1949threepence

So trying to sell them he'd have had norfolk_n_chance.....

Mine arrived yesterday - very pleased. It'll be useful.

Problem these days is that the West is so acutely distracted with other things, that the Russians might (not unreasonably) assume we'd gone soft. It's noteworthy that they don't care one jot about the things we care about, nor do they ever receive one jot of criticism for not doing so. It's as though they're 100% exempt.

Agreed. Once you get a one party state in power, the right of the ordinary person to criticise or make fun of the political operators, is immediately negated. Not a pleasant prospect.

Are the Chinese government for real? First they blatantly renege on their commitment to honour the one nation two systems concept for 50 years, then they get angry because the UK has apparently "broken promises" by potentially granting UK citizenship for up to 3 million Hong Kong people. I don't think they were expecting this swerve by the UK, and they're well rattled, as they obviously don't have an immediate effective riposte to it.

It's a wonder it wasn't 99% in favour, in the time honoured way of the old communist bloc.

For that era, they are incredibly high quality images. Looking at them, they could have been taken yesterday.

Neither do I !!!

I only ask because it's now a month away, it's highly improbable that the lockdown, certainly as it applies to indoor pubic gatherings, will have been lifted. Yet they are advertising it as though it will take place as per usual at the Grange Hotel, Bracknell, with the public in attendance. I sent an e mail to them several days ago, but have received no response.

Had this e mail......was obviously successful for them.....

Cat watching a horror film......

Very pleased with this 1853 Peck 1503/Bramah 15, intermediate colon penny, which I managed to buy for £135. Like the 1853 PT, it's quite scarce, so to get one in EF for that price, was pretty good. I'd been umming and ahh ing over this one from KB Coins for £295, which is a demonstrably inferior specimen for more than twice the price. So another instance of an e bay "best offering".

That looks a tidy and useful bit of kit. Not too expensive either. The idea on this occasion was just to see whether I upload the video to the forum. Now I know that's possible, the potential is there to move forward to something more sophisticated next time, assuming that a need arises to do one. Probably will in due course.

I agree. Unless you can find some way of keeping the camera motionless in the ideal position, then there isn't really a massive gain from it. To be honest I was thinking that as I watched it for the first time. I suppose it might prove useful if you did need to demonstrate a specific point. But other than that, it's probably more heat than light. Nonetheless, at least it can be done via you tube, and it's also possible to upload a much longer video, if needs be. Although I won't be doing so as there's nothing to show.

Now managed to do one of the above as a you tube link. Will try next getting a longer video.

Continuing Pete's idea of a video, I've tried to do one as a demo. Probably be a dismal failure, and even if it does come off, will be a bit crude as a first attempt. demo video demo video 2 ETA: Well it did work, but they came through as downloads. There must be a simpler way. Maybe somebody else can take this idea forward?

Well spotted Ian. That's a really nice high grade example.

Yes, they do seem to have a much more reckless mindset than we here in the UK do, despite the crowded beaches here. I note that in some states (notably Texas) there has been another massive spike since lockdown was lifted. Other states like Montana, have barely been affected at all, even from the start - perhaps reflecting smaller towns and a more rural lifestyle. Montana borders Canada (population 37.6 million, and 8000 covid deaths, so in absolute terms and proportionately, much less than ours). Interestingly, the latest US spike is affecting a much younger cohort than previously - predominantly 30's this time. Here in the UK we do have our problems with morons who flock to the beach in large numbers, and the illegal raves, but at least that's outdoors, and hopefully the strong UV light will be mitigating the virus, on the beach anyway. Also, as far as I can tell, we don't (so far) seem to have been adversely affected by the previous waves of beach goers from several weeks ago, nor by the demonstrators. I did notice many of those demonstrators wore face masks, as did those who stood in front of statues to protect them. I wonder how the spike in Leicester will be dealt with.

Neat idea - just bought one as well, as they're so cheap.

Just switching tack here to a more bright and hopeful stance - there are reports that the virus is weakening, maybe via mutation, and causing fewer deaths than it did, among the same cohorts. So maybe if there is a second spike, it won't be anything like as deadly as the first - Fingers crossed. By the way just a quick shout out here for the many hospital staff, some of whom have sadly passed away from Covid 19 in the last few months - they courageously put themselves in harm's way 24/7 to look after sufferers. Some have sadly paid the ultimate price for that dedication. Again, disproportionately, BAME medical staff. All these guys, from whatever background, have my maximum respect for undertaking a job I couldn't even imagine doing at the best of times.

Let me have a bash with a random coin picture. Working OK for me (from choose files)

I posted a link in my post of 22nd June above, which you've already replied to, so you've seen it. As far as the rest, I'm not engaging with you on it, as it's not and never was part of the point I was making. I said several posts ago I wasn't getting involved in the race:crime argument. I'll leave that to you.

Well part of it pretty obviously is, as far more African American and Hispanic people (per million of the population) are shot and otherwise killed by police, than white people. That's hard fact. You seem to have completely missed the main thrust of what I'm saying though, which is that the United States police in general, are trigger happy and there are a disturbingly high number of people (of all ethnicities) who are being stopped by the police for spurious reasons. The situation then escalates massively, and the "suspect" is shot dead. These are situation in which absolutely no other person would be adversely affected if the police hadn't got involved at all. For example in the case of Floyd, why was he suspected, and why was a presumption made that even if he had passed on a fake $20 note, that it was deliberate - how many fake £1 coins were passed on unwittingly in this country? In the Brooks case, can you imagine that happening here in the UK? Most normal, civilized people would have gone up to the guy and just asked if he was OK, and tried to help him, including our own police. I think the US police need re-educating on their priorities and to be made aware of their responsibilities as that pertains to the safety and well being of the public they purport to protect. Although my political instincts are conservative with a small c, I cannot countenance, nor keep quiet, if innocent people are the subject of needless killings by representatives of the state, especially one which describes itself as the "land of the free and the home of the brave". There's nothing brave or free about these dreadful occurrences. Moreover, although I can't prove it, I do get the overriding impression that some of these police officers are looking for any excuse to shoot those they stop. The slightest false move and you're blown away, not even knowing whether you were following the officer's orders or not. That comes across very strongly. It's nasty. it's cowardly and it's breathtakingly idiotic. I make no apology whatever for speaking out against it.

You could add a commentary, which might be interesting. Not to mention seeing the coin(s) from different angles. Problem is with the uploading, as a raw video recording taken on a smartphone, say, or a tablet, will normally be too big to send anywhere, if it's longer than about 18 seconds. You have to find some way to compress the size, which isn't always as easy as it sounds.

...and of course, Bob, the "I" in BRITT pointing to a tooth, being the definitive hallmark of a Gouby X....