Brakes!!!!

When we got our big trailer I knew it would need some work, like a new floor. Sorting it out has been delayed by key people having health problems. Luckily, Nessie keeps soldiering on in spite of everything that life throws at him. While the floor was missing I asked him to have a look at the brakes as they didn't seem to be very good. That's not surprising! They turned out to have almost no linings. A search for replacement shoes was fruitless so I took them to this company in Rochdale for relining.

https://www.questmead.co.uk/Categories/Reconditioning-Services/Brake-Shoe-Reline

I have to pick them up in the next day or two.

Heritage Boatyard Work

It's going to be a bit lonely at the Heritage Boatyard for the next couple of weeks as Dave is having an eye operation and Kim is going on his holidays.



Here's Dave working on further security measures for the boatyard.


Here's Kim making new deck boards for "Forget me Not".

Canal Cleanup

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ashtac, the Inland Waterways Association organised a working party to clean up part of the Ashton Canal on 21st/22nd March 2022. Ashtac was the codename for the huge 'big dig' on the Ashton canal in 1972, when over 1000 volunteers from around the country came to clear rubbish from the derelict waterway. They even laid an industrial monorail in the bed of the drained canal to transport the rubbish.

I think it's a great omission in Portland Basin Museum that there's nothing about this on display. It was a major event in getting the waterway restoration movement started.

The 2022 effort was rather less ambitious. It mostly consisted of litter picking and scrub bashing at Eli Whalley's, or Donkey Stone Wharf as it seems to be known nowadays.

In fact it's proper name is Ashton Old Wharf. It's the original terminus of the Ashton Canal. It ceased to be a terminus when the Huddersfield Narrow canal was built. It's role as Ashton's main wharf was later lost to Portland Basin.

The final industrial use of the wharf was as Eli Whalley's donkey stone works. Donkey stones were blocks of reconstituted stone that , were used for polishing the stone steps of houses. They were often distributed by rag and bone men in exchange for, well, rags and bones.

https://www.tameside.gov.uk/blueplaque/eliwhalley 

Some years ago British Waterways did some landscaping work on the wharf, including erecting three sculptures of flying geese. More recently I understand it has been let on a long lease to somebody and has become derelict. Latterly its been haunt for fly tippers, anglers, drinkers and the occasional homeless person's tent.

Our original plan was to take "Forget me Not" along but her gearbox problem prevented this. Instead we took "Lilith",towed on the outward trip by the Ashton Packet Boat Co's "Joel", another wooden boat. Our depleted volunteer reserves meant that there were only four participants from our group, me, Kim Tranter, Daniel Stocks and Nessie.

We laid "Lilith" alongside the foliage that was aggressively invading the canal from the wharf then, using implements provided by CRT, we proceeded to remove that foliage.

There were lots of young workers there from a scheme that was something to do with the Princes Trust and the Fire Service.

A good day was had by all. I still bear the bramble scars to prove it. Many people were involved in litter picking and I did my best to get the aluminium cans and bits of scrap iron loaded on to "Lilith" so that they could be recycled.


At the end of the day we winded "Lilith" and got a tow back to the basin with the trip boat "Still Waters".

On the Tuesday we left "Lilith" at the basin. I couldn't see much need for her as most of the recyclables had already been collected. People went on tree lopping and bramble bashing but, to be honest, I didn't really like what was being done. People like tidy and neat, but wildlife doesn't. We'd cleared the foliage that was obstructing the waters edge. To go further, I felt, was reducing the wildlife value of a piece of unused land.
CRT had supplied us with brand new bowsaws that were very hard to use as, though sharp, they had hardly any set on the teeth. I busied myself making these more usable, then went above the lock to deal with some overhanging vegetation at the entrance to Whitelands 'tunnel', one of 3 short tunnels in the area that was opened out over 100 years ago but is still known as a tunnel.

In the afternoon I had to head for home to organise paying for the gearbox parts that we are buying from Sweden.

I hope we'll have some WCBS working parties later in the year.

The Trip Must Go On

"Forget me Not"s gearbox developed a problem, so, we took it out and conveyed it to the wonderful Richard Powell in Kenilworth. Parts are on order from Sweden. Meanwhile, we had a wellbeing trip booked. I went in search of a willing tug. Luckily, I bumped into Kim Tranter who offered to do the towing with his boat "Aimee Lou".

