Well, would you credit it???......yes you would....:o((

Gorgeous photos Janey. What a shame about your plants. Why would anyone take plants out of a planter? They need a "good 'iding".

Oh Janey, what a shame, poor you. Its the fact that some stranger has touched your personal belongings that you've put care and thought into, grrr. Some fool pulled a tree up in my front garden ... twice and killed it and it had to be replaced. I have 2 box trees in big plastic pots by front door - I darent risk terracotta :-( Your pics of the trees are beautiful, the path in no.1 is beautiful and any idea what the tree is in no. 4 x

Such a shame, Janey, thoughtless vandalism and it seems the same wherever you live, town or village. Love your calming photos, especially No 4 - absolutely beautiful.

lovely pics janey and what a shame about your plants..i think you were right to move them,at least you can still enjoy them...

Thanks Hb....I think it was the beginning of a game, though not one I wanted to play! If I hadn't have been mad I wouldn't have had a walk, so that's a good outcome....:o)) I am trying to persuade myself..Lol!
Thanks Gilli....yeah, a real old fashioned northern good 'iding...Lol!
Little swines Dawn! Oh you must have been upset about your tree, that's awful, I would chop their fingers off! Pleased you enjoyed the pics, the entrance to the park there is stunning, and the golden tree really shone out. I didn't think to look what it was, but next time we go I'll have a look....:o))

It seems to be Gee...with the darker evenings now too, means they're up to mischief....:o( That golden tree was stunning...really made up for it all....:o))
Yes, maybe I was pushing my luck Joanella in these days of no discipline, we wouldn't have dared when we were young. Glad you liked the pics....:o))

Janey I'm so sad for you .. I would chop their fingers off to ! they don't even seem to care that someone might see them , nothing is real to them anymore ... when will it ever stop ? Still we did get to see some beautiful pics which we might not have done , I was looking out for Lottie !! :o)

This may sound silly, but could it possibly have been a Squirrel foraging for bulbs ? They're crafty creatures and quite acrobatic too ! Did you find the plants on the ground, or were they gone completely ? Love the photos taken on your walk. : o ))

Fantastic pics Janey.....Shame about your plants...of course it might not be kids at all......it might be "older" persons with a mischevious bent.......

I am pleased you found a happy distraction, Janey. Your photos are lovely and very representative of autumn.

So sorry to hear about your planters Janey nothing is sacred anymore. But pleased you went for that lovely walk the beauty and tranquility is just what you needed to soothe your hurt, a beautiful Park.

I was thinking same as Shirley T,i have no end of similar damage from squirrel ,if in the spring a hazel or Chestnut emerges you will know why.

perhaps this calls for 'cctv' to catch the beggars !
Your lovely walk and photos are stunning, as you say it makes up for everything!

Many years ago, I had this same problem in my front garden, which I had tended with loving care over many years, but on this particular evening, the "oiks" had a field day, and trashed everything they could.
My remedy?
I replanted, with everything thorny and spiky. You know, Berberis, Roses, Pyracantha, Holly etc etc. I even transplanted nettles (for the butterflies you understand).
It certainly detered the "oiks" as I was left well alone after that. :)

I like your reaction Jasonf! But really Janey, what a wonderful outcome..fabulous trees, fabulous colour! Just about to go to bed, now I shall dream of these. Pity I didnt see them couple hours earlier when I was trying to explain (for the umpteenth time grrr) to my OH what I wanted in the greenhouse. Would have calmed down my boiling blood pressure!!

I don't think it's that we wouldn't have dared to do it when we were young Janey. I honestly don't think it would ever have occured to us. Respect for others and others property was a way of life. Now they don't even have respect for themselves. Times have sure changed.

In these days when shame is replaced by kudos and the 'law' is too busy dealing with crimes that we couldn't imagine when we were young, bored youngsters turn to pointless vandalism. Better to be the victim than the perpetrator though. On the bright side, those morons wouldn't know how to begin to appreciate the lovely trees that you've captured so well Janey. Puts things in perspective maybe. I doubt you'll be going again today, how lucky you were to have had such a lovely day for it.

very sorry to hear about your wall planters ~ something prickly in them sounds a very good idea to me ~ oh and maybe a wasp or two ~ that would sort them out

but well done you to turn it round and find those beautiful trees and then bring them here! thank you ~ lovely pictures.

next time im feeling furious i shall have to remember your 'therapy' ~ out for a walk taking pictures

Are you sure it was 'young ones' that did it Janey ? They learn from us oldies I think, and it's probably oldies that would want to take things for the garden anyway.
I don't think youngsters would have just taken one plant. That seems like an oldie with a garden :o((

i agree wth wot all say on here ,but the b-------gers as they say nothing short of a clip round the ear ... did no one see anything , or pup bark !!!!!!!! any way you had a lovely walk out ;0))))

I agree with Hywel - I can recall three different occasions in three different gardens where plants were taken - all of them were adults, although admittedly, one was only 17 - he took it for his mum's birthday... one of the advantages of either an aged parent living with you (looking out the window in the night) and cctv...

We have our milk delivered......sometimes that gets taken!! so annoying.Sorry to hear about the plants, good idea to move them where you know they are safe.
Your lovely woodland pictures certainly did the trick......very calm now, almost asleep lol

Lovely photos, sorry about your baskets though, next door to me had a hanging basket pinched from near their front door, so after that they chained it to the bracket, but it had to be grownups coming home from the pub late at night.

