reply

@spendius,

spendius wrote:

I must have got mixed up.

No you didn't. It's all down to how you define 'big match.' For some it was Man U v West Ham, but for me it was Chelsea v Saints. 2-2, not a bad result considering.

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@izzythepush,

I don't mind the soaps really. They keep the ladies quiet for a bit. For quite a bit if they are followed by a bonnet series or a bodice ripper.

That they do, and I heard the Queen watches them a bit, which is understandable seeing as how the nation's best paid scriptwriters are delivering their memo to Her on the state of Her subjects mentalities, is proof of their expertise in that field of human understanding.

Like Shakespeare they write for two audiences. The ones on either side of the Liberal Democrats. The one on my side see the depiction of a constant seething struggle to get a shag as cheaply as possible and to look good while at it in residences where the street and the front room are one stride apart. Or as well as maybe considering the frustrating obstructions placed in the path of Simple Simon by the most devious and cunning creature that Mr Darwin had ever thought of thinking of.

Some obstructions being highly innovative.

"Lie back and think of England" is a useless marketing ploy these days.

The trouble is that knowing how expert the best paid scriptwriters are likely to be I get a bit disenchanted with my fellow citizens.

I like Terry Duckworth best but they only allow rare glimpses of him.

1 Reply

@spendius,

The main problem I have, is that with five or six episodes a week they can really tie you down.

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@izzythepush,

I don't watch soaps, probably mainly because I'm a snob.

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@McTag,

You're not a proper snob Mac. You just like to think you are.

A proper snob shoves one of those funnels up his arse when he goes for a dump so his turds come out in whatever shape is in fashion with the gentry at the time.

I bet you eat meat and potato pies out of the baker's bag whilst walking though the streets.

And move the unwashed dishes out of the sink before taking a leak.

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@spendius,

You know me too well, Spendy. I like steak bakes from Martins (our version of Greggs) and they never get as far as the house. Well, you've got to eat them while they're hot, intit?

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@spendius,

spendius wrote:

move the unwashed dishes out of the sink before taking a leak.

You can't get much posher than that.

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Actually, I didn't want to comment on the coverage about "snow blizzards", "severe snow warnings" ("up to 6 cm snow") etc.
But this just came up in The Independent

Quote:

Winter comes but once a year, and pretty much at the same time. There isn't that much variation, either, in the season "when icicles hang by the wall", as Shakespeare put it.
Not that you'd ever imagine that from our panicky reaction. Each year, the same relatively light dusting of snow elicits the same response: panic-buying in shops, shutdowns of railway lines and airports and that old staple, "traffic chaos" on iced-up roads.

Foreign visitors scratch their heads, wondering why the same nation that can put on an event as complex as the 2012 Olympics just cannot keep its planes and trains running, or its roads clear. A mystified Canadian told the BBC that he couldn't understand it, as what we considered winter weather would be considered more like spring weather in Canada. He is right, and we should be embarrassed. In our fear of flakes, we look distinctly flaky.

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@spendius,

spendius wrote:

You're not a proper snob Mac. You just like to think you are.

Poor McTag. I get better reviews for snobbery than that.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Absolutely, W.H. I think it's lazy journalism, for one thing.

I can't really say anything to defend this country's miserable performance in the event of a few millimetres of snow falling, except maybe to say that we don't get snowfalls every year, unlike Russia, Norway, Canada say, and so we don't have anti-snow machinery and measures available as a matter of routine.

Some bloody accountant probably decided it would be uneconomic.

So we prefer to stay off work and complain.

You'd think the airports could make a better effort, though.

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@georgeob1,

My goodness, George is here, and reading along. How delightful to see you, sir.

I hope you're not seeking erudition or thought-provoking comment. We don't do that here.

Well, not since Smorgs left, anyway.

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@McTag,

McTag wrote:

You'd think the airports could make a better effort, though.

Not really: t's not only the snow, but de-icing the planes, less planes are allowed to start and land ...

I think, trains could do better: if there's really a lot of snow here, trains are the better way of transport to rely on.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

The trains don't run reliably because thanks to EC policies, Romanians steal the signal cables.

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@McTag,

We get that, too. But not in winter - it would take too much effort to work under 15+ cm of snow and ice ....

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@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

Foreign visitors scratch their heads, wondering why the same nation that can put on an event as complex as the 2012 Olympics just cannot keep its planes and trains running, or its roads clear.

We can. We don't choose to because the investment required is not cost effective. If Canada had our winters I suppose it would do as we do. There's nothing like spending a billion or two on snow shifting plant and then it doesn't snow for a few years. We are very unprepared for earthquakes and erupting volcanoes as well.

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@McTag,

McTag wrote:

I can't really say anything to defend this country's miserable performance in the event of a few millimetres of snow falling, except maybe to say that we don't get snowfalls every year, unlike Russia, Norway, Canada say, and so we don't have anti-snow machinery and measures available as a matter of routine.

Some bloody accountant probably decided it would be uneconomic.

It's nearly a universal problem in areas where the snow fall is a less than inevitable event. Washington DC has long been famous here for becoming paralyzed with just a few inches (you do remember inches don't you?) of snow. A hundred or so miles north cities are usually much better prepared.

If you want to see a really paralyzed airport, just try changing planes at Chicago O'Hare during a February snowstorm.

THE BRITISH THREAD II

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