The great John Surtees has passed away. The only man to be world champion on two wheels and four. Saw him at Brands Hatch when i was a teenager, Mike Hailwood as well. Great days.
a lot of dolphins dead in Cornwall over past couple of months according to the news and then we had those beachings in New Zealand three other week. People are looking for reasons. Its clearly nature telling us that we need to change our ways. We’re killing the planet. This is whale despair. They’ve tried to tell us but no one listens. This is the equivalent of self immolation. We need to heed these warnings.
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RIP Joni Sledge
Thanks for the part you played in the musical backdrop of my formative years.
Happy times.
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Saw her at a fantastic nye event couple of years ago and echo your sentiments Halo.
RIP
Sad to see the loss of the Search and Rescue helicopter crew in Ireland.
They have what I would politely call proper jobs, often putting themselves in harm’s way helping people in distress - and occasionally paying the ultimate price.
RIP
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Can’t say I am sad to see him go.
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Can everyone give me five minutes to get the popcorn ready before you start discussing McGuinness’s character, legacy and political career? I think it will be a compelling watch and I don’t want to miss anything.
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Some suggest that McGuinness’ greatest work was the path to peace.
Personally I’d be more impressed if that path wasn’t paved with gravestones.
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I was never completely on board with this bro. I thought he made a really good try, but Paddy McGuinness prob just trumped him. But then when I hear his name so much this morning, it made me think, yes! Perhaps Martin McGuinness is the best Northern Ireland name after all, and Paddy McGuinness is more the best name for from someone from the Republic. Makes you think rip.
Actually this is a good synopsis
Quote from Colin Parry whose 12 yr old son died in the the Warrington bombings
“I don’t forgive Martin.”
“I don’t forgive the IRA, nor does my wife, nor do my children. But, setting aside forgiveness, the simple fact is I found Martin McGuinness an easy and pleasant man to talk to - a man who I believe was sincere in his desire for peace, for maintaining the peace process at all costs.”
"And I think he deserves great credit for his most recent life rather than more than his earlier life, for which I don’t think anything in his most recent life can atone.
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on tv this am they was making him out like the white Mandela. I don’t know what truth of it is thos srs. I never heard of the cunt before Today.
I used to go to school with a guy who was a bit of a nutter. His favourite trick was to go through the phone book calling up people called McGuinness and say, “Hello, this is The Red Lion, have you got McGuinness there please?” It also worked with the zoo and McGibbon.
Can someone more qualified than me wade in on this pleae? I’ve heard that Mandela was a bit nawty in his younger days with a bit of terrorism here and there, so is the comparison a fair one? I wonder if white South Africans back in the day thought of Mandela the same way some people here still think of McGuinness and Adams?
(Disclaimer: I’m not defending McGuinness or Adams here, just genuinely interested whether it’s cut-and-dried.)
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@themightyostrich I read @cb-saint 's quote and the first name that popped into my brain was Mandela.
Not sure if it’s a fair comparison though but I’m not going to start something I’m not fully au fait with!!
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#borrowedfromFB
Am surprised to see that Martin Mcguinness has died of heart problems as I wasn’t aware he had one
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Someone’s got to start these debates, and it might as well be you - well done for bringing this one into the light and starting the discussion on this - many would shy away from it.
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Here’s a quote from Norman Tebbit, remember Tebbit was one of the ones that was in the Brighton Hotel that the IRA bombed and his wife was left paralysed by the attack.
And here he is echoing my thoughts on the Mandela comparisons
The 85-year-old also refused to see any similarties between McGuinness and South African leader Nelson Mandela when questioned by the show’s hosts, saying: "There is no parallel whatsoever.
"Nelson Mandela’s position was of course he was living in a country which was not a democracy, the majority could not vote in South Africa.
"In Northern Ireland the problem for the IRA was that they couldn’t achieve their aims by democratic means.
“The ballot was useless to them, they always lost, so they used the bullet instead.”
Given my family background (army brat) I am probably the completely wrong person to be posting on this subject so this will be my last word. Anything else I say will be biased!!
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So is Tebbit’s point that it was ok for Mandela to get involved in terrorism as they didn’t have the vote? Wouldn’t it have been better to campaign for the vote peacefully? I thought the comparison is that they both started off in terrorism and then became peace campaigners? Sounds like a parallel to me (not saying this as a fan of McGuinness).