Strange that a child should only take one Cyclamen at a time! Were they in flower? Seems more like the work of a squirrel than a child. They are becoming ever more urban animals as the woods, & even parks, where they would live are becoming scarcer.

Did anyone hear of the black squirrels that are taking over now? It seems they are they greys with black coats, though it seems at present no-one knows for sure why!

Enjoyed the photos of your walk anyway! Such lovely autumn colours now. :-))

Interesting you should mention the black squirrels Balcony. I remember years ago when we first came to Vancouver, the majority of squirrels in Stanley Park (and there were tons) were little Douglas squirrels....Brown with a reddish underbelly, or grey squirrels. Now, you hardly ever see any Douglas or greys. Every squirrel you see is a black one.

Balcony - we have numerous black squirrels here in North Herts: apparently they are the result of Melanism, and not a genetic mutation. We often see them in the garden, sometimes chasing the grey squirrels, then the greys turn and chase them. They never actually catch up with each other, so it seems to be just a game. Luckily the numbers of each are about even.

Janey, squirrels often dig into compost to bury things, and make a mess. I really doubt if kids would do that. The walk and lovely photos were a bonus!

lovely pics janey and sorry about your baskets, also it is sometimes adults not just kids who pinch plants, sad but true ;o( but awfull you cant even brighten up your front without this sort of thing happening x

lovely pics janey.... sorry to hear about your baskets.... shame you couldnt catch who it was.....

Well thanks everyone for such interesting responses! From young vandals to hicc....ing adults, to grabbed free birthday gifts to rooting squirrels, the list is endless on the who-dunnit plant pilfering....Lol! Thing is we have a problem with young teenagers in our location, even though its a very pretty area, the churchyard across the way does attract them till late and as we are on the roadside, this is just one of a long list of irritations....:o(( Not too sure about adults as it's the same space in only one basket, not particularly the plant. Now if it's squirrels, well I don't mind that, but do they forage at night? I can just see them hidden waiting for dark...."right lads, the basket on the left, middle of the back row!" Lol!

Grandmage, we have cctv just down from us in the square, but somehow it never seems to "catch" anything....we had a camera in our shed at the request of a neighbour opposite who had a lot of trouble from youths posting trash through her letter-box.

I fet so sad reading your comment Jasonf.....that must have been dreadful for you....good for you though, you won in the end....:o)) Just mindless vandalism, and you don't know if they're drugged up....:o((

Lol....Tetrarch....that would be a good place to have your arguments in the winter, a cheap form of heating.......:o)))
Glad you liked the pics though....

Thanks Gilli and Heron, there was so much more freedom when we were young, and common sense ruled. You also took the lead from your parents and close family, now we're spread thinly, there isn't that sense of family history and identity any more.
I think some of the youngsters take their lead from nasty dvds and films on TVs in their bedrooms and on-line. There's such unimaginable violence now, and life seems to be cheap.

Interesting about the squirrels though, the odd ones that are seen in this part of North Lincs are either grey or red/grey....haven't noticed the black ones yet.

Thanks once a gain for all the support and I'm really pleased you enjoyed the photos as much as me.....:o)))

does anyone complain about the teens hanging about till late hours janey, in our village we have our own police and parish council, so they are always on top of things these days after a few incidents in the past, so no kids aloud to hang about near the local shop or bus shelter after a certain time, any incidents have to be reported right away and will be delt with, they do a smashing job, not enough for kids to do these days, we had at least 3 youth clubs on different nights when i was growing up but they dont seem to have them now,very sad really

Yes, we all do San, we have community police that we speak to by first names now....Lol They do what they can but the local police cover quite a few villages with the same problems, so it's hit and miss. The parish council don't seem to do much, my Ian fought to get the yellow lines re-painted down our road, and no-one seemed to know whose responsibility that was. A certain MP lives just round the corner, but is keeping his head down because of the expenses fiasco! There is a youth club here, and plenty going on in the village, but they only seem to be interested in making trouble.

well anything to do with roads is down the the council, transport and roads office, and MP should know that and gets paid to help their locals, makes me boil grr lol
your right kids dont seem to want to do constructive things either, hanging about being a nuisense seems to be more fun ;o((

Well guys, when you're a 14 year old, it probably IS more fun... I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that a psychologist/psychiatrist described teens/adolescents as having most of the hallmarks of mental illness, even though they're not mentally ill, just adolescent.

well i would totally agree with them bamboo lol,

Mind you, I've got a horrible feeling he said the same thing about being 'in love' ...

hahaah yes i think that could be right to ,,temporarily insane i would say, then by the time we come back to our sences we are married lol

The mysterious cyclamen snatcher has certainly stirred up a debate. A couple of times over the years, plants have been torn up and just dumped......once in our neighbours window box. They push coping stones off walls as they pass by after 'clubbing'. We are definately urban here. I can't recall a time when there wasn't vandalism of this sort. I often wonder what they think of their exploits as they get older and their property is vandalised. There are a few things we did as kids.... like shoving one another into Mr Booth's privet hedge...we were 'feral' as children...just went any old place, and sometimes rather naughty. I feel ashamed but enjoyed my childhood roaming free!!!!!!

