Above, you will see a map of Bexleyheath town centre which I have stolen from Google (don't worry, they can afford it). Down the middle of the picture is Albion Road. This is currently being dug up, apparently with the intention of installing a cycle lane down the middle.

I'm all in favour of cycle lanes but I'm a bit worried about this one. At present, Albion Road is a dual carriageway and once the changes have been completed, it will become single lane only.

I wonder if the people who thought this idea up have really considered the consequences of what they have done. 

Just after the Townley Road/Albion Road roundabout there is the entrance to the shopping centre car park. It's not at all uncommon at busy times for the access ramp to become completely blocked with cars waiting to get into the car park which results in them queueing into the road. Not a problem as anyone wanting to get past can just move into the outside lane. 

Not any more. When this does happen next (and it will happen) it's going to result in traffic backing up all the way to the Albion Road/Broadway magic roundabout causing complete gridlock. I bet they never thought of that. 

If anyone does manage to get past, they will only get as far as the next major junction at Hyland Road where traffic waiting to turn left is backing up behind the traffic lights at the Broadway/Arnsberg Way junction where the same thing will happen. In fact, this is already happening at relatively quiet times during the day. Just wait till Christmas.

Talking of insane traffic management systems. Coming home from Woolwich on the bus the other day, once the bus managed it's curious dog-leg right turn out of Woolwich New Road and onto the High Street, we were stopped straight away by a large traffic jam.

I've noticed this before, it always seems to be a problem on this bit of the road and is caused by another one of  Greenwich Council's curious tendency to put bus lanes where they will be least effective. (See previous blogs ad-nauseam)

There is always a tailback of traffic from the Arsenal gate to the junction with Burrage Road; sometimes it tails back even further. It's caused by the fact that after the Burrage Road traffic lights, the dual carriageway is reduced to one lane in order to accommodate a bus lane. 

While this is intended to make life easier for the buses, it actually has the opposite effect because although the buses have a clear lane after the junction, it takes three times as long to reach it because of the traffic jam caused by the bus lane being there in the first place. If Greenwich Council were to remove it, it would speed up the traffic no end.

BREXIT QUESTION

There must be at least a few pro-Brexit loonies who read this blog, perhaps one of them can explain something to me.

During the referendum campaign, apart from the usual chanting of OUT OUT OUT and ranting on about immigrants, my understanding is that one of the main reason you wanted us to leave the EU was so that constitutional decisions affecting the British people would be made by the British Parliament and not the European one. "Take back control" I heard more than once.

Why then, was there such a fuss when the House of Lords forced the government to refer the terms of our leaving to Parliament, rather than just a few ministers and civil servants? I thought that was the whole point but it seems that most of the protests seem to be coming from exactly those people who wanted the British Parliament to decide such issues in the first place.

I can understand the hysterical ranting of the tabloid press. It publishes what it's bosses tell it and as it's all owned by foreign based tax dodging billionaires, I can understand why they are nervous about the idea of a democratic system getting the upper hand. But why the Brexit loonies, surely that's exactly what they wanted?

The latest is that Theresa May has said that "she will take the UK out of the EU even if Parliament votes against the deal" (BBC).

This means that you, the British public will have absolutely no say whatsoever about the terms of our exit from the EU. It will all be decided by the Prime Minister personally with no reference to anybody. Well done everyone.

I do go on about this from time to time but here is a BBC news article about it. There is a small app you can download onto your android smartphone and it will work in the background helping scientists researching diseases such as Cancer, Ebola, Zika, TB, AIDS, etc.

It costs nothing to run and you could be helping to cure some of the most deadly threats to mankind. 

If you have an Android phone, you have no excuse not to be running this. You can find it here.

And last but not least:-

Here are some more London stories according to the BBC

london news

I know, I keep going on about it but it's one of the things that set me up for a day of general grumpiness. There I am, sitting in front of the idiot box first thing in the morning, mug of tea in my hand, seeing what the news has to tell me today. 

After perusing the general idiocy displayed in what is loosely called "World News", I then turn my attention closer to home; this is when it really goes wrong.

As I have said in previous posts on this subject, I believe that the London news section on the BBC News red button is outsourced to India. That's the only possible explanation for the bizarre choice of news items displayed there.

Here are some examples of so-called "London" news items shown over the last few days.

