OT: Back

There are plenty of racists or whatever that call some areas 'no go' because they'd simply feel uncomfortable in them. But that's a different matter from one which really is.

There always have been gang rivalries with youngsters from adjacent areas. But that's not the same as an area being 'no go' to a stranger.

Wny not? Millions of Brits went on holiday to Spain and ignored/didn't notice the fact that they were having a holiday in a fascist dictatorship where dissidents were taken away and had their heads beaten to pulp.

People are very good at ignoring the bad while they are on holiday. There are many places I can't go on holiday because all I can see is disease, grinding poverty and misery that I can't do anything to alleviate. Yet others are quite happy to go to third world pest-holes for a holiday, "because it's cheap".

I worked for the father of a guy who is now a billionaire. He doesn't seem to be short of drive and still seems to have a huge list of things that he wants to achieve. Although he inherited enormous wealth at a relatively early age, he's still disgustingly pleasant.

Heh, too true. I hate Spain, I can't see why people move there from here at all. If you just want a cheap holiday, with hot sun and a beach and aren't into the whole good food and nice surroundings thing, then Spain probably makes sense. Moving there though? Deliberately choosing to move to a country that is so far behind ours in every way (except hot sun time heh), and is filled with some of the most horribly racist, facist scum in the world makes no sense to me. Also, big chunks of Spain are very 3rd world, no running or even clean water, no electricity, one phone in the village...

Even worse though, are the areas people that call themselves ex-pats, who wanted to move to Spain, so chose the area where Brits living there outnumber the Spanish 10 to 1 (not that bad-a thing really...), the restaurants are all Brit food as are the shops etc. The only difference is it's warmer most of the time, you can't drink the water, you can't get broadband and if you have an accident you're better of dragging yourself home to the UK, even if you;re bleeding heavily because the health care is second to Paraguay...

Don't you just hate people likr that heh :-)

That's because mobiles work *everywhere* over there.

Unlike over here, where they cut you off if you're on a road with a slight dip in it.

It's also got good stuff if you're after something rather more active than a beach or something cultural.

(as does the bit of the US I mentioned - we didn't go there for food or culture, though there was a bit of quite old stuff there - 1000-2000 yo).

One of my uncles friends is a multi millionaire and owns hundreds of rental properties in Hull. He's in his 70's and still works flat out. First time I met him was round at my grans OAP council sheltered accom. bungalow she'd just moved into putting up coving with my uncle in his best paint spattered decoraters overalls. Second time I met him was at the same bungalow helping mix some cement to make a ramp so she could get in her home seeing as the council were going to take forever to do it.

Unbelievably down to earth bloke.

I holidayed in Tunisia. Once. Never again. There was a bit of a rumpus in the hotel dining room - a perfectly respectable looking local wanted to eat there but wasn't allowed - despite it being open to the public. The locals we met fell into two camps. Those who were friendly and seem genuinely pleased to meet foreigners - and those that just wanted your money.

We had a very pleasant waiter at the hotel who invited us to his wedding. That made the holiday almost worthwhile - the rest was awful.

That was one place I was thinking of. I wanted to see Carthage, wanted to visit the museum and I wanted to go into the Sahara, stopping off at El Djem on the way because a relative fought there in WWII and had described the Colloseum there to me.

The pleasurable parts of the trip were grossly outnumbered by the unpleasant. Tourists were mauled by the locals at the beach, in the medina and on the street. I looked at a butcher's stall, wondering if I was looking at a sausage covered with peppercorns, then the peppercorns flew away. The cities were squalid, and the politics oppressive.

It's a personal vendetta against you and your family.

I haven't had issues with baggage going AWOL or being damaged, and don't know many people who actually have.

I fly with a soft 'kit bag', as does Mrs H, even delicate items like jars of honey and radios survive intact.

Oi! Nothing wrong with that.

I don't think he's hankering after those, tbh.

So long as it's not an OTT blinged-up Merkin barge.

Small, light, revvy 4-pots with RWD are where it's at.

Indeed I don't.

Given that I've managed to walk away with a nice, low mileage, Sportwagon from the old job, I'm not all that worried about what the company car is anymore - I won't be spending 4 hours a day in it, and the furthest I have to go on a regular basis is Bath.

I think you'll find 3.2 revvy 6-pots with RWD are where it's at, actually. ;-)

I wonder if there's an element of 'that's a Samsonite, built to take it' as against 'soft canvas bag, better give it a soft landing'?

Check your clock...

The E3 Sentry was what was asked for.

They have an 8000 mile range, so it would have required one tanker to refuel it around half way there and again on the way back.

Although 24/7 cover would have been difficult, even a limited number of missions would have assisted a fleet that was completely devoid of AWACS at the time.

(The Gannet had been retired by this time, and we needed all available deck space for Harriers anyway)

The Shackleton had been retired long before the Falklands as a front line aircraft, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the request for E3 help. Which was refused as the US administration didn't want US personnel serving in the war.

Yes.

That'll be the British air base, won't it?

We asked for a loan ship if we lost Hermes or Invincible.

They offered us something that had been mothballed for the best part of a decade, (USS Keersage, Essex class) and was in an equally poor state as Bulwark, which was the first option, should one of the carriers go down. Illustrious was being rushed through, just in case.

The 9L had been actively sold / given to the Israelis long before we secured any supplies.

It appears this is going nowhere, as you have the very Merkin-centric 'we saved the world' outlook of events, whereas, I've read most of the books written by British personnel who served over there, which paints a very different picture.

I'm thinking more 'sports car', than 'blinged up family saloon' ;-)