I think it very strange that vandalism is often put down to boredom these days , as youngsters we lived in a community with literally nothing in the way of amusements but we never harmed anyone or went round causing trouble we wouldn't have dared , if it was this time of the year we would spend weeks going round collecting scraps of wood for a bonfire , nearer Xmas we would be planning and making gifts in the evenings and so it would go on for the rest of the year doing seasonal things , harvest time was the best time ever ... I know we can't go back to those times but the fact is the young ones have too much ! they want whatever their friend have and don't care how they get it , they don't want to save for anything , no wonder the country's in such a state with everyone getting into debit , I seriously believe there should be a limit to one card per person with a limit on it as to how much in debt that person can get into.......
Sorry , it's nothing to do with hanging baskets but I really resent thieves / shoplifters etc. what gives them the right to think they can take other peoples property ......

Spectacular pics Janey, many would be great blown up and hung ( not the naughty kids lol). My old house had a tiny front garden behind a low wall. I bought five beautiful container grown rose bushes and planted them, hoping to make a small rose hedge. The following morning I looked out excitedly to see how they looked....nothing there, just loose soil! I was amazed, my face must have been a picture lol. Later a neighbour, who lived further down our street, told me that she had seen a man staggering up our street late at night carrying something with difficulty. He must have been rather scratched by the time he got home, maybe he had been drinking, or had seen me planting then earlier in the day. I hope they looked nice in his garden , he must have been desperate! :-)

I'm with you Dorjac - I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a kid - yea, we were afraid of any authority figure, including neighbours and adults in general, but that didn't stop us playing knock down ginger and making a general nuisance of ourselves. I don't ever recall being even vaguely interested in planters or plants in terms of wrecking or stealing from them though, so I still reckon that's a much more adult occupation.
Course I was a kid in those days when you were expected to play "outside" and largely unattended.

like Dorjac and bamboo i havent forgot what being a kid is, still like that now at times lol, we would wonder for hours through fields and lanes and in the woods but never harmed anything or distroyed it, always was facinated by nature and plants, would never of dreamed of harmimg or killing anything , plants or otherwise, i do think to much is shown on tv and gives them ideas, we didnt have a tv when i was young and there wasnt the indepth programs there are now, all sex, vilolence and drugs now, they forget when making these things, kids are very curious and most will try things at some time and unfortunatly that one time can change their lives and sometimes distroy it, im talking from some experience here and from the heart as a mother ;o(

What an innocent childhood you had, Sanbaz - I can certainly recall some very much darker incidents and occurrences from mine, often involving men in macs lurking in the park - even at 8 and 9, we all knew instinctively to keep away from them... not to mention some of the mischief some of the kids got up to, which would be classed as vandalism these days.

was a small quiet town/village as we called it then, no-one ever worried about anything like that, was a bit of an eye opener when i grew up and moved into blackpool and went out at night, but enough has happened since to learn about the bad things that go on, sometimes wish i could turn back the clock to stop certain things happening, but we cant, just pray it all turns out ok one day,

Oh Janey, I'm so sorry about your baskets. One of the good things about living here is the lack of crime compared to when we lived in Dundee. I guess they are possibly not malicious...they would have knocked the whole lot to the ground...they likely think they are really funny. They don't realise how much pleasure we get from our flowers or how much they mean to us. They are young and ignorant and hopefully one day they will realise and feel sorry. :)) The photos are fabulous as usual. I'm just going to pm you...

Reading some of your experiences especially your rose hedge Ba...my 2 little plants pale by comparison.....:o(( When you look back to your own childhood, things you did which you knew you shouldn't really stick in your mind (well, they do mine...Lol) and even though like all teenagers you pushed the boundaries, there wasn't the arrogant nastiness that there is today. Older people were respected even though you would chirrup to your friends about certain ones, and you would feel so ashamed if your parents were brought into the equation. We were free though and could play out all day without anyone worrying.
My first recollection of freedom was cycling with my friend to the outskirts of the town and it seemed to be in the middle of the country, and hiding in the long grass watching the skylarks hover and fall to their nests.

Dawn.....the little golden tree is the Fern-leaved Beech,
Fagus sylvatica "Asplenifolia" and will eventually reach 25metres though it is slow growing. There are quite a few in the park and there is also a purple upright form "Rohanii" with not such finely cut leaves.

The last time I was back up north, before this last trip. I wanted to visit an old childhood place....a bluebell wood we were walked to as children. I was told emphatically not to go, as it has become a path to walk the doggies from the exec estate, which looms above the wood, which is called The Dingle. Dog poo bins abound, and sometimes strange plastic things dangle off the bushes! I was told not to go there it will upset you. Not just children who are lazy vandals. While visiting friends on their housing developement I saw plastic bags tossed into the bushes and dog poo bins nearbye! Oh dearie me how times have changed. Thank goodness for pretty places as depicted in your pics Janey.

I was appalled to read a letter in our local 'rag' and I'll share it with you:
This morning I was out walking with my grandchildren & dog. A short, elderly lady with 2 dogs, which were off their leads, was quite a way in front of me when one of the dogs messed on the grass. I called her & asked her to clean up after her dog.
She marched back to me, put her face right into mine & went crazy, calling me names, & then she spat in my face.
My small dog could sense that I was being threatened & barked at her. She then tried kicking my dog. Both my grandchildren were crying & upset. She eventually walked away, shouting abuse.
So much for responsible dog owners.

