The Decline Of Civilisation

[Flosshilde]

a decline in civilisation (if there ever was much in the first place)

Civilization has been in decline since the dawn of civilization - or at least since people had the linguistic & conceptual skills to say that things aren't like they used to be.

[Serial_Apologist]

It is, Amsy ..'jings' is an expletive almost solely used by the Broons and Oor Wullie and has never been part of the Glaswegian 'vernacular'... .the correct, if decidedly more blasphemous, utterance was, I believe .. 'Oh Christ!'. ... and, of course, very much more credible!

To be honest, though, I've long wondered about the veracity of some of those English comedians' tales about such pithy and earthy audience participation in Glasgow theatres, especially concerning the old and now long-gone Empire which was the original butt of many of their jokes ... but, hey, they don't half make for some good stories ..

There's that wonderful story, as once told by Arthur Askey, about the great music hall artiste Marie Lloyd first performing at the Glasgow Empire - a venue notorious for the hard time its patrons would give new appearances.

Soon after commencing her act began the heckling and then the barracking. Before long the whole place was in uproar. Above all the noise, an even louder male voice at the back of the auditorium was heard to bellow, "GIVE THE COW A CHANCE!!!" Silence followed, and, "Thank you kind sir. I'm glad to see that there's ONE gentleman in the audience", replied Marie Lloyd.

[Nick Armstrong]

at the risk of being overly upbeat

Spoilsport!!

[scottycelt]

There's that wonderful story, as once told by Arthur Askey, about the great music hall artiste Marie Lloyd first performing at the Glasgow Empire - a venue notorious for the hard time its patrons would give new appearances.

Soon after commencing her act began the heckling and then the barracking. Before long the whole place was in uproar. Above all the noise, an even louder male voice at the back of the auditorium was heard to bellow, "GIVE THE COW A CHANCE!!!" Silence followed, and, "Thank you kind sir. I'm glad to see that there's ONE gentleman in the audience", replied Marie Lloyd.

[Stillhomewardbound]

ABOUT LAST NIGHT ...


'Would you mind just waiting', says I in my best John LeMesurier, 'You're rather painting me into a corner'.

That was for the benefit of the a***hole tailgating me on the conveyor belt at Sainsbury's. I'd not even got half my trolley unpacked when he was already unloading his.

Still, I did make sure to have a nice, LONG chat with the checkout assistant.

[Flosshilde]

Oh yes - I usually step backwards, onto their toes if possible.

[mercia]

the danger in undertaking lies in the driver on the right not checking in his mirror to see if anything is coming up on his left before he drifts over there - in which case he is at fault twice over. And if he drifts over two lanes without checking his mirror he needs more driving lessons (IMV).

[Nick Armstrong]

the danger in undertaking lies in the driver on the right not checking in his mirror to see if anything is coming up on his left before he drifts over there - in which case he is at fault twice over

mercia, mercia, mercia!!! But it's illegal for the driver to be "coming up on his left" in the first place!!!!

It's like saying that if a driver is steaming down a one-way street the wrong way and knocks someone down, it's the pedestrian's fault for not looking in that direction...

Yes, the pedestrian and the right-hand lane driver avoid the accident if they do look (and they'd be well advised to, of course), but that doesn't alter the fact that the fault lies primarily with the driver performing the illegal and dangerous manoeuvre in the first place!!!!

[Panjandrum]

mercia, mercia, mercia!!! But it's illegal for the driver to be "coming up on his left" in the first place!!!!

It's like saying that if a driver is steaming down a one-way street the wrong way and knocks someone down, it's the pedestrian's fault for not looking in that direction...

Yes, the pedestrian and the right-hand lane driver avoid the accident if they do look (and they'd be well advised to, of course), but that doesn't alter the fact that the fault lies primarily with the driver performing the illegal and dangerous manoeuvre in the first place!!!!

I'm afraid that the Highway code does make a provision for undertaking, oh wise one. ""In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. "

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm afraid that the Highway code does make a provision for undertaking, oh wise one.

Yes but only in the exceptional circumstances alluded to there. I pointed this out earlier and also read your subsequent post with that text. But mercia's talking more generally than that, as I understand him. I thought you agreed it was crazy as a general practice. You appear to be arguing against your earlier stance...

[mercia]

the emergency services regularly undertake, as do cyclists, buses and taxis and anyone getting into the appropriate lane before turning off a motorway

a driver not overtaking should not be in an overtaking lane, it's bad driving (IMO)

[Nick Armstrong]

the emergency services regularly undertake

Well, mercs, when you have big flashing blue lights on your roof and a siren, you go for it!

Till then, I beg you... please don't! We need you on the Alphabet Associations thread!

[MrGongGong]

the emergency services regularly undertake, as do cyclists, buses and taxis and anyone getting into the appropriate lane before turning off a motorway

this is the kind of nonsense my father used to endlessly spout zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cyclists sneaking up on you on the inside is evidence for the decline of civilisation imv
but I guess as ALL cyclists are so morally superior to the rest of us then they have the right to ignore basic rules of self preservation

ANYONE over the age of 6 riding a bike on the pavement is further evidence

but to counter this we have Xenakis et al
so we are not doomed just yet

[Panjandrum]

I thought you agreed it was crazy as a general practice. You appear to be arguing against your earlier stance...

As I always tell Mrs Pan, it's a gentlemen's prerogative to change his mind, Caliban!

Seriously, I think undertaking on a single carriage highway would be a perilous undertaking (excuse the pun). However, my main beef is with those middle lane hoggers who don't pull over. These miscreants are the main reason. IMHO, why some drivers undertake. I think the Highways Agency should use the overhead gantries to display electronic messages, such as: "Pull Over You Middle Lane Hoggers - You are Committing an Offence".

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

ANYONE over the age of 6 riding a bike on the pavement is further evidence

Yes, yes and yes!

There's supposed to be a £500 fine for this, but does this ever happen?