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Attacked in Curdworth


Rob-M

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15 hours ago, Athy said:

Good journalistic practice: grab readers' attention with a dramatic headline! 

Good boating practice: carry a tube of Anthisan bite & sting relieving ointment on board.

 

Always carry one, always use it. Absolutely useless, don't know why I bother.

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I swear by Smidge - I'm not very tasty but with the summers growing rainier the bugs are definitely getting bitier. Anything that will keep you uneaten in places like Lochinver, which is a midge Mecca must be doing something right, plus it works for the dogs too which is the main thing. 

 

 

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Just now, Tumshie said:

I swear by Smidge - I'm not very tasty but with the summers growing rainier the bugs are definitely getting bitier. Anything that will keep you uneaten in places like Lochinver, which is a midge Mecca must be doing something right, plus it works for the dogs too which is the main thing.

I didn't know it kept dogs off; I'll have to try spraying some on the cat ...

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14 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

We use jungle formula every day this time of year. I even spray it on my hair if cruising or sat on the grass at side of boat. Use the roll on type for the arms, legs, face, neck etc and spray for the rest. It stinks but it does work. Well I say very day but forgot yesterday so have a bite on my hand and ankle lol.

I am sure that Jungle Formula is Deet based.

Deet is very effective, I have used 100% Deet when trekking in the Far East. But you need to be careful and aware of the dangers in prolonged or excessive exposure to Deet. It is now claimed that 25% is sufficient.

 

"The EPA stresses that DEET is perfectly safe when used in accordance with the directions on the label. Incorrect application can lead to health issues such as skin irritation, disorientation, dizziness and, in extreme cases, seizures or death [source: ATSDR]. You hear rumors that DEET causes cancer."

 

I always wash it off before bedtime!

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6 minutes ago, nbfiresprite said:

You not been bitten until a Blandford Fly (Simulium posticatum) takes a chunk out of you.

 

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Where are they apart from Blandford, a place I will now always avoid? They look mean.

 

We did find inch long mosquitoes when on an elephant in the Thai jungle, one that the mahoot missed with his cane drilled through the elephant's hide on the shoulder and drew blood, a concern when you are sat up there with just a shirt and thin trousers on.

 Guess elephants don't use Deet.

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3 hours ago, frahkn said:

 

Always carry one, always use it. Absolutely useless, don't know why I bother.

I’ve never found a topical antihistamine that does any good. For small bites I use one of those piezoelectric thingies, (one of these https://www.boots.com/boots-bite-relief-click-it-10234814) gives a bit of counter-irritation at the site, for anything serious straight hydrocortisone cream does the trick every time.

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1 hour ago, Boater Sam said:

Where are they apart from Blandford, a place I will now always avoid? They look mean.

 

We did find inch long mosquitoes when on an elephant in the Thai jungle, one that the mahoot missed with his cane drilled through the elephant's hide on the shoulder and drew blood, a concern when you are sat up there with just a shirt and thin trousers on.

 Guess elephants don't use Deet.

The name comes from the town of Blandford Forum in Dorset where there was a major outbreak in the 1960s and 70s.

Around 600 victims went to the doctor with insect bites during just one four-week period in the late spring of 1972.

 

The EU has introduced a new licensing regime for the chemical used to treat the river, and the company that manufactures it has had to apply for a new licence. But due to ‘a backlog in dealing with these applications’ (EU-speak for ‘our bureaucracy moves at a speed which makes continental drift seem like a 100-metre sprint’), Since then the fly has made a comeback and been found in areas including East Anglia and Oxfordshire. 

 

There are many legends which allege to account for its arrival, the most colourful being that a student from Bryanston School came back from a holiday in South America with one of the flies in a jam jar and left it in the science laboratory, where a cleaning lady knocked the jar onto the floor, breaking it and releasing the fly. Another legend says that the insect came in as eggs in African mud caked on the boots of soldiers returning from the Congo to Blandford Camp. Both versions sound rather less likely than the plot of Jurassic Park; the truth is that it is a widespread northern European species which has long been present in some of the rivers of south-east England.

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Changing the tone slightly, but not the topic title, we were there last week. We were awakened at 7am but someone clambering on board. It turned out to be two Chinese girls who wanted to have their photos taken amongst our flowers on the transom. No idea why they were in such a rural area at 7am, or indeed why they thought our boat was a “public space”.

On the plus side the local volunteers do a fantastic job in planting out the locks. Beautifully kept with flowers, features and even statues. Full marks and many thanks to them.

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21 hours ago, Rickent said:

They are bad this year, we have been bitten to death.

We were asaaulted by the blighters moored near you. We put it down to the water movement over the weir. Maybe not as you were further away.  (Good to meet you). 

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20 hours ago, RLWP said:

Curiously, near Curdworth is one of the very few places we have had a stone thrown at us, probably back in 2005...

 

Mossies don't seem to like me

 

Richard

Me too, sort of. Not sure if it was Curdworth, but somewhere along the Birmingham & Fazeley as we approached a lock a bunch of youths threw a few lumps of brick off a derelict building at us. Fortunately their ranging was poor, their ammo fell short into the water. Then one of us got a camera out and they ran away, just as well as they outnumbered us. Never yet had stuff thrown at me anywhere else.

