Twentyfive years ago

 

I was in a big store in town. People were gathered around a television set in the electrical department. I stopped to see what they were watching. I couldn't believe that it was really happening, and it wasn't a film. 

Just before this happened I was in New York. Didn't go up the twin towers, but went up the Empire State Building. I will never forget the views, and the speed of the lift to the top. 

ilona

Who is Colin Brazier

Some useful links. 

A video from Outpost Studios. 

 Brazier is back. 

Who is Colin Brazier. 

Colin Brazier is a household name in Britain’s news for decades. With a robust presence in television broadcasting, he is recognized by his reflective reporting, grave presentation, and extensive knowledge of world and country affairs.

Colin and his late wife, Joanna raised six children together. She sadly died in 2018 after fighting cancer. Her loss was a loss that not only affected the children and Colin as individuals but also severely affected people who were used to watching Colin all these years.

Colin Brazier is not just a newsreader. He is an old reporter, who has endured the big stories of our era—and explained them to others. From his extended tenure at Sky News to working for GB News, he has been consistent and reflective.

Mike Graham chats with Colin in this yoootooob video.

It's a gardening day today. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Careful when charging . . . . . .

 . . . . . . . . . . .your lithium batteries.

News item from Cornwall Live. 

A heartbreaking tragedy has struck a Cornish family after sixty years of cherished memories and generations of hard work went up in smoke in a matter of hours.

On Sunday, July 18, a ferocious fire tore through Saddle Rock Farm in Rejerrah, sending a massive plume of dark smoke billowing into the sky that could be seen for miles across mid-Cornwall.

What began as a routine afternoon turned into a nightmare when a lithium battery left on charge suddenly caught alight, igniting a catastrophic inferno that destroyed everything in its path.

The smallholding between Newquay and Truro was far more than just a piece of land; it was a deeply sentimental sanctuary built from the ground up by the owner's late father over six decades ago.

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I have given up with rechargeable tools and equipment. They are useless anyway, never hold their charge for long enough. The only thing I recharge is my mobile phone and camera batteries. and only when I am in the house to keep an eye on them.

And as for electric cars, look how many catch fire. On driveways when charging, when parked in multistory car parks, and even when they are being transported on ferries across the seas.

If you want to take that risk then so be it.

Catch you later. Toodle pip. ilona

Got it covered.

 Don't worry about what is going on. The Home Office is in control and has everything covered. 

Home Office

@ukhomeoffice

We are the lead UK government department for immigration & passports, crime & policing, homeland security and protecting vulnerable people.

Home Office

@ukhomeoffice

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5h

New reforms will see asylum seekers pay towards the cost of their housing and financial support. Migrants who can afford to are expected to have to pay around £10,000 to be eligible for settlement. Those who leaves the UK must pay up if they wish to return.

A new independent appeals body will quickly and fairly ensure asylum appeals are heard in months, not years. Currently, the average time taken to clear asylum appeal cases stands at 67 weeks, which has left a backlog of more than 87,000 appeals waiting to be heard. The new appeals body will be staffed by professionally trained and independently appointed adjudicators.

45,000 more illegal migrants and foreign criminals will be deported or removed from the UK within the next decade. Capacity at secure Immigration Removal Centres is increasing by 1,000 beds so that foreign offenders, illegal workers and small boat arrivals can be removed faster.

New safe and legal routes for refugees to come to the UK will begin to rollout in the autumn, giving genuine refugees a pathway to rebuild their lives. Our new community sponsorship scheme will allow approved groups to choose the refugees they sponsor, taking responsibility for their housing, integration and supporting them into work. Trusted universities will be able to directly sponsor refugees through a new refugee study route. The first refugee arrivals are expected by autumn 2027.

Up to 3,750 illegal migrants could be housed within three former

DefenceHQ

sites until their asylum claim is decided. MoD Bicester, MoD Barnham and MoD Linton-on-Ouse are being considered for accommodation purposes, allowing for the further closure of asylum hotels.

