Yettie One

Building a railway is no easy feat. It is a labour intensive, back breaking task that takes the might out of strong and dedicated men. Building a railway line in Africa was a whole different kettle of fish, and despite the experience of the engineers who’d been brought in from Europe, men who’d been building railways in the motherland for over fifty years, the African wilderness had proved to be a different animal altogether. Not only were men faced with the challenges of a gruelling schedule o

:hugs: Oh Andy. :hugs:

That is legend!!!!!!!!!!

I actually got to listen to this on the radio this morning on my way into town, and thought there was some really interesting stuff on the program. Listen Here

Oh heck you are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO right there!

When you are young, you can't wait to grow up. When you get older you suddenly wake up to realise that you can't slow life down fast enough, and dream of going back to the days when you were a wee nipper. I fondly sit and recall my youth. Those wild days of wreckless abandon when I didn't care about what the world thought, where it didn't matter to me if I was bunking off my lessons, or late to finish an assignment. The pressures of the world meant nothing, and the responsibility of being human were meaningless and unimportant. If there is one thing I have learnt looking back in retrospect it is that given what I know today, I would have lived my youth up even more. I would have spent every day living my young days to the maximum. I would have put less emphasis on worrying about the things I couldn't change, and lived to enjoy the things I could. How often do we as mature adults think to ourselves, "If only I had known then, what I do now"? Yet do we pass this message on to our young people today? I'm not convinced we do it enough. If we were on our death bed and talking to those we loved, what would we want to pass on to them? Wouldn't we want to encourage them to live every day as if it were their last? Wouldn't we tell them to be all they can be, and try anything for they can become and be whatever they choose to be? I was blessed to grow up in an environment where I was largely shielded from the complexities of life. Issues like sexuality, peer pressure, drink and drugs were scarce, friendships were simple and life was good. It was more important to know which of us was bringing the tent, than to know who had the dope, or who had caught more fish on the weekend than to know who'd scored a third base at the party. For this I am really grateful. I had all the time in the world to be a child. I played crazy games, did amazingly stupid things, experienced so much as a child, I look back and think how richly filled my life was with the things we all wish for. Don't get me wrong, we weren't wealthy, my parents were hard working class people. We didn't have a television till I was in my teens. We only had one car in a family of seven. But as a family we did stuff together. We looked out for each other. We weren't massively close, but close enough. Those days were critical in establishing who I am today. The adventures and experiences I had back then taught me to be the man I became. I tried things, experimented. Maybe not in the same way the youth do today, but I had the chance to try the things I wanted to experience, I got to choose what I wanted to do. Through those choices I have been able to do and experience some pretty amazing things as a person. I've seen and done some remarkable things. Would I ever have done them if I didn't have the childhood I did? I don't think so. I listened to a program on the radio in the car today. In the program they were talking to two young people here in the UK who last year took part in a new government initiative to give places to tens of thousands of young people to get involved in Voluntary Community Outreach Programs. The youth get to take part in a variety of team building exercises and design their own community program to impact their local area. The thing that struck me listening to both young people was when they both spoke about their frustration at the lack of things for young people to do today. That is so sad. It breaks my heart that a whole generation of young people are forced to grow up before their time. Society has changed I accept that, but is it right to watch as a sixteen year old struggles with life decisions that are confusing enough for an adult who's somewhat more experienced and is maybe more equipped to deal with these complexities. Twelve year olds smoking, and fifteen year olds binge drinking? That's not right surely? I know that if you were to ask a young person, they would promptly want to be treated as a more responsible person and given the freedom to choose, but from my own personal perspective I'd much rather go back to those care free days I enjoyed as a young teenager, than face the daily challenge of being an adult, and I guess that can only come from the experience of growing up. Do we not as adults have a responsibility to allow our youth to be youth and give them a chance to just be kids? If there is one thing that I can pass on to the young of today it would be to say this. Don't grow up too fast. Treasure the precious days of your youth. Be wild, be outrageous, paint the town red, and enjoy every single moment that you can. There will be ups and downs, challenges and rewards, mistakes and choices, changes, friends, relationships, heartbreak, love, discovery, adventure and so much more. Don't dwell on the things you have no control over, and try everything you can. Enjoy yourself and be good to yourself. Believe in you and love who and what you are. Your special, unique and important. Challenge and be challenged. Be all you can be every day and never forget to do today what you shouldn't put off till tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come. Thought for today - "Lord grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." - Prayer of Serenity by Rhienhold Neibhur Song for today - Shining Light by Ash [media=] [/media]

