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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 5h

I can remember having to explain exactly that joke in the film to a girl who fancied me, back in the day. Remarkably she still fancied me afterwards. Which was unusual.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 6h

(shout out to the three antiquated veterans of the days of ye olde English football who understood what I'm on about here, and my apologies to everybody else)

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 6h

Kendal mint cake is basically the densest source of energy this side of a neutron star, which is why it has to be rendered safe by being disgusting enough to only eat in a real emergency. I'm not sure counting down to Christmas with the in-laws is quite emergency enough.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 6h

So on a matchday the Arsenal club shop has about thirty staff on the tills, and when they're free they stick a hand up for the next customer.

I realised today that if you don't bother moving for long enough you can make them look like the classic Arsenal back four...

I think it's Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Lee Dixon appealing for offside here. Their hands are all up in the air in a synchronised fashion.

Iirc Arsenal occasionally loaned their defence coaches to 90s boybands to work on their routines.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 13h

Yup

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 18h

Don't tell the vicar

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 19h

Yet another first class morning on the ECML...

Autumn mist and morning sunshine hanging across green Yorkshire fields on the East Coast Main Line, as seen at 125mph

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

Just got to the conspiracy theorists, and bloody hell but your greasy-looking lad there is getting off on being on camera.

Meanwhile literally everybody from a position of command is all "the British might be mental, but they're at least professionally mental"

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

I'm catching up with it myself, and yes, I agree. Particularly notable that the Royal Navy were immediately involved, and suggestive that the brass really did want to find it in time.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

Still remember my first kite, driving with one of my best friends to the Brecon Beacons in deep winter, sweeping just in front of us. I know exactly where to expect them here in Yorkshire now and I'm rarely disappointed. Beautiful birds.

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Reposted by Dreadnought Holiday

Ceryