what I have learned today.

[FifeingEejit]

10.7 for Norway, which is perhaps surprising given how enthusiastic they are about electric ones.  7.5 in Oslo, thobut.

It isn't particularly abnormal in yon Scandinavia to be standing at a bus stop and to hear the sound of a DKW 2 or 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine screaming away in the engine bay of a SAAB, or for that matter old Volvos floating by either.

The don't have the same sort of tin worm issues as here so stuff lasts.

[FifeingEejit]

It's also striking how the Baltics and Sweden have much lower car ownership than the others (and Poland the highest).

A look at population location and densities, combined with public transport maps may answer that.

[FifeingEejit]

Poppymas, and the inevitable War On It, has been ramping up steadily over the past Several of years.  There is a strong correlation between those getting exercised over tEh   WaR ,,,,,,,,,,,, oN pOpPeEz and fleg-noncers, veterans of The War On Christmas and other things that rile the Gammonariat.

There also the simple fact that while not all that long ago, most people personally knew someone killed in a war, now that is unlikely to be the case.
The wars Britain has taken part in since WWII have had relatively low casualties and due to return to normal recruitment approaches from a much smaller sub-set of the population.

I noticed an article on BBC website earlier saying "Recording the last memories of WWII) or something like that

Harry Patch died in 2009, which means it's 13 years from now if anyone enlisted in 1940 underage and lives as long.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Probably a good time to make the most of https://twitter.com/giantpoppywatch while the birdsite still works...

This one:
https://twitter.com/giantpoppywatch/status/1590470794206846976

Erm, hmm... the extended death of inadvertent irony etc

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's also striking how the Baltics and Sweden have much lower car ownership than the others (and Poland the highest).

A look at population location and densities, combined with public transport maps may answer that.

Public transport in Poland is pretty good. Certainly a lot better than in the UK in rural locations.

[Salvatore]

I wonder of the figure in Finland is inflated by the fashion for having one car to get about in, and a big 1950s American convertible for cruising round town on summer evenings, otherwise wrapped up until next summer.

[Cudzoziemiec]

A bit like bicycle ownership figures in Britain being inflated by a small number of people having one bike for commuting, another for racing, a third for time trials, a fourth for touring, a fifth for audaxing, a sixth for summer Sundays, a seventh for off-roading, etc?

[TheLurker]

A bit like bicycle ownership figures in Britain being inflated by a small number of people having one bike for commuting, another for racing, a third for time trials, a fourth for touring, a fifth for audaxing, a sixth for summer Sundays, a seventh for off-roading, etc?

Dentists, eh? Don't you just hate them?

[FifeingEejit]

oh here's the bbc link i refered to in relation to WWII heading out of lkiving memory
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63504826

[Slave To The Viking]

Listening to The Write Stuff this morning, I learnt that the term "the Wild West" was coined by that well known author of cowboy fiction, Charlotte Bronte.

Referring to Lancashire?

Had Lancashire even been discovered then?

[T42]

Listening to The Write Stuff this morning, I learnt that the term "the Wild West" was coined by that well known author of cowboy fiction, Charlotte Bronte.

Apparently not: https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-wil1.htm

[Clare]

NZ Post has guidance on how to package and send live bees.

[Cudzoziemiec]

NZ Post has guidance on how to package and send live bees.

To parliament?

[Auntie Helen]

We occasionally receive bees in a normal C4 envelope with a few air holes. My landlord is a beekeeper.

The envelope doesn’t buzz much at all.

[Kim]

Missed opportunity to use a B-sized envelope there.

[Mr Larrington]

I C what you did there.

[Efrogwr]

You'd be able to tell if the bees were agitated, because they'd make a din.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That the engineer responsible for the Severn Tunnel, Charles Richardson, also invented the tapered splice handle of the modern cricket bat.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That Veritas is not at all the same company as Bureau Veritas. That was almost embarrassing!

[Mrs Pingu]

That there is a flood gate on Riverside Drive in Aberdeen. And it's not where I thought it would be. (I don't know where it is but not where I guessed).

[Wombat]

That Veritas is not at all the same company as Bureau Veritas. That was almost embarrassing!

and neither are the only one I'd heard of before... https://www.canadiantools.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1NebBhDDARIsAANiDD2_R1a0tJNAZExJFiG62fhHBUATYksN0Eo4p2G9y_OSVhHBLR787KkaAmkzEALw_wcB

[rafletcher]

That our Squirrel Buster seed feeder has spare parts available (the plastic of the feeder tube is opaque and brittle, one screw has already corroded, split the plastic and fallen out, the remaining 2 are on their way). Not only that, but it has a lifetime guarantee, and I can get a brand new feeder tube for £6 postage as opposed to £30 for a new feeder. Duly ordered, fingers crossed!

[robgul]

That our Squirrel Buster seed feeder has spare parts available (the plastic of the feeder tube is opaque and brittle, one screw has already corroded, split the plastic and fallen out, the remaining 2 are on their way). Not only that, but it has a lifetime guarantee, and I can get a brand new feeder tube for £6 postage as opposed to £30 for a new feeder. Duly ordered, fingers crossed!

Ah - ours failed and an email to the supplier resulted in an instant reply and free replacement - seems there was a known issue (and as it was a while ago now the new part seemed to be OK)

[rafletcher]

Unfortunately I’ve no idea who I bought it from, we’ve had that particular one around 10 years. I don’t mind paying the P&p, ours is definitely just wear and tear, the replacement (from the drawing) looks identical.

[Flite]

We have two RSPB "ultimate" feeders. The hole for the lower perches is much to close to the end of the tube so is an obvious weak point. Predictably it failed after a couple of years and the poly carb tubes fell to pieces.
No sign of replacement parts on the RSPB website, so I wrote an e-mail saying that as a responsible conservation charity, spares should be available as it was wasteful to throw out the entire feeders.
Prompt e-mail back - replacements available free of charge and no postage to pay!
I had kept the instructions so could quote the model number, and the replacements arrived a day or so later.
I sent a donation, but why they don't just list them on the website is a puzzle. It would give folks a bit of confidence to know spares were available.