ONE FOOT IN MY MOUTH 30/7/14 No 126 Editorial:- Researching for this diatribe, I came across the anniversary of the escape of HMS Amethyst down the river Yangzi. A few years back I met an ex member of the Royal Navy, who had a small part in a movie all about the Amethyst. The movie called The Yangzi Incident was shot in film studios in England, but the scenes of the ship being shelled were shot in the Far East, where he was serving. He and about 50 of his mates were dressed in white uniforms and positioned up in the hills overlooking a river, and had to fire blank rounds over and over again. He admits they messed around and prolonged things as much as possible. Thier only reward was copious amounts of beer. In the end they took nearly 2 weeks to film the scenes. He swore blind he could pick himself out on the screen. I`ve seen it and they are just white spots on the hills. They did`nt even mention them in the credits. Thats showbiz. Poor air quality caused by cars, trucks, whatever, and around here, it`s muck spreading time. Rejoice, get out there and fill your lungs with, Xenon,(see word of the day), clears your proboscis, but do not breath in too deeply. Had to close all windows for hours, then my driver friend decided we should go to the driving range. It is sadly next to a farm where the fields were being lavishly treated with the aforementioned product. Around The World:- Interesting this, well I think so. There are several countries that have been held or controlled by England or Britain that do not participate in the Commonwealth Games. The obvious ones are the US (13 colonies), Eire, France(Calais, Normandy,etc) and Germany(Hannover); but what about Greece(Corfu), Spain(Minorca), Argentina(Buenos Aires in 1808, and the Welsh colony), the mandates for Iraq, Jordan and Israel, and Indonesia (Britain held Java). There is also China (Hong Kong, Tientsin) and Hawaii (the only US state to hold the Union Jack as part of its flag). Oddly, Portugal, England`s oldest ally, has never been held by the British, but should certainly be invited to take part. History:- 1825; Malden Island discovered. Anybody? 1898; Will Kellogg invents corn flakes. 1935; The 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution. 1942; F.D.R. signs Bill creating the womens auxiliary agency, (Waves). And they have been making them ever since. 1946; A rocket launched at White Sands, New Mexico, reaches an altitude of 100 miles, (167 km), for the first time. 1949; The British frigate HMS Amethyst, escapes down the river Yangzi having been refused safe passage by Chinese communist forces after a 3 month stand off. 1966; England wins the World Cup. 2003; The last old style Volkswagen Beetle, rolls off the production line in Mexico. 2006; The last `Top of the Pops` on BBC. Birthdays:- 1863; Henry Ford, car manufacturer,(d1947), 84. 1947; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian bodybuilder, actor? 38th Governor of California, 67. 1958; Kate Bush, singer, Wuthering Heights(1978), 56. 1980; Justin Rose, golfer, 34. Deaths:- 1898; Otto Von Bismark, GermanIron Chancellor, (b1815), 83. 2007; Ingmar Bergman, Swedish stage and film director, (b1918), 89. Sport:- I`m sure you don`t need me to go on about the Games. On the other hand will England win the test. With the lead they have, they may scrape through. I`m pulling legs here. Oh I don`t know though. Word Of The Day:- XENON, n, a heavy colourless odourless inert gaseous element occurring in traces in the atmosphere and used in fluorescent lamps. And agriculture?
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 18:00:54 +0000
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