Unbelievable ! !

That woman's part of the underclass that Meanie spoke about recently.
I can't express my thoughts on here because they'd be flagged - suffice to say though that i'm disgusted.

I totally agree, Louise, where has the kindness of old gone to ? Having said that, OH tells me that a lady stopped him just as he was going to the car today and said she loves what we've done to our front garden ! Simple, but beautiful were her words. So, I'm feeling better now .o )))))

Shirley - she sounds like a nutter, or to be more politically correct, someone with a mental health problem.There's lots of 'em about...

Yes, quite true !

I hope you mean the lady in the story Bamboo, and not the lady who complimented Shirley's husband on the front garden...Lol!
I can't believe anyone would be so rude as to spit in someone's face! Dear or dear what are human's coming to?? Could be some secret message coming through the mobile phones everyone has glued to their ears now, no matter where they are or what they're doing, the here and now takes second place to a message or call.....I wonder what is so imperative now, and how we ever managed life without them???

Gorgeous pictures! love all those trees. Who the heck steals plants?? It's too bad you couldn't keep them where you wanted them.

Janey, I laughed out loud at your comment ! : o ))

Janey, I suspect the voices the old lady was hearing were very much in her head, being her personal demons, and not coming via microwave!

I think those fab trees are Wellingtonia's Janey.....the tall firs with the buttresses at the base. They are very stately and dignified...... to return to more pleasant thoughts. I sometimes think trees are better than humans. Apart from the ones on GoY of course!!!!!

Thanks Raquel...:o)
Lol Shirley and Bamboo!!
They are fantastic aren't they Dorjac, they must have been there a couple of hundred years.......yep, I agree with you, you can imagine the trees raising their eyebrows at the goings on beneath them....:o))

This blog is turning out to be the most interesting I've read, it's got everything. What a pity it's come about through such mindless vandalism. When I was young, if my memory serves me correctly lol, I was too afraid to offend for fear of being caught when I would have been arrested and even worse my Father would have carried out his threats and took his belt to me. Not only that but it would bring shame on the family, we had pride then.
Nowadays the young (mostly) live in a throw-away plastic society with nobody to mentor them except 'Celebs' which could explain a lot.
There is of cause still as much out there as ever to explore and yes even a few 'Skylarks' left. but the culture of street cred fueled by the media is all powerful to those misguided and uninformed kids who can't see the woods for the trees. Why oh why is it that when ordinary folk like us while not perfect, all agree on the basics, when it comes to the 'Authorities' ie, the Gov. and EU. we seem to inhabit another planet?
Please can we bring back old fashioned standards, and by example.
I'm no socialist but I do believe that the remuneration gap between the likes of a soldier who risks his/her life for us all, and a footballer is obscene. The present Gov. is making a start with bankers ect. but there's a long long way to go.
Morning rant over, porrage ready, have a nice Sunday :-)

That's good to know Ron, something good coming out of something bad...:o) Yes, we wouldn't have dared, or really thought about doing too bad stuff.....Dad was head of the household, and quite a distant person, a smack from Mum didn't hurt half as much as a disapproving look from Dad.

Of course we didn't have a telly till we were older and the powers that be wouldn't have allowed the mindless trash that's hides behind the guise of entertainment....bring back Mary Whitehouse and her values. At least when we were growing up and impressionable, we weren't subjected to a constant barrage of sex and violence, we were living in post war days, so were pleased of our freedom and day to day living.

It's such a pity those values are dead and gone....after all we are all people, no matter what age we live in, and we have to learn to respect each other, to be able to live amongst each other peaceably.

I know what you mean, all of you bewailing the loss of a better time - but you know, the pendulum swings, all the time, first one way, then the other, and always has done... and I can't help thinking that, as we get older, all the changes are a reminder that we are, in fact, less relevant in the world than when we were young, not in the thick of life any more. Probably a useful preparation for what's to come, lol!

Blimey I need a drink after that Bamboo !! know what you mean though, fingers crossed the pendulum will swing.... a long way back. Can't help but wonder if all this Extremism is a backlash. Pity we can't exchange the good bits rather than go to war, cos that's where we're heading....blimey I need another drink now!!

Talking about respect Shirley ... my son Michael's grave is in a fairly large town graveyard (I prefer that to cemetary) & is one row in from the path that runs thru' the middle & is a public footpath from one side of town to the other.

His ashes are buries on top of my father ... his 'Papa' as he called him ... & my Dad's stone faces away from the path while Michael has a plinth at ground level.

Soon after he died a close workmate of ours (Michael & I worked at the same place) gave me 3 pottery frogs ... his favourite childhood animal ... on lilypads on sticks. Very him & really funky ... I loved them!
Within 3 weeks they were kicked off their sticks & shattered ... left scattered over the surrounding grass.

I put a china frog there to replace them & that disappeared & then I saw further down the path a family had put several solar lamps on their son's grave.
A lovely idea I thought so I put a solar lantern there.

It was gone within a day ... & the same happened with a heather I put at the roadside to remember the place & date of his leaving us.

The irony is ... the grave of the boy who's solar lamps are still there shining away was a lad who was well known for driving like a lunatic & who killed 2 other people as well as himself.

