katatonic

1 hour ago, MadMac said:

You did not get visa on arrival stamps, these are visa exemptions. Because of people abusing this facility over the years we got all these sticter and stricter requirements. 

Whatever you may want to call visa on arrival stamps, I have never abused the facility. You have no idea about my or anyone else's circumstances and as far as I can make out, are more likely to exacerbate any problem than I am by harping on about it. Have a nice day.

1 hour ago, MadMac said:

Just because you don't want to go home and enjoyed a free ride so far, does not excuse you from following immigration law and rules. Either get a proper visa or extension or leave for your home country when the amnesty ends.

I'm quite happy with my visa on arrival stamps thanks. Had a couple of visa based on marriage but mainly just arrival stamps which worked fine for me for the last 11 years. And this is home.

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

I am 100% in favour of prosecuting any and all found guilty of taking part in the Holocaust, no matter their age, no matter how minor the role. Any firms involved should be completely stripped of all assets. I really didn’t think anyone would be so dense as to need that explaining.
 

No idea what you are rambling on about with “purge for stardom”. 

Ford got compensation from the allies for its factories that were bombed during the last war. In Germany. Using slave labour.

13 hours ago, Joinaman said:

Anyone know the difference between the word "Slave" and the word "Indentured Servant"?

Just been told off on another site,  for using the word Slave, in relation to the Irish people being captured and shipped overseas. But in the books and Folklore they use the word Slaves when talking about the Irish and the Vikings,, But it seems the words "Indentured Servants" should be used for these folk. Is this a word we should now use for all these black "Slaves "  
Got to admit, it makes it sound so much better 

 

They were two totally different things. Indentured servitude was a bit like car leasing.. And it was voluntary: not ideal but better than starving at home. If you were captured and sold overseas it was slavery. Trouble was they tended to have the same 'drive it like you stole it' attitude.. They were paid at the end of the contract so rather better to make sure they didn't get that far. The African slaves were an investment so looked after far better than their white English or Irish indentured predecessors.

7 hours ago, johng said:

The BMW  is facing the wrong way..maybe it "jumped" the central reservation ?

The BMW is not facing the wrong way..

On 6/13/2020 at 9:56 AM, 4737 Carlin said:

Have you ever actually been to Cambodia ? Nearly everything is more expensive than Thailand.

Certainly wasn't whenever I went. Been a while but can't have changed that much.

Tyres do age and the performance degrades dramatically. The ride and braking performance as well as cornering grip will reduce by a significant amount after 4-5 years. Regardless of the tread depth, do not use tyres here after they're 5 years old. Change them and the difference is dramatic. My wife's car, when we met - a Honda Jazz, had a really bad ride and terrible grip. Changed to Michelin Pilot Sport 3's and the difference in comfort & grip especially in the wet, was incredible. I have bought several sets since for different cars but always go for Michelin Pilot Sport  - now PS 4. Buy tires from the company that's spending the most on research, which is generally Michelin. Never scrimp on the things that attach you to the road! And this is why Thais drive so slowly in the wet. They know how <deleted> their tyres are..

9 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

Yes maybe he is ex-army and had a hard time there during the 'Troubles'. Or maybe its the opposite and he believes that Northern Ireland should be reunited with the Republic of Ireland and not united with Britain as part of the UK.

Northern Irish are still British.

16 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

He is either from Scotland, Wales, or England, but NOT Northern Ireland, UK is England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, Britain is England, Scotland or Wales.

 

Put frankly, he was stating a fact, and yeah, we consider ourselves to be British, not United Kingdom subjects, thats why on our passports it states United Kingdoms of Great Britain (British) and Northern Ireland 

Most Northern Irish people identify as British. There's a wikipedia page on the subject with polls and all sorts, but they are all perfectly entitled to call themselves British, Irish or both.

On 6/12/2020 at 4:18 PM, stouricks said:

Doesn't being British mean you are from Great? Britain ie England, Scotland or Wales, whereas the United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland.?

 

No. British includes Northern Ireland. The 'great' part comes from the French names for the two islands, i.e. Grande Bretagne and Petit Bretagne: greater and lesser in size.

30 minutes ago, dodgybros said:

100% disagree, Australian Defence Forces do not use 0000h, reason being it is the same time as 2400h. Time goes from 2359h to 0001h as previously mentioned

Er no. Or does your 2359 minute have 120 seconds?? ????