Pancreatic Urine Test Hope

A simple urine test that could detect pancreatic cancer earlier that at present has been developed by scientists. "Cancer Charities", whoever they are, welcomed the study which was published in Clinical Cancer Research.

While that is very good news indeed, I am not aware that pancreatic cancer is a particular problem for Londoners so why isn't it in the World News section. Clinical Cancer Research is an American online publication. Perhaps "Cancer Charities" is in London.

Festival Resumes After Plane Crash

The CarFest motoring event has resumed after the death of a pilot whose aircraft plummeted from the sky during an aerial display. Kevin Whyman , 39, was killed in the crash at Oulton Park, Cheshire.

This is a tragic incident but why is it being reported in the London news section? London is not in Cheshire and Oulton Park is nearly 200 miles away. It's possible that the pilot was from London, if so, this is not mentioned.

Seven Injured in Boat Explosion

Seven people, including two children have been injured in a boat explosion in Buckinghamshire. It happened at Bray Lock, Amerdon Lane, Taplow, close to the Berkshire border.

Taplow is the other side of Slough, 30 miles from London. The story does not mention where the family are from.

Grammar Schools are 'Top Performers'

Eight out of the ten top performing schools in England and Wales are selective grammar schools.

We don't know which schools. London is not mentioned in the report.

A&E Re-opens  as Power is Restored

The accident & emergency department of Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital has re-opened after power was restored following a flood and small fire.

Reading is over 40 miles away, halfway between London and Swindon.

WI Nimble Knitters Stitch up Town (This was a real headline)

Members of Braintree's Dolphin Women's Institute have stitched some of the town's best known landmarks.

Riveting as this story is, why are they telling us? Braintree is in Essex, a few miles outside Colchester.

Black Cab Firm Starts Work on Plant

Building work has begun on a £250 million taxi plant outside Coventry.

You know Coventry, it's the city in the West Midlands, next door to Birmingham. Roughly 2 hours drive up the M40. The company is Chinese though, perhaps that's why it was in the London news section.

Corbyn: "I'll re-industrialise the North.

In a speech in Leeds, Jeremy Corbyn has called for "the re-industrialisation" of the north of England by boosting spending on the arts, transport, housing and broadband.

The last time I looked, London was in the South of England so quite why would anyone living in London be interested in arts projects in Leeds?

Last Dambusters Pilot Dies Aged 96

The last surviving Dam Busters pilot, Les Munroe, has died at the age of 96 in his native New Zealand. The Dam Busters flew from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.

New Zealand House is in London. Perhaps that's the connection.

Body of Missing Hill Walker is Found

The body of a hill walker who was reported missing in Lochaber on Monday has been found.

This tragic story took place in Lochaber which is near Fort William, Scotland, on the banks of Loch Linnhe. That's over 500 miles away. The hill walker did not come from London.

Harrogate Tops UK Happiness Poll

Harrogate has been rated the happiest place in Britain to live in a survey by a property website. Shrewsbury was second with Ipswich ranked third and York and Chester completing the top five. Inverness came highest in Scotland  with Llandrindod in Wales.

Yes folks, we are still in the London news section. 

Three Cows Killed on Railway Line 

Three cows have been struck and killed by a train near Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.

Bishop's Stortford, just an hour's drive up the M11, i.e. not in London

Man Held After Woman Stabbed in House

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an incident at a house in Hungerford, Berkshire.

That's the Hungerford that's 70 miles down the M4, not the Hungerford Bridge next to Charing Cross Station.

Britons Rescued Amid Himalaya Flood 

A group of British Trekkers have been rescued  from a remote part of Kashmir after becoming trapped following flash flooding in the Himalayas.

The last time I looked, London was not situated in the Himalayas.

Demolition Order for House Owner

A man in Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire has been told to reduce the size of his bungalow by the council.

Even though Barton-le-Clay is nowhere near London, what with it being over 40 miles away, the BBC thinks that a story about a property dispute between a householder and the local council is of national importance and should be included in the London news section. Having said that, Barton-le-Clay is near to both Milton Keynes and Luton which the BBC also think is in London.

Speaking of Milton Keynes...................................

House Fire Spread to Two Homes.

Firefighters were called to a house fire at Penryn Avenue in Fishermead, Milton Keynes.

Fortunately there were no house fires in London this week so the BBC had to go all the way to Milton Keynes to find one. Milton Keynes is a town in the Midlands, near Northampton.

Six Charged After Jewellers Raid.