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16 hours ago, Derek Porteous said:

No idea why they were in such a rural area at 7am, or indeed why they thought our boat was a “public space”.

Instagramers - farming internet karma is big business, their selfishness in trying obtain that coveted social media content is creating two internet camps and (like most things at the moment) they are two polar opposite camps. There are the groupie follower / wannabe "influencer" types and then the other camp is the people who farm their own karma by outing the behind the scenes destruction and damage the the instagramers are causing. This whole practice seems to be encouraging a rather large group of people to copy the big influencers, and this group either doesn't realise or doesn't care about how they effect other people or the things they just must have their photo taken with.There are lots of people who don't like instagram for lots of reasons but geotagging is becoming a real issue.

 

That's my opinion and I'm quite sure it's not all together very biased. :D

 

Certainly in my area people used to come to see and experience the landmarks and the sights now now I see more and more tourist who arrive pay very little attention to where they actually are but was to a very specific spot take a very specific selfie then once they've got the piccy they want and and can knock that one off their bucket list they just leave. 

 

Internet karma in this instance is likes and subscribes.  

 

 

I'm in my mid 40s (just?) and I'm the last generation to grow up knowing what it was like to not have internet; kids are now growing up with their parents posting reams of photos of them (with out their permission) on social media ( don't think that's not coming back to bite anyone), where whole platforms are dedicated to fake perfection and producing internet content has become a legitimate and lucrative career choice. Kids doing more of their socialising on social media - everything is out there for everyone to see, it's an introverts worst nightmare but I think it will radically change how future generations perceive personal space and other people right to privacy; I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing just that it's different from what seem obvious and respectful to us. 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

Instagramers - farming internet karma is big business, their selfishness in trying obtain that coveted social media content is creating two internet camps and (like most things at the moment) they are two polar opposite camps. There are the groupie follower / wannabe "influencer" types and then the other camp is the people who farm their own karma by outing the behind the scenes destruction and damage the the instagramers are causing. This whole practice seems to be encouraging a rather large group of people to copy the big influencers, and this group either doesn't realise or doesn't care about how they effect other people or the things they just must have their photo taken with.There are lots of people who don't like instagram for lots of reasons but geotagging is becoming a real issue.

 

That's my opinion and I'm quite sure it's not all together very biased. :D

 

Certainly in my area people used to come to see and experience the landmarks and the sights now now I see more and more tourist who arrive pay very little attention to where they actually are but was to a very specific spot take a very specific selfie then once they've got the piccy they want and and can knock that one off their bucket list they just leave. 

 

Internet karma in this instance is likes and subscribes.  

 

 

I'm in my mid 40s (just?) and I'm the last generation to grow up knowing what it was like to not have internet; kids are now growing up with their parents posting reams of photos of them (with out their permission) on social media ( don't think that's not coming back to bite anyone), where whole platforms are dedicated to fake perfection and producing internet content has become a legitimate and lucrative career choice. Kids doing more of their socialising on social media - everything is out there for everyone to see, it's an introverts worst nightmare but I think it will radically change how future generations perceive personal space and other people right to privacy; I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing just that it's different from what seem obvious and respectful to us. 

 

 

Thank you, what an interesting post! :)

 

You know those SICK 'click bait' adverts on webpages, where the person had their pic taken (selfie or otherwise) just before they were killed, eg just before a shark attack, or they slipped as they balanced on the side of a skyscraper for a selfie, Tumshie your post is a good explanation of that. 

 

I'll never understand the adrenaline rush of climbing up the Shard, and without a safety harness, why would anyone just want to do that? Guess it's probably about being notorious for something, and having it evidenced in a photo?

 

In the 60s there was a lot of talk about the 'Information Highway' that was coming... I can remember thinking (I was round about 16) why on earth do we need this information highway we've got the phone (landline of course), we've got libraries, book shops, newspapers. It's laughable now how narrow minded we were about it.

 

Then Alan Sugar started to mass sell his computers, what on earth were we going to do with those 'things'? It'll be another fad we'll get over.

 

Whoops, sorry, I've rambled.... it's an 'age thingy' ? 

 

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1 minute ago, Jennifer McM said:

Whoops, sorry, I've rambled.... it's an 'age thingy' ? 

I think it's just a perspective thingy really. ?

 

36 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

Then Alan Sugar started to mass sell his computers, what on earth were we going to do with those 'things'? It'll be another fad we'll get over.

I remember thinking what on earth would I want one of those useless computer things for and now I can't imagine not having one, and kids these days are wondering how we ever got by with out them. 

 

2 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

You know those SICK 'click bait' adverts on webpages, where the person had their pic taken (selfie or otherwise) just before they were killed, eg just before a shark attack, or they slipped as they balanced on the side of a skyscraper for a selfie, Tumshie your post is a good explanation of that. 

