The Thamesmead Grump

Ho Hum!

I don't really have much to report this week. Still suffering the after effects of feeling ill for the last few weeks and my 'get-up-and-go' really has got up and gone.

Still, I was cheered up by an encounter with a fellow bird enthusiast who I

Grumpy

meet from time to time down by the river who asked me if I was the Thamesmead Grump. Given that there is no picture of me on the blog or even any information about me, I wondered how he was able to tell. Perhaps I have an air of grumpiness about me as I go about my occasions, although I admit I am marginally less grumpy when out in the fresh air.

Slightly less grumpy

I have tried to publish my personal information on the blog several times without success. I may have a real go at it some time so if you see me go completely off air for a while you will know I haven't quite got it yet. In the mean time, here are a couple of pictures of me so you can spot me when I am out and about.

Back to the Grumping

I make no apology for bringing up one of my pet hates again. The idiots on Facebook who pass on fake stories without bothering to check if they are true or not.

This week's contribution is a rehash of the old ""Drugged Perfume" hoax, where Romanians (isn't it always Romanians) are getting you to sniff bottles of perfume laced with drugs which render you unconscious so they can carry out their nefarious activities. This particular variation of the hoax, known as the "Romanian Door to Door Perfume Sellers Burundanga Robberies" began circulating in Spain during November and has arrived here already.

These Romanians are so busy drugging us, stealing our property and kidnapping our children from ASDA supermarkets you would think they have no time left to make more Romanians.

What really annoys me about these scams is the fact that social media networks like Facebook have been really successful in helping spread information about missing people, identifying criminals and reuniting families and this fake stuff is eventually going to lead people to think that all stories on the web are suspect and make the medium much less effective. Checking the veracity of these stories can be done quickly and easily - why don't people bother?

Fog on the Thames

I took the camera down to the river this Wednesday when it was foggy and shot some images that I thought I would share here.

Some of them are on my Facebook page but this is the complete collection. Hope you enjoy.