Hanging Baskets Nicked

At a stag night many years ago some lads pealed off to the bog during the first course to get some Condoms to stretch over their heads (you know the type of thing ...)

They came back, opened packets, tried all they could, but they wouldn't stretch that far. That resulted in cries of "What use are these, can't even get them over your head" followed by "What useless brand are these?"

Turned out they were a German brand called "ABC" - typically teutonic that stood for "Anti Baby Condoms" ...

Anyways, next morning at breakfast we rounded on the landlord (who had the fit-build of a bouncer, a limp, and did a bit of debt collecting on the side ...) "What use are your condom's? can't even get them over your head, and never heard of ABC brand before???"

He tells us:

"Well, I have a topless lass behind the bar on a Saturday afternoon, we get a few football support coaches in here, and the first thing they want to do is remove the condom machine from the wall.

So I researched it a bit, and I'm here to tell you that this German brand ABC has the strongest vending machine in the world"

Those over engineering Germans again, eh?!!

 

Some towns have much better cleanliness record than others. Leicester, for example, has an army of street sweepers who do a pretty good job - not that they should have to. When my sister lived in Sheffield it was noticeable that money was not spent on keeping the streets clean and rubbish was strewn about everywhere. Don't want to knock Sheffield, though, it had many other great features and she loved it.

A lot of money has been spent in my town on civic planting in public areas, with lots of floral display around the city centre, the station and parts of the inner ring. I'm not sure if individuals are encouraged to make an effort in the city, but in outlying villages there are very enthusiastic Britain in Bloom efforts. So it's not all bad.

Gets my goat when I see some drunken oaf has been uprooting petunias from the communal planters, though.

 

I am fortunate enough to live in "Beautiful Battle" and it really is. I regret that I pick up odd sweet wrappers, drink cans and bags but it is my way of participating in this town's community - which Battle has.
My husband was a Civil Servant and then a Finance Officer in a local Secondary school in St Leonards. Standards generally deteriated over the years until the school was employing and paying cleaners to pick up the kids' dropped rubbish after they had gone home. Why oh why was it allowed to gravitate to this level? These kids , ten years on, are the sloppy litter droppers of today.

 

I was watching Chatsworth on the telly tonight. The Duke of Devonshire (70-ish I think) was walking what must have been several miles to get his hair cut ... picking up litter as he went so that the place would look neat & tidy ...