mercuryg

Malcolm, this has long intrigued me; why did the MOD object to the turbine (I would have done too, I hate the things, waste of space); it's not as if they have low flying jets around here, so was it something to do with radar? As for the houses, my mother - who was the very first resident of the then new Hazelmere Estate - has received the letter outlining it, and says she has no objection. I have to say I see her point. Hazelmere is a nice estate to live on; it's a cleverly designed not to involve too much regimented conformity. Her point is that if other people want a similarly nice place to live, then give them the chance. Clearly there is demand as the houses that are currently being built on the 'spare; land that was left within the estate have pretty much all been snapped up. Not wanting to provoke ire, and I'm a great one for enjoying our green spaces, but the population of the town WILL grow, and more homes will be needed.

Interesting stuff this 'secret army' business! I had a dig around and found an interesting letter in The Northumbrian (https://www.thenorthumbrian.co.uk/127/letters.html?letter_id=104 - can somebody make that a 'clickable please?) that indicates the Plessey OB may never have been operational, I quote: "There were 21 Operations Bases (OBs) built by the 184th Special Tunnelling Company, the Royal Engineers. One at Paxtondene and another near Bedlington were moved, one after being seen during construction and the other for water issues." Also, if you access his site - address in the letter - and do a bit of reading he makes mention of a patrol at Choppington, but not Bedlington.

"If Tesco goes then the town is dead!" Can't agree at all; I'd argue, in fact, that Tesco's destroyed much of the life in the town.

More to their worry, Symptoms, is that they will find their sponsors deserting in droves....

There were Bronze Age remains discovered during the building of Millfield, Maggie, but no indications of Iron Age settlers exist.

You haven't changed a bit, Foxy

I believe one can still see the crater left by the bomb at Choppington; I live yards away but have ever looked. I will later, and will take a photo if I can find it. **Incidentally, I think the postcard predates Photoshop by some years! Perhaps the word has now entered usage as meaning 'an altered picture'?

Tomtom...I'm quite distinctive! Look for a geezer with long grey hair and glasses, or ask the bar staff to point out deaf steve!

Someone will have to explain this a little more to me; where, and when, and what are we talking about? All sounds very interesting.

Despite my known curmudgeonly attitude to all things Christmas, I too would like to take the opportunity to wish all on here a merry Christmas, and all the best for the year to come. The diverse variety of those who contribute here makes it a must-visit site for me each day; I enjoy the fact I can indulge in serious discussion and jovial banter, as well as having an eye what is 'goin' down in the 'hood'. Enjoy the seasons festivities, and feel free to join me for a jar in the Lion.

I think they look very pretty. Mind, I'm probably seeing double by the time they come on.

I'm surprised young PennyLane has not contributed to this thread, muso that she is!

Foxy.......stop it, right now. It's bad enough having to see a bloody christmas tree every time I go for a pint!

Sadly, for a music lover, I couldn't name an album released this year, so thanks for the lists, I shall delve into them.

I take it, Symptoms, you're not a fan of Sting!

"The ones I see in Ukip at the moment are (almost) exclusively the rarer kind." This is where I become wary (and why I am wary of UKIP). It will take a lot of convincing, for me, to truly believe ANY politician at that level is in it for anything other than personal gain. As for why the policies can't be brought to bear: the problem I have is that UKIP is promising a number of attractive and enticing moves (attractive and enticing to those who believe the popular press which is keen on bandwagons that sell papers - 'they're coming here, taking our jobs' etc) which, in turn, produces votes. Great, but how do you follow through on leaving the EU, for example? Do people actually believe it's that simple? I'm sure you don't, as you display more than a touch of intelligence. Major changes, such as those promised, take time: people these days simply do not understand the concept of waiting a long time for something to happen.

Some enjoyable stuff from 3G here, well written and clearly put, but some issues: "If you are not an "I'm all right Jack, pull the ladder up, socialist" you should be supporting the millions of decent people who now see that we need to reject the whole of the LibLabCon alliance, and restore some true democracy to our country." Quite frankly, and with respect, that's not for you - or me - to say. Because Tony, for example, has differing views to you and I does not mean we have the right to tell him he's wrong. The above is precisely the sort of bandwagon electioneering, the shout above everyone else type favoured by Mr Brand et al, that is not conducive to anything productive. Democracy, after all, is not about everyone having the same ideas; 'you can't please all of the people, all of the time' applies to democracy in no small fashion. People do not like to be told that someone knows better than them, which is how the above comment comes across. It jarred with me instantly, and I'm sure with some others. I couldn't agree more that something is very wrong in the UK political balance of power at the moment, but it takes more than an 'I know better than you' assertion to get the ball rolling. Further: "...we need fundamental change in this country, and just at this moment only Ukip can deliver that!" I remain far from convinced. In fact, not even close to beginning to be convinced. From what I can see, having read, listened to and digested the UKIP approach, they have created what they believe to be a 'people's manifesto'; by that, I mean they've read the Daily Mail opinion page and concentrated upon 'what the people want'. I hear it said often that they are 'saying what the people want to say'; you could apply that to the BNP if you took the right cross section. Their policies concentrate far too much on the likes of immigration, which is far from the biggest problem the country faces at the moment. Yet, there it is, at the top of the policies list, 'controlling our borders' etc. I could go on, but my point is that this is a party, from my point of view, that is concocting a campaign based on offering people something that they cannot actually provide. I remain unconvinced that they would perform any better than the current bag of....

Well, no, nothing does Adam. She is the most glorious aircraft of all time. Fortunately, stories of XH558 being grounded for good from now seem to be a little wide of the mark. The latest is she WILL be flying in 2015.

I have one small part of your comment that I vehemently disagree with, Threegee, and it's this: "If you didn't catch it this particular one is probably worth the 59 minutes and 34 seconds of your life." No, it's not. Not even probably. It was a complete waste of what used to be an excellent programme.

Love the B1! What a glorious shape.

"DH Vampire" We had one in the school playground. Seriously, a real one....

"Were you deaf before or after certain gigs mercuryg." Deaf to begin with, even more so after! "Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss" Yes - wonderful stuff "There were a group with a name like 'Los Trios Paranoia' Funny lot claimed to kill their lead singer on stage each night." What a great USP!

Good for you, and a sensible choice! No probs about the Maxwell thing - I've done a calculation and it would have been pretty much worthless by the time I got my hands on it anyway!

"Band of Joy" Distinct from Band of Holy Joy, Maggie, although I do agree with you, Plant is a legend. BTW, that list is not a bad one for a deaf bloke, is it?

Tony I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say; as I said, I enjoy a pint or three - it's my vice, I work for my money, and so on. I note your mention of private pensions: I have, in the past, paid into two company pension schemes, both for a few years. The first was in my very first job, when I was in my late teens (full time job, that is) and I joined a printing company. The pension scheme was excellent, so naturally I signed up, and paid into it for five years, with the company topping it up. Great: some money for the future! Except that company was part of a group owned by a certain Mr Robert Maxwell.......