Six people have been charged with robbery after a raid at a jewellers in Norwich City Centre.

No robberies in London this week either.

Back to Milton Keynes...............................

Bogus Head should pay Court Costs

The cost of a trial of a bogus business school owner which has gone to court 11 times is "disproportionately high" according to an MP. Milton Keynes Council has estimated the cost against Tina Beloveth Powerful (that's what it says) will cost around £8000.

Nothing to say about this, really.

Screwdriver Attack Man Does Triathlon.

A man who's right hand side was paralysed when he was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver is taking part in a triathlon for charity. Nick Verron, 31, suffered an unprovoked attack in Bournmouth in 2009 and was unable to walk, talk or swallow. He now lives in Aylesbury and is raising money for the Acquired Brain injury Forum.

Stories about individuals who overcome huge obstacles to achieve great things  are always worth reading but Bournmouth isn't in London, neither is Aylesbury. This should at least be on the national news page.

I have a lot more of the same but I will wrap up this piece with one final story about the funeral of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, King of the Yoruba, Nigeria's second biggest ethnic group. His funeral is being held in the city of Ife. Ife is in Nigeria.

DAFT, DAFTER, DAFTEST

To give you an idea of just how stupid people are, this photograph below is a view across a lake in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA taken through a cabin window with a ceiling light reflected in it.

Someone decided it would be a good prank to post it on Facebook, claiming that it was a picture of a UFO in Australia and that everyone should share it as quickly as possible as Facebook were trying to take it down. Of course, no-one could possibly be stupid enough to believe it.

Well almost no-one. Only 314,711 Facebook users were actually that stupid which isn't a lot considering the size of the population of the world.

WE'RE DOOMED

This is going to happen to us no time soon

There are a number of satirical news sites on the internet which publish spoof stories for the entertainment of their readers. Some, like the Daily Mash take actual news events and put their own particular twist on them; you can find a good example here. Others, like the Onion make up hilariously fake articles, sometimes with a vague connection with reality but often not.

A third variety of the genre are British tabloid newspapers and the best and most outrageous of them is the Daily Express. Anyone looking for a hysterical non-factual story, guaranteed to amuse, outrage, terrify or otherwise brighten up an otherwise dull morning need look no further than the front page of this publication.

It's true that, for crackpot diets, miracle foods and medical advice, the Daily Mail is generally regarded as being the place to look. But for everything else, nothing but the Express will do.

Over the last few weeks they have become completely obsessed with asteroids. Someone on the paper has decided we all need scaring out of our wits with tales of Armageddon in the form of 50 million tons of express (geddit) delivery rock.

Back in March they published a totally hysterical headline screamer about how the snappily named 2014-YB35 asteroid was going to fly past the Earth, totally missing us, resulting in a complete absence of earthquakes, tsunamis or devastating changes to our climate.

Not satisfied with that, only a few weeks later along comes 2012 TC4 (who thinks up these names?) which is also "on collision course to hit the Earth".

If you manage to get past the headline where "experts" tell us that this asteroid "the size of the Statue of Liberty" is on a collision course with Earth  you then discover that what they are actually saying is that it will miss us altogether.

 I suppose a headline reading "Earth not to be destroyed today" isn't going to shift many papers.

Us soon according to the Daily Express

Then in May, they were at it again. This time "experts were warning of mass extinction" as the latest lump of extra-terrestrial masonry (1999 FN3) was set to miss us entirely on the morning of the 14th of May. They gave us lurid descriptions of the devastation that would be caused if this asteroid, the size of Mount Everest were to suddenly defy the laws of physics and gravity and change course, which is what it would have to do in order to collide with the Earth.

It's now June and this time another lump of rock called Icarus was, according to Astronomer Bob Berman, "going to miss the Earth at a relatively safe distance of about 5 million miles. Or, as the Express put it "1KM asteroid Icarus getting CLOSER to Earth and a hit could ravage a continent". Which is exactly what Bob Berman said but put in layman's terms so Express readers would understand. Using technical expressions like "miss the Earth" would only confuse people.

Two days later and we have an "ASTEROID DOOM EXCLUSIVE". This one isn't going to hit the Earth either but the Daily Express isn't going to let than insignificant fact get in the way of a good headline. They are now having to start scraping the barrel a bit for suitably hysterical copy as the more sharp eyed of you will notice that they keep regurgitating descriptions of the Tunguska event.