"Aimee Lou" was originally a British Waterways work flat, rebuilt as a pleasure boat and fitted with a powerful engine. Though not short of horsepower, the relative lightness of the tug, combined with towing from an off centre dolly, made it hard for Kim to keep in the channel.

Gearbox Trouble and a Steam Railway Holiday.

It's been a while since I posted anything. This is at least partly because the old long covid seems to have come back, making me feel knackered in the evenings. So, here's a bit of catching up.

A fortnight ago we were just setting off on a wellbeing trip with "Forget me Not" and "Hazel" when "Forget me Not"s engine stalled every time I put it into reverse gear. I took the top off the gearbox to have a look, but, was unable to work out what the problem was.

Via Facebook I contacted Richard and Sue Powell at Primrose Engineering in Kenilworth. If they can't fix it nobody can. They agreed to have a look., so, over the weekend I removed the gearbox then, after dealing with volunteers at Stalybridge on Monday morning, drove down to Kenilworth with it. It turned out that the epicyclic reverse gears had chewed themselves up through lack of lubrication. The problem seems to have stemmed from the oilway, that squirts oil through from the engine, which had got blocked. I'm currently in discussion with Stefan Strom who runs Albin Motor in Sweden about the replacement parts that are needed. Albin engines are no longer made but Stefan has virtually all the parts for them.

https://albinmotor.nl/en/albin-history/

Unfortunately that trip had to be abandoned, but our guests spent the day on "Hazel" and seemed to enjoy being there.

Nessie has been busy finishing off the concreting of "Queen"s bottom and repairing her falling apart back cabin.

It was my birthday last Saturday so Em arranged a little holiday in Haworth, known to most as the home of the Bronte family ( Wuthering Heights etc) but known to me as the headquarters of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

We stayed in a wonderfully quirky room at the Old Apothecary and went out for a meal at the White Lion (having rejected the Black Bull as a covid risk because it was so crowded).

In the morning I went for a walk up the nearby Penistone Hill, where old millstone grit quarries have been left to return to nature.

http://www.wyorksgeologytrust.org/misc/Penistone%20Hill%20geology.pdf

I walked up alongside the old quarries enjoying the views over the valley in the morning sunshine.

I turned back towards the town down a little lane with stone walls on each side.

A blackbird pair caught my eye, frolicking on the mossy top of the wall, probably looking for nesting materials. I watched them for a while until they separated. The female crossed the road and the male went into the field and started digging for worms. Carrying on down the hill, the lane became a path. I enjoyed the low bright sun dazzling the fields and trees.

Everywhere there were early morning dog walkers. Haworth seems to be home to a great many posh dogs. As I walked back down through the churchyard I met a woman with a fluffy brown spanielly thing. It started madly barking at me. "Oh" said the owner, indulgently, "she doesn't like men in hats.

I passed the church and carried on down the cobbled main street where I met another doglady, this time with a little white poodley thing. It started yapping wildly and straining at the lead. I smiled at its owner and said "Ooh, I'm scared" to which she replied "she doesn't like men in boots". Clearly it's wise to go hatless and bootless for a morning walk in Haworth.


I like mongrels.

Back at the Apothecary Em was up and we went for breakfast, then on downhill to the station for my birthday treat, a ride on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

The locomotive rostered for the day was the Ivatt class 2 tank number 41241. When I was a kid this was the station pilot at Leamington Spa, my nearest main station. I have a memory of cabbing what was probably its sister, 41231 at the station, watching trains with my mum aged 6 or 7. The engine was coupled to mail vans in a bay platform, waiting for mainline trains to clear so that it could resume shunting. I asked to go on the footplate and the enginemen agreed. The fireman showed me the fire and I watched in awe as he opened valves in the complicated pipework in front of me. He was probably turning on the injectors to put extra water in the boiler. The driver and fireman joked between themselves. I just stood there, gobsmacked, in my element.

The stationmaster at Haworth is a very smartly dressed young man who is properly into character, and highly informative about the workings of the railway. An enthusiast to the core, his day job is working for the London & North Eastern Railway on more up to date trains.

Soon 41241 arrived, bunker first, from Oxenhope. Not wanting to risk mingling with others, we got into a non corridor compartment coach at the back of the train and enjoyed trundling down the valley to Keighley, where the steam railway shares a station with Network Rail.

Em was curious about Keighley and wanted a cup of tea, so, we exited the station. I don't think I'd ever left the station here either. Em's remark was "it's just like being in Salford". She quickly abandoned the idea of seeking tea and we returned to the platform where 41241 was getting ready to depart.


We got into a compartment again, this time close to the engine. The loco now had to work hard to raise its heavy train up the valley. The gradient was against it. I hung out of the window, enjoying the engine's crisp barks as it hauled us away from each station. Em dozed in the corner.

At Damems loop we passed the diesel working, a little railbus.

These lightweight vehicles were built in the 1950s to try to improve the economics of rural railways. Though much cheaper to run than steam trains they still mostly served stations that were fully staffed for just a handful of daily passengers. Rather than make further economies, the routes that they were used on were chopped off by the Beeching axe. The nearly new railbuses were disposed of.

With single line tablets exchanged, we carried on. Em got off at Haworth. The shiny shoed stationmaster was on the platform playing his part with enthusiasm.

 I stayed on the train for the last mile or so to Oxenhope.

My original plan had been to wait around Oxenhope for an hour or so and catch the following train back to Haworth. I changed my mind because I had noticed that there was a good footpath following the line and, as my dodgy ankle was not hurting, I thought I'd enjoy the walk.

After a look round the silent engines in the museum I set off. Soon I came to a little stone bridge over a rushing stream. I leaned on the parapet and stared down into the roaring water. All of a sudden there was a blur of electric blue as a supersonic kingfisher flew under the bridge.

Mostly the footpath followed the stream, but, at one point it climbed the steep valley side. The high path overlooked a field with a couple of horses in it. One of them suddenly let out a prolonged neigh before cantering up the hillside to pose stock still nearby.

The little railbus purred up the railway.

The horse moved nearer to the wall. I imagine it was hoping to be fed, but I had nothing and, besides, horse owners are usually not keen on strangers feeding their horses. Fatalities have occurred as a result of inappropriate feeding.

I entered Haworth through a new estate of rather predictable modern flats faced in imitation stone. the exit from this estate was through the arched entrance to a former mill, now offices, which brought me out close to the engine sheds, formerly Haworth goods yard. One of my favourite engines was in view. Smoke was drifting from it's chimney and I imagine it was being tested ready for service.

In gleaming black paint the engine was the former Lancashire & Yorkshire railway goods engine, dating from the 1890s.

Attempts to contact Em by 'phone had been fruitless, so I went and stood on the long bridge that spans both river and rail. Soon the railbus, a remarkably quiet vehicle, crept up on me. Outside the engine shed stood the famous "Royal Scot", waiting for a steam gala the following weekend.

Thinking that the steam train would soon be arriving I looked for a good spot to photograph it. I didn't find one but I made this little video.


Telephonic communication was resumed and I headed uphill to the Apothecary to join Em. She said it was time for afternoon tea, so we went down the main street looking for a cafe. The one that we found served us with expensive coffee and some brownies that were more remarkable for presentation than flavour.

That evening neither of us were hungry, so we ate butties left over from our journey. Em watched a zombie film on her laptop and I read a book. Exciting times!

On the way home we visited a friend who lives in a flat in an old stone farmhouse in the hills above Hebden Bridge. While I enjoyed the amazing view and hippie atmosphere the two women caught up on years of life's experiences, with occasional interjections from me.

A wonderful little break. Perhaps the accursed virus will disperse so that we can enjoy more little holidays safely.



Why I never supported Jeremy Corbyn in spite of being extremely left wing. Putin,Ukraine, Conspiracy.

Over the last few years I've been at odds with many of my really nice friends on the left of politics. When the Labour party elected a left wing leader they thought they had it made. They thought it was inevitable that such a good, decent, honest man would become our prime minister and everything would be wonderful after that. I'm reminded of a story M, my wife, tells. When she lived in Washington DC Jesse Jackson was trying to be president. All her black friends and colleagues thought he was bound to be selected and win as all the people they knew supported him. They were oblivious of the fact that if he was running against a pet rabbit in most of America the rabbit would win.