Hmmmmmmmmm, nice one Bugeye, I'll have to give this one a go!

Aye Mark I've noticed there are some variations about the place when I've been up to Barnsley or Huddersfield. I have come across 'Wassack' but as yet not heard 'Lummax'.

I noticed this on the street signs between North and South Wales Andy. In the north they all say Croeso i Gymru where as in the south the same sign would read Croeso i Cymru. It's funny you'd think they would all spell the name of their country the same.

Sometimes hearing the truth is the last thing I want to hear. Sometimes it’s just plain rude, inconsiderate of my feelings and sometimes the truth just plain sucks. Argh hell, I’m not trying to say the truth isn’t important. But I mean come on for fuck sakes, do we really need to be so cruel with the truth? Ok so hang on, maybe this is just a big drama and maybe I am all upset right now, but I mean seriously, I’m just not really going to stand here and take a dressing down of that nature for n

When your growing up, the choices you make for your life produce effects you may not expect, and impact on those you love in ways you never considered.

Actually you could have a point there Roan. Both Holland and I'd have to say Germany are looking good this time around. Still would like to see Russia do well though. I think everyone is expecting Spain to do well, but in regional and European domestic games they haven't been doing that great recently so I'm not so sure.

I remember reading something like this last time the world cup final was on WildOne. Something about the number of people they expected to be watching the actual final game and how much advertising would cost for a thirty second or one min slot during the game. I don't remember the exact figures but it was pure madness. 1.6 billion potential customers..... You can kind of understand why they would do it.

