4th June 2020 - Walls and Warfare

Thought for the day:"Of all my body parts my fingers are the most reliable – I can always count on them"

LINK JOHNS HOPKINS
Office of National Statistics

I learned something today

In England one sometimes encounters these "wavy" brick fences. And curious as it may seem, this shape uses LESS bricks than a straight fence.

That's because a straight fence that is just one brick thick is not sturdy enough to stand alone and can be easily toppled with a determined push. For that reason straight fences always have a thickness of at least two layers of bricks and often more, and are also reinforced at regular intervals with vertical posts serving as buttresses.

But a wavy "one-brick" fence stands just fine on its own due to the arch support provided by its shape, which combines both fence and buttress.

Yup - seems about right ....

And many people are finding new ways to cope in the shut-down - this is one...

And with that I think I will leave politics for the day...

And so to the Shut-Down Serenades..... No 43 - Your Gambeson is too Long

A sad tale of getting old .. In Warfare, your armour would be fitted, determined by your height, girth, weight and stature. This is a tale of what happens when you age and are no longer as tall and fit as you were in your early days... And when your Gambeson (the padded coat that goes under your plate armour) is too long - then you have shrunk to the stage where you should hang up your helmet and leave the field to those more capable... "The bards will pamper Victors 'Cos the dead can't pay or sing..." Original Song "Homburg" by Procol Harem

Cheers!