It was a similar situation for JC. Those who opposed him in his party, quite unreasonably I thought, were clearly seen as running dog capitalist revisionists. Following the new leader became something of a cult

and criticising his leadership and/or policies laid one out for vicious attacks, as I saw when one of my friends dared to suggest in a Facebook discussion that the Blair government did some good things (they did, but they were overshadowed by increasingly right wing policies and an illegal war).

JC is a very nice man, with a level of simplicity and naivete that makes him completely unsuitable to lead a party, let alone a country.

Back in the 1930s the Labour Party was led by another very nice man, George Lansbury. While Hitler was re-arming Germany he pushed for disarmament in Britain. He thought that the fascist threat could be alleviated by having nice chats with Hitler and Mussolini. One of my great heroes in history is Gandhi, but he thought that Hitler could be stopped by passive resistance. The problem with really nice people is that they cannot understand the mindset of a psychopath.

Negotiating with a Hitler or a Putin is like negotiating with an intelligent crocodile about its dietary requirements, when you are on the menu. They have no concept of compassion, no understanding of integrity.

I have often stated that I am far to the left of most people even on the left of the Labour Party. If I were dictator I would, for example, abolish private property. Aye, but there's the rub, dictator. I'm also a democrat. Trying to establish a utopia by dictat inevitably leads to the creation of a dystopia. Trying to establish the mildest form of socialism when most of the media outlets are owned by right wing billionaires is always going to be an uphill struggle and can only be achieved by a united team of very clever, media savvy politicians who are able to avoid own goals and can convincingly wash off the inevitable smears that they will be subjected to. Unfortunately, I don't see this at the moment. The best that we can hope for is a break from the corrupt, incompetent, cruel  and extreme bunch of media savvy buffoons who currently run the country.

The internet, combined with quite reasonable mistrust of the "MSM" has led to the growth of online news channels. Nowadays anyone with a laptop and a smartphone can become a 'citizen journalist' basically pushing their own prejudices. This leads, alongside social media, to people living their lives in an echo chamber where their views and the facts that support them are never challenged.

Facts are something that need discussing. When I were a lad the divide between fact and opinion was fairly clear. Nowadays, through the power of the internet many people believe some absolutely batshit crazy things as facts. The world is ruled by a cabal of satanic paedophilic cannabalistic reptilian Jews is one alleged fact that has gained traction across the political spectrum in recent times. Versions of this are believed with a religious zeal. Challenging it is like challenging the belief that Jesus died and rose again or that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet, depending on your religious background. When alleged facts are challenged the fact checkers are attacked.

All this nonsense has spawned nothing but confusion in many people's minds. Many good people don't know if they're left wing or right wing, or they're left wing but support right wing causes, like the recent truckers "Freedom" convoy in Canada. M once had a very tense conversation with a Labour supporting friend who was recommending that she watch a film by Nazi apologist David Irving.

I 'believe' in a conspiracy. It's my theory. There seems to be increasing evidence of it. Wealthy far right Americans have collaborated with the FSB (successor to the KGB) to undermine western democratic politics ( I know, they're not perfect and I've long been a critic of the system) by using 'useful fools' on the internet, combined with paid creators of crazy stories and bots to multiply the effects. They've used clever algorythms to target their messages, fine tuned for each person. They've also been funding and otherwise assisting extreme nationalists, like the French National Front and the Brexit campaign. In fact, they've been helping anyone whose objective is to sow division and disorder.

Whatever could be the objective of all this? Well, it's not about freedom or taking back control. It's about libertarianism, which sounds good but it actually means that the strong rule and the weak are crushed. It's every man for himself. It's about overthrowing any semblance of democracy or rule of law.

Our global conspirators (who are not actual lizards but do tend to lack some of the characteristics of higher mammals) even managed to get their puppet into the United States presidency.

Interestingly, Mr Trump initially got off on the wrong foot with the current crisis in Ukraine. He praised his old pal Vlad (the impaler?) and attacked Ukraine for being full of "left wing Nazis" (!!!!????). When he saw the huge global surge of support for the brave Ukrainian people he changed tack and started criticising the past weakness of Democrat administrations (a rare point of agreement between me and him) in dealing with his old friend and financier in the Kremlin.

