Saul

A Russian, an American, and a British admiral were having a drink on an American aircraft carrier. They were talking about the bravery of their sailors. The Russian said, “I will demonstrate the bravery of our sailors.” He calls a sailor over and says, “Jump off the ship. Swim under it and climb back up.” The sailor promptly salutes and jumps off the flight deck, swims under the ship, climbs up the davits and stands in front of the admiral and salutes. The Russian says, “That, gentlemen, is courage." The American says, “That's nothing.” He calls over a PO and says, “I want you to jump off the bows. Swim under the ship to the stern and then return." The PO salutes, jumps off the bow, swims to the stern, and climbs back up to stand in front of the admiral and salutes. The American says, “That, gentlemen, is courage." The British admiral says, “That's nothing. Sailor, come here." The matelot comes to attention and salutes. The admiral says, “I want you to climb the highest mast on the carrier, jump off, swim under the boat from bow to stern and then from beam to beam then climb up the mast and do it again." The matelot looks at the admiral and says, “You can fuck right off, sir!” The admiral turns to the other two and says, “And that, gentlemen, is courage."

No but now I want to try it

Chilli Nuts

Didn't feel it but 213KGs so not lightweight. Upside down is the way the original was, I think I would like them more angled towards the rider but not worried about the way they sweep.

No mist so far.

I went to a RE owners club meeting last night and learnt that Thor Motorcycles at Lanivet had a Gold Star in stock so I popped up to have a look, twas only a 30 mile round trip but that was far enough in this cold. Thanks goodness for thermal underwear. Anyway had a good look at the BSA Gold Star and I thought it looked really good. No rough edges and pretty well finished to be honest. Only couple of things I was not so keen on was the stickers on the engine cases that detail left a bit to be desired, also no main stand. The motor sounded fantastic, it has the baffle out but even so it has a lovely sound. I was offered a test ride but declined as I knew I wasn't going to buy and would have felt guilty. Talking to the owner he tells me he has taken 22 deposits on his allocation of 25 bikes for the first quarter of next year. May have been a bit of sales spiel but sounded reasonable given the way the guys at the RE meeting were raving last night. If I were to choose I would have a green one or maybe black. i had a look at some of the 'Chinese Crap' he had in the showroom and to be perfectly honest it all looked pretty good. How long it would stay looking that good is another matter but even so it's easy to slam stuff from a distance up close I didn't see anything that looked nasty. I do like the look of that Fantic Cally thing, but if I was to buy a dirt bike I think I would go for one of the Betas he had in the showroom, I liked them. Not sure about the Indians he had, couldn't see myself on one of them just to bloody big. The Gold Star I would have or maybe an RE Interceptor both of those would suit me well. Or even a second had Bonnie. I know I will get slammed for that but we all ride what we want to and I like the retro stuff. I took a photo of the mist rolling up the Fowey river valley on the way home. Pretty

Well I went and saw for myself today as a local dealer has a Gold Star in stock. Its bloody lovely, sound awesome to. If I had the spare cash I would have one in a heartbeat.

Actually my bike looks like that right now

Cheers Bob, lucky to have this on my doorstep. I have no real love for Fowey town but I would miss the coast path if we ever moved.

Well out and about with my Ginger Bud today. Bloody cold 2.5C so definite nip in the air. I was surprised to see two warships out in the bay this morning. I say surprised because I haven't see any for weeks and they are normally a common site given my close proximity to Devonport Dockyard. I normally see a couple every week but haven't for months. Obviously something to do with events in the east. Lovely light and not many people around which I do prefer, I like to have the place to myself in a selfish way. I am sure the Dear Boy had a blast and even found a couple of squirrels to chase. Not as good at catching them as rats. Found a bit of boat down on the beach. Always entertains me to find a bit of plate. How does it get there, not as if it floated in.

No it's still all working mate. China clay industry still uses the goods Yard and that station is on the main line. The Round House is now industrial units and the turntable is filled in more the pity.

Wow haven't thought about UFO for years. Deffo blast from the past, love it.

Please tell me you watched it all. . I mean I grew up there and even I got bored shitless after the first couple of minutes

I sort of remember a chat with a few of you about the Round House engine house and turntable at Par goods yard and their link to the Thomas the Tank engine stories. Anyway I can across this video from the 1980's that shows them in the beginning of it. Thought it might interest some of you.

Its alright Stewart is on the case,

He doesn't like water for some reason, bit of a wuss most of the time.

First day back walking after a 10 day gout break. Managed 7.5 k with the Dear Boy. Bloody lovely out there. 7 degrees C but didn't feel cold at all, probably be different when the Sun goes down.

I can see that re reading it, wasn't my intent though. My Job and that of the Clinicians I work with starts at the triage list so that is what we focus on. There are several steps before anyone gets on that list to get a chance to talk to a medic and while I know that, it's not part of our working focus. I have the suspicion that the call center systems in place are often set up just to put people off so that they do just wait until the morning and try and get through to their own GP. I think that 111 is toted as the answer to everything, GP shortages, District Nurse shortages, MIU staff shortages, emergency dental care, OOH mental health care and the list goes on. It's not realistic to think our relatively small service can take up all that slack and to sell that idea to the public is misleading. Especially given that we are short staffed and have the same challenges of recruiting as the rest of the NHS. That is why our service is overwhelmed and people don't get the care from us they expect. The clinicians in our service prioritise the End of Life care, acute but not necessarily emergency pain (blocked catheters and such), the elderly although they do deal with many other cases as well. Now I have probably worded that clumsily as well but I just drive the cars, chaperone, stock the drugs and do the paperwork. I would say it is no wonder that NHS staff struggle and moral is rock bottom. A lot of the non clinical people I work with are looking for a different job, personally I love my job but I genuinely don't know how long I can afford to do it. I could earn more stacking shelves, don't want to but may not have the choice ultimately.

I certainly was not trying to be misleading. I think we may be talking at cross purposes, I was not talking about the call center staff who work as you say. The service is not fit for purpose as people perceive it, as it is not properly staffed or funded. But our service is run by Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Paramedics once the calls get through to the triage list. They also have to see TCs and work on the cars. I made the point that they are very committed and hard working people and I would never sully their name or what they do. I am in awe of their commitment and professionalism. They are exceptional people.