[Bob Williams]

Looking back at myself in teen years, I was just trying to get away from home and a one-job village. I was raised, as most of my generation, on a diet of British and Hollywood films about war and how glorious it was. Then the ads told us all about foreign places and I was sold. On reflection, I would say that actual military active service was about 95% boredom and 5% pants-filling fear. When one of your mates is killed or injured, you don’t think “I’m going to GET them!” as in the books and movies. You just think, for one split second, “Glad it’s him and not me!” and try to put a round or two in the ones trying to do that to you and all your other mates.

Then you try to help, if you can. The uniform looks better without holes in it.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

My one weakness is Hovis biccies and KitKats –

Oh all right, my two weaknesses are Hovis biccies, KitKats and Border Lemon Drizzle biccies

– oh, to the devil with it, I just like stuff I shouldn’t.?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

That’s Win7 32 bit, I have 64. I’ll wait until Microsoft puts it out live.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Oh yes the corned beef. My mate Dave the ACC cook, had joined as a Para but destroyed his knee in a hard landing.* He remustered as a cook, had actually been a Chef in a big Nottingham restaurant before having a rush of blood to the head and becoming a Cherry Beret. I talked him into coming on Advance Party with me on Unit or NATO exercises: he was a genius with basic Army scran. His corned beef hash was absolutely delicious, he used to get as much of it out of everybody’s Compo packs as he could. He also took his own supply of herbs and other stuff, the lads would queue up for seconds. Being his mate, I fed well.

He eventually got fed up with cooking, left the Army, became a HGV trucker, worked up to a trucking business, got mixed up in a fraud at a closing pit, lost the business, was banged up. Worked up to another business, started shipping to Persia before it became Iran, got out and started taking stuff to Saudi. Some of that included very naughty publications and movies for certain Saudi Big Bods. They were sending gold ingots back with him in sealed compartments, and when he started telling me about that I stopped listening, on the principle that what I don’t know cannot hurt me. He was away during his final week in Saudi when his best mate and partner sold all the remaining trucks, the yard and legged it to Florida with his misssus, leaving his two kids with his mum. Not long after that he lost everything. Last I saw of him, he was alcoholic. Don’t know if he is still alive, but I had enough of watching him trying to drink himself to death and trying to help him.

*Should have given him two ‘chutes: Dave was a very big lad.

 

 

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Yes you did recommend WF Steve, thanks. And that’s good news, I should have known it.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Just tried that Ed.

WARNING for others on Win7: I don’t have mine set for Automatic Updates. After reading Your link, I brought up CPanel and clicked Windows Update (‘cos I can never leave things alone) and all I got was a frozen control Panel with endlessly rotating circles. It was stuck like that, so I had to Restart. Not touching it again!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Just wondering what some people are making of the direction this Topic is taking now….?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Cardboard boxes for us, 10-man Ratpacks. I was seen as weird because I liked everything that most others did not: Irish Stew, Oatmeal blocks, tinned bacon, tinned butter.

Contents:

Only thing I didn’t like was the Processed Cheese. Heated up, it was fairly good glue. Hot or cold, it tasted like tinned floor polish. The oatmeal blocks were hated because they gave some squaddies indigestion and diarrheoa. I never had a problem with digesting it, or moving it on afterwards. You could eat them (not all at once – that is what caused the problems) or make adecent porridge with them. Mind you, after a day back in barracks, the bogs — ohhhh, the bogs!!!! ??

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

^^^^^ What he said!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Thanks Dave, I am still a bit green about phones! Our problems understanding that began because we initially took our WF’s up to the Grimsby EE shop for Sims. They carried out all the setup, which probably included the Unlocking process. They also sent SWMBO’s phone TU (I still get occasional fallout from that!) and it took another visit to straighten it out. Then the CMod afair hit the buffers. My swift updated OK to stock Android and then Nougat. SWMBO’s fell over (more fallout ??) and it took the RMA to sort out, detailed in an older topic. have to say that Wfox were very good about that.

Ed that is encouraging and I am pleased that someone else here has a Wileyfox. ? Even SWMBO is mostly happy with her little Spark (the phone, not me) and I like my Swift, but will have another WF sometime.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

The one single annoying charity activity for me, is the number of Charity Collection Bags we get here in the Senior’s Ghetto. I know I have moaned about this before, but I have been asking around the village and most people outside of our Close do not get the same number that we do. That means we oldpharts are being targetted, which is disgusting. I have given up now: I save up all the bags and wait until a charity van comes into the Close, then give them ALL to one driver. If they don’t take them, I make sure they see me chuck them in the Recycle Bin. How much stuff do they think we have? As I pointed out to one of them, it is younger people who have more stuff than we oldies, who tend to hang onto things and use them until they fall apart.

