Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

This is better than Question Time!

The veterans' situation has helped fuel protests by a group of ex-Gurkhas, their families and supporters, who are calling for improvements to their pensions and other benefits.

After a series of 24-hour fasts by demonstrators, protest organiser Gyanraj Rai on Thursday began an all-out hunger strike to push for their demands, which start with equal pension payments for Gurkha soldiers compared to their counterparts in other parts of the British army.

Currently, many Gurkhas draw pensions tied to the cost of living in Nepal. Others only see around a third of their service prior to 1997 counted as pensionable, meaning they also receive lower monthly pay-outs than British equivalents.

But the Ministry of Defence said the Gurkhas' pension arrangements are fair, having withstood three judicial reviews over the last decade, and that Gurkhas have benefitted from being able to receive pensions at an earlier age than their British counterparts.

yes they get 119 pounds a week to live on

On the subject of war memorials, I remember my dad talking about visiting the war memorials during the "phony" war period. He had gone into France with Gort's BEF in 1939. Someone mentioned to him that his name was on one of the memorials. "They've prepared it for you Jim"!
They were the brothers of his father, who died in the first world war. James and John from the Kings Regiment, Liverpool.
Dad managed to get out from the straffing of Dunkirk before shipping out to Burma with the Chindits.
I have never managed to visit the memorials but I did find a reference online and printed off a picture.

iturama if you want to see something of the way they fought in the war go to
CALAIS GO TO VIMY RIDGE MOTHER CANADA
GO IN THE TUNNELS

CYNIC have you been to vimy ridge in Calais

Good post iturama!

I spent 2 years their

Bloody Queen on the phone.. yes I know "again" and she is even more "not amused" then usual.

.. I mean really!

Tanker. Like all true pumped up little fuckwits you try to avoid the consequences of the shit you spout. You insult comrades and family of fallen soldiers when you claim they all died in vain. They died in service of their country not in vain. You dishonour them, their comrades and family. Your attitude is shit. I'm bored with you.

Just tell Fred to Fuck Off Stan, simples! :0)

vimy ridge and its memorial are almost terrifying ...... i have visited a couple of times and also seen the trenches though not done the guided tour of them ...... the proximity of the opposing front lines in some places was quite extraordinary

yes about 80 yds apart sheep still being blown up by land mines

labour mp Vicky Kirby suspended again on racism why only her the labour party are all racists

but you're not i take it?
:-)

cynic ever thing to me is black and white no in between
back to vimy in the tunnels did you see the places were they operated on the soldiers to remove bullets terrible

TANK black and white ?

no .... didn't get the chance to do the tour

i find the cemetries hugely sad but compelling to visit ..... it's the symmetry and unbelievable scale of them, even at the smaller sites, and not just WW1 either

btw, i highly commend visiting bletchley park
i thought it would be a bit dull and worth an hour or perhaps two ..... in fact, it's fascinating and you could spend days there


i'ld also like to revisit ellis island

jb and its yes or no , no in be tweens