Duggies Ramblings – Oct 23

16th October 2023 | Community
Duggie's Ramblings

I do wonder at times, whether everything I read in the newspapers is true. Some time ago it was announced that 80,000 retired Gurkha soldiers were to settle in the United Kingdom in preference to their mountainous home of Nepal. In fact the number turned out to be nearer 10,000.

A Cornish tortoise?

More recently in 2023, one of the broadsheet newspapers printed a story originating in Penzance about a tortoise that was behaving unusually. A scan found a bladder stone the size of a cricket ball (150grams) in the tortoise. The veterinary surgeons cut through the shell to remove the stone. The tortoise, Joey aged 82 is now recovering. The veterinary surgeons were Mr Horefica and Mr Medina, both very rare Cornish names! Is this another Cornish tale!

It never ceases to raise my confidence at the willingness of fellow humans to give up time voluntarily. One unusual example, but important to all parents  is that in the three neighbouring Staffordshire towns of Cannock, Hednesford and Stafford, the Salvation Army is providing school uniforms in good condition saving the parents £55,000.

“Mafia” in England?

.It is sad news that a Mafia-like organisation has spread to Albania and England! What was a worse revelation is that a similar illegal organisation is operating in Vietnam. How is this known? From a Vietnamese boy named An. His parents had fallen into debt to the local mafia, The family fled but the gangster mob found An, aged 10, bundled him into the boot of a car and then into a shipping container. When the doors were opened he was in England! Here he was to work, locked in a house, to pay off the debt. He escaped, but fell into the hands of another thug and was forced to work on his cannabis farm. Yes, this is England! The house where he was living caught fire. He was rescued by the fire brigade and transferred to secure and caring accommodation as a refugee.

Homelessness sadly is at present the fate of many young people. In 2022 there were 56,000 people between the ages 16-24 without homes. Evelyn Waugh, the famous author said, (maybe controversially), “The two saddest words in the English Language are -‘too late’.”