Bringing us up to date, the Express asks us, "could this asteroid destroy Earth in just SIX weeks?". Actually, no. But it does give them the opportunity to tell us about an end of the world prophesy by a bunch of religious nuts. They also remind us of the Tunguska event again, in case we had forgotten. They also finally admit that despite all their doom laden predictions, NASA have said that "the chances of an impact within the next few hundred years are next to zero".

They then go and spoil it all by reporting that NASA has also taken a picture of a woman standing on Mars. The alien hunters have noticed that the woman seems to have breasts, which suggests that none of them seem to get out much.

STOP PRESS 

Okay, this is the last one, but I couldn't let these go to waste. 

Back to London news.

 A12 tractor driver seriously injured

There has been a collision between a tractor and a car on the A12 in Bucklesham, Suffolk.

Is London in Suffolk? I don't think so.

Three brothers attempt 90 mile river swim.

Three brothers have begun a 90 mile swimming challenge along Cumbria's River Eden. 
 There are also two stories about Reading, Berkshire. 

no pants day

Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

The 11th of January saw the 14th "No Pants Day" event in San Fransisco. The idea is that people turn up to travel on the public transport system (in San Fransisco, this is called Bay Area Rapid Transport of BART for short) with no trousers and otherwise just behave normally.

It began in New York in 2002 with 150 participants and has since spread to over 60 cities. There doesn't seem to be any point to it but it has become a popular event to cheer up an otherwise dull January.

Apparently, it seems to have spread to London as well. If you are thinking of taking part, make absolutely sure you understand what Americans mean by pants or you could find yourself in some trouble.

london news

I have decided to come back to one of my old grumps about the state of the London news page on the BBC TV news regional pages. I'm a bit late publishing this so it gives me an opportunity to give a run down of Sunday's offerings.

It seems there has been a fire in the Eurotunnel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Eurotunnel runs under the English Channel and goes goes between Folkstone, an English seaside town (not in London) to Calais, a French seaside town (not in London).

They sadly report the death of Gladys Cooper who was the oldest person in the world. She died in a care home on the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England (not in London).
n.b. This story is completely inaccurate. Gladys Hooper from the Isle of Wight actually becomes the oldest person in Britain, aged 112 after the death of Ethel Lang, aged 114 who lived her entire life in Barnsley, S. Yorks. For the person who wrote this story, Barnsley is a long way from London. Even further from London is the Japanese city of Osaka where Misao Okawa, aged 116, is actually the oldest recorded person in the world.

Authorities in England have issued their annual pledge to try and end the practice of locking people with mental health problems up in Police cells. While London is indeed in England, there is no reason why this should be of particular London interest. London is not mentioned anywhere in the report.

A Golden Eagle briefly escaped from it's owner at an aviary in Flitwick. Flitwick is a small town in Bedfordshire (not in London). It was later captured at Centre Parcs. Centre Parcs is also in Bedfordshire, i,e not in London. Perhaps it flew over London, if so this is not mentioned.

The Sonisphere Concert at Knebworth has had to be cancelled following fire damage to the site earlier last year. Knebworth, like the previous story is in Bedfordshire, just south of the town of Stevenage (not in London).

They have also reported the alleged rape of a 17 year old girl in Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire which, only being around 60 miles from London is at least closer than Osaka.

I repeat my previous assertion that the page editing has been outsourced to India with whoever is doing it believing that London is about 50 miles further north than is actually the case. I suppose with India being such a big country, 50 miles must seem like nothing. Easy to believe that all the Midlands new towns are really just suburbs of London.

ASDA home shopping

Use it if you dare

About a couple of weeks ago, my Daughter placed an order with ASDAs online grocery service. She arranged for it to be delivered this Friday. 

In the early hours of Friday morning they took the money out of her account to pay for it then at about 2:30 in the afternoon sent her an email saying that they had cancelled the order.

Their reason for cancelling the order was that they had not received the payment. They clearly had as my Daughter's bank account was shy exactly the amount that ASDA was supposed to have taken and the transaction was shown in her statement. 

It then transpires that ASDA are not going to give her the money back (the money they say they don't have) until Monday, they will keep it over the weekend. 

This payment pretty well cleared out her account leaving her with no money to buy shopping from anywhere else. Fortunately, she was able to use some cash she had kept to pay for a car MOT. Without that, her family would have gone hungry. Obviously they would not have gone hungry as the rest of the family would have helped out but there must be people who don't have anyone to call on for help. 

