attitude – Jules P Richards

In the immortal words of Howard from the Great British Bake Off “oooooo it’s really annoyin’!”

The BBC’s Winterwatch last night was twittering about Cultural Transmission and stuff and how animals learn stuff and copy etc. Before you know it we’re all wearing jeans, shopping at Tesco and eating crisps. Heaven forbid.

Yesterday I commented that: “There are a lot of cyclists out there that need to take a second look at the way they cycle, and there a lot of drivers out there that need to take a second look at the way they drive…” – myself included!

I’m reminded that “there’s no manifestation in another, which is not also in ourselves, no act or attitude in another, which is not also found in us…” (Simon Parke One-Min.Med.)

Publicly and personally, it’s a daily task to be aware of who we are sharing our world and space with. There will always be people we disagree with and we will always have issues with certain things we encounter. But in public, common sense and the rules (or the law) are there to maintain a level playing field.

When playing sport if you disregarding the rules you are penalised for good reason. If you disagree with the rules, so be it, it might be a valid point, and there are ways of negotiating this.

“Teach the children well…”, not as I say but as I do…

I think blatant or overt disregard of the rules is not helpful.

But hey what do I know? “Each to his own”, “we need to accommodate everyone”, “they do it differently”, “multi-cultcha and all that”, “it doesn’t apply to me”, “horses for courses”, “what hole?”, “I know a better way”, “Look kids!”

I recently counted:

– Numerous drivers disregarding the law – speeding, dangerous and seemingly ignore-ant drivers.
– Ten people cycling at night with no lights, and obviously no protective or visibility wear?
– A few cyclists not even cycling dangerous weaving on and off the road.
– One crazy coot cycling without any of the above and on a mobile phone?
– Two cyclists seemingly ignoring the road markings?

Some days I wonder why bother to consider who we are sharing our world and space with? eh?

Cultural transmission… oh lordy… save us.

Van in the box – but hey who cares!

Woman on a bike no lights – I’M ON THE PHONE!!

Ignore the box – he did so I’m gonna too…

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*Oh, ho, ho It’s magic, you know Never believe it’s not so It’s magic, you know …

The cycling kettle and the meandering pot…

(a true story, however the names of the individuals have been changed to avoid conflict)

A kettle was cycling along the other day and approached an inattentive pot crossing the road with her two little pottlettes.
The pot was unaware of the peddling kettle as her gaze was remote and her two pottletts wandered aimlessly.
The kettle hollered – “oi!”… “Oi!”… “OI!”, three calls, with increasing vigour, the kettle boomed alarm as he approached her on a collision course to certain strife.
At the last minute, disaster was avoided as the pot turned to face a recoiling kettle, cycling afore her nose!
With exasperation the kettle passed, bewildered by the disregard of the pot for the busy road and the misdirection of her attention, especially with her little pottletts in tow!
Such incidents alarm the kettle and alas frustration got the better of him as he left the scene and in annoyance he uttered “for f***’s sake”. Perhaps he knew better of it but, the adrenalin of a cycling kettle is hard to contain.
I guess the pot was thankful for being alerted to potential fate of her and her offspring but the language of the kettle was too much to entertain as the pot shouted with gusto “watch your language you TW*T!”.

Happy daze.

…“then you show us how”…
replied the crablets to daddy crab
as he told them to
“walk straight my children”…

In Arabic “The camel cannot see the crookedness of its own neck”
In Basque “The blackbird to the crow: Black tail!”
In Bengal “The Sieve tells the needle to mind the hole in its back!”
In Bulgaria “The starving are laughing at the toothless!”
In Burma “The Son is one month older than the father”
In Croatia “The owl mocked the tit for having large eyes”
In France “The hospital that laughs at charity” and “The shovel mocks the poker”
In Hungary “The owl says the sparrow has a large head”
In Indonesia “The thief shouting robber”
In Italy “The ox calling the donkey horned” or a “A rag speaking ill of a cloth”
In Japan “Eye wax laughing at snot”
In Spain “The donkey talking about ears”
In Venezuela “An armadillo tells a turtle it is too hard shelled”
In Sweden “Sweep clean in front of your own door first”
In Vietnam “Dog ridicules cat for being hairy”
Thanks Wikipedia for these similar idioms.