General Random Conversation..

[The Fish 10857]

The Branch Bravidians.

I'm way too hungover to understand that.

 

Wait, it's that mental cult in the states isn't it?

Edited June 24, 2016 by The Fish

[Alex 35083]

Waco up, Dave

[ewerk 30616]

 

I'm definitely having kids and training them in survival skills and combat so that they're suitably prepared to look after me after the inevitable collapse of society.

 

FYP

[Tooj 17]

Dave loves talking about having kids like.

[The Fish 10857]

Dave loves talking about having kids like.

[Alex 35083]

It's better than having them.

[Monkeys Fist 42457]

It's better than having them.

Now then....

[Alex 35083]

[catmag 337]

Anyone who uses the A1 north at Lobley Hill to get to work - there's a massive sinkhole opened up. Closed at the moment and disruption inevitable for tomorrow's rush hour.

 

 

Edit: A1 closed until Wednesday

 

http://www.northumbria.police.uk/news_and_events/latest_news/2016/06/26/important_travel_info_a1_sinkhole/

[Meenzer 15531]

https://twitter.com/hashtag/wearehere?src=hash

[Monkeys Fist 42457]

https://twitter.com/hashtag/wearehere?src=hash

That's a powerful way to humanise the almost unfathomable numbers of men lost in the battle.

Here's a pic I took last year of my kids at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Over 72,000 men, their bodies never recovered.

Of that 72,000, nearly 58,000 died on the first day of the battle, most within the first hour.

Staggering.

[NJS 4386]

I'm all for remembering the deaths but it's tainted without criticism of the ruling classes who ordered it.

[Alex 35083]

I think the military tactics of the day hadn't caught up with the technology, so in that sense it excuses the generals etc. to an extent. What is inexcusable is that way in which they persisted with such a disastrous tactic for so long. On one of the programmes commemorating the Somme it was said that it was apparent within a number of minutes that it was an unmitigated disaster. At least the elite sent their kids to fight then though (not that I see that as particularly admirable but it's better than the fucking hypocrites in government now and in recent times who wouldn't let their bairns anywhere near the conflicts they were starting).

[NJS 4386]

I agree - the whole war should have lasted two days in 1914 as soon as it was apparent trench warfare with machine guns and artillery was genocide.

[Alex 35083]

I know loads of you probably have read it but the best thing I've read about that war is All Quiet on the Western Front. It's horrific but it's an absolute masterpiece.

[Monkeys Fist 42457]

Here's an extract from the regimental diary for my Great Uncles battalion on the opening day of the Somme.

"The 1st Battalion The Border Regiment then went over the top from our support line, and over our first line, the bridges over our front trench HAVING BEEN RANGED by the German machine gunners THE DAY PREVIOUSLY.

We met with heavy losses, while crossing these bridges and passing through the lanes out in our wire.

The men were absolutely magnificent, and formed up as ordered outside our wire, made a right incline, and advanced into No Mans Land AT A SLOW WALK, also AS ORDERED."

They knew the day before that the German machine guns had been ranged precisely on the gaps in the wire that the men would need to pass through, but they not only ordered them through, but ordered them to do it at a slow walk.

 

In his battalion, out of 830 men that went over the top at 7:30am, 640 were wiped out on the wires in just over 20 minutes. By 8am, they note that

" the entire advance was at a standstill".

This is July 1916, they'd had two years to adapt their tactics to account for the new "industrial" warfare.

 

They didn't.

[Rayvin 5223]

Fuck me... not read anything much about WWI for a few years but you forget sometimes how utterly senseless it was.

[Happy Face 29]

The first few Hardcore Histories on WW1 convey the slaughter of the battles in the first half of WW1 very well.

 

Blueprint for Armageddon...

 

http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/

 

The whole series is well worth a listen. Basically a free audio book.

[Dickie 0]

I know loads of you probably have read it but the best thing I've read about that war is All Quiet on the Western Front. It's horrific but it's an absolute masterpiece.

 

Never read that, have been meaning to for years. A Farewell to Arms is the best war story I've ever read, probabaly my favourite Hemmingway book as well.

[Alex 35083]

 

Never read that, have been meaning to for years. A Farewell to Arms is the best war story I've ever read, probabaly my favourite Hemmingway book as well.

It's class, aye. I think it's at least as good a novel but obviously Remarque's book is all about trench warfare and just the war itself. Whereas A Farewell to Arms has much more to it even if it is about the war. Both show the pointlessness of it all.

[Dr Gloom 21924]

I must read that. I loved birdsong. Captured the insanity of the conflict brilliantly

[Isegrim 9777]

It's class, aye. I think it's at least as good a novel but obviously Remarque's book is all about trench warfare and just the war itself. Whereas A Farewell to Arms has much more to it even if it is about the war. Both show the pointlessness of it all.

Another good read is "Storm of Steel " by Ernst Jünger as a piece of social realism and a contrast to the critical work from Remarque.

[Renton 21627]

So, anyone who has been on here a long time may recall I have a history with seagulls.

 

A couple of years ago when I moved house I neglected to fit a seagull cage on the chimney stack. This year, we have a seagull nest. They're a pest, dive bombing and shitting everywhere, and generally not the best thing to have when you have young kids. There is nothing I can practically or legally do to remove the nest (protected species).

 

Last week, I noticed the eggs had hatched and there was at least one fledgling. Last night, I heard a crashing sound and realised the nest had fallen into the chimney (sealed at the bottom). I didn't detect any other noise.

 

This morning, I saw a fledgling on the stack so assumed it was just nest debris that had fallen in. But as I type this, I can hear the pathetic tweets of a fledgling behind the chimney breast. Quite loud actually.

 

Honestly, what can I do? It's horrible but I'm not demolishing my fire place to rescue it, and if I did, what would I do with it? Thing is, if my wife hears this she will be really upset. Hence the question, how long will it take to die?

Edited July 1, 2016 by Renton

[Renton 21627]

 

about 10minutes at 150c when you light the fire?

 

Seagulls are cunts, i came close to punching one last year when it swooped at me, our back carpark at work had some sort of old house the security used to use, like you a nest was made on top of it, weren't allowed to shift it and anyone parking near the place was dive bombed with them going mental.

but aye nothing you can do, you'd think with a tumble down the chimney it's already on it's way as well

There's no fire in this fire place. I hate seagulls, I really do, but fuck this man, it's horrible knowing the little thing is dying a slow death in the dark alone. I just hope it's quick.

[ohhh_yeah 2967]

 

What about the stench of death afterwards?

 

Had a squirrel build a nest in one of the eves and afterwards had to tear out quite a bit of the siding to get to it. The wasp nest that had to be removed was worse, of course.