There are a lot of people this happens to if evidence is to be believed. When my Daughter phoned her bank to find out how to get her money returned, she was told that they have received hundreds of enquiries just like this and they didn't advise anyone to use the ASDA online service because of this.

I did use the ASDA internet shopping service some years ago and it was a shambles although they didn't actually steal my money.

snail mail

As I've said before, I'm not really of the sporting persuasion. It's not that I don't like sport, I just don't really have any interest in it. Mrs Grump however is of an entirely different ilk and is, for reasons I won't go into here, a fanatical supporter of West Ham United football club.

As the proud owner of a season ticket, she attends all of the home games and you may catch a glimpse of her sitting in her wheelchair near the touchline in her blue jacket and wooly hat. Her Grandson Jordan takes her to each match, pushing her from wherever they can park the car to the ground and then back again afterwards.

They would have been able to walk there in about an hour but a bunch of Brampton Ward NIMBYs persuaded Boris to cancel our bridge.

Anyway, Jordan wanted to go to the FA Cup replay match and as the disabled ticket was only £20 it seemed churlish to refuse. Mrs Grump sent off for the tickets which were posted on or around the 5th Jan, plenty of time for them to arrive. To date, Monday 19th Jan they still haven't.

Question - how long does it take a small envelope to travel 1st class from Upton Park to Thamesmead?
Answer - nobody knows.

bin and gone

My fellow blogger Hugh Neal of Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich fame has been reporting over the last few months on the state of the recycling facilities at Morrison's car park in Erith which has been used as a dumping ground for illegal fly tippers.

We have a similar problem here in Thamesmead and it got so bad after Christmas that you could hardly see the bins for the rubbish piled up against them.

Greenwich Council has finally had enough and removed the facility altogether. This is a shame; even though the Nathan Way centre is nearby, it's not going to be as convenient for those responsible persons who just want to recycle their rubbish.

I don't really understand why they couldn't have just set up a couple of CCTV cameras to identify anyone using the site improperly. Stuffing offenders with a hefty fine would help to pay for the installation and may even turn the council a profit.





I have decided to save my stories about the Kodak Brownie camera and Discovery Channel for next week as I am running out of time.

Phone Hacking and those CCTV Images

The news has been full of stories recently about a Russian website that was giving access to thousands of CCTV feeds from homes and businesses around the world. 

If you have just come back from Mars and don't know what I'm talking about , here is where you can catch up on the story. It follows similar stories that have been in the news for several years about phone hacking. 

A while ago, I bought a new cordless land line phone from BT. As with most of these things, answerphone messages can be accessed remotely from another telephone by entering a PIN code at the end of the opening message. It came with a booklet containing instructions on how to set the device up and includes information on the remote function and security PIN. With this phone, the remote access function is turned off as a factory default and I have to set my own PIN to enable it. 

My new phone replaced an older version which was bought a few years ago. The old phone also had the remote access function but in this case it was turned on and had a pre-set 4 number PIN which could be changed by the user. Unfortunately, neither the instruction book or the box it came in mentioned this at all and anyone setting the phone up for the first time would be likely to leave the answerphone set at it's completely unsecure factory default state not being aware that the remote function even existed or that anyone entering the factory set PIN would enable them to listen to all messages recorded on the phone. The only way I would ever know that my answerphone could be accessed remotely and that it was only protected by a generic factory set PIN would be to download the full instruction book from the manufacturers website and scroll through about 70 pages before getting to the relevant part. If I ever got that far, I would then be told how important it was to change my PIN and how to do it.

It would seem that a similar problem exists with older versions of wireless webcams where the remote access was enabled as a default with only the factory password or even with no password at all. Later versions of these cameras seem to have a similar setup as my new phone in that they come with the remote access function disabled and can only be activated when the owner sets their own password.

In any case, if you haven't already done so, you should check in the full instruction book which you can usually access from the manufacturers website and check that your device is protected.

It is still possible to hack your phone if you use an easily guessable password. Birthdays and anniversaries are easily discovered from readily available sources and it won't take long for the really determined hacker to go through all the permutations of numbers back to front, scrambled or any other combination. When you choose a PIN or password, make up a random number; better still, if you are unlikely to use it, turn the function off completely.

Poundland Arrives in Thamesmead

It appears that Poundland have taken over the site of the now defunct Blockbusters outlet in Thamesmead Town Centre.

