Guns

In honour of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died yesterday...

(Image credit: Historic Royal Palaces)

Pharma

Starting to feel like a Pharmacy round here LOL...

Rule Britannia!

The Royal Mint have issued this year's Britannia coin and it's something of an historic moment. This is the first time they have produced this coin with two differing designs, not only that the designs themselves reflect the multicultural nature of modern life in the United Kingdom. Two limited edition silver coins below:

Mad Stad

Have just received my first dose of the Covid vaccine at the Madejski (pronounced Ma-day-ski) Stadium, home ground to the Royals. For those interested, it was a smooth  pain free experience and everyone was so happy to be there! I received the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab and will be back in June for the second one.

Census 2021 Part II

Today is Census Day, at least in Wales, Northern Ireland and England (Scotland has delayed theirs). The UK census is carried out once every ten years and it is a legal requirement for every household to take part. 

The information gathered will be used by government to determine policy needs for years to come. The Office for National Statistics has indicated this may be the last census in its current form, that in the future they might use alternate means to gather the necessary data. Not quite sure how I feel about that.

Anger

I know in the scheme of things, art isn't the be-all and end-all, that there are far more important/serious things to worry about in life. However I can't believe some little tw@t with no appreciation of the joy this art work has brought to so many, could be so selfish.

There are times I believe Reading doesn't deserve nice things.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/banksy-reading-prison-artwork-defaced-20180257?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

The Real Deal

From Banksy's official website today...

Reading Prison

Has the artist Banksy paid a sneak visit to Reading Gaol this past weekend?

'Banksy'-style artwork appears in Reading

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/banksy-street-art-reading-prison-19936639#ICID=Android_GetReadingNewsApp_AppShare

Edit: took a trip this afternoon to Reading to see for myself...

Census 2021

I received this in the post recently, reminding me that within a month the UK wide census will be due. Once every ten years the government tries to capture data that will assist long-term policy making. 

It has been suggested in the (respectable) press this may be our last census, that the Office for National Statistics believes it can better capture the required data via other means. I hope they don't mean those silly quizzes that populate social media? I feel quite sad regarding this prospect. Future historians won't have the same access to a one stop single snapshot of life here. Progress I suppose they call this...

Advertising

Unilever's marketing for their new explosive version of Marmite is pure genius!

Boom!

Marmite with added chilli. What's not to like LOL?

All Change!

Fifty years ago today, the UK joined the modern age and adopted the decimal system for our coinage. Out went Pounds, Shillings and Pence, and in came Pounds and "New Pence." Our old system dated back to the 8th century and the time of King Offa of Mercia, the relative monetary values and names go back way further.

It is baffling to younger generations that there were 12 Pence to the Shilling and 20 Shillings made up the Pound (240 Pence). This all seemed quite natural at the time and many I believe were bewildered by the concept of only 100 Pence equaling a Pound. Today the tiny half Pence has gone, having effectively devalued, the 5 and 10 Pence coins have reduced in weight and size. We've also seen the introduction of the 50 Pence, later resized, the 20 Pence and finally the one and two Pounds as general circulation coins.