UncleArthur

True, but given that Trump has put tariffs on uninhabited islands in the Arctic (I believe), it's still an interesting point to make.

Edit: spelling.

I am proudly batting zero.

I think it might simply be that Quasi wants to swap to a quiet office job!

Good evening!

DARK is a Netflix original show, so one can't buy the DVD, sadly. The only spoiler I'd give you is that it's a German time travel show, only 26 episodes long, and simply the best thing I've ever seen on telly. The plot is riveting, the acting and casting superb and the soundtrack is my go-to playlist. We watched it with English dubbing as my wife is dyslexic and hates subtitles. If you can find someone with a Netflix login and a spare TV, I'd heartily recommend it!

I read Julian May's 'Saga of Pliocene Exile' and her linked 'Galactic Milieu' series in the '90s and loved them, but quickly moved on to other novels. When we were visiting the States for a friend's wedding in 2016, we found ourselves very near the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, which is a major location for the books in the GM series, so we diverted there and I spent several hours roaming around the hotel. It re-sparked my interest in the novels so I re-read them and even ran a Twitter feed for 18 months, telling the SPE story on a day-by-day basis. I ended up with nearly 30 followers! 😁 I also love Terry Pratchett, as well as Douglas Adams and my all-time favourite, Roger Zelazny. (My grandsons - who I don't get to see - are named after two characters in Roger's 'Amber' series of books.) I don't watch terrestrial telly but still stream series I like. I've never got into podcasts but I do love YouTube!

Titanic ... where to start? As a teenager, I read Clive Cussler's 'Raise The Titanic' which got me into the story. I then discovered other less famous wrecks, such as the Empress of Ireland, the Morrow Castle and the Britannic (Titanic's second sister). However, it's the Titanic that still grabs me the most. She took nearly 3 hours to sink and went down with minimal listing; this allowed many cameos to be played out, showing the full range of human emotions: bravery, sacrifice, cowardice and stupidity amongst others. The setting and time frame allows us to ponder how we would have behaved in that situation. There is still so much to learn about the ship itself as well: we still don't know if her centre propeller had 3 or 4 blades; what was the true identity of the 'mystery ship' that ignored her calls for help; exactly how did the collision (technically an allision) occur and what is the true extent of the damage, now hidden below the sea bed. All of this on top of her stellar passenger list, the technological marvel of the ship itself, the ridiculous weather that night ... I could, of course, go on. I hope this gives you a taste! If you wanted a really good book that explores the story in depth, I'd recommend 'Report Into the Loss of the SS Titanic - A Centennial Reappraisal' by Sam Halpern and others.

We may only get one life but I am ambivalent about losing our experiences when we die. Rarely do I see the younger generations refer to their elders' experience, assuming we are all outdated and have nothing to offer. And truly I feel my brain is getting full ... I'm not sure I can fit many more experiences in! As I age, I feel more and more useless to those around me and I doubt I'll be terribly sad when my time comes. I just hope my wife dies first so she doesn't have to be alone. If I were god, I'd ensure that couples die simultaneously.

Good afternoon! Fellow Boomer / Gen Jones here, born in the early '60s in the UK. I am an atheist, socialist and sci-fi addict. Never went to Uni, worked 43 years (both employed and self-employed) in financial services, and have recently retired and moved with my wife to the Welsh Marches. I have three children, one of whom still speaks to me.

My wife says there are three topics I am not allowed to discuss with visitors for fear of driving them to boredom, so here's my chance! They are:

• The Titanic (and other early C20 ocean liners)

• Julian May's sci-fi / fantasy novels

• Netflix's DARK.

I have one of those!

I am envious and I hope you enjoy the gig! DARK featured three of her songs and I really got into her music, amongst lots of other non-mainstream artists featured in the series.

Nigel Farage in the UK.

It's 50 miles from me, so worth a road trip to check it out.

We allowed a young Arab man to stay with us over Christmas. He'd spent a year in our town aged 8 and had returned aged 21 to revisit his old school friends, most of whom had forgotten him and didn't trust his unsolicited FB messages. He arrived on Christmas Eve and was staying in a B&B when we agreed to meet him in a coffee shop. Needless to say, he ended up living at our place for a fortnight before he went home. Over the next decade, he popped over for a visit every few years and we went to Egypt a couple of times. Sadly he was born with a congenital heart defect and died a while ago now, leaving a wife and daughter. We are still in contact with his family.

Back in 2022, we nearly agreed to host a Ukrainian refugee (there's a Government scheme to arrange this) but we were downsizing to a different part of the UK and so it became unfeasible.

My brother-in-law lived with us for 6 months after his divorce 20 years or so ago. That period was quite trying.

"Mah spoon is toooo big!"