I don't know where respect has gone in this day & age ... my son would never have considered stealing from or trashing someone's treasured tributes to a loved one & yet others can walk by his resting place & do exactly that.

I am so sorry that you cannot even put your lovely flower baskets on show at the front of your house ... but the golden age of trust & honesty that we grew up in is well & truly over.

Sorry ... that turned out to be a bit of a selfish rant ... thank you for your lovely photos.xx

Fluff, I am so sad to have read about the vandalism in the graveyard. I just don't see any point in anyone doing such a mindless act. I don't even take the short cut through the graveyard in the next village, there's always a couple of blokes drinking cider, begging for ciggies most of the time! It's quite intimidating so I take the longer route . On the other side of the coin though, we went to the theatre last week to see Beauty & The Beast, majority of the cast were under the age of 25 and you could just see they were loving every minute of the performance. They're the minority of good, happy young people who get no publicity most of the time.

Oh Fluff.....I'm so sorry to hear about your son Michael....I won't pretend that I can begin to understand how you feel, because I can't, but all my compassion goes to you. To lose your child must be the worst thing and then to have them desecrate his resting place like that....well...you would have to rise above it and forgive them, what else can you do........ The thing is as a society we have to change, at some point those who are mindless thugs are going to become older citizens themselves, and then what? Thank goodness at the moment they are in the minority, we hope. We have to believe in the essence of goodness, without that, what is there? We have met such a lot of soul-mates on this site, and they are from all countries and from all walks of life.....what has brought us together is the celebration of life's eternal circle, and the peace and sense of achievement it brings. Much love to you XX

Just read your comment Shirley, and yes that's right, there are more hard-working happy youngsters who as you say don't get a mention, the others are crying out for any type of attention.

As regards going to war Heron....this Christian/Muslim thing has been going on for time immemorial hasn't it? We could be hundreds of years ago.....The Moors/Knight's Templars. But now there are weapons of mass destruction available. Think I'll join you in that drink...or bottle...:o(

I'm afraid that my view is that weeds should be dealt with before they choke the existing plants, which as we know will happen. If we grant hairy bittercress, bindweed, mares tail ect. equal right to exist alongside us there might just be a problem. Today's news of extremist terrorists re-grouping in the Yemen having been released from Guantanamo Bay because of pressure from the 'nice' people who say that their human rights had to be respected is what alarms me. ...pass me another bottle !!
On a slightly different tac, I've been watching a series on BBC2 about a Jesuit Monastery who took about six ordinary folk and persuaded them to indulge in silence in order to discover themselves and God of cause. Like other main stream religions, I've no time for them but I do think that much of today's problems emanate from incessant noise.

Janey ... sorry to rant on your blog & thank you & Shirley for your lovely supportive comments.

Do you know I sometimes think ... thank goodness I won't be alive when the 'minority' become the majority but I fear for my daughter or even her children who may have to live in a world where that happens.

I'm cynical now I know but I'm with Heron ... please don't get me started on human rights .... if only we could deal with terrorists as we deal with weeds ...

There are still good kids around ... the other day I was in a supermarket when a young lad walked into me & said 'Oh ... sorry love ... are you ok?' & I was made up cos he looked like Michael & he was friendly & polite. Bless him I nearly hugged him ... (boy would he be embarrassed!) but I didn't ... just thought 'what a refreshing change' to the norm. :o)

Yes, I, like most of the general public agree with you Ron, who these 'nice' people are is anyone's guess...those of the 'nanny state' no doubt. The old adage, "Charity begins at home" should be the first priority for our government. The second being a more modern...."The UK is a soft touch no longer". The trouble with our UK garden of invasive weeds is that it is safely isolated from the European garden of Brussels Sprouts.....any more foreign bodies on it and it'll sink! Pass the bottle Ron....ah empty again!

Yep, watched part of that prog last week, and it really was a common sense call. You really need peace and quiet to be able to think, not sure if such a long time is necessary...moderation in all things, but try telling that to the extremists!

Like you Shirley....I wonder what sort of society our granddaughters will be bringing their children into too....we seem to be so far away from everything we were brought up to believe in. I think the media is at fault too, every piece of news is worse than the last that it makes people fearful which breeds aggression.
Like you and your story of the young man in the supermarket, I was pleasantly surprised tonight with the Halloween revellers....we have had so many and all have been friendly and polite and such effort gone into their costumes it was almost a 'treat' to open the door...Lol!

When we popped into the world another world war was unthinkable Lol. The next generation and the one after that will face dangers but we while we must be responsible in doing what we can not to make things worse, things could well change for the better. The balance of the world has shifted, places like China, India, Brazil and many more are catching up fast, very fast. The American Dollar is falling like a stone and along with Europe deflation is the name of the game. On the other hand inflation is what's going on in the East due to massive growth and in China Wage inflation is around 25% (takes you back to Harold Wilson doesn't it) At this rate things will balance out quite soon. The problem for us is that the natural resources aren't sufficient to sustain the whole world so the cost of everything is set to rise and rise. Gold has never been so expensive but I recon it won't be long before it starts to fall as basic necessary commodities become short. All this brings us back to religion the leaders of which insist on telling us to produce more of their particular brand. Ah well there is some good news this week, they've discovered that the silvery moon really does consist of silver, well quite a bit of it. After me now, all together.....By the light, by the light, of the silvery moon....... by Jove you're in good voice this morning ;-))

Well sung sir, well sung!!! Looks like the only solution is to deplete the amount of humans, which of course war does periodically. The only thing that will ever be a solution is if we were all of one mind....or on the same page, as they say today, and that's where religion comes in. Maybe once the drilling starts on the moon, the poor old earth can start to heal itself. I sometimes wonder just how small our human lives are...there we are scampering around on the surface like a lot of ants, when there's all the interior to go at....Lol! Certainly with the climate change, we would be much warmer!