20 more asylum hotels have shut to illegal migrants and are being handed back to communities. This follows the 11 hotels already closed in April, saving taxpayers over £170 million this financial year.

Big Tech companies like Apple and Google have been given three months to activate built in safeguards on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children. This will prevent predators from exploiting and abusing victims through their devices, as well as stopping children accessing pornography.

AI technology will be rolled out at our borders in 2027 to crack down on illegal migrants who pose as children to claim asylum, dodge detention and avoid removal from the UK. Strengthened checks will make it easier to identify those abusing protections for children.

Nothing to worry about then. Get regular reports directly from The Home Office on Tweeeeter.

Sunny today. Have a good day. Toodle pip. ilona

Spitting

 Good morning.

Doesn't it make you want to spit !!!! 😬

They use the term 'far right' at every opportunity to cast aspersions on anyone who does not lead a good and honest life. This is a story about criminals. People who break the law. 

Calm down dear, it's the crappy Daily Fail. Should rename it the Daily Bollocks. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Canal boats update.

Several narrowboats trapped by a canal collapse have finally been lifted out so that they can rejoin the canal network.

A large hole appeared in the bank of the Llangollen Canal near Whitchurch, Shropshire, on 22 December, causing its water to drain into a nearby field.

Two boats fell into the breach and others were trapped when sections of the canal had to be closed off.

In a highly anticipated operation, a 90ft (27.4m) crane and several haulage teams worked to remove eight boats from Whitchurch marina so they could be transported by lorry to the Aqueduct Marina near Crewe on Wednesday.

Lots more photographs on Taylors Aboard Facebook page.

Here's one I moved earlier. 😁😜😆 Intercity carriages are a similar length. Forty foot trailer extended to 60 feet, with a ten foot overhang on the back. 95 feet long in total. 

A job well done methinks. 

We just want to thank everyone involved in helping us escape the Llangollen canal! Thank you to Whitchurch Marina for organising everything and lifting us out. Thank you to Steve Foster Cranes for lifting us out with the 100-tonne crane! Thank you to Ray Bowren and A S Taylor for the haulage, and thank you to Aqueduct Marina for lifting us back in! Thank you all so much!

Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip. ilona

Get out, we want your house.

Good afternoon, or is it Good evening. 

I've been out today. Coming up later will be photo's and a video from the Quilt and Sewing Fair at Newark Showground.

I started to prepare this post when I got back on Thursday but didn't get round to finishing it. I took some photo's on the outskirts of Derby as I was passing through, inspired by this video I found about a week ago. Charles Veitch is an investigative journalist, and puts himself out there in the middle of all the mayhem. He comes across as someone a bit bolshie and not afraid to voice his opinion. You might even think he looks a bit rough on the outside, but he is a smart guy. I watched an earlier video from a few years ago when he describes his upbringing, his education, and and how he came to live in different parts of the world.  

I have copied a few of the comments underneath this video which sheds some light on how 16 houses in Derby came to be abandoned. 

Expansion of the adjacent A38 dual carriageway. They were subject to compulsory purchase orders several years ago.

m38 motorway ️ £646 million over 4 years , starting in March 2026

They've been looking to widen the roads/A38 near there for years. Buildings and trees etc removed. Most people in these houses were simply bought out. I think the last person finally left but stayed in their house there, refusing to budge, for a long while after all the others were boarded up.

The row of boarded-up homes in central Derby, specifically those on Queensway near Markeaton Island, are vacant due to a long-standing plan to widen the A38 road. The properties were acquired by National Highways (previously the Highways Agency) through compulsory purchase orders for the now-cancelled road-widening project.

One house belonged to Gail Roberts who was the last to leave. See Derbyshire Live article "Last woman standing on Derby street set to disappear" You can read the story of Gail Roberts here.

These are my pictures.

This is a shocking state of affairs, though I suspect compulsory purchases are happening all over the UK when the Government wants the land. How much did they pay the owners of these 16 houses? Who owns them now? Will the widening of the A38 at Derby ever be completed? This has been going on a long time. The Government must be sitting on mega acres of land. 

