the donkybike

Although The Donky Bike sounds like it should be something sexual (and probably is), the bike version is a simple yet effective addition to the range of bikes already on the market.  Ideal for inner city shopping or even prating about carrying your mates, it's practical, looks good, and is hopefully pretty sturdy and long lasting. I might even get one myself if l start cycling to work again.  A snip at under £500.

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the zundert flower festival and parade

There is an annual flower festival and parade in The Netherlands, and one of the better ones is staged in Zundert, where there were some fantastic floats on display.  Anyone who knows me also know l am a city boy, and have no interest in gardening or flowers, but the floats that were on display have to be admired (those crazy drug taking Dutch!).

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the iron bridge at catterick has been done up

Wow!  I'm amazed!  The old Iron Bridge across the River Swale at Catterick Bridge has been renovated so that it can once again be used to cross the river. It looks like the council (I assume)  might even be making some cycle paths around the area, including over the bridge   It has been closed up for years, and l fully expected it would be pulled down one of these days, but maybe it has been classed as a historic monument, as the old iron parts are still visible on the outside.  It used to take the old Catterick Camp railway line many moons ago, and when l used to work in the Catterick Bridge area, l used to run across it every morning and evening to and from work, but made sure l was very careful as l did so, as there were plenty of gaps in the floor at the time.

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straw dogs 1971 and 2011

Both of these versions of Straw Dogs have pretty much the same story.  The wife returns to her childhood home with her new intellectual husband, who tries to fit in with the locals, one of whom is a past love interest of the wife.  She starts feeling some dissatisfaction towards her husband due to him not paying her enough attention while he is trying to work, not standing up for himself, and being 'manly' enough.  She also flirts with the locals who are hired to do some building work,  with disastrous results.  There's a sub plot involving a 'village idiot' type who accidentally kills a young girl (lifted from John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice to Men'), who the husband then decides to protect from the mob, who try to storm the family home.  This gives the placid intellectual no choice.  He has to man up or die.  There's violence a plenty once the action starts, and you could argue about who is to blame, how it all escalates, the consequences of keeping secrets, responsibility for actions, at what point decisiveness is required, and how and when the law should become involved.  Both films have the backdrop of the countries at war, and the intellectuals opposing it (Vietnam in the 1971 film, Afghanistan / Iraq in the 2011 one), while the common folk are lauded for their fighting ability and dedication to the cause (and in a roundabout way, their own territory.  I thought the original film was head and shoulders above the remake, as Dustin Hoffman and Susan George made it all so much more believable.  The Americans also always have to make slight tweaks which annoy me, such as the husband becoming better looking and a war expert, (rather than a mathematician), and the thugs become ex football stars, (rather than everyday builders).  The first film also looks grittier and darker, whereas l find the American version brighter but more clichéd.  I'm sure if l was Born in the USA (like Bruce Springsteen) and hadn't seen the first film, l would have enjoyed it a lot more, but l can't remove the images and memories that are already engraved in my head.  So l didn't.

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the urine powered generator

Are they taking the piss or what?

These four girls, Duro-Aina Adebola (14), Akindele Abiola (14), Faleke Oluwatoyin (14) and Bello Eniola (15), have produced a generator that can run on urine (One litre of urine gives six hours of electricity) which was demonstrated at the Lagos Maker Faire Africa.   Ingenious stuff, so they are either going to make a fortune, be ripped off, or be killed.   More information about it is here.

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chris fornley smiths book covers

These spoof penguin book covers featuring the words from songs by The Smiths have been created by Chris Fornley, and they look immediately iconic.  I like The Smiths, but have never been a devoted fan or anything like that, but l can see why people were so attracted to them at the time.  For me, they're a bit like The Manics (or Manic Street Preachers as l used to call them), as l like their attitude, looks, statements and politics, but find their musical output lacking somewhat.  My loss, l'm sure.

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roy from the it crowd's t shirts

Roy (Chris ODowd) from The IT Crowd (a brilliant series) wears a different t shirt in every episode, which are geeky, stupid, or just plain nonsense (unless you are a geek).  What you need to decipher (or buy them) is a site dedicated to them,  but that would involve levels of geekdom l can only aspire to.
Luckily, there are plenty of people who have reached that level, and there are sites here and here devoted to the very thing.
Enjoy!

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colour footage of boris karloff as frankenstein's monster

Here's something you don't get to see every day.  It's colour footage of Boris Karloff's portrayal of the monster for the Son of Frankenstein 1939 film. The green make up is so it shoots better in black and white (I think).  Good to see Boris horsing around in the outfit.

walking around jervaulx abbey

I haven't seen the model of Jervaulx Abbey, even though l have parked next to the Tea Rooms where it is kept  (I might go and see it next week).  I did however, walk all around the abbey itself last week, as these photographs will testify.  As you can see, it was quiet - very quiet. I didn't see anyone else at all while l was wandering around.
The things you do when there is spare time from work to kill.

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we - yevgeny zamyatin

I'm finding this book hard going at the moment (We - Yevgeny Zamyatin).  It's not difficult to read or anything (a state controlled organised future), it's just that l have only been reading it at work just before falling asleep, so l haven't taken stuff in properly, and then forget what has been happening the next time l pick it up.  I might make a concerted effort at the weekend.

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