Re the 'invaders' thing, I try to take a much longer view - we're all invaders really, started out in Africa billions of years ago...and most 'indigenous' people in the UK are actually a mongrel collection of DNA... I reckon this explains our lack, in the main, of zenophobia, personally. As for the R word (religion) I'm okay with it - what I'm not okay with is the other R word, radicalism, and extremism, whatever flavour the religion. You've only got to look at the 'Rapture' believers in America, as well as the more obvious alternative, to see that madness at work... Where'd I put that bottle of wine...

Radicals are at the root of so many problems. Religion and otherwise. My view is God gave us a brain to think with whether Christian, Buddist, Islamic....whatever. Too bad so many people don't use it for it's intended purpose and just blindly follow whatever they are told.....There! That's my one and only comment on religion.

As for the woman who spat in someone's face. I don't know about the UK but in North America that is considered to be assult and a criminal offence. Can you imagine if someone with HIV or Hepatitis C etc spits at you and it gets in your eyes, on a cut or on your lips? A death sentence!

I wasn't sure whether to reach for the arsenic lol:-)

You snuck in before me Gilli!:-)

LOL...I'm good at jumping the queue. :oD

Arsenic, LOL! Painful I think, though, it's gotta be pain free for me...

Oh maybe not then :-)

Thanks for all the great comments girls...it's good to have a discussion isn't it....pity it doesn't change anything though...:o( Agree Bamboo and Gillie....fanatics and zealots cause such havoc in the world, I have a JW friend who may pop by this afternoon, and I know within 2 minutes, the books will be out, and I won't be able to get a word in...Lol!

Hmm, well I admire your patience then Janey - I allowed the JW folks to give me a couple of bible readings years ago, just to see whether I agreed with them or not - I didn't, they're bonkers, I mean, I'm a literal kind of person, take things literally as they're said, but really, they beat me into a cocked hat for poor interpretation. Still, takes all sorts, they probably think I'm bonkers, lol!

I do Bamboo lol;-))

Ha ha, well I'm sure you're not alone! I have been described as bonkers by my much younger sister, transmuted to eccentric when I tackled her about it. It's only because I argue with her husband, who has a habit of coming out with "facts" which are incorrect - he's one of those people who never allows a fact to get in the way of an opinion... and she feels I'm "too masculine" in my attitudes. He's a very religious person too - and she thinks I'm bonkers... Gave me a good laugh, anyway.

I know some people like that. My brother invents facts to support his arguments lol. When I was younger, it drove me up the wall, but I don't care now 'cos he's lovely...ok, and a bit annoying..... but aren't we all:-))

Yep, no one's perfect, not even me, lol!

You are far too modest:-)

I think not, Bornagain, I'm human, and therefore flawed...

Lol you two!! My Dad used to be like that Bamboo....what he didn't know, he made up, we only caught him out when we were older of course! My Mum always said he knew everything...she realized he didn't, when they had four children....tee, hee.
My brother is an elder with the JWs and my sister really into it too, it's the one thing that you can't get an answer to isn't it, well not till we're kicking up the daisies....:O))
I feel more part of the earth myself, must be the gardening etc...lol!

Ooh, difficult, I'd find that impossible, Janey, having relatives so close who were religious. But, whatever floats your boat I suppose, we all have to get through life somehow, some people use drink or drugs, some religion, crystal therapy, whatever. Personally, I rely on the fags...

Its not so good Bamboo really, my brother and I were very close as children, but we don't see each other from one year to the next, his beliefs take all his time. My sister and I see each other every week and we can have some fun together, but she is usually in a religious quandry, so some in depth conversations ensue...:o(( No-one is interested in more practical hobbies, like me, they think they're boring....so hey-ho, whatever floats your boat as you say...or ark!

We have some religious friends who do a lot of work in their church. They are GOOD people. They know we do not fully believe, especially GJ. They are very good to us as GJ can be so difficult. When I feel I lack faith in humanity, I re read The Seven DAUGHTERS of EVE by Brian Sykes and marvel about the resilience of us humans with the 'unbroken thread' in the mitochondrial DNA. How they struggled through those ice ages. Dealt with climate changes, by migration, as they needed to survive the cold. Sykes says 95% of Europeans are DNA related to these 7 women and their families, who struggled through the millenia to arrive in our throwaway age after a tough 45K years. Their leavings are just flints and bones and bits and bobs.....but they were resilient.

Janey....have sent you a PM. Have a good day :)

Loved your comment Dorjac....I find most religious people I've known are very good people, my brother included, his work is endless for his faith, and I admire him for it.....it's just that you lose the day to day link that would keep you involved with each other and your lives move on. I have a Mormon friend who is kindness itself, but her marriage has split because of her time is taken up wholly with her faith.
I'm going to look out for The Seven Daughters of Eve.......

