No Beer Was Harmed
A train run by Southeastern rail in the UK hit a beer barrel that had been thrown on the line by vandals in April 2016. Fortunately this caused no injuries and no real damage to the train but did cause a 90 minute delay while the incident was investigated. My sympathies are with those travellers as its like hell when a UK train closes a line .... but at least the the rail company showed some humour.
They issued a statement that 'no beer was harmed'.
Budgies Are More Like Us Than You Think
We yawn. We can pass our yawns on to each other. Apes yawn and can pass their yawns on to each other and us. Dogs yawn and can pass this on to each other. We can pass our yawns on to both apes and dogs ..... Rats yawn and can pass their yawns on to each other, but to no other species. Budgies yawn. Budgies can pass this on too each other, but to no other species.
Budgies are the only non-mammal species to yawn .... so there you are. A brief history of yawning ... stop yawning!
Another Message in a Bottle
We have nearly all placed a message in a bottle and thrown it into water at least once in our life, even if it was in a river rather than an ocean. This pastime has been replaced by messages on balloons in many places (especially where there are no oceans or mighty rivers, like Mongolia), but the principal is the same. So popular has this pastime proved to be, that its the basis of a number of films and songs in the Western world.
Sadly most of us never hear back from this frivolous and rather romantic action, and its only our imaginations that are fired. Of course we also occasionally all read of people across the globe getting replies from strangers years later ...... but did you know what was the oldest message to receive a reply?
It was reported as message thrown into the North Sea in 1906, which was only discovered and replied to by a woman on a small German island in 2016. It was sent back to the UK's Marine Biological Association. However it is not the only old message in a bottle this blog has come across ....and it may not be the oldest, as reported by the news agency.
Cleanliness Is Next To Profit
Apparently 94 percent of all diners would never go back to a restaurant where the toilets are dirty ..... a thought that many establishments would do well to dwell on. I once walked miles in Istanbul to find a McDonalds, as it was reputedly the only clean public toilets in the whole city at the time. Some of the South Asian establishments in the UK often leave a lot to be desired in this regard, with the chefs and owners not using toilets rolls for 'cultural reasons'.
You Fat Bar Steward
No I don't mean John 'Two Jags' Prescott .... Government figures released in May 2016 showed that the obesity capital of the UK .... cue chicken leg drum roll ... The Wirral in Merseyside. I was surprised at this news, as central west coast Scotland (Glasgow region) is always cited as the unhealthiest area in Britain .... deep fried Mars Bars and all that. But no. Apparently the residents of the Wirral are actually three times as likely to be treated for obesity as anywhere else in the country.
That's 2,894 people per 100,000 needing treatment in the region as opposed to a national average of 811 per 100,000. Actually that is really very bad and I wonder if there is a particular reason for this vast discrepancy. Never having been there I am not able to offer any suggestion.
Second To The Germans
According to a poll in the Expedia Web site, the only nation tighter with tips in restaurants than we Brits, are the Germans. Ten per cent of establishments on the continent rated us the worst tippers. What can I say, but that by the standards being applied I am a shocking tipper myself.
Good service is what's supposed to drive a tip, not the basic idea that they are in a low paid job. After all low paid jobs are generally a result of low qualifications, obtained by not applying oneself at school. Or because one has chosen to work in a low reward economic sector for some other reason. Neither choices are to be rewarded or applauded simply in of themselves.
On occasion I have tipped generously as I have considered the staff to have gone the extra mile, but I have been in far more establishments than those, that I would like to have been able to deduct monies for the service being poor.
So yes I am proud, that like the Germans, we Brits expect better service from the start than some half-baked member of the owners family, serving my table in a desultory manner.
A train run by Southeastern rail in the UK hit a beer barrel that had been thrown on the line by vandals in April 2016. Fortunately this caused no injuries and no real damage to the train but did cause a 90 minute delay while the incident was investigated. My sympathies are with those travellers as its like hell when a UK train closes a line .... but at least the the rail company showed some humour.
They issued a statement that 'no beer was harmed'.
 |
| No Beer Was Harmed ..... |
Budgies Are More Like Us Than You Think
We yawn. We can pass our yawns on to each other. Apes yawn and can pass their yawns on to each other and us. Dogs yawn and can pass this on to each other. We can pass our yawns on to both apes and dogs ..... Rats yawn and can pass their yawns on to each other, but to no other species. Budgies yawn. Budgies can pass this on too each other, but to no other species.
Budgies are the only non-mammal species to yawn .... so there you are. A brief history of yawning ... stop yawning!
Another Message in a Bottle
We have nearly all placed a message in a bottle and thrown it into water at least once in our life, even if it was in a river rather than an ocean. This pastime has been replaced by messages on balloons in many places (especially where there are no oceans or mighty rivers, like Mongolia), but the principal is the same. So popular has this pastime proved to be, that its the basis of a number of films and songs in the Western world.
Sadly most of us never hear back from this frivolous and rather romantic action, and its only our imaginations that are fired. Of course we also occasionally all read of people across the globe getting replies from strangers years later ...... but did you know what was the oldest message to receive a reply?
It was reported as message thrown into the North Sea in 1906, which was only discovered and replied to by a woman on a small German island in 2016. It was sent back to the UK's Marine Biological Association. However it is not the only old message in a bottle this blog has come across ....and it may not be the oldest, as reported by the news agency.
Cleanliness Is Next To Profit
Apparently 94 percent of all diners would never go back to a restaurant where the toilets are dirty ..... a thought that many establishments would do well to dwell on. I once walked miles in Istanbul to find a McDonalds, as it was reputedly the only clean public toilets in the whole city at the time. Some of the South Asian establishments in the UK often leave a lot to be desired in this regard, with the chefs and owners not using toilets rolls for 'cultural reasons'.
You Fat Bar Steward
No I don't mean John 'Two Jags' Prescott .... Government figures released in May 2016 showed that the obesity capital of the UK .... cue chicken leg drum roll ... The Wirral in Merseyside. I was surprised at this news, as central west coast Scotland (Glasgow region) is always cited as the unhealthiest area in Britain .... deep fried Mars Bars and all that. But no. Apparently the residents of the Wirral are actually three times as likely to be treated for obesity as anywhere else in the country.
That's 2,894 people per 100,000 needing treatment in the region as opposed to a national average of 811 per 100,000. Actually that is really very bad and I wonder if there is a particular reason for this vast discrepancy. Never having been there I am not able to offer any suggestion.
Second To The Germans
According to a poll in the Expedia Web site, the only nation tighter with tips in restaurants than we Brits, are the Germans. Ten per cent of establishments on the continent rated us the worst tippers. What can I say, but that by the standards being applied I am a shocking tipper myself.
 |
| Death To Bad Tippers ..... That Includes Me! |
Good service is what's supposed to drive a tip, not the basic idea that they are in a low paid job. After all low paid jobs are generally a result of low qualifications, obtained by not applying oneself at school. Or because one has chosen to work in a low reward economic sector for some other reason. Neither choices are to be rewarded or applauded simply in of themselves.
On occasion I have tipped generously as I have considered the staff to have gone the extra mile, but I have been in far more establishments than those, that I would like to have been able to deduct monies for the service being poor.
So yes I am proud, that like the Germans, we Brits expect better service from the start than some half-baked member of the owners family, serving my table in a desultory manner.
Funny post friend. I am particularly pleased that at this holiday vacation time no beer was harmed.
ReplyDeleteAt this vacation holiday period I was particularly glad to hear that no beer was harmed. Good post friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment ... Glad your the elf for looking after beer.
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