I've lived in the UK for a number of years now, and one of the things that's amazed me about this tiny Island in the sea is the number of people and accents that are packed onto it. To name but a few you'd easily think of the likes of the Cockney's, Scousers, Geordies, Mancunians, the Cornish, the Welsh the Irish or the Scots. Yet even within the more commonly known regional accents, there are more local dialects or variances of these, and it can get really confusing to say the least. In addition to these accents, various areas have their own chosen expressions, terms of endearment or ways of greeting that for a foreigner can lead to some rather amusing and interesting situations. Allow me to share a few of my own adventures from the last thirteen years here in the UK with you. When I first came to the UK in 1999, I ended up in Basingstoke on my way to the coast, where I was forced to stop and get a job to cover my expenses. I got a job in security and topped that up with a job in a local pub called the White Heart. I'd only been in the country for a few weeks, and my exposure to variations in accent was litterally non existent. So when a customer came into the bar, I moved over to serve him and he said to me, "Can I have a Cork please." Now obviously I was somewhat puzzled, so I asked him to repeat his order, and he confirmed again to me that he wanted a "Cork". Mystified, but assuming it could have been for some kind of pub/drinking game or weird prank I disappeared into the back, retrieved a cork from the bin and brought it through to the customer. I placed the cork on the bar in front of him and looked at him with a smile. The customer just looked at me with a blank expression and then asked, "Are you trying to take the Mickey mate?" "I beg your pardon," I asked. "Is this meant to be funny?" the customer asked very dead pan while looking intently at me. The strange look on my face must have given away my confusion as he proceeded to say, "I want a pint of Coke (said Cork in his accent) not a fucking Cork!" Well my eyes nearly popped out of my head, and I rapidly made to pour the young man a pint of coke while apologising profusely. This is one cock up behind the bar that I've never been able to escape. Once when I was driving back from a meeting up north, I stopped at a service station in Birmingham which falls in the Midlands of the UK. I filled up the car with petrol and went in to pay. I got myself a sandwich and a coke and went to the till where a middle aged lady rang everything up and proceeded to tell me, "That'll be thirty two fifty please Duck." I recall just staring at the woman wondering to myself, "Did she just call me Duck?" "What the hell did she just call me Duck for?" Again my expression must have concerned the poor woman as she looked at me and asked in the most genuine voice, "Are you alright Duck?" Well, sorry to the poor lady but I just burst out laughing. She must have thought I was high on speed or something, she took my payment, shaking her head and muttering under her breath. I was later to learn that Duck is a fairly common saying in the Midlands. When we moved to Wales, I accompanied my mother and father to the bank to have all our details changed on our correspondence and the like. I'll never forget going into the bank that day, the three of us approaching the teller's window together, my mom in the middle, my father and myself either side as we listened to the young lady behind the counter rattle off something to us in a thick Welsh accent, tongue moving at ninety miles an hour. Anyone who's ever been to Wales can attest to the speed at which the local's talk, and so my mother stood there with a blank expression on her face. So once more the young lady rattled off what ever it was that she was trying to communicate to us. Once more my mother looked at her in uncertainty, and which point my father elbowed my mom gently in the ribs saying, "Honey I think she's talking to you." My mothers reply? "I know she's talking to me Mike, but I can't understand a bloody word she's saying!" I nearly died! Another common saying among the younger more rough and ready lads in Wales is to call each other Butt. Now I've learnt this is a shortened form of the name Butty Boy which was a common nick name for a young boy when he joined the miners in the coal mines in South Wales. I'm sure you can imagine the confusion when one night, while when working on the door of a night club as a doorman I chose to refuse entry to a rather intoxicated young man. In bitter disappointment the guy decided to remonstrate with me about my decision. "You, know something, I'm really disappointed with you Butt. (pause) (I'm waiting for the but...) Actually, to be fair, I think your well out of line Butt." The young man is now looking at me awaiting my response, I'm waiting for him to continue from the but.... Eventually in irritation I asked him, "But what?" He looked at me like I was the class clown and says, "What do you mean Butt?" And so it went on till the lad I was working with on the door could barely stand he was laughing so hard. Completely exasperated with the drunk I eventually convinced him to leave, not without the proverbial Butt being mentioned at least another ten times, much to my irritation. I did get a giggle out of it though when Ben explained it to me. But my favourite one of all has to be about a year ago when I moved to Yorkshire. Now I've worked in the pub and night club industry for most of my life in one way or another. I actually moved up to Yorkshire to run a pub in Mexborough, a town in South Yorkshire. Anyway, as it happened the one day I was training a friend of mine how to use a new alarm system in the pub which was located inside the kitchen just off the bar. An elderly gentleman came into the bar and ordered a pint of bitter which I poured and he paid me with a ten pound note. As I was getting his change I glanced up at Joe to see him about to set the alarm off. I rushed into the kitchen and stopped him with the customers change still in my hand. When I came back into the bar the old man was watching me closely, and I was watching Joe closely. "Where is my change Cock?" the old boy asked me. Now initially I was distracted so I turned to look at the man wondering to myself if I'd heard correctly. I raised my eyebrows and looked at the man. "You got my change Cock?" the man asked me again. This time I'd heard correctly, and to be honest, in many ways I'm glad that the guy was an elderly gentleman because I'm quite sure that delayed my reaction slightly, but still, my heckles were up that a complete stranger who didn't know me from Adam, had just walked into my pub and had the audacity to call me a Cock! "I beg your pardon." I asked, rather pointedly to which the old man replied, "I paid you with a ten pound note Cock. Where is my change?" Now I was getting ready to tell the old guy to wind his neck in and leave. Thankfully, Joe had heard the tone of my voice when I spoke to the man, and as good friend's knew enough to pay attention, so when he heard the man call me Cock yet again, he came straight over to us. He would tell me later that he'd seen it all painted across my face. He rushed over and spoke to the man, "I'm sure the boss hasn't forgotten your change sir." I turned to look at him, my eyes wide, generally a look I give when I'm telling someone to back off I'm dealing with this. "Leave it, its fine," Joe whispered to me. "You what?" I hissed at him. "He's just called me a Cock three times." Joe giggled, and by now I've realised that when someone starts laughing when I'm unsure about something that maybe, just maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick. Joe dragged me into the kitchen where he proceeded to tell me that it is a common Yorkshire expression to call someone Cocker or use the shortened version of Cock, when addressing someone who's name you might not know. I've never quite understood how Yorkshire people can happily accept Cock as a common expression in their local lingo, but I have to be honest, it is really quite nice when your serving someone you don't particularly like to be able to say, "Thank you Cock," and not necessarily have meant it in the way he's assumed you did. I know that we all have expressions that mean something else completely wherever you are around the world. When I first moved here, Dope was a fairly common South African expression to mean Good. If you liked something it was said to be "Dope", however, that expression didn't work quite so well here in the UK, where everyone thought I was asking for pot all the time. We used to call a good friend Oak, or a big lad Ox. Again things that go completely over the head of anyone here in Britain. We called traffic signals in Zimbabwe Robots. So when your giving directions to someone you say, "Go down the road until you come to the robots and turn left." Imagine the confusion on an English man's face when you give him these same instructions. Ah well, I knew what I was saying. What funny sayings and stuff have you come across? Thought for today - "After climbing a great hill, one finds that there are many more hills to climb." - Nelson Mandela Song for today - Paradise by Coldplay [media=] [/media]

It's always nice to see humanity being kind and compassionate.

That is exactly what I was thinking Andy. Took one look at France and didn't fancy their chances, especially with a change of manager so close to the competition like! Too many top players missing too! grrrrrrrr

Awwww Arpeggio that is not pleasant. really hope that you get good news. Hope your ok.

I read a blog recently discussing a gay man's response to sex with a woman. I've read a story on GA about a man who finally finds the strength to accept he's gay after 20 odd years of marriage. I've been asked about being gay by youngsters I know. I've been chatting with a friend on GA about sexuality and what they think it means for them. If there is one thing I've realised in 38 years of my life it's that sexuality is no simple thing. Personally I'd consider myself gay. Ok so this is pretty simple to state right? Yes it is. I've been attracted to men since god know's when. Hell I think the doctor delivering me probably looked really cute come to think of it. Having said that, I have once in my life been head over heals in love with a girl. Yes, me, that sexually sure person fell for someone of the opposite sex. Admittedly she was rather 'butch' and looked very much like a handsome man, but she was all woman with a kid. I met her through a woman i was working for. She was very friendly with the boss, and had been through one hell of a life. Now there was attraction there right away on a visual basis, so I guess I took the time to probe to find out more. At the time, it was popular to congregate outside the door of the club I worked at to smoke, and naturally there was always a doorman stood there observing what was going on. This gave me the opportunity to get to know the woman in question. She'd had one hell of a life growing up, and was facing some pretty serious criminal charges. I used to stand and listen to her talk about her fears and woes, and emotionally it tugged at my heart. She'd given up her kid as a young mother, and was now regretting the decision. There were a lot of really large issues, and she needed someone to be there for her. Her girlfriend at the time didn't seem interested in what she was going through. Unknown to her, I decided to be there for her. On the first day of her court case, I went convinced my boss to accompany me to the court room. and if you could have seen the look on her face when she turned and saw us there for her. Afterwards, we became really close and over the course of a year or so, I can honestly say I really fell hard. She had a dream to join the army, and together we worked on that, getting her into peak fitness, and then working through an amazing support worker to get her an opportunity to become a dog handler in the British Army. In 2006 she was posted to Afghan, and returned after six months, and was then posted back out there several months later. After two tours, she returned to the UK a different person. Withdrawn and quiet, dealing with things I can relate to in some ways. I don't know what horror's she faced, but war had affected her, and slowly we drifted apart. I've had my relationships through my life, loved and lost. Yeah I'm sorry it didn't work out, but there is a part of me that wonders if I'd really have been able to stay committed to a 'straight' relationship long term? It's an interesting question and one I'm not sure I have the answer for. It's funny, I said to my friend yesterday that I don't think I could ever perform sexually with a woman. But I was sexually attracted to her. I would gladly have slept with her, made love, kissed her, had even thought for the first time in my life of having a kid. So what, does this make me Bi? No I don't think so. Part of the reason I was attracted in the first instance was based on her looks being similar to a man. A young man I became really friendly with in Wales approached me one day to talk about the whole gay, straight, bi conundrum. He was all confused and was asking my advice. It was something I promptly withdrew from, as if there is one thing that I think leads to the worst kind of uncertainty its listening to someone else's advice when your trying to discover your own sexual identity. I know I'm not the only gay man that puzzles the whole sex with a woman thing, and wonders about exactly what is what. I know there are even some of us that are brave enough to give it a go, and like the young blogger who found the courage to overcome his inhibitions and give it a go, often we only find more uncertainty instead of the assurance we hoped we'd find. Sexuality is one hell of a complex thing, it's a part of human life that we try to understand, but fail miserably to get. There are people who claim to be sexual consultants or relationship experts. Hmmmm, sorry but for me love, emotions and the power of sex is just a little too diverse and difficult to be able to fully comprehend. I sometimes wonder is it really so important to put a finger on our sexuality. Wouldn't it just be easier to accept that we can meet, fall in love with and get along with anyone? Who cares if your really gay, straight or bi? If only that were possible ey? I guess I've just learnt to enjoy the experience and let my heart tell me what is right and best for me at any specific time. What do you think/do? Thought for today - "I have to trust what I do and then do it!" - Ednita Nazario Song for today - Set Fire to the Rain by Craig Colton

Ok come on people. Just for fun, which team are you backing for the Euro's 2012, and why have you chosen to support that team? I'm going to go with Russia. I really think they have got a good chance this year, they are looking good.

Hi DragonFire. Jeesh I'm glad to see I'm not the only one! Welcome to the clan! haha

Hmmmmmmmmmm Only one?????????? Doh lemme see. I guess I'd probably go for yellow. But also a fan of Blue, especially on a car!

Oh Marky Mark you are a lucky man! And your man is a lucky man too! Wow, yet another person that gets the eyebrow thing! I'm not feeling so weird now. I've never really come across anyone that's understood that particular attraction, so finding two in one day! WOW. I saw a pic of your hunk the other day. Gooooood taste there boio! RJ, you crack me up! loves it. Thanks for the message. x

So what is it about attraction? To be fair I think if we each made an effort to answer this question, it'd be pretty interesting to see the differences for each of us. Lets not just consider the basic principles of attraction ie. looks or personality, but actually drill down to think about the specifics of what it is that we consider to be the things that make us stop and take a closer look. I've often thought about this, as to be honest, if I go onto a website full of an array of men, and were to choose ten men that I considered good looking, they'd all appear totally different. It's strange to me sometimes when I stop to consider what it is about looks that means I think of someone as being attractive. I've also noticed it largely depends on my mood at the time I am looking. I've found that people I've thought 'Yes' to today, when I might have been looking through rosy coloured glasses considering I was in a more 'frisky' mood, becomes a very definite 'no go' the following day when I check him out under normal circumstances. I guess the real truth is that while looks certainly do play a huge part in attraction, there is so much more to attraction and then you really need to consider exactly what it is that you want out of the person your admiring. As a general rule there are some trends that I've begun to notice. While they do play a major part in what I predominantly consider attractive, they are most certainly not exclusive as there is an exception to every rule. Some of the things that I really go for you might consider a little strange, but then these are the things I look for in a guy so hey, wind your neck in! After all, I'm sure if you really thought about it, you'd have a couple of strange one's yourself. Ok. One of the biggest things that seems to get my attention very quickly is thick, dark eyebrows. I'm not talking about a mono brow, but I do mean a wide, manly eye brow. I do not tend to go for plucked, neat eyebrows, although there are some good looking men who do have shaped eyebrows. I like fairly long dark hair as a rule. Blondes while cute are not really the first thing I'd go for, however there are some stunning beautiful blonde men. But predominantly I've always gone for thick dark haired men. I love a tanned or olive skin. There is just something so sexy and healthy about a good tan on the skin. Maybe this is from my African heritage, but the white pastiness of a life in the colder regions looks dull too me. Within the world of Gay Sex I'm what you'd call a Pitcher or a Top generally. I've been known to be versatile, but only for someone very special. So from that point of view, I'm not really worried much by what hangs between a man's legs, but more alert to what minces behind him. I can hear you all rather indignantly telling me you "Don't Mince". One of my favourite lines out of a movie is said by Nicolas Cage and taken from the film Face Off. He says to one of the air hostesses on a flight, "I love peaches. I could eat a peach for hours." It's no wonder then that I have a thing for a lovely peachy bum! Nah let's be honest, some guys really have a nice rear end, and there is nothing better than thinking about what i'd do with................. I've never really been into muscle. It just doesn't do it for me. I like a guy to have a bit of meat about them, ie. not to be too skinny. Probably what most people would call average build. So those are the more specific things that I tend to look more closely for. Yes eyes, smile, height, style, are things I do take heed of, but are not of major importance in my ideal man. Character wise............ Hell how long is a piece of string? There are some things that really make a man stand out from the crowd though. I love a 'cheeky chappie'! There is nothing better than a whitty nature, banter with someone that likes to tease and 'come back' at you with cleaver talk. This is the kind of person that I can bounce off of well. I also like a talker. As a fairly quite, probably shy guy, I'm not the kind that will make the first move, nor speak without being spoken too, especially in the first instance. Partly as a result of the way I was brought up, partly due to a lack of self confidence. I've always struggled to say anything to someone that I fancy. And that is pretty much the main things that I look for in a man. Does that make me picky? Probably! I mean they are rather specific pointers, but to be fair, I'm not sure that I've ever found anyone that's had all of them in one go. We tend to settle for what comes along, and adapt to suit the circumstances of each relationship we form. I'd really be interested to know what things you look for. Not the basics though, take a bit of time to think about the specifics. We all want a man who's honest, magnanimous, loyal, loving, romantic....etc, etc, etc... Thanks for reading. Thought for today - "Sticks and stones are hard on bones; Aimed with angry art. Words can sting like anything; But silence breaks the heart." - Phyllis McGinley from The Ballad of Lost Objects 1954. Song for today - Time to Pretend by MGMT [media=] [/media]

I think it'd be pretty damn amazing to see a collective 'strike' or protest by students of every age, from every walk of life, from every creed and colour, march on government buildings and demand for accountability from school authorities that fail to tackle bullying. I recall in one South Wales town in the UK where it almost became a status symbol for teens that were suffering from bullying to protest their treatment through mass suicide. It was only a few years ago, and it was every few days that you'd hear of the next death. 25 in all before a concerted effort was made to sort the issue out. 25 youngsters in two years! Story Here No I totally agree with you, someone should be held accountable for letting these kids down. When it can be proved that they have ignored the signs of bullying and the destructive, soul destroying process of breaking a persons will through intimidation, violence and coercion, then someone should face the music, so to speak. If a national memorial were to be constructed of all the names of every child that had taken their life due to bullying it would read like a war memorial, a war that it seems no one ever really does anything about. Great blog Billy Brat.

Hi Andy I must be honest, I'm fussy about my meat, so like you tend to use a butcher. But veg wise, I don't have a fantastic selection of market shops around here. Co-op and Spar dominate everything, and their veg is ........ Well, I'd rather go without! So I do use Tesco's or an Indian Wholesaler in town for fruit and veg. Too right RJ. Face to face is best, especially over a wee dram of whisky or three!