Snafu – I have a default to reject the zee!!
You mean our local populace is a bunch of drunken OAPs?…..Well you may have a point!;)

If you used your spellchecker you would have noticed that your beathalyser gets red-lined not just because the yanks use a ‘z’, but because you’d left out an ‘r’…[/bangs head on wall repeatedly]
I assumed you were referring to a breathalyser used for testing for alcoholic intoxication, so the suggestion is all yours.

Netherlands ? Well, you certainly missed that one. A sharp, savvy commentator like you ? It’s called ‘irony’ !

Like steely, aluminiumy, bronzey, nickley?

Hang on. Are you saying you…lied?

BUM.

You asked me – I’m the one who should be playing hard to get!

I like the pretty blue picture

,,,And blue movies in general…;o)

On the sauce last night snafu ?? ; )

Me? Just a little wine with my chips. Sarsons, I think.

Most cyclists are ok around may part of West Kent.

See? Dint I tell you that?;o)

It’s worth buying a few cycling magazines/looking at forums to determine why cyclists do as they do. There are merchant bankers about to be sure, as there is with any mode of transport, but it does help to understand why, for example, cyclists will pass through traffic lights before they turn green.

Magazines & forums – thanks, but… I spend too much time winding Charlie up here to spread myself about elsewhere.
Cyclists and traffic lights – because they can. If every time they did it they got knocked down it wouldn’t happen.

Fair cop, Snafu!!;)

Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey…;o)

(Just waiting for Comet to read my comment…!)

So, Snafu from your perspective how do you think that they deal with these things in the Netherlands. I understand that that country is hell on wheels for the cyclist. They take their chances as we do among the mad motorists. Separate cycle tracks ? – dream on ! I’m sure I read somewhere – it might have been the Guardian, that, as cycling is a minority activity in the Netherlands no one pays any attention to the needs of the two wheeled fraternity, lycra clad or otherwise. Perhaps we need to follow their example ? Nah ! We’re too well organised this side of the North Sea.

Interesting.
It was my impression that the Netherlands were more a sort of double wheeled paradise than hell, but I accept that this image could well be out of date by a few decades.
Different countries have different ways of dealing with problems – drugs and prostitution immediately spring to mind regarding the Dutch. We have a problem with alcohol consumption that apparently doesn’t occur anywhere else in Europe unless Brits are involved.
My guess is that it is something to do with upbringing – maybe we allow our offspring too much freedom, possibly not enough. Are our young gorging themselves on whatever takes their fancy, as a way of kicking back at authority? Rules and regulations – screw it, just ignore them and do whatever you want instead. Admire your anti-heroes who swear, drink, openly do drugs, don’t show respect and play by their own rules (as I type some Manc band is on the radio wailing Wonderwall – a perfect example of that sort of anti-hero, if you know of the Gallagher brothers reputation).
Are things any different in Europe? I’ve no idea; as far as I know kids are still kids there, adults are generally older than children and work is still regarded as the usually way to acquire money – the same as here. But then I am not an authority on Europe (or anything at all, for that matter) and I have no idea on the differences between them and us (not the best cliche to use, I suspect!).
Maybe somebody from the wrong side of the Channel needs to get involved here.

Then it should count, If banned for drink driving you should be banned from using any human powered machine on the road

Don’t you mean human controlled machine? And if they were banned they would just cycle on the pavement anyway, since they would be banned from the road…
I disagree with you. To me it seems a bit sweeping to go to such lengths (and probably difficult to police too). To take such an extreme measure might be suitable if it could be proven that there was an ongoing concern about being drunk in charge, but even then I would doubt that any but the most authoritarian government would implement such measures. Do you know of anywhere in the world at the moment that does?
For better or worse, the bean counters we have in control at the moment will never go for such harsh and near unrelated punishment, if only for popularity reasons over cost.

FYI you can be arrested for riding a cycle intoxicated.

FWIW I knew that, it was why I mentioned it.

And mobility scooters?….the scourge of the pavements – I’m pretty sure some riders would fail the beathalyser round here!!

Charlie, please use your spellcheck – it is your friend and will only let you down with those strange American words because it doesn’t know better.;o)

The fact that there might be drunk driven mobi-scooters in your area doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it is your area, by any chance?;o)

Only recently……?:p

At least since last October…;o)

Snafu got it earlier in #18.

Ha – proof that Charles does read my posts and Moggy doesn’t![/gloat]

My secondary schools main building was apparently built (in the late 1940’s) from recycled aluminium melted down from old aeroplanes – although it could have come from many sources. But the real clincher is that the original cloth covered wiring had to be replaced (fire hazard) it was somehow shown to have also been recycled from Wellington bombers! The story even made the local rag!
My brother had a short length of the cable (probably liberated from a bin) which an elderly neighbour said looked like the sort of thing he used to work with when he was in the mob.

What history did those Spits have, up until being targets? What date were the trials?

You know, the quality of posts around here has recently dropped…