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The Guardian - The Waterways tale of everyday pikeys.


Alan de Enfield

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10 hours ago, Athy said:

I must admit that I hadn't heard it before. Every day's a school day.

:offtopic:

 

A while I had two boys in my tutor group, lets call them Bill and Ben. Bill had learning difficulties, Ben was tall for his age. They were in Year 8 and had been mates since nursery.

 

A new boy joined my group. He was from London and thought himself Jack the lad. He referred to Bill using the 'm' word. Ben didn't like his mate being called a nasty name and thumped the new kid!

 

Cue new kids parents straight up to the school saying their little darling was being bullied.

 

As form tutor I was put in the position of having to punish Ben for using violence but all the time wanting to say "Well done you. You stuck up for your mate".

 

Edited by Victor Vectis
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3 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

:offtopic:

 

A while I had two boys in my tutor group, lets call them Bill and Ben. Bill had learning difficulties, Ben was tall for his age. They were in Year 8 and had been mates since nursery.

 

A new boy joined my group. He was from London and thought himself Jack the lad. He referred to Bill using the 'm' word. Ben didn't like his mate being called a nasty name and thumped the new kid!

 

Cue new kids parents straight up to the school saying their little darling was being bullied.

 

As form tutor I was put in the position of having to punish Ben for using violence but at the same time wanting to congratulate him for sticking up for his friend.

 

I actualy attended a burglary at the " Real " Bill and Bens a lot of years ago now on Albion street. Just thought I would mention it :D

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15 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

Not at all offensive as it is simply a hunting reference ?

I just did a quick bit of research as to the origin of the word "berk".

 

Well, how about that. Berkshire Hunt? Not difficult to extrapolate what is being suggested!

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30 minutes ago, NB Caelmiri said:

I just did a quick bit of research as to the origin of the word "berk".

 

Well, how about that. Berkshire Hunt? Not difficult to extrapolate what is being suggested!

Until you try explaining the fun in rhyming slang to a German as I tried and failed a few years ago.

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3 hours ago, NB Caelmiri said:

I just did a quick bit of research as to the origin of the word "berk".

 

Well, how about that. Berkshire Hunt? Not difficult to extrapolate what is being suggested!

Indeed.

 

The term has long since been superseded by "Gareth"

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8 hours ago, MHS said:

I was also surprised the word was not deleted.

 

A much more positive owner of a similar  name is Billy Monger. If you don’t know the name, you still have a fortnight to watch the truly inspiring BBC documentary “Driven”, the Billy Monger story. 

He was involved in a horrendous crash in Formula 4 at Donington which resulted in him losing both legs aged 18. He is an incredibly positive young man and I would recommend you watch it. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06qx4gt

A great programme ?

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I think anyone that can afford a boat plus the required licence has a right to be on the canal/river. The fact a boat is a little unkempt is really not an issue. If they moor and start using the public towpath as a sort of garden area, ie. putting everything out there. Then they become a problem.

 

I was talking to a builder friend over the past few days. We wondered where saturation point might be. I remember being asked this back in the mid 90's by a Vetus rep.

After pumping out (building) larg'ish numbers of boats and the friend I was talking too (plus his brother), also pumping out even more numbers over decades. Makes one wonder if there really is a saturation point at all.

Or, if money (licence income etc) means everything and the waterways would have to come to a complete standstill for them to think... Ah, perhaps there are too many boats..

 

 

Edited by 70liveaboard
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9 hours ago, MHS said:

I was also surprised the word was not deleted.

 

A much more positive owner of a similar  name is Billy Monger. If you don’t know the name, you still have a fortnight to watch the truly inspiring BBC documentary “Driven”, the Billy Monger story. 

He was involved in a horrendous crash in Formula 4 at Donington which resulted in him losing both legs aged 18. He is an incredibly positive young man and I would recommend you watch it. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06qx4gt

I love the piece where he is talking to Alex Zanardi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Zanardi

 

He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998 in North America. He also raced in Formula One from 1991-1994 and again in 1999; his best result was a sixth-place finish in 1993. He returned to CART in 2001, but a major crash in the 2001 American Memorial resulted in the amputation of his legs. He returned to racing less than two years after the accident, competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Italy-Spain between 2003 and 2009.

 

 Both men are an inspiration.

