Ship Shape, Berlin Wall and no birding again today

24 February

We were planning on a birding trip to Slimbridge today until we remembered we had some parcels to wait in for. Well, here it is, 12:20 and they still haven't arrived. So yet again another wasted day. We didn't get up until 9:30 anyway. Ah well ... ... ...

Ship Shape, my now named NANO effort from last year has been left open for a follow up without my realising it at the time of writing. Saturday afternoon I was sat in the Anker when the reason for the open end came to my mind and I sat and wrote the first 100 words of it. It was only 80 words as I wrote it but changing it slightly as I typed it up added the extra 20 words. Now bad really considering that Ship Shape isn't even published yet. Can you guess what the new one will called I wonder?

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 leading to the eventual falling of the Iron Curtain. Most of the world at that time celebrated the end of communism. There were exceptions of course, China and Cuba being just two or them. Democratic governments around the world began to draw down the defence budgets and to move the so-called 'peace dividend' elsewhere.  But now I fear that the Wall and Curtain are back in place, Putin has seen to that! Now we are all wondering just what is he playing at and fear he may send troops into Ukraine to bring it back under Russian control.

William Hague is supposed to be warning his counterpart in Russia not to send in troops. What has he got up his selves to back up the warning? Britain's armed forces are now only a shadow of their former selves from when I left in 1979. Now 40 years later we have been struggling to have enough troops to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan without over deploying what we do have. That is due to all governments over the last 49 years, not just the current one. What was once seen as the 'peace dividend' now looks more like a 'peace folly'!

And so I offer the following photo ... 

A family at the market.

Today's funny comes from the Sage again ...

A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper has cheated him out of $10,000,000. His bookkeeper is deaf. This was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court.

When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language.
The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where's the money?
The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido where's the money?
Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The lawyer tells the Godfather, "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."
The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's temple and says, "Ask him again!"
The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him.."
Guido signs back, "OK.!!!! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house."
The Godfather asks the lawyer, "What did he say?"
The lawyer replies, " He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."