Wild Wales

The Prisoner

The Prisoner, the iconic 1960's TV show and brain child of actor/producer Patrick McGoohan was set in The Village (actually Portmeirion in Wales). I didn't know this (or more likely just plain forgot it), but the the village had a motto, and no its not "I am not a number, I am a free man." 

The Prisoner Had Many Questions .....

- but the village captors counter reply of -  'Questions are a burden for others; answers a prison for oneself'. This idea could be applied to many states around the world ... not least Wales.

Lost In New York

In 1975 Flora Stevens was dropped outside her doctors at the Community General Hospital in Monticello, New York, by her husband for a routine appointment, and promptly disappeared.

 

Police Had Only Had Old Pictures Pre 1975
(I cleaned and coloured as best I could)

 

She didn't see her doctor, and simply joined the ranks of the 13,000 people who are reported missing in New York City each year. But unlike the vast majority who turn up quickly, she was never found.

Whatever Happened To Blackpool?

For many people in the North of England and Southern Scotland .......

Blackpool As Tourism Portrays It ..... Not Always The Reality

.... Blackpool is remembered as the 'Las Vegas' of the North. Sun, Sea, Saucy Postcards, and even Sex (if you weren't too fussy).

Only In America

In an unusual story from the USA this week, a bunch of eleven Republican state senators, from from the state of Oregon, are on the run from the state capitol Salem and the police ...

The Oregon Eleven Have Supporters

.... well deliberate hiding, is probably the more accurate description. Democratic Governor Kate Brown has authorised the states police to try to locate them.

Not So Funny

In many comedy films, someone will mistake a stick of dynamite for a candle, and light it .....

As Seen In Many Movies ......

.....ha ha ha ....

Fanatic Fish Lovers

The ornamental fish lovers of Singapore know no limits in their fanaticism .....

Arowana - The King Of Ornamental Fish In Chinese Eyes ....

..... the city remains the worlds biggest exporter of Arowana, Koi, Guppies and Goldfish ...

Passing Of A Legend

Madame Claude was a brothel keeper ....

Madame Claude of Paris ....

.... perhaps the best there has ever been. Certainly the best in France ....

Post Human Demise

I remember a story a few years ago that said that the last Mammoths survived on Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast.

Mammoths Downsized In Order To Try And Survive ....

In order to do this they had downsized somewhat under the ecological pressure of global warming, and a restricted food supply. Until their eventual extinction about 2,000 BC, which was some 6,000 years after the rest of the mammoths of the mainland had died off. Humans probably accounted for their final demise.

It Came From The Skies

Now most of us don't really look to the heavens all that much as we wander about the planets face ....

It Came From The Skies Is Something We All Should Consider .....

But perhaps we should do so more often.

Strange Museums

There are in the world some very strange collections ...

Captain Beany In His Empire .....

..... often the owners of these collections want to share their interests and obsessions with the rest of the world.

Helping The Trojan Horses

Al-Hijrah School is a voluntary-aided Islamic all-through school (aged 4 to 16) based in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, England.

Al-Hijrah School - An Example Of Us Reaping What We Sow?

It has a history of controversy since it became a state funded Islamic school in 2001.

Teaching Equality

In many universities in the Western world, the student body is nearly 60 percent female.

Education Female Male Sex Ratios Are
Skewed Towards Women ..... A Good Thing?

This is increasingly an issue in the Western world ...

Messing With Monkeys

My favourite story for absolutely ages .....

John Owen Casford ..... Drunken Thief.

.... John Owen Casford of Wellington New Zealand got drunk, and decided to break in to the cities zoo.

Gone But Not Forgotten

A coastal village in the west of Wales .....

Fairborne in Gwynedd West Wales Could Disappear ...

..... could become the first place in modern UK history, to have to relocate its entire community due to climate change, according to the reports.

Criminal Imbalances

Victoria Arthur a 36 year old junkie in a wheelchair was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 23 years.

Victoria Arthur - Wheelchair Killer.

She had stabbed a drug pusher to death in a row over money (£100) that the dealer had said that her lesbian partner owed. This was in Portsmouth.

Jezzers Got To Be Joking

There are times when you have to wonder exactly what makes Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn tick.

RIP ~ Jeremy Corbyn

On the face of it there is no nasty little cause that he won't back or support. For instance he left a floral tribute to a homeless man who died under Westminster Bridge in February 2018.