Germans Book Their Place For The Olympics
I know there is a bit of a stereotype about Germans getting up early to put their towels on loungers.
But then they go and bring their cruise ship, the MS Deutschland, into London Docklands, a whole year ahead of the Olympics.
It did suffer the indignity of having to come in backwards. So is this an omen, that the Germans are going to do well in the rowing?
Waking Up In Cloud-Cuckoo World
I woke at about five this morning and put the radio on to listen to the news. One of my favourite books is The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
I felt that I’d woken up in a world where everyting was being run by idiots, who had lost their sense of where they were supposed to be, but were still of course getting all of their perks and salaries. Or in the case of various dictators were still milking all their subjects for ever cent they’d got.
The first story was the problems in Syria, where all sane people agree that President Assad must go. The president used to be an opthalmologist, which in my book is a sort of doctor, so why is he blinding some of his people and killing others in an effort to cling to power? And why were we still supporting this despot until recently?
Then there was the story about Greece having a referendum on cuts. Turkeys and Christmas come to mind. Of course they’ll vote yes to the cuts!
The Germans are supposed to be efficient. But they can’t seem to find the source of their e-coli outbreak. So what does the EU do about it, have a meeting?
I could add other stories, where those in charge are going one way and doing their utmost to keep their high-salaried jobs.
Don’t get me going on the NHS, where at present I just need a repeat prescription and it seems to take days at my GP. At the previous one, I sent in an e-mail and either collected the drugs or the signed prescription on the next working day. How many highly-paid civil servants does it take to not impliment that very simple policy?
And now to cap it all, BBC Breakfast is talking about the lack of cuckoos this year. They’re all alive and well and living in politics and government, all over the world!
Tha Andalusian Food Minister Does a John Gummer
Clara Aquilera, the Minister for agriculture in the Spanish region of Andalusia has taken a leaf out of John Gummer’s book and been seen publicly eating a cucumber to prove that they are safe. Admittedly, John got his daughter, Cordelia to eat one with him. But as I write both John and Cordelia, seem to have suffered no ill effects ten years or so later.
Let’s hope Clara is as lucky. Although judging from the pictures, she does seem to have a love for food.
Germany’s Cucumber Problem
I typed “german cucumber joke” into Google and found this site. It’s actually part of a serious German web site called Toy Town Germany, for Germans and others who live in the country who speak English.
Can You Say This to German Guests?
A friend looks after a house that is rented to tourists.
Whilst showing some Germans around,who had booked the house for a week she said, “The coal is in the bunker!” She compounded it by following it with “The baker in the village is Mr.Ovens!”
Are Dictators Stupid?
It would appear that Robert Mugabe has fallen for a scam where a mystic claims he can get diesel out of rock. The story is here in The Times.
So he proves my title for a start.
This is one of my favourite books. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
Germans Mess Up A Penalty
Apparently, not all Germans get their penalties right, as this story about the German women’s hockey team in their defeat to England shows.
It also shows that yet another sport is using technology to help its referees. So stop saying “No!”, Mr. Blatter!
My Overdaft Has Been Suspended
I received this scam from someone claiming to be Egg. I also received it four times. And overdraft was spelt the same in each. I don’t have an overdaft. but I suspect they are!
Note that a link in the e-mail points to a German web site. Perhapd, it’s to unsettle English fans before tomorrow. I don’t think it was sent by Germans though, as all the ones I know can spell better than that!
Dear Valued Egg Customer
Due to a recent credit limit check on your Egg Card, we have cancelled your overdaft until further noticed. Logon below to ammend your Egg Card and reactivate your account.
Failure to do this within 24hrs will lead to your online access been suspended.
Sorry for the inconvienence.
Regards,
Egg Card Customer Service
As this e-mail is an automated message, we can’t reply to any e-mails replied.
Why Haven’t the Germans Struck Off Incompetent Doctor?
A local story that has been around for months, is the case of the German doctor, Daniel Ubani, who killed a patient in Cambridgeshire. He refused to appear at the inquest and a couple of weeks ago, was struck off in the UK by the GMC.
But yesterday, two brothers were arrested in Germany for protesting, where the doctor was giving a lecture.
Obviously, Germany treats its bad doctors differently to how we do!
Do you like Frogs, Boiled, Fried or With Tortillas?
The French really surrended to Mexico last night. Let’s hope England are better tonight!
And what happened to the Germans? They missed a penalty!
The Anonymous Widower 