Have a good weekend. See you tomorrow. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Saving the Boats. (edited)

This is epic. This magnificent beast has winched one of the narrowboats out of the breach on the Llangollen Canal. They ain't messing. These are the boys to get the job done. 

And if you want to see how it was done, feast your eyeballs on this. 

More information. They are using this spider excavator, check the video. Guess what, there is a woman in the driving seat, and it is only the third time she is working with it. How cool is that. This photo is from a job in Gargrave in North Yorkshire. On hire from WM Plant Hire. 

More pictures and information coming out about Aimee the Spider driver. Lots of complimentary comments. She should be proud of herself. 

Aimee’s incredible skill and patience, not to mention bravery when you see just how precariously she was perched next to Ganymede, is highly commendable!

Great work by all involved from start to finish. That spider digger was a proper piece of kit. Well done to Aimee, great driving.

 AIMEE is the brightest star. 

Someone please put her up for some sort of award, if there is such a thing for digger drivers?

In other news. . . . . .

Heidi, The Narrowboat Pirate, has a new video out. She is trapped on a 30 mile stretch of the canal and has decided not to get craned out for the time being. She is in an area that she loves, she has her campervan not far away and will go off on some adventures in that. Her parents are close by, so plenty of scope for more videos until the canal can be restored, which I think will be rather a long time. 

I took some photo's yesterday so I will be back later. Now it's time for breakfast. 

Toodle pip.   ilona 

Give me strength ! ! !

 The historic White Horse at Kilburn has been targeted by vandals who placed a red cross over the landmark, as police appeal for information.

One of Yorkshire’s most famous landmarks has been vandalised after a fabric red cross was placed over the White Horse at Kilburn. North Yorkshire Police confirmed they received a report of criminal damage on Tuesday (Sept 9) in the afternoon. “If anyone has information about the damage, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and provide reference NYP-09092025-0267.”

A spokesperson for Forestry England, which manages the site, said: "We are aware of fabric that has appeared on the White Horse at Kilburn. Article in the Yorkshire Post. 

I cannot find a photograph of the alleged damage, but here are my photo's from a visit in July 2019. My report here. 

I arrived at the top of the White Horse. There is nothing of the horse to see from up here. Nice views over Yorkshire. 

Zoom in, it needs some maintenance. Weeds coming through, more white chips to cover up the weed suppressant. The White Horse is not white, it's a muddy grey.

After some digging - More reports from other sources -

Manchester Evening News. 

As police investigate, furious locals have compared the criminal damage to the hillside landmark to the chopping down of the Sycamore Gap tree - which stood near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland before it was destroyed by vandals.

Yahoo News.

A manhunt has been launched after vandals damaged one of Britain's largest hill figures with a red cross. Photos show the 168-year-old White Horse in North Yorkshire vandalised with a red cross, believed to represent England's St George's Cross flag.

The Gazette and Herald.

The White Horse at Kilburn has been defaced with a St George's flag. It is not known at this stage if the flag has been painted or is ribbon.

BBC News.

A St George's flag appeared on the Kilburn White Horse in the North York Moors National Park, prompting a police investigation.

A cross, thought to be created from red fabric, was placed on the famous landmark dating back to 1857 on Tuesday, North Yorkshire Police said.

Forestry England, which manages the site, said it was "working closely with the police to try and find who did the damage to this important asset of local and cultural heritage".

BBC News. 

A white horse carved into a hillside is being checked for damage after it was temporarily turned into a St George's flag.

Red fabric draped over the Westbury White Horse has now been removed, after being reported to English Heritage earlier.

They all jump on the bandwagon. It's obvious why. Patriots must be quashed. 

Much ado about nothing. Now I'm going to Coffee Morning for some face to face talking with my village friends. By the way, the flags were flying on almost every lamp post into Brigg yesterday. They made me smile. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona