chrisp65

I live out more towards the countryside where gypsies are a real problem, they live outside of the law.

My dad used to work for a farmer around here, he would help him with mowing fields and cutting hedges and that kind of thing so he got to know a lot of other farmers and land owners around this area and so he found out a lot of things.

Just a few examples of what goes on are:

They take over farmer's fields, just park their caravans and vans and then threaten the farmer. In one case they demanded that the guy signed part of his land over to them or they would harm him and hi family (or worse) and so he did as they wanted. Once they had the land, they did it again and again until they had control of a few of his fields.

Gypsies drained oil from one of those big tanks you see in fields, cut straight through the pipes, took as much as they wanted and left the rest to pour out. When the owner discovered this, he called the Police out who didn't want anything to do with gypsies but instead charged the guy for ''polluting the enviornment'' because the oil drained out.

One guy who lives around here used to have some horrible kind of car with all the modifications and stuff and some pikies told him they wanted his car, he refused to just give them his car he'd spent thousands on and so they smashed it up.

There is someone who lives just down the street from me who got a pikey pregnant and now he is being held against his will as part of their family and he cannot get away from what his dad has said.

I could go on.

I bet none of these ''Hug a Gypo'' types have ever actually had to deal with them.

well I guess I fall into the Hug a Gypo camp for two reasons:

1) if people want an alternative lifestyle that doesn't unduly impact on me and mine I think that's fine

2) classing any whole group of people, be they travellers, Belgians, muslims or nudists or whatever as all being the same and worthy of blanket condemnation is just a bit immature

As for 'having to deal with them', I guess having to live 100 metres from an unauthorised camp for 5 or 6 years probably qualifies me. Strangely, they must have been those nice middle class gypo's because they kept themselves to themselves and spent most of their time on their obsessive cleaning regime.

spiders are fantastic, and yes, seasonal. The garden is full of these guys at the moment and the green house is a no go area for Mrs chrisp65

having once lived next to the docks where the banana boats used to come in, I respect spiders

Paul McGrath has an album out on Friday.

Currently on the last of the millenium trilogy - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest.

I've enjoyed all three, brilliant crime fiction.

Im reading this one too, bit of a chore TBH.

I felt I had to read the third after the first two and its quite easy reading but Im a bit bored of it now.

I think im going to move back to the classics after, I have my eye on ''The Count of Monte Cristo'.

I've read the first two, really enjoyed them and felt I should complete the set, but yeah, bit of a chore sums it up for me too.

Going to give Life and Fate by Vas grossman a go. Post war soviet union interests me and it's got some rave reviews.

good stuff, a fair few gulls around here but they just stand around waiting for chips.

mine is Lilleshall Abbey, fairly close to Telford, found it by accident last Thursday...

Villa 0 Newcy 0 (35,555)

I really like that. Love people watching but not brave enough to take uninvited photo's of 'characters'. Well, not since that misunderstanding round the nurse's halls of residence anyway.

Had a peep on the flickr site too, looks good to me, got a sense you enjoyed it more than you fretted about technicalities. Which is refreshing and not meant as a clumsy back handed compliment . I've got 4 photos on a flickr page so far and I'm hopefully aiming for a similar style eventually.

Give me a real fan that loves the game, I don't care the gender. I just hate the phonies.

Too right...& that goes for the prawn sandwich brigade to boot!

hey, don't diss the prawn sandwich brigade. I've persuaded my office they've needed to entertain people a couple of times. Mixed results, took somebody to the Spurs game and he died two days later (unrelated). Took someone to a Blackburn game, I ended up sat next to Jimmy Rimmer and spent the whole time with my back to my guest talking tactics with my new best mate Jimmy. Also did a sort of corporate for the famous 5-1. Luckily it was an internal thing with a few Director's. Having not heard me swear once in ten years they were clearly impressed when I broke the record for f words in 90 minutes.

hmmm, not a great shot. A combination of work finishing really late so all a bit rushed, sun inconveniently located, still haven't read the manual so still can't do much beyond auto setting, plus just didn't have my arty creative mojo on after 4 hours hours of discussing rubbish in a meeting that didn't even have coffee or water. So I'm also blaming dehydration.

How can it be hard to find an interesting photo in the middle of London?

I felt it was the england top that made it funnier!

I was going to do a whole load of stuff on being forced to wear something kinky and degrading, but thought better of it.

There's always some numpty with his humour set to bypass mode (usually me).

I'm out with the camera tomorrow, I'll try and get a proper mugshot.

I was tempted to pose naked with IN BEFORE THE LOCK written along my pride and joy, but there were technical difficulties (I ran out of space at in bef).

A fascinating insight into a whole chunk of male behaviour and a shocking insight into people's gullibility on the interweb.

I couldn't resist, full credit to the guys running that thread, it's a work of genius and should be picked up by BBC 3.

Your Scuba Steve photo is possibly one of the best interweb pictures ever.

Top draw...just shows if you keep banging on doors people listen!

Unless it's a JW :winkold:

double funny

well, this is me, can't hang around, think I've pulled!

cheers, yeah auto exposure was on. I was trying to see how intuitive it was (mauals are for girls and all that). But this doesn't work when I'm looking at buttons and dials that don't let me change the f stop or speed. Yes, I'm that far behind. I'll have another visit to this spot soon enough for another go.

Next week's assignment, London without tourist cliche shot.

I tip my hat to you guys, I'm witnessing the birth of a classic. Just hope I don't recognice anyone....

part of me is saying 'go on, go have a look for yourself'

and part of me is saying 'office laptop, office laptop, office laptop'

o.k., first day with my 'new' Lumix G1 which is a borrow from someone that upgraded without trading in.

Photo taken earlier today on Sheppey and it is NOT in black and white. Oh yes, it's difficult to beat a traditional British holiday.

Please do give any crit you care to, I haven't cropped tweeked or fiddled with it in anyway. Spots in the sky on the right must be birds or litter!

It's early days.

Right, I've upset the Mrs this weekend and probably hurt her with some words that shouldn't have been said. Now I was going to send her some flowers and things to her house but then I realised that I could get off my arse and travel from Surrey to Ealing to give her them myself. The only thing I am worried about is if it goes horribly wrong but I want to be bold. I don't want to send things in the post as it doesn't have same meaning. What do some of the more experienced VTers think? My plan is to go to work tomorrow, get the train and then tube across there and see what happens.

are you saying you will do a day in work and then travel to see her, having not communicated in the meantime?

you think: max effort best gesture

she may think: nothing all day and then a surprise when my hair looks crap and I've got a zit

text and ask if you can pop by to say hi

stumbled across a nice little music magazine good music fox

Given

Hutton Collins Dunne Warnock

Albrighton Jenas Delph N'Zogbia

Bent Agbonlahor

I'll tell you what, if Eck can get them motivated and concentrating, that's not a bad team.

I'd give Petrov the first half and tell him to bust a gut because regardless of whatever, he's switched for Albrighton at half time.

Same with Gabby and Heskey, but then I'd leave Gabby on unless he literally passed out.

cellophane

when it makes safe words inaudible

now I've got to go out in the rain and dig a fuckoff big hole

I'm in the middle of digging out a pond for the back garden.

The things only about 2.4m x 1.8m but so far I've managed to dig up 3 dog skeletons.

Probably try and sell them to goths on e-bay.

the change of cert is intersting, and helps sell the idea of Alien as a night's family viewing

cheers