I found the book in a charity shop Janey. Parts of it are very technical. The last chapters are about the seven daughters, whose DNA has been handed though to us. How he imagines the lives they had in context with the age they were born into. We are so lucky compared with those women and their families. Trouble is there are so many wrong turnings we can make. My Halloween experience was to open the door to a tiny witch and an even tinier skeleton! Grandad was hovering on the pavement. We used to go into neighbours houses and sing carols! We got mince pies and a few coppers and trusted one another. How times have changed!

As a female, I am eternally grateful that I live in the West, in a 'civilised' society, backed up by laws - I've been aware for a long time that women's rights, and our thin veneer of civilisation, would be out the window in a heartbeat if anarchy reigned tomorrow. Seems to me the only answer then is a gun...

I think Bamboo that the ultimate answer is always to take it to it's final solution. In that, I think we learn that a gun will leave us with one human being. We therefore conclude, that a gun is never the answer at any stage of it's course.
Anyway, they're too *looby noisey for my liking :)

Totally agree Jason!

Good grief Bamboo, do you own one? but I'm your friend aren't I;-)))))

No, I don't own one, Bornagain, but don't panic folks, it's not something I'd consider at all other than in extreme circumstances - like anarchy, or post apocalypse, when human beings' behaviour has descended to a much lower level! Anyone else like Survivors? Frightening but strangely exciting at the same time, the idea of it...

Fraid I never saw it Bamboo, but used to love science fiction years ago:-)

Crickey!! And here I am on my blog talking about arming myself! I know.......different circumstances!! LOL

Good grief you're all at it! what's happening to GOY have we been infiltrated?:-)

Used to like Sci-fi, but not this modern stuff, too gory and nasty. Do you remember Quatermass and the pit? That scared me crazy when I was little Lol!!

yes Janey, although obviously I was only a glint in my fathers eye lol, I used to love it. I even loved Blakes 7 and Startrek was also unmissable in its time. I'm still a Dr Who fan, and.... I even liked Primeval!:-)

Oh no, not Primeval - now that's where I had to draw the line, though have always loved science fiction otherwise.

Never watched Primeval....I know its not quite Sci-fi, but first viewing of Close Encounters....I thought it was a..ma...zing! Lol....the wonderful under carriage of the brilliantly lit space ship was incredible!

Bamboo, you fail to understand that to us males, the only reason for watching Primevil was the gorgeously delectable Hannah Sperritt - as to the content of Primevil, I couldn't comment :)

Ah, well, I do understand actually - there's a reason why I watch Being Human, and its not because of its entertainment value, much more to do with the resident vampire, dunno what his name is in real life, but he's Mitchell in the series. Oh (sigh...) ...

sorry Bamboo, but I do not know Being Human - watch very little TV actually. However, I do fully understand the "oh sigh" :)

I remember the first time I saw Close Encounters Janey. It was amazing. So was the first viewing of Star Wars.
Do you remember watching the old 'Lost in Space' on TV? "Danger, danger, Will Robinson"!!

Fantastic Gilli....and Lost in Space rings a bell, but can't really remember it....good job it wasn't "Danger, danger Jane Robinson!", it would have been me!...Lol

I liked Richard Dreyfus in Close Enc. did you see Stakeout with him and Emilio Estevez.....ha..ha.. makes me laugh just thinking about it!

Bamboo, I loved being human too, partly because of the brilliant acting, seriously, the story line......and yes, he was gorgeous:-) Janey, I think you're just saying you like Richard Dreyfus...you seem to have gone away from science fiction lol. He is a fine actor and rather attractive:-) Jason, I fell in love with the little reptile, not being a man.... also, the anomoly reminded me of the visual disturbance I sometimes get which stops me seeing properly sometimes, most annoying :-)

Know what you mean by visual disturbance, Bornagain - I get that too. Starts with me not being able to see properly somehow, ends (eventually) with a mild headache, and in between, black and white zigzag lines with flashing lights in the zigs and zags Quite interesting, really, lol!

You've sussed me Ba....the bedroom scene while he was boogying to Gloria Estefan is a classic...:o))

Yep, I get that too Bamboo and Ba...had it last week....a brilliant tiny light at first then it blocks out the vision and takes about 20 mins to develop into shining arc then disappears...classic migraine symptoms...with no migraine....really odd...:o(

A shining arc, new one on me - mine starts not with a light,but somehow as if you just can't quite see properly, bit like having dirty glasses on - always takes me 3 or 4 minutes to realise what it is, lol!

I've seen Stakeout and Another Stakeout. In fact, I've seen a lot of his movies. He's a good actor. Did you ever see American Graffiti?

I get that visual disturbance too. Mine starts out as a blind spot in the middle of my vision which then grows and changes to a V shaped zig-zag light thingy. That slowly drifts off to the side and eventually disappears. Sometimes it ends in a headache but mostly it doesn't.

Gilli,you've just described exactly what happens to me...

Snap Bamboo!! LOL

Yep thats like mine too...only it does seem bright, the black and white v shapes. I've had it since I was young, and I watch it change to a curve which grows on the left side of vision till it is too big then disappears. Must be a GOY thing...Lol!

