Tag: 2026

1745 Coaching Stone - Original 18th Century GPS!

Sutton: 18th Century Coaching-Stone – the Original GPS! (13.4.2026)

I may well have written about the old coaching-stones scattered around Sutton and Cheam – I now of two – but was unaware of the date they were established. Basically, these devices informed travellers on foot, horse, or carriage – how many miles it was from where they were to the centre of London. Coachmen could either read the inscription engraved on the stone – or was taught what the stone said and remembered where it was when driving on the road – either way – these coaching-stones served as the original GPS system for travel. I think the Roman established something similar thousands of years ago – so the concept was not new in 1745. What I did not realise is that these stones have now received official recognition of being historically important monuments worthy of preservation and protection. The iron-bars and plaque are the new editions which I only saw when taking a rare walk through Sutton.

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Photo © Louise Impey

UK: Gypsy News – the Battle of Friendless Lane! (9.4.2026)

. Another issue stemmed around the difference between ethnic Gypsies and those people from the settled community who simply declared themselves a “Traveller”. This was followed by an influx of Irish Gypsies and Gypsies from Europe, and so on. A few years ago, when I was in regular contact with the Gypsy Council, and had just publish an article about Gypsies who served in the Soviet Red Army – I was attacked by an Irish youth from a nearby Traveller community that had took-over a park. I say “attacked” – but as a trained martial artist and a law abiding citizen, I simply “moved out the way” of this short kids punches – which made his friends laugh and pull him away. Obviously, I did not grass, but I suspect the entire encounter is on the Sainsbury car-park CCTV. It is a sad state of affairs all round. Some of these people are violent and obnoxious because of the things that have been done to them in the past – this must be understood – but the prejudice aimed at Travellers is breath-taking! No other disadvantaged group wants anything to do with them. You will not see BLM or Palestine Solidarity turning-up to protest their treatment or demand their rights. Physical violence does not bother me – it is an occupational hazard – but for many others the shock of it far too much to take, and around it goes.

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US Material Losses!

China: US Military Aircraft Losses in Aggression Against Iran! (7.6.2026)

Iran, despite the sanctions preventing it from trading, building-up wealth, and importing resources, developed its missile and drone forces over many decades. Iran is now using-up all these supplies whilst the US is destroying the infrastructure of Iran – that very same infrastructure which built the missiles in the first place – no infrastructure – no missiles. On the face of it, these US losses are only significant from the perspective of the US (and Israel) rarely losing their expensive warplanes during the asymmetric wars they start. The only exception I can recall is the events of 1973, which involved the USSR secretly providing the Palestinians with sophisticated surface-to-air missiles. These Soviet missiles destroyed the Israeli Airforce in around 20 minutes during the Yom Kippur War. The problem was that a United Arab Army lost to the Israelis on the battlefield.

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Brixham Down Wind Mill Road!

Brixham: A Photographic Strole Down “Windmill Hill”! (3.4.2026)

Gee had to park the car at the top of Wind Mill Hill – as that was the only place a parking-space was available not patrolled by militant locals who still seem to think WWII is ongoing. I jest – but one or two were a little bit prickly – commenting about “Townies” and “City-Dwellers” with “their big cars”! And so on. Still, at the end of the day, we are the visitors and we will be gone tomorrow. After carrying-out my duty – and visiting my various family relatives – I thought it would be a good idea to make a record of the journey down the hill from the parking-spot to the rented house. The view was quite beautiful and I hope I have captured our journey on foot down a steep Brixham hill – although we could not actually find a “Wind Mill”! Come to think of it – we are supposed to be near the Brixham Army Cadet Centre – but we never found this place either!

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'Al-Michal-El- Ehole' missile

Iran: How Mickey Mouse’s Ears Assist the the War on Zionism! (1.4.2026)

Meanwhile, the Collective West, that bastion of moral guidance, has ignored the illegal (terroristic) attack on Iran by the US and Israel – and instead has blamed Iran for ‘bringing the problem upon itself’ by a) existing and b) insisting upon exercising self-determination – thus compounding the situation. President Putin is fighting a war on two fronts. The first is against Neo-Nazi Ukraine – whilst the second is internally preventing Russia from sliding back into Soviet Socialism. North Korea is battling with the contradiction that its soldiers have died fighting for a capitalist Russia in Kursk (how does this fit in with Juche) – whilst the Communist Party of China is grappling with the paradox of how building capitalist market forces reconciles with constructing a new society premised upon the auspices of Scientific Socialism.

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Ancient Seafaring Scaffolding from the Time of Henry VIII!

Brixham: “What’s this Scaffolding? It’s a Feature”! (29.3.2029)

Of course, as The Beatles once reminded us “Nothing is Real!” – in the hyper-extension of capitalism that is “the holiday”. It is a time of no work (unless you are on a working holiday – we’ve all been there – labour in exchange for ten-minutes on a beach), no struggle, and comfortable living – but this week or two takes around 50-weeks of hard graft just to raise the deposit. When I was in Spain, I once witnessed an Englishman arrive with his case at our holiday resort – returning after just two or three weeks after his last visit. His previous sojourn had been “magical” in his own words and he had gone home, re-mortgaged the house, and rebooked in exactly the same Benidorm hotel! The problem was that no one else he had stayed with had rebooked – and none of the staff could remember who he was!

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