19 April
Saturday morning again; however, I won't be going out
today because I have far too much to do. Editing Shipshape as well as actually getting some more new writing done
are the priority jobs. I could really do with going in to town actually but it's
not at the top of the list. Last November we bought a new TV/DVD, and a
brilliant set it is too - apart from the remote control, which really is crap.
Quite often we need to remove the batteries and swap them around to get it
work, and some time we have to do it a second time to get it working. So
yesterday I waited until I could drive through town to Maplins and bought one
of those all-in-one remotes. Didn't do any good cos the TV set number is not on
the magic list. so it needs to go back. It will have to wait until 4pm on
Tuesday now.
It seems that the fire season has started locally. A
house in Dorktown has burned with a mother and son being rescued by fire fighters.
A bungalow has been attacked by arsonists. Again. no-one was hurt even though a
disabled man lived in it, but he managed to get out by himself. Thirdly a three
ton stack of hay caught fire in the Leamington area of Warwickshire. I bet the
fire service is hoping that it's not the start of busy spring/summer period for
them. Like many other areas of the country, the county council has reduce fire
cover throughout the county. Let's hope that the fears expressed by the service
about the amount of cuts putting lives at risk actually doesn't prove to be
correct.
Students are supposed to be hard-up cash-wise. Are
they really? Well, Thursday's Tonight
programme seemed to show that they are not quite so hard up. It followed four
students on a night out on the town where they made a note of how much they
drank. One of them drank 48 units of alcohol on that one night. Yes, I know and
agree; just how much is 48 units? Well, I have an unopened 700ml bottle of malt
whiskey beside me and according to the label, it contains 28 units of alcohol.
So that guy had drunk around a bottle and a half of malt whiskey or other
spirit.
Now, I was a very heavy drinker a long time ago, but I
never drank that much in one night. Actually, I couldn't afford it. So here's
my point really; how can these so-called hard-up students afford to drink to
such extremes? And the answer has to lead back to the cost of drink in the
first place. These students were pre-loading before going out; that is, they
were fairly well on the way to be getting plastered before they actually hit
the pubs and clubs. Bottles of booze is so cheap these days and so readily
available it's no surprise that so many youngsters are having drink related
health problems. The drinks industry keep saying to drink responsibly, but what
does that actually mean? And just how effective is it when pubs and clubs are
selling the stuff for a £1 a shot?
Some say a minimum price per unit should be introduced,
OK, fine ... see this real ale sign ...
Well, I had two pints of it on my way
home from town yesterday afternoon. A pint is supposed to be two units; so I
had four units yesterday, which is the maximum recommended count for adult
males. Those two pints cost me £6.60. Using my trusty calculator the minimum
unit cost would need to set at over £1.65 for me to even think of not buying
it. Add in the actual current cost of the pint as it is, it would make each
pint £4.95. I can't see happening, can you?
Our weekly look at historical event for Saturdays
takes us back to one of my favourite periods of history, the English
Reformation. In particular from 1491 to 1603. It was on the day in 1587 that one
of Lizzy 1s favourites sailed into the Spanish harbour of Cadiz and sank the
Spanish fleet.
For today's photo I offer a real taste of spring that
I shot just out our back door ...
Another funny from the Sage ...
Husband and
wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding anniversary!
The husband
yells, 'When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, 'Here Lies
My Wife -- Cold As Ever'!'
'Yeah?' she
replies. 'When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, 'Here Lies
My Husband -- Stiff At Last'!'
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