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1 hour ago, 70liveaboard said:

I think anyone that can afford a boat plus the required licence has a right to be on the canal/river. The fact a boat is a little unkempt is really not an issue. If they moor and start using the public towpath as a sort of garden area, ie. putting everything out there. Then they become a problem.

 

I was talking to a builder friend over the past few days. We wondered where saturation point might be. I remember being asked this back in the mid 90's by a Vetus rep.

After pumping out (building) larg'ish numbers of boats and the friend I was talking too (plus his brother), also pumping out even more numbers over decades. Makes one wonder if there really is a saturation point at all.

Or, if money (licence income etc) means everything and the waterways would have to come to a complete standstill for them to think... Ah, perhaps there are too many boats..

 

 

If waterways became grid locked in cities, I think a lot of boaters would be quite happy so long as they are within hose pipe length of a water point.

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16 minutes ago, Ray T said:

I love the piece where he is talking to Alex Zanardi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Zanardi

 

He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998 in North America. He also raced in Formula One from 1991-1994 and again in 1999; his best result was a sixth-place finish in 1993. He returned to CART in 2001, but a major crash in the 2001 American Memorial resulted in the amputation of his legs. He returned to racing less than two years after the accident, competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Italy-Spain between 2003 and 2009.

 

 Both men are an inspiration.

And as if that wasn't enough, Alex is a multiple gold winning paralympian at handcycling (2012 & 2016). There seems to be no stopping the guy, definitely an inspiration.

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18 hours ago, BilgePump said:

no need to get someone to confirm it for some of us. Quite a horrible word, well known in the 70s playground. Sadly, it's being heard again. Language is fantastic but some words and their prejudices should be consigned to the bin.

He's just gervais.

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21 hours ago, Athy said:

I have consulted a mental health care professional {luckily I have one here at home) who confirms that the word used by Nut can cause offence. So please, don't use it again.

 

I must admit that I hadn't heard it before. Every day's a school day.

So why is the word (or post) still there......and the word is in at least 5 other subsequent posts now?

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3 minutes ago, matty40s said:

So why is the word (or post) still there......and the word is in at least 5 other subsequent posts now?

In fairness, from what I see of todays PC world the word " Snowflake "  can cause offence, as can " Coloured " and a thousand others that are know barred from the PC vocabulary :banghead:

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19 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

In fairness, from what I see of todays PC world the word " Snowflake "  can cause offence, as can " Coloured " and a thousand others that are know barred from the PC vocabulary :banghead:

Come on. How very disingenuous of you.

 

You know full well that it is the intention behind the use of a word that is offensive and not the word itself.

 

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31 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

In fairness, from what I see of todays PC world the word " Snowflake "  can cause offence, as can " Coloured " and a thousand others that are know barred from the PC vocabulary :banghead:

The post was reported to a moderator and the moderator took incorrect action.

It was pointed out to the moderator exactly why the post needed removal/editing, the moderator sought advice from a "professional", and admitted he was wrong to have not edited it out. .....and the post is still there....

 

Similarly, I could call you a spaz, you would probably be an age that would chuckle, so did I at school, calling people a Joey after the guy on Blue Peter with Cerebral Palsy - a spastic at the time. The word became a deep insult to disabled people, The Spastic Society changed its name to Scope and the word has generally been expunged from general use. It doesn't mean it is acceptable now as it doesn't appear much.

 

I know you know this, and probably dont use either word any more, but some younger people probably don't know the origin, or reason why these words aren't acceptable any more. 

Athy, on the other hand....

Edited by matty40s
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7 hours ago, mayalld said:

Indeed.

 

The term has long since been superseded by "Gareth"

Since the Gareth you speak of has been dead since 2007 I would suspect things may well have moved on from there....a long while ago.

7 hours ago, Ange said:

Probably to be superceded by Jeremy.

Yes, I think that is the current iteration.

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37 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Similarly, I could call you a spaz, you would probably be an age that would chuckle

A kid that I scared off a local school field one evening called me a Spaz and I literally burst out laughing. So then he called me an f-ing spaz. It had the same effect on me. :D

 

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

Remember the 'collecting boxes' for the Spastics Society ?

Very clearly remembered, yes. 

 

I also remember those X-Ray machines in shoe shops so that you could see that your shoes weren’t adversely affecting your toes. 

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