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Where there is no vision, the people perish
Before too long the birthplace of railways may not have anything to commemorate the first passenger train in 1825. Darlington Borough Council has already built a new road on the route of much of the old track and now it has announced its intention to withdraw funding from Head of Steam, the excellent small museum housed in the original S&DR station ( Read more... ) -
where did the illnesses go?
drdoug's recent comments in Venta's post set me thinking. Have we changed the names of some illnesses or have they simply been eliminated by modern treatment/prevention e.g. polio ( Read more... ) -
families
"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves" says the fridge magnet my sister-in-law has to pass on her (fortunately) rare visits and it's there deliberately. Fortunately, Sir (her brother) feels the same way. I long ago ceased any connection with the distaff side of my lot. Friends have been far more use and support in times of crisis ( Read more... ) -
Back to the future in the NHS
When our GP retired about two years ago, no one told us. In the bad old days, when his predecessor retired, we got a letter not only telling us he was going but the name of the new member of the practice to whom we would be assigned. We knew Dr U had gone only when we saw a group photo of some event in the local paper and the previous second in ( Read more... ) -
Will they regret it later?
After a week lazing outside our beach chalet, I've seen some well-toned flesh, some lobster-coloured flesh, some flab (especially the chap who, when he stood up revealed a white stripe across his tum where the flab had blocked the sun as he sat) and more tattoos than I can number. There was everything from neat little shoulder numbers and ankle ( Read more... ) -
Worship
Worship. There was no other word for it, there in the temple that is the great hall at The National Railway Museum at York, for, lined up around the turntable, were six of the most beautiful locos ever designed, the A4 Gresley Pacifics, known to everyone who's ever been a platform-ender as "streaks". Mallard, the record-breaker (though it's ( Read more... ) -
raising children in captivity
Mothers are afraid to let their children play out in the snow because they may get hurt/catch cold - news item today.
OMG. Snow is (if you are a child) provided for fun and games. We sledged down a steep bank with a beck at the bottom. Did anyone ever go into the beck? Of course not. We built snow forts and defended them with snowballs. ( Read more...independence is great ) -
doing nothing
I love this space between Christmas and New Year. A real fire, lots of sweets, no folk club to run, no dance club to go to, no community choir practice, enough food left over to make a supermarket trip unnecessary (even after feeding Venta and ChrisC for days) and, this year, weather to make a trip to the dustbin constitute enough of "out" for the day. ( Read more... ) -
employing the unemployable
Today our paperboy is 18. Today, as is usual when one person in the street cancels owing to a holiday, the gormless youth cocked up the whole street's delivery. We got no 20's mirror, no 25 got our Telegraph, no 21 realised the mistake (he was up early) and chased the lad ( Read more... ) -
Well I never!
There was I, standing in the slowly-moving Christmas queue in our local post office and idly looking at the the fancy goods display and the cartoon mugs when my eye was caught by a sort of elongated egg cosy, knitted in red and with a white "fur" and plastic holly leaf trim. "?????" I thought. Then I saw the label. "Willy Wear". Both Venta and Marjory will ( Read more... )