Rod Collins

Yes folks the end of 2008 is upon us and in that spirit I shall overwork the cliched review of the year.
It’s probably a good idea to look back on a year anyway so I’ll do it now and blog it - here’s something of a guide as to how it’s gone for me and this site
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After several years of fevered speculation and dire warnings about climate change how come it’s so bloody cold ?
The Polar ice caps are supposed to be melting and will be flooding half of Britain yet every summer we have a hosepipe ban !
If the temperature is rising then why is this the coldest start to a winter in 26 years ?
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Yes folks it’s true - sexy pinup calendars are a thing of the past !
I know they’ve been banned from many a workplace but now it truly is the end of an era
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Well it’s nearly all over, christmas that is, or Mithrasmas as we celebrate here
A strong joint theme ran through the celebrations this year - Motorhead and Bart Simpson - Awesome !
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Christmas is a time for families we al know that and this is being blogged live from my small family event.
I have just been shown 2 photographs of people I have never met or known, or indeed seen pictures of
One is my grandfather and the other the man from whom my middle name comes - I really should know more about these people !
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With the combination of the credit crunch and the rise in online shopping will 2009 be the year we bury the high street ?
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Feeling the need to avoid xmas traffic and parking do my bit for the environment I decided I would use public transport for my final christmas present buying trip
How did my first bus trip in years go ? Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is a time of joint pleasure and misery ! If you’re really lucky then it’s all pleasure, if your just lucky then you get even doses of pain and pleasure and if you’re unlucky the whole thing is a misery.
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According to new statistics it would appear that the government ban on smoking in public places in the UK has failed !
Firstly let me declare a vested interest I am a smoker
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Is their any benefit in teaching, learning or having any knowledge of historical fact nowadays ?
It could fall into two camps:
It’s in the past so no longer important in the world today
or
Yes, all education is valuable Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to the inspiration from Lucy we have a good topic for a post !
If historical figures were to travel to our time just what would they make of the world in which we live ?
Obviously , there are huge advances and amazing technology but has everything changed and if so is it all for the better ?
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Which, personality, celebrity, general whoever would most people like to invite to their dinner party.
A survey just published in the UK reveals the Top Three guests that British people would most like at their dinner party
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Our regular readers will be, only too painfully, aware that your host is looking for a new raison d’etre and we’ve had several posts on various possibilities - some optimistic, possibly even adventurous - some more grounded and less ambitious.
My latest plan is perhaps not the most exciting, unlike being: The Great Rodini, Grimsby’s Best Doctor or Master Under God the Captain of a ship but it offers a challenge non-the-less.
I am to be a connoisseur of marmalade - a purist of preserve !
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Television and your host are generally incompatible as regulars will be only too well aware
However, finally there is something on TV worth watching
Is it on for half an hour once a week ? no all night every night !
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I’m sure the news the title of this posts suggests will not be particularly bad news to most given historical precedence.
I could not believe this story which is why I had to do it - as regulars will know, we normally avoid the war type stuff.
Anyway … Read the rest of this entry »

Generally The Flying Goldeneye runs on well-established rails but Wednesday saw the Trans Lincolnshire Goldeneye Express running on very much different rails !
Days tend to continue as they start in my experience which is OK for me as I am generally in control of what I do and when and anything that I find inconvenient or tiresome is generally just ignored.
This day however saw your host not only battling snow and ice in an automatic car, not much fun I can tell you, but also doing the
wait for it … Read the rest of this entry »