1 minute ago, baansgr said:

Roots should be banned also, that depicts slavery

or anything Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Asian or just anything depicting life before the last century.

21 minutes ago, tifino said:

soon they will ban all films done in Colour

But the option is black & white surely? Or will we have to choose one or the other? Or is that racist? Omigod!!

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I stayed in amazing hotel with a glass roof, unbelievable sights, especially after testing the local produce! I want to go back there some time. 

Same here, although I imagine it won't be anything like the same. Kashmir was incredible - or Srinagar was as I didn't manage to get any further. The conflict started a few days after I got there and we could hear machine gun fire all of the last night there, then evacuated. There was a couple who'd just arrived via the Ladakh Highway and had been ambushed, then rescued by Indian tanks. Before that they'd come straight from Tiananmen Square where they'd had machine guns firing at them. They were only on a month's holiday!

35 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

So many amazing things happened to me in India. I was travelling there for 6 months before coming here. Never made it to Kashmir, I think we got held up in Manali, I remember saying "bomb Shankar' a lot ???? 

I could say  the same thing about India, incredible adventures! I rode round India on an Enfield in about '95 and ended up in Manali where I wanted to sell it but got there two weeks too early and there was thick snow and no tourists. I said bom Shankar a lot too..???? There was also a guy from New York with a bottle of liquid acid..????

12 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

92 I was there. I did a 13 day meditation retreat. That's the reason we were granted 'darshan' with him. 

Another time I shared a taxi from there to Kashmir with a journalist who had interviewed the Dalai Lama the previous day, in '88. He was equally awed too, as was I just listening to him.

2 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

went to school, and played rugby with, rory underwood and rob andrew, also richard tomlinson, the MI5 spy

 

but my mate, who knew nothing about music or really who he was, was good friends, through their children, with julian cope, i was jealous about that.

We went to the same school then.. North House '75 -81

3 hours ago, worrab said:

Where do I start? Went to school with Chris Cowdrey and Graham Piggot,(Cricketers) amongst others who I forget from Tonbridge School many moons ago.  Lived near and met/had a drink with most of these at one time or another, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul O'Grady, Sir Donald Sinden and Jeremy Sinden, Paul Merton, Tom Baker, Julian Clary, Chris Difford, Sir Paul McCartney and Tom Chaplin. 

Forgot about Vic & Bob - I lived just outside their home town of Darlington. Wish I'd known them - hilarious!

59 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Met HH the Dalai Lama in India. 

Had a fleeting glimpse of Nirvana when shaking his hand and getting a necklace. 

A remarkable being and aura. I couldn't stop laughing and smiling for 3 days after. 

Still working on humility????

 

 

Haha, lucky man! Saw his maroon Merc driving around McLeod Ganj & Dharamsala back in the 90's but not he himself.

20 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I drank a lot of Guinness in pubs on the Meadows, I lived very near there when at Uni, 

So did my sister, Eng. Lit. '82-6. The Pear Tree was my favourite when I went up to stay  (drank 80/- though!) and I worked in a cafe on Princes St during one Festival. My favourite city in the world I reckon. Took my Thai wife there last summer and she was blown away - just wondering how long it will be before we will be able to go back again. Probably not this year sadly.

Bringing back memories - I was in a marina in Palma, Majorca in '98 or '99, the Royal Yacht Club (Real Club Nautico de Palma), when a motor-yacht appeared and berthed at the fuel dock in front of me. Suddenly about 30 paparazzi jumped out of god knows where - I hadn't seen any of them, and started snapping away. Antonio Banderas and Goldie Hawn were on the flybridge. I was leaning on a car, a black Alfa Romeo, when I felt it move, so I turned round and the King of Spain got in, plus a few bodyguards, then drove off. Not a single photographer noticed. It was during the King's Cup race week and the King's racing yacht was further up the dock -  the above-mentioned film stars were there to watch the racing.

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Wow, it wouldn't go down well today. I was just talking about that show with my mother yesterday.

 

Haha, yes, not something we talk about much! Did well out of it though, my late Gran told me he had the first Rolls-Royce outside London.

25 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

My great grandfather, Angus McLeod was a famous bagpipe composer.

My great uncle owned a music hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, that featured his creation, the Black & White Minstrel Show.