Of course that makes me a miserable old bugga, until I point out the contributions I make.

The Poppy game has become ridiculous: example – just before Rememberance Day, I had bought one and not noticed it had fallen off. Passed a young Girl Guide Poppy seller with SWMBO, who was wearing one. “Oh so your wife has a Poppy, do you want one?” – “No thank you, I bought one but it obviously fell off.”

“But don’t you want a replacement, to help veterans?” – in a very haughty voice.

“Well,” I said patiently, “I have two objections to that, young lady. One – I am a veteran and served 12 years. Two – my granddaughter has been in Guiding since a child and is now actually your local Leader. Her name is (–) do you know her?” – “Er, yes.” – “Do you think she would like you talking to her grandad like that?”

“No.” – “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her. But remember the principles and aims of Guiding, one of which is respect for elders. Now carry on with the excellent work: you are doing a great job.”

(Faint voice) “OK thank you.”

When I pass a War Memorial, I always remember fallen comrades, I bare and bow my head. That causes amusement sometimes, but I don’t care. It’s my tribute and it can happen at any time of the year. When I pass a certain Home where I last saw a mate dribbling into his shirt, I always feel the pain. That is real and it doesn’t depend upon buying a piece of red and green paper, once a year.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Or he may be just as deluded about that as he is about everything else. Your choice!?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

This was the knife, but I remember the WD broad arrow on it:

 

Then there were copies made, with an inscription, pretty pointless really but Yuppies might have bought them:

Most useful part was the bottle/can opener, which opened Ration Pack cans better than the crappy folding opener in the ration pack. (My favourite was Irish Stew and Oatmeal blocks.)

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

I’m just buying the bare phone Steve, Daughter wants to do the rest, grandson will put in the Sims at work and set it up within mum’s plan.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Thanks but not looking for a contract Nolan, just buying a phone, then daughter will buy a Sim and put her on her own PAYG plan.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Sorry Alan, but that post from Steve is the best combination of mild put-down, explanation and reasoning possible. It isn’t possible to improve upon it, but I do agree with it. We are an assorted bunch of nerds, geeks and ex-everythings who got together over a magazine forum and decided to carry on, with the help of a Yorkshire part-time genius (!) who manages to sometimes keep us all in line.

BTW, Steve, the broad arrow was a part of the wrongful arrest I talked about here once. It was on the broken clasp knife that a local officer wanted me to hold. He passed it towards me “Have you seen this before?” and expected me to grasp it, without noticing that there were no fingerprint tags on it. No tanks, Ossifer!

Remember those clasp knives? The Services must have had millions of them. I gave mine to my dad, who used to cobble all our shoes in the days when you could repair shoes. Dad reckoned it took an edge better than any other knife he had, great steel. I had several from Stores, only had to ask. Mind you, my 2 best mates were an RAOC Sgt. storeman and a Cpl. AAC cook. I was not dumb!

Dad was a cobbler’s apprentice on leaving school at 12 in 1916, taken to the Pit Gates by grandad at 14. That was his life, underground until 65. If there is an actual Heaven, he will be spending it walking in sunshine through green fields and forests.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

I have a monthly DD to Guide Dogs, NSPCC and McMillan Nurses. I have a blind mate who has had more than one dog and is very grateful for the ability to get out and about: I saw how it changed his life. NSPCC because I know a couple of people who were abused as children. One was our daughter’s mate as a child, who was sexually abused by her dad. Daughter was a witness whose evidence, and that of the girl’s kid brother, put him away. Her mother ignored it and would not believe it. We are extremely proud of our courageous daughter, who was threatened by the abuser and his wife. She told them to add assault and harrasment to their charges if they wanted. I told them something else.

The other was me. Battered as a very young child by my mother, until dad found out. That brings it home to me that children need protection even from those who are supposed to protect them. Think about this: there is a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but the NSPCC is only a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The UK loves animals: how much do UK citizens love children?

McMillan because they looked after my dad and allowed me to carry on working and getting sleep while he got on with dying. They did the same for my brother and my FIL.

I know, Steve, that some charities are a fraud, but there are ways to look into that.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Thanks Dan, it does look good. And cool.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

The Investigatory Powers Act in this country, is far more dangerous to the privacy and security of UK citizens, than any foreign government. If UK Ministers are going to be trusted with all their own citizens’ details and ID, we know what those people, and some “Security Officials” do with electronic records. All any foreign spy has to do, is catch a bus, train or taxi in which these idiots travel regularly. Sooner or later a USB key, laptop or brief case will fall into their possession.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Ed P wrote:

Richard, being slightly plump is good as slightly plump people have a greater life expectancy than those at the lower end of the bmi band.

That’s bad news for the USA and the world, Ed!

Who needs this guy to live forever?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Author]

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