This looks like it could be another nail in the Morrison's coffin. I use Morrison's less and less now, preferring to use Aldi. Recent figures are suggesting that they are no cheaper than Morrison's but I hate having to fight my way past all the obstructions, piles of boxes and people trying to sell me a Sky subscription and double glazing that are all part of the Morrison's shopping experience. I hate that bloke outside who keeps shouting "Big Issue" at me. I hate having to faff about with plastic cards and silly bits of paper to collect points. I hate having to pay a thumping great surcharge if I only want to buy one of anything. Their 50p packs of Tiger Rolls suddenly went up to 79p or £1.00 for two - they must think we are stupid. Packets of chicken breasts now cost an extra £2.50 if you only want one.

And I really, really hate those bloody self-service tills. They have a traffic light system flashing away on them to tell you whether they are available or not. If they are available, they flash amber; if they are not available, they flash amber; if they are available but only accept cash/credit cards/vouchers, or not, they flash amber. Easy peasy. And I hate being told to please take the last item out of the bag before I have even started.

London news

Map of London

I am now convinced that the London news page on the BBC news red button has been outsourced to India; there is no other explanation for the inclusion of many of the stories appearing on the site.

Whoever is responsible for choosing them has no idea where London is in relation to the rest of the UK or indeed, the world.

In recent months there have been stories from places that have no connection with London or are of general national or international concern. Countries that are supposed to be in London include Wales (mentioned several times), Iran, Syria (mentioned at least twice), United Arab Emirates, Gaza and a patch of Pacific Ocean somewhere between California and Hawaii.

I won't bore you with a list of UK places that are supposed to be in London - actually I will. Here are a few in approximate alphabetical order:-

Berwick, Birmingham,  Bletchley Park, Brighton, Bracknell, Bridgenorth, Broadmore, Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chertsey, Chester, Flitwick, Gatwick, Hatfield, Heathrow, Hemel Hempstead, Leeds, Luton, Macclesfield, Maidenhead, Milton, Newbury, Newport Pagnell, North Ormesby, Reading, St Albans, Slough, Southend, Stevenage, Stourbridge, Sunningdale, Watford, Wolverhampton, Wokingham, Worcester - to name but a few. 

Remember, all these places were mentioned in stories without any connection to London in any way but were included in the BBC London news page.

Whoever is choosing the stories that appear on the London news page is certainly convinced that all of the Hertfordshire new towns are part of London if the frequency of stories from Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage are anything to go by.

Today, the London news page is reporting a story about a couple who have been murdered in the village of Fetcham, Surrey and another story about Greater Manchester Police appealing for calm following violent incidents during "Black Friday". More of which later.

Black Friday

The latest gimmick used by retailers to persuade the more gullible of us to buy more of what we don't need has been to import "Black Friday" into the shopping calender.

Originally an American phenomena that sees huge numbers of hysterical shoppers pushing, shoving and climbing over each other to get to supposedly discounted goods in shops and department stores.

It follows Thanksgiving Day, a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November and which I suppose will also arrive here in the UK just as soon as someone can think of an excuse for it.

Usually, when one of these US style events hits our shores, they tend to be toned down somewhat to accommodate our rather more reserved British nature. But not this. What you get is the full-on, in your face, punching and kicking, moron fest in all it's sad and dismal glory.

We are supposed to be two meals and twenty four hours from barbarism but it seems that we are really just one discounted TV set to see us go from a civilized society to a frenzied, screaming mob of consumer goods obsessed maniacs.

I can understand when people in famine struck parts of the world fight over food to feed their starving children but to punch an old lady in the mouth because she has managed to get hold of a toaster you had your eye on and had £4.99 off the list price is to abandon all sense of decency.

The saddest part of all is these people will get home with their life saving iPod earphones or whatever and will feel no shame, even after they have woken up the next morning and remember what they just did.

The Bonehead Saga

The next episode

If you are one of my regular readers you will be aware of the antics of one Joshua Bonehill-Paine (now calling himself Joshua Bonehill). 

He's back

This loathsome Nazi troll set up a website called The Daily Bale which posts fictional stories about how the country is being overrun by Communists, Jews, Romanian immigrants, etc., etc. Think of the Daily Mash run by Himmler and you get the idea. I published an article about one of his stories (seen here). This featured a painting of a South African child, stolen from the artists Flickr account and used to promote a story about an English child supposedly kidnapped by an Asian grooming gang from a shopping centre in Croydon. 