I don't know if it's so popular because people just like the photos or if there is an element of wanting to be and do what is depicted in the photo; I wonder though if it just more visceral though people just want more emotion and shock factor therefore need more extreme content. But then there's the really frightening side of the whole phenomenon where are people who are only interested in that moment where it all goes horribly wrong, following the content avidly because they want to be the first to post that there's been an accident. There's online forum after online forum dedicated to topics where people do life threatening things(sometimes deliberately sometimes is just accidents caught on cameraphone), not because there is admiration for the person or the stunt / feat that they perform but because the what to see the moment when it all goes wrong. 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/ - a place where people upload video of other people doing stupid things that inevitably have really horrible consequences. This a collection of videos where the end result ranges from funny but embarrassing to life changing injury. Lost teeth and spinal injury seem to be quite popular. Don't do this at home folks on steroids - except they are doing a lot of this at home. 

 

 

How the internet has changed and will continue to change out society fascinates me, how social media can be  and is used for good and bad, but how it is shaping the way we think about the world and ourselves, and how hard and fast the consequences of it have become. Someone make a flippant throw away tweet while sitting in an airport waiting for a plane and when she gets off the plane several hours later realises that while she was in the air that tweet was noticed, blew up and took twitter by storm, now her live as she knows it is over; she has become an internet sensation, a bad meme, has lost here job and most of her friends all for a sentence of 60 characters or less. That's a true story by the way it really happened. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Tumshie said:

I wonder though if it just more visceral though people just want more emotion and shock factor therefore need more extreme content. But then there's the really frightening side of the whole phenomenon where are people who are only interested in that moment where it all goes horribly wrong, following the content avidly because they want to be the first to post that there's been an accident.

This another case of something that’s always been present in the human psyche being amplified by social media, isn’t it? I’m sure people used to go to watch dare devil high wire stunts in the hope it would all go wrong, and indeed public executions used to be a major crowd puller. Then there’s the problems of ghoulish rubber necking at accident sites. How many people go to F1 races with the idea there might be a crash? Not by any means all or even most, I’m sure, but I bet it’s an issue for some.

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4 hours ago, Jennifer McM said:

 

I'll never understand the adrenaline rush of climbing up the Shard, and without a safety harness, why would anyone just want to do that? Guess it's probably about being notorious for something, and having it evidenced in a photo?

 

There are always some people who push the boundaries and look for that adrenaline rush, I think it would be unfair to label all as media whores, some are but some are just looking for a challenge, society needs people who are driven like this.

 ok free climbing the Shard is magnificent and stupid but basically pointless but its people with that sort of drive that go to the moon.

 

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13 minutes ago, BruceinSanity said:

This another case of something that’s always been present in the human psyche being amplified by social media, isn’t it?

I'm quite sure it is - I don't think social media has created anything that wasn't there already just amplified it as as we become desensitised to what came before. There used to be a time when it was common practice to to pay a small fee to a university or hospital to watch an operation being performed, then there was the fascination with shrunken heads and wax preserved body parts. Some people more so that others but as a species we seem to have long held a fascination with the macabre. In fact the more you think about it the more you can think of ghastly events through out history that would have drawn large crowds, not to mention all the psychopaths that have been hiding in plain sight as upstanding members of their local communities working to rid the world of "demons" and "the workers of the devil". 

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11 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

There are always some people who push the boundaries and look for that adrenaline rush, I think it would be unfair to label all as media whores, some are but some are just looking for a challenge, society needs people who are driven like this.

 ok free climbing the Shard is magnificent and stupid but basically pointless but its people with that sort of drive that go to the moon.

That's quite true - a lot of climbers are only interested in the climb, and only compete against themselves and whatever it is that they're climbing, they would do it even if they weren't being watched and sometimes would prefer not to be. We tend to think the world is full of extroverted go getters but I don't think we can underestimate the people who do thing with equal determination but in a slightly different way. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, tree monkey said:

There are always some people who push the boundaries and look for that adrenaline rush, I think it would be unfair to label all as media whores, some are but some are just looking for a challenge, society needs people who are driven like this.

 ok free climbing the Shard is magnificent and stupid but basically pointless but its people with that sort of drive that go to the moon.

 

 

Err, corrct me if im wrong but I think you might need a building a LOT taller than the Shard to be able to free climb to the Moon ???

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I watched the documentary of Alex Honnold free climbing El Capitan and he certainly didn't appear to be doing it to get his name in lights, it was all about the challenge of beating the rock. In my climbing days I was quite risk adverse and never took unnecessary risks but obviously lead climbing carries a level of risk.

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

 

Err, corrct me if im wrong but I think you might need a building a LOT taller than the Shard to be able to free climb to the Moon ???

Nooooooo, you have shattered my dreams

18 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I watched the documentary of Alex Honnold free climbing El Capitan and he certainly didn't appear to be doing it to get his name in lights, it was all about the challenge of beating the rock. In my climbing days I was quite risk adverse and never took unnecessary risks but obviously lead climbing carries a level of risk.

I was never good outside, certainly never lead on a climb, indoors was completely different I pushed really hard climbing well above my outdoor grade.

Scared myself silly on a few trees as well

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