The week's news

There were a couple of things I read in the Metro (our lovely free commuter paper - available at all good stations) this week that I can’t resist having a little look at.


Firstly check out this old barmpot.



http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/848671-man-combines-boat-and-mower-to-create-shortcutter

 This quality man has been pottering about in his garage for a few years, slowly skiing on this project (probably taken from the Oxford English fictionary – to SKI = to Spend your Kids Inheritance).

John Hinton has managed, with the help originally of a mate who sadly never made it to the end of the project, to convert a ‘ride-on’ lawnmower into an amphibious vehicle. There are two things I love most of all about this whole thing. Firstly I just love his attitude, his outlook is one of never give up “he who dares wins Rodney” grandparent madness. I love it. He hasn’t just done this for his own amusement – oh no. He has attempted to sell it to Honda, for them to produce it commercially as the future of modern transport. John believes this is the answer to commuter hell on the roads. The fact that, at a top speed of 8Mph, it would be him causing the traffic jams is completely irrelevant. I love that barking mad outlook. Why shouldn’t he go for that? The man is sheer quality, a total nut job obviously, but a quality nut job.


http://www.blogger.com/goog_258232470

His barking mad Granddad antics have very much made me remember my own two Granddads, and that has made me smile – a lot, so thank you John.
The last thing that particularly stood out to me in this report, and which really made me laugh out genuinely loud on the train this morning, was this comment from his wife. This is one hundred percent something that my Nan would have said, and completely sums up the joy of getting older with someone that you love. When asked what her opinion of her Husband’s achievement was, and of the hours that he had put into it, John’s loving wife Pat said…

“I was quite happy to get him out of the house, to be honest”

I just love it!

In other news I couldn’t resist picking up on this, but it very much comes with a disclaimer I’m afraid.

The piece of news I’m about to laugh at is deadly serious. I want you to know that I really don’t think drugs are funny at all. Their affects wreck families. However, I still could not help but laugh at this picture of the police in Rio doing a drugs bust this week. I mean, come on – look who they have decided to take in to the station for some detailed questioning and a really thorough search. I had to scan the picture in because, alas, the Metro did not deem the article important enough to put online.

Go on – I dare you not to laugh.



http://www.metro.co.uk/