Using An Ipswich Bobble Hat as a Passport
This post was brought about by Danny Baker asking on Radio 5, if anybody had any stories about getting into football matches.
The spring after C died, I took a holiday in Italy, mainly to see if I could holiday by myself.
Whilst staying in Florence, I found out that Fiorentina were playing a home game against Livorno.
It was a bit of a performance to get the ticket, as I had to go to the cafe, opposite the ground and buy it from the owner. To do this, I needed a credit card and my passport. The latter was duly copied before the ticket was issued.
Before the match, I decided that it would be best just to take a few euros and the ticket, as I wasn’t sure, if Italian football crowds had the odd pickpocket.
When I approached the gate to get into the ground, I was approached and frisked by a steward, who demanded my passport.
As I didn’t fancy the long walk back to the hotel, I protested and finally decided to point to the badge on the Ipswich bobble-hat I was wearing, saying Inglesi repeatedly and loud at the time.
He forgot about the passport and I was let through.
There’s a Shortage of Viagra in Italy
Apparently, it’s all about a row between pharmacists and the Government. Read the full uncensored story in the Daily Mail here. For a shortened version of the story, Rod Liddle in The Sunday Times has the bare details.
I wonder if I know a retired pharmacist with access to supplies. We could fly them to Rome and sell them on the street outside Berlusconi’s residence.
Some of the comments by readers in the Mail article give a reasoned insight into the problems. It would appear that some things we buy for a pound or to in Boots, are several times more expensive in Italy.
The Tragic Death of two Hostages in Nigeria
Italy and the UK seem to be falling out badly over Britain’s failure to give warning that they were taking action. Read about it here on the BBC.
Robert Fox in the Standard says we are right and takes a strong line to say so.
This is an except from his report.
To have given advance warning of the rescue raid would have been to court further disaster.
The smuggling mafias of Nigeria undoubtedly have direct dealings with the Boko Haram terrorists who took the two engineers last May. They would pick up rumours of a possible rescue, particularly if it had to be delayed even for a day or so.
The information would have got out, either in Italy or in Nigeria or both. Some Italian commercial organisations and self-appointed go-betweens might then have tried to raise ransom for Mr Lamolinara.
A number of Italian hostages have been ransomed in several world trouble-spots, including Nigeria,
in recent years. Few national governments are as hard line on not paying ransom as the UK.
There is a lot more in the same vein here.
The fact that we don’t pay ransoms, is a policy I totally agree with.
Amanda Knox and the US Justice System
I have no idea if Amanda Knox was guilty of murder or not.
The Americans put a lot of support behind her in an effort to persuade the Italians to free her, from a possible miscarriage of justice.
But then so many of the people in US jails have been failed by their own justice system. Several have been executed lately who didn’t get a trial with the care shown by the Italians.
But then Amanda Knox was white and intelligent, whereas most of those who suffer injustice in the States are black and illiterate and defended by lawyers, who aren’t the best to say the least.
But then the victim in the Amanda Knox case wasn’t American. We also don’t know how much pressure was put on the Italians. After all their economy is rather rocky and if the United States withdrew support, it would have been serious.
Two Greedy Italians
Antonio Carluccio has said tonight, that his religion is food. So tonight he and Gennaro Contaldo are exploring Puglia looking at religion and food.
But Gennaro did come up with this glorious recipe. I’ll try it sometime. It’s gluten-free too.
Antonio seems to be rather dismissive of the religion and is much keener on the food. I’ll drink to that! As I sip a gluten-free beer!
Howard Flight States the Obvious
Howard Flight has been quoted on the BBC as saying this.
We’re going to have a system where the middle classes are discouraged from breeding because it’s jolly expensive.
“But for those on benefits, there is every incentive. Well, that’s not very sensible.
I could also add to the first part of his statement, that young children stop you going on those long-haul holidays, as every one needs a ticket. As to the second part, it may or may not be true, but I think it probably isn’t.
On that issue though I refer you to Peoplequake. which shows that unless there is adequate provision for flexible working and a female-friendly society, the birth rate falls drammatically. Just look at Italy, Russia and Iran for a start.
Don’t be Conventional!
On the BBC tonight, they had a program about a pilot who in the Second World War used to insert and extract agents of the SOE into German-occupied territories. One of the aircraft they used was the remarkable Westland Lysander, which although it wasn’t too good at its original job of Army Co-operation, was a superb aircraft to sneak in and out under the noses of the Germans, due to its slow speed and superb STOL performance.
But then the Second World War had its fair share of what could be described as unconventional aircraft.
The Mosquito didn’t look unconventional, but who’d have thought that an unarmed bomber built out of wood, would have been so successful. It was just that because it was light, aerodynamically efficient and could carry the same bomb-load as a B17, it could get to its targets fast and return. In fact Mosquitos often bombed Germany twice in one day.
But the theory of the heavily-armed four-engined bomber prevailed and we lost 250,000 aircrew bombing the Nazis, as did the Americans. Mosquitos incidentally had a much higher return rate and it could also be argued that because they were so much more agile and fast, they could have hit strategic targets, like ball-bearing factories, morning, noon and night. So there was also a moral case for using de Havilland’s wooden wonder.
The Mosquito is probably the only Second World War aircraft, that has a legacy in modern designs. Bombers these days are not armed and British ones haven’t been for some decades. This is because de Havilland’s fast unarmed concept was shown to be so superior, to any armed one. But the biggest legacy is in the wings of Airbuses, which like the Mosquito are glued together, rather than riveted. You can trace the technology back through Tridents and Comets to the Mosquito and before that to the Albatross.
Supermarine is well-known for the Spitfire, but another of its products was the distinctly unconventional Walrus, designed like the Spitfire by R. J. Mitchell. It was an amphibious aircraft that could be lauched and recovered from naval ships like cruisers and battleships, but it found its major use in picking up downed airmen out of the sea. This maritime-rescue role has been taken over by helicopters, but perhaps the role could be handled better, by a modern fixed-wing aircraft of unconventional design. The Americans have experimented with using Lockheed Hercules and pick-up systems, but nothing sensible has emerged.
The Americans too had an unconventional amphibian, the Consolidated Catalina. Like the Mosquito, the Cat seemed to revel in every task thrown at it. But unlike the Mosquito, you can still see a few examples flying.
And then there is the Swordfish or Stringbag. This aircraft was probably obselete when the war started, but went on to sink large amounts of Axis shipping. The Swordfish also destroyed a large part of the Italian fleet at the Battle of Taranto. Was this battle the blueprint for Pearl Harbor? The Japanese certainly gave what the Fleet Air Arm did with a handful of obselete bi-planes more than a cursory glance!
I have always thought unconventionally! It has never done me any harm! Although it’s got me into a few scrapes.
Ipswich Town Keep Another Clean Sheet Against the Azzuris
Well not really, but in the World cup, Italy failed to score against New Zealand and Tommy Smith and now last night, they did the same against Northern Ireland and Gareth McAuley! But they had been talking to each other according to this report.
Earthquake in Italy
Reports are coming in of a smallish earthquake on Lipari in the Aeolian Islands. I think it’s the first time, that a place I’ve visited a couple of times, has suffered in such a way.
There are some pictures of the very beautiful islands here.
Let’s hope the damage if any, wasn’t too serious!
The Anonymous Widower 