This is bizarre as I occasionally have a strange silvery ziz-zag line in my left vision. Having been born with a 'lazy eye', as it was termed back in the Fifties, had two ops as a child to correct the squint, I've pretty much always worn glasses. I tried describing what I could see as the bright silver of tin-foil, a very thin, zig-zag line of it, couldn't read the Sunday paper for hours & then it disappeared. Maybe I should go to the optician asap !

Opticians refer to this as "flashers" - seems a bit daft to me, I thought they meant you saw a sudden flash of light, not a visual disturbance, and flasher has an altogether different meaning generally. They do ask if you get them, though. Unusual for it to last that long, Shirley tulip, usually passes within 30 minutes.

Now look what I've started. Mine starts small, maybe I'm reading and can't see properly. Then I know. It eventually takes the shape of 'C' sort of, then slowly disperses. Probably lasts about half an hour, then, mild annoying headache. I always put it down to my sinuses which do play up often. I have read that all this type of visual disturbance is migraine, but I don't believe it. I've had it most of my adult life. I did have migraine for a few years when I was young, and this is nothing like it I'm glad to say:-) Maybe we could patent it as GOY disease?:-)

I'm told a bad neck can cause it too, well, that's what the paramedic said after I had a bang on the head and jarred my neck... And I think that's right, Bornagain, migraine specifically involves visual disturbance, never mind how bad or not the headache is. I was told that too...

Yours sounds like mine Ba....well I think we all have the same thing. I've just had my eyes tested too and no problems there, more than the norm. Like you Shirley, I had a stigma when I was small and was supposed to wear glasses to correct it. Being vain from birth though I wouldn't wear them...Lol, those pink round ones,,,ha ha....so ended up with my sister's frames which I conveniently forgot going to school..Lol! It's just a nuisance really when it occurs, means you can't see too well for about half an hour.

How I remember those National Health pink-framed glasses ... I endured all the taunts of 'four-eyes' as a child ... probably why I was so painfully shy for most of my schooldays! Then there were the 'Deirdre Barlow' enormous frames of the 80's ... frightening to look back on photos & realise just how big they were! I didn't wear glasses on my wedding day ... did have a curly-permed hairstyle though! lol ... Now I have much more sedate gold-rimmed specs. Could never wear contact lenses due to so many unhappy memories of swabs/drops/bandages after those two ops. : o ((((

Right then! From now on, this phenomenon will henceforth be known as the "GOY flash"! Do you think we'll go down in medical history??

Probably not Gilli, but it is interesting isn't it:-)

Now we have got on to spectacles!!!! A salesman pounced in Boots as I paused for a moment there after a hearing visit. All I Could see were an array of Ann Robinson specs. Narrow rectangles with mostly wide bits to go over the ears. No other shapes, apart from a few banished to one corner. We have an epidemic of spectacles on end of noses Wonnacot style. How the heck did these glasses get to rule the roost for men and women? I paid a heck of a lot for 3 zone varifocals, recently, from another optician, in cheap frames my mum might have liked! Little or no choice.....so the salesman got a rant.....both barrels. I was relating this encounter to a friend and he produced his specs. You as well said I!!!I noted most of the other old fellas in the room were wearing bifocals, in out of fashion deeper frames.....they are going to get a shock when they next visit the opticians. How television influences us...amazing

Lol Shirley, I remember that too, and Seen Enough??

I'm pleased we talked about this Gilli and everyone....I didn't know of anyone who suffers with it. Seems to be quite a common trait doesn't it...if trait is the right word, couldn't think of what to call it as I've a corking headache...no flashes though!

Yes, I know what you mean Dorjac....I had new specs in the summer, need them now to drive in, and there was so much choice in the fashionable frames, but I just wanted ones I could see out of well with no heavy arms or frames, the assistant tried her best to dissuade me from light gilt framed ones....though I thought they were great, just what I'd wanted...in the end I had to be sharp and say I'd look elsewhere, to shut her up!

Ooh pink NHS specs when I was a kid, yea, I remember that well... didn't need them to see, but I had a "lazy" eye so they stuck plaster over the left one (the good eye) to try to force vision in the other one. Didn't work, they didn't do it till I was seven, has to be done by the age of 3 to make a difference I've found out since. So all that suffering at school for a year for no reason at all... and I still only have one eye that works properly...

Strange what memories have come flooding back to me since talking about eye ops. ..... one of mine must have been in October 1957, when I was 4 years old, as I remember all the nursing staff talking about Sputnik satellite! In those days you'd have been bandaged across the eyes for 2 weeks ... enough of this ... can't bear to think of it anymore!

Gosh Sputnik goes back a long way. I was trying to feed a prem baby through a tube , when my friend came in and said and told me the Russians had put up a rocket and left this object in space. It was the cold war then. Like the mid fifties or a bit after......so this poor babe got called Sputnik after this momentous event. Think of all those satellites up there now!!!!

We used to go next door to see a bit of telly in the 50's....Muffin the Mule was my fave, and I remember Newsreel at 5 oclock.....they had a new baby boy and nicknamed him Sputnik after the satellite. To be able to watch telly, me and my brother had to sing. We got off to a fine art The Allisons "Are you sure?", harmonising all the way through...isn't it strange I can still sing all the verses...Lol!