Symptoms

All dogs can be trained, it doesn't matter what their temperament is to start with; the point is just how much patience the owner (trainer) has in getting it right. So clearly the resulting behaviour of any dog must be the responsibility of the owner. The trouble is that many owners haven't put the hours in to get it right - too busy with work/kids, etc. - resulting in lots of out-of-control mutts. The problem frequently hits the news when some child is half-eaten by the family pet (recently in Liverpool) but often when you get past the sensational headlines you discover the owners leave much to be desired in the responsibility stakes - disfunctional families, criminals, drug users, 'white trash', inadequates, or just plain stupid (depending on your view-point). The cops seem to have come-up with the appropriate charge, of manslaughter, in the Liverpool case; it'll be interesting to see if the Court has the guts to 'throw the book at her' if she's found guilty. Sadly, she probably get 35 minutes community service! What about dog !*!@#? It could be argued that as it biodegrades it is environmentally friendly, whereas litter dropped by people tends to blow around for years. Anyway, any responsible parent would prevent their kids from eating the soil thus avoiding ingesting the eggs of the eyeball eating worms. But of course any responsible dog owner would be treating their mutts regularly against worms. Responsibility? Who'll take responsibilty for anything these days!

Seagull fishing off the end of the pier in the 1960's - great fun then - shame at the thought of it now. Smashing bits of wood off the staiths to burn to keep warm through the night - searchlight & tannoy from Harbour Master opposite ordering us to stop (apparently our bonfire appeared as a 3rd light from out at sea). The Cornish wreckers could easily have been outdone. Ah, happy days!

Maybe they're the Health & Safety advance party planning a route for the Miners Picnic Marching Bands Re-enactment Society. This heritage event could be expanded to include a farewell speech by an ex-leader of the New Labour Party down at the bandstand (is it still there?).

I was a member of the 'old' Forum before it vanished, and waited a couple of years (or maybe more) for it to return. I had hoped that this reincarnation would be without those who had little to say, or if they did say anything, it would offensive, banal, etc. How disappointed I was to discover that they had made an appearance! On the old Forum I suspected the culprits were juveniles using a school network at lunchtime (or even during lessons, giggling in the back row as they posted). It seemed that any genuine enquiry or other posting was hijacked. Then the site went down and I missed news from home and of course Joe's postings from across the Atlantic. I gave this new Forum a chance but, like a number of others posting here, was getting fed-up with the offensive stuff. Brilliant that some steps have now been taken to 'clean-up' postings. I'll now stay and enjoy the genuine humour and honest banter, the news, the history, etc. Keep-up the responsible Moderating.

Is this the golf club built on the the old Costains opencast site (been away since the 60's)? Any prospective buyer/developer would be amazed at what was dumped in the hole before being cover over - this was in the days before the concept of environmental impact studies. Has anybody ever seen anything seeping out the ground at the river level below the site? I saw lorry loads of steel drums (contents unknown!), rubble, industrial waste, etc. being tipped. The most memorable was a huge quantity of cosmetic products, especially stuff like shampoo being left - somebody brought a load of it to Westridge School for use in the showers after PE lessons ... foam everywhere!! Probably infected loads of lads with skin infections. Symptoms