Another story about how a pub in Wiltshire had banned members of the armed forces in case it offended Muslims got him a community order after thousands of other morons who believed the story threatened the pub and it's staff.

If you want to see a prime example of his journalistic style, then this should tell you all you need to know. I do recommend reading it. I know I could be accused of providing him with publicity but lots of people listened to Lord Haw Haw and we still won the war.

It seems he is now back, with his new, slimmed down name and running another website calling itself 'National British Resistance'. His tactics remain the same however and one of his most recent stunts was to take a picture of a Church in Carlisle, move it to Wiltshire and then invent a story about how it had been turned into a Mosque and that all the people buried in the Churchyard were going to be dug up and moved. Despite the ludicrous nature of the story, it didn't stop thousands of idiots sharing it on Facebook though.

You can read more about this story here on my favourite hoax busting site. I suggest everyone should bookmark the site and refer to it any time they are thinking of sharing some idiotic story that appears on their Facebook page.

Water, Water Everywhere

Speaking of Facebook pages, I was recently referred to an article in the Daily Mail about the amount of salt in bottled water. 

This got me onto one of my principal grumps, which is about people who are fooled by advertising gimmicks and claims about products which are exaggerated or downright lies.

The bottled water industry is one of the most polluting in the world. Behind all the claims about purity, health and vitality and the pretty images of mountain springs, lakes and other scenes of a pastoral nature is a cynical, self serving business which manufactures a need for a product by using public ignorance about health matters and it's obsession with 'alternative' lifestyles.

Before any of you goes out and buys another bottle of water, please take a look at these links

http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-bottled-water-industry-2011-10?op=1

http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/

You will need to download the film from the webpage but it is well worth it. If it doesn't play properly in Windows viewer you may need to use DivX or Quick Time. VLC will work if you are running Linux.

London, where's that?

Episode 4

Recent stories about London posted on the BBC text news page.

5 men are travelling (it doesn't say how) from Brighton to Berwick to raise money for cancer research. They are not going via London as far as I am aware.

Welsh children have seen a drop of 11% in the value of their pocket money.

Man dies trying to recover a ball from a lake in Bletchley, Bucks.

New leisure centre being built in Flitwick, Bucks.

A £5.6 million improvement plan for a road between Slough and Maidenhead.

Recycling

Bexley Council Style

27 July 2014
last emptied 22 May

London - Where's That?

Episode 3

Some more stories that the BBC thinks are related to London -

Attempts to save a Banksy artwork on the side of a building in Cheltenham, Gloucester.

New Labour policy to transfer £30 billion to local government. No mention if London will benefit.

Prince Charles tried to persuade the last government to create more grammar schools.

Child, trapped in Syria for the last 2 years should soon be able to return to Birmingham.

The story about the tennis player poster is still there despite it having no connection with London

2 men charged with the murder of a man in Luton.

More stories about Bletchley Park

London - Where's That?

Episode 2

More stories that have been published on the BBC News text page for London in the last couple of days. Anyone able to see why genuine London news should have been left out to include these stories might like to share that information.

Here is an example - 

Reported rape of woman in North Ormesby, Middlesborough.

Report about Jimmy Saville and abuse of patients at Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmore Psychiatric Hospital.

Renewed appeal by Police for information about a stabbing at a concert in Luton

Sale of the dress worn by the tennis player in the Athena poster. The picture was taken in the tennis courts at Birmingham University. The model lives in Worcester. The auction will take place in Stourbridge, West Midlands. 

I have included a copy of the image taken from the BBC News website (hope you don't mind).

Report of a gas cylinder explosion in Bletchley, Bucks.

London - Where's That?

Episode 1

I have had a grump about this before but I think I am going to make it a regular feature.

Whoever is responsible for posting stories on the London News Page of the BBC news text site needs to get a map - they clearly have no idea where it is if some of the stories are anything to go by.

Here are today's examples -

The Chairman of Crossrail announces that there is a gender gap in engineering.

British Muslims are fighting in Syria. (They come from Cardiff, it seems).

4 Rowers have been rescued from a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, somewhere between California and Hawaii.

A man has died in a house fire in Welwyn Garden City.

OFSTED have closed a school in Bedford.

A farewell parade for the Royal Engineers Regiment on Nedwbury, Berks.

There may be a prize for anyone who can identify any reason why any of these stories should have appeared in the London news section.