Sadly, the left of the Labour party also got it wrong. https://politics.co.uk/news-in-brief/shadow-defence-secretary-says-some-labour-mps-fell-for-some-of-putins-propaganda/

The orthodox left has always had a soft spot for Russia. Of course, the revolution in 1917 gave great hope of establishing global socialism. Gradually, many people started to understand that the USSR had morphed into something that more resembled National Socialism than the workers paradise that the propaganda portrayed. It's interesting that in Russia the second world war in known as the Great Patriotic War, not the Great anti Fascist War. Nevertheless, many retained their affection for the country, even after the collapse of the soviet empire and the increasing repression of the Putin regime.

It's interesting how in recent times references to Ukraine and the Orange Revolution have brought suggestions from certain people that it's full of fascists. If loving the land of your birth makes you a fascist, then I'm a fascist, but I see no sign of serious fascism in modern Ukrainian politics. Certainly, Volodomir Zelensky seems far from fascistic. Indeed, as a Jew he is unlikely to support Nazi racial ideology (which also saw Slavs as an inferior race). Certainly there are fascists in Ukraine, just as there are here, in France, in Greece, and in the USA (supporting Trump). Strangely, I recently learned that there is a fascist brigade in the Ukrainian army. At first I thought maybe I was wrong, perhaps Ukraine is fascist. When I looked into it (actually M did) I found that it was a pretty small group and for years they'd been deployed against the Putin supported breakaway regions. It seems to me that was a smart move. If you have a bunch of potentially troublesome ultra nationalists prepared to die for the country you can either let them cause trouble at home or send them off to fight where they've a good chance of getting killed.

I hate war. On a planet in imminent danger of boiling us because of our profligate exhalations of CO2 it's the last thing we need. However, I'm not a complete pacifist. There are powerful people in the world who only understand power and will crush anyone who eschews it. It's a sad thing that we have to keep spending money (and lots and lots of carbon) on constantly updating weapons. To stand still is to be overtaken and to be overtaken makes you prey for the world's carnivores. I didn't agree with a lot of the wars that our country has been involved in over my lifetime but it's with a heavy heart that I say I support the armed resistance of the Ukrainian people and hope the supply of modern weapons goes smoothly. Sadly, giving Putin a bloody nose, a phrase used by some of my friends, means lots of grief for parents, siblings, partners and friends of unwitting Russian conscripts who never expected to be sent to kill their friends in Ukraine.

I do hope the scales are falling from the eyes of some of my conspiracy minded friends. Have you ever been had?



If it's not one thing------

Over the past few weeks we've had to cancel or postpone trip after trip on "Hazel" for various reasons, mostly weather related but health problems of guests have figured too. Today I thought at last we had it right. The weather was nice and we had guests on board for an overnight trip. It was a bit windy but nothing like we have experienced lately. Everything was readt so me and Aaron started to back the pair, breasted, into the basin ready to swing round and head off up the Peak Forest canal. All of a sudden the engine stalled. I restarted it but, as soon as I engaged reverse gear it stalled again. I had a look inside  the gearbox to discover that it was jammed in forward gear. The gear change mechanism was working correctly but the forward gear clutch simply wouldn't disengage, so, when you put it into reverse it's trying to go forward and backwards at the same time. This means I'm going to have to take the gearbox out and get it professionally looked at. How long this will take and what it will cost I know not.

Our guests seemed to have a nice afternoon chatting and exchanging life experiences. One is staying tonight and another has asked if she can come and stay on board with her dog sometime, which, of course, she can.


Here's a couple of photos of me and Aaron reversing the boats just before it all went wrong. Photographer Cheryl Louise Dinsdale.

Bells Ringing from the Past.

I wrote most of this in 2017 but didn't publish it as it was unfinished and I'd got stuck on a tangent about military strategy. It's horribly relevant to 2022.




They say that if you don't learn from history then you're bound to repeat it. Sadly, historical knowledge seems to be a bit lacking nowadays and things that have been happening are ringing loud historical bells for me. In particular, anti democratic leaders with apparently narcissistic or psychopathic personalities are taking power around the world. The last time a similar phenomenon occurred was in the 1930s. Much of the politics of the post World war II era has been about avoiding the errors of the thirties. All that is now being discarded by people who think they know better.

Narcissists have a fatal flaw. They believe themselves to be perfect, so they can only stand to have around them people who reflect back their own glory. Dissenters, even helpful ones, are banished to outer darkness. This leads them to make huge mistakes as no-one dares to put their ideas to the test of argument.

Let's go back a bit further than the 1930s, to the end of the great war as it was then known. Germans were left with a sense of humiliation. They had good reason to be puzzled as in 1918, the final year of the war, German forces had made a huge advance into France. They had also gained Ukraine, ceded to them by the revolutionary government in Russia, who they had helped in order to close down the Eastern front. They felt like they was robbed, and looked around for scapegoats. The bells ringing here are about America post Vietnam, puzzled and humiliated at being defeated by a small impoverished country.

The peace settlement after the first world war was a disaster, setting up conflicts that haunt us to this day. America played little part in the conferences as they had gone into a period of isolationism.

Ukraine got its independence, and pretty soon was having a war with Poland over their borders. Russia, looking for opportunities to regain its lost empire (ring any bells) saw the opportunity and attacked, taking back Ukraine into it's Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Poland managed to fight off Russian aggression, for the time being.

Back to the peace settlement. Italians felt humiliated by the peace. They fought against Germany in the war and, as victors, expected considerable territorial gains, which they did not get. In 1928 they elected Narcissistic bully boy Mussolini to power. He later assuaged the sense of humiliation by invading Ethiopia (talk about picking on somebody your own size!)

Off to America now. The stock market kept going up and up, underpinned by non existent money borrowed several times over.(ring any bells?) When reality hit home there was the Wall St crash, which knocked the world into a decade long recession, made worse by most countries adopting a protectionist stance to keep out imports (the bells the bells). America was pretty much isolationist, though they gave limited help to China when attacked by Japan.

An interesting piece of technological racism occurs here. When american advisors to the chinese reported back to America that the advanced Japanese aircraft were far superior to the Chinese biplanes they weren't believed. It wasn't thought that the Japs could make so much technological progress. This idea persisted until both Britain and America found out the hard way (or, at least, their pilots did) when they later fielded inferior aircraft against the Japanese Zeros. Britain made a huge mistake in sending slow lumbering Brewster Buffaloes to defend their eastern empire. When they did acknowledge that Zeros were formidable fighters it was assumed that they had been designed by Germans. This belief that non europeans can only copy, not invent, still persists today, particularly with regard to China.

In the 1930s it was not uncool to be a fascist sympathiser. Democracy was widely seen as being messy, troublesome, inefficient. Racism was also fine. Henry Ford was an anti semite and helped to fund the nazis. King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor after his abdication) was a great Hitler fan. Charles Lindbergh, first man to fly the Atlantic, was rampantly anti semitic. Fascism was widely seen as the new, efficient, strong way forward, each country led by a strong man who would make the trains run on time and crush wasteful opposition. Any country that continued to mess about with freedom and democracy would of course perish because it was too weak to survive.

The opposition to this was of course Communism, equally totalitarian but with a dream of an egalitarian utopia once the struggle was completed. Communists around the world made the mistake of seeing the USSR as a leader in the march towards this Utopia, rather than the oppressive nationalism manipulated by a malignant narcissist that it actually was. It's incredible how blind people can be to what they don't want to see.

Talking of malignant narcissist, lets move to the king of them all, Hitler. Our Adolf never actually got a majority in the German parliament, or a majority of the votes. There was a fire in the Reichstag, blamed on a Dutch communist but widely suspected as being done by Nazis, that provided an excuse to arrest loads of opposition politicians (something similar seems to be currently happening in Turkey in the aftermath of the coup attempt). With the opposition weakened he took absolute power and abolished democracy. Things went well for a while with the revival of the economy through infrastructure spending etc and lots of prestige projects to keep people happy.

Nazi Germany and "Communist" Russia signed a non aggression pact. It had secret clauses regarding the future dividing up of Poland. A note on narcissists and agreements. A narcissist has no honour, so they do not feel themselves bound by any agreement, however solemnly sworn. Once the agreement is inconvenient to them they will find an excuse to revoke it. The Russian promise to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons springs to mind.

