Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[pigtin]

I'm beginning to wonder if I have strayed into some crazy parallel universe. Two pieces of news today:
A northern council are supplying salt shakers to fish-and-chip shops with only five holes in them on order to cut down on the amount of salt people eat.

A smoking ban has been introduced in Holland, in all public places with the exception of 'Cannabis Cafe's'. Smoking can continue there as long as the cigarettes have no tobacco content.

I shall now go and lay in a darkened room again, and hope to wake up back in the real world.

Don.

[Old-Nail]

I wonder if there will be a regulation to control the number of shakes of the salt cellar? Perhaps this legislation was thought up while 'investigating' in one of those Dutch 'Brown cafe's'?

[Uncle Joe]

Though this answer is a bit tongue-in-cheek, it does prove the old saying, theres many a true word spoke in jest...

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said ‘’Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans.’’ He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: ‘’You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.’’

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark. ‘’Noah! He roared, I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?’’

‘’Forgive me, Lord’’, begged Noah, 'but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighbourhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision. Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark 's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work. The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience. To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.’’

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, ‘’You mean you're not going to destroy the world?’’

‘’No,’’ said the Lord. ‘’The government beat me to it’’

Sorry if its a bit off topic!

[Scotty]

No - its the world gone crazy!

Through the letter box last night from our Local Authority was a diagram on how to fill our wheely bin. It explains how to lift the lid, how to place your rubbish inside and how to close the lid properly.

They even are about the employ "Rubbish Police" who will check the content of my bin and issue a warning / fine if I dare put something in it that doesn't conform to EEC recycling regulations.

All that said I was in my local post office and heard an aggressive 14 / 15 old demand from the postmaster instructions on how to post a letter - I ask you, a teenager who hasn't a clue how to post a letter! No Please or Thank you either, "just tell me how to do this as I don't want to be here!" So I suppose I shouldn't complain if this is the level of intelligence my LA is having to deal with.

I must be getting old, I sound like my father!

[pigtin]

I blame bearded sandalled Guardian readers, mind you. At the moment I am wearing sandalls and have a beard... but I don't read the Guardian.

[Scotty]

[Greeney in France]

[pigtin]

[old gto]

I certainly hope you chaps don`t feel alone on that side of the pond....we suffer the same insanity over here! Check out this video of the US Congress being addresses by one of it`s members about light bulbs....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg
_________________
"The only thing I`m sure of.....is that I`m not sure of anything!"

[pigtin]

I envy you GTO. If we had just one politician who would take his snout out of the trough for long enough to be that erudite, there may be hope for us yet.

[Geoffp]

It is sad to think that this nonsense is spreading to Holland, the only sane country in Europe When we were there only a couple of months ago, every cafe table had a well-used ashtray, but there was no stale tobacco smell, the non-smoking truck driver was the exception rather than rule, and if you only wanted a coffee all you had to do was make sure that you went to a 'Koffehuis' and not a 'Coffeehouse'
Everyone also cycles, with a reduction in traffic and congestion and pollution. I put this down to them riding bikes that are the result of a century of development not fashion, not wearing helmets and most of all they wear normal clothes, (I think, and definitely hope, that they have a law against wearing lycra shorts ). The fact that the country is flat is just a bonus
The only hope is to make all our politicians live in Holland for a year and to ban theirs from coming to England

[Scotty]

[peter scott]

[Old-Nail]

I like their innocence, in my home town at 16 they would have either just come from it and were going home to the girlfriend and kids, or they would offer to sell you some drugs that are ' better than going to the pub'...or they might just have simply mugged you to fund going back into that pub!

[peter scott]

Maybe they just didn't want their bar filled with old fogies.

Peter