Narcissists tend to be a bit paranoid, so they see threats and disloyalty all around them. Stalin was like this, and many good people were sent to Siberia in his purges. This included many of his best military people, but that was OK because there was this non aggression pact.

Back in Britain the Labour party was led by a very nice chap called George Lansbury. Here's a bit from the Wikipedia page about him :-  

After his return to parliament in 1922, Lansbury was denied office in the brief Labour government of 1924, although he served as First Commissioner of Works in the Labour government of 1929–31. After the political and economic crisis of August 1931 Lansbury did not follow his leader, Ramsay MacDonald, into the National Government, but stayed with the Labour Party. As the most senior of the small contingent of Labour MPs that survived the 1931 general election, Lansbury became the party's leader. His pacifism and his opposition to rearmament in the face of rising European fascism put him at odds with his party, and when his position was rejected at the 1935 party conference he resigned the leadership. He spent his final years travelling through the United States and Europe in the cause of peace and disarmament

Ring any bells? A very nice man who thought that Hitler and Mussolini could be reasoned with. The Labour party was down to about 50 seats.

Back to Adolf. He did very well and had a knack of getting huge numbers of people to believe the most crazy things (bells?). The start of the second world war was a miscalculation on his part. He actually believed that Britain and France were too weak (being still democratic) to honour their commitments to defend Poland. He did not believe he had the strength to fend off an attack from the West, lucky for him that Britain and France did not believe they had the strength to attack, hence the period of "phony war".

The problem with narcissists is that they think they know everything and reject advice from experts when it clashes with their "knowledge". They think they're smarter than everybody else. This leads them to make huge mistakes, and their power combined with vindictiveness make others reluctant to challenge them.

The first big military mistake that I know of was when the British army was retreating towards Dunkirk. Hitler personally ordered his panzer divisions to rest, thus giving the British an opportunity to get most of their troops out. Had the panzers been let off the leash then the 'Dunkirk miracle' could have been a very different story.

The next was the Battle of Britain. The idea was to break the RAF so as to have control of the air ready for an invasion. This was working. The Luftwaffe had a lot more planes and they were steadily wearing down the British defences when a load of bombs, intended for destroying an airfield, were accidentally dropped on London. Churchill ordered a retaliatory raid on Berlin, which so incensed Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to concentrate on hitting British cities. Bad luck for my relatives living in Coventry, but it was just the respite the RAF needed. A cooler headed commander would have stuck to plan A, invaded and subdued Britain, then used her remaining resources to strengthen his long term plan of overwhelming Russia.


Addendum, February 2022- We now have a new and terrifying force in the world, Libertarianism. Under libertarianism there are basically no rules. Everyone is free to do as they wish. So, what's different from Anarchism? Well, libertarianism is a sort of capitalist version of anarchism. Under most versions of anarchism (and there are as many versions as there are anarchists) there is no ownership, and therefore no-one is able to amass wealth and use it as power. The libertarian wants the state to be swept away and have a situation of every person for themselves. Libertarianism is the new fascism. The old fascism of goose steps and jackboots is, I hope, dead. Under the new fascism the strongest man will rule with no civil structures to hinder him.

What's scary is that many Jeremy Corbyn supporters have been seduced by this idea, which is the antithesis of socialism, the idea that a better world can be achieved by collective action, collective ownership of resources and living by collectively agreed rules. Yes, rules are irksome, especially if we're in a minority that disagrees with the rules, but having a democratically elected government deciding and enforcing the rules that we live by is far better than any other system yet invented.




Dudley and Eunice

I'm disappointed! I was promised something that would

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man!

What's actually happening is that it's a bit breezy and it's raining on and off. A sort of normal
winter day in Ashton really.I actually postponed a trip because of the weather warnings.

This, it seems, is Storm Eunice. She was supposed to be far worse
than Storm Dudley. I was at the Knowl St boatyard with Cheryl Dinsdale when Dudley struck on
Thursday. He at least got us soaked and blew things about a bit. When I got back to Portland Basin
I found that "Lilith"s cloths had blown off. Nessie has since put them back on.

I haven't taken any photos for a while, so, here's a nice picture of
"Lilith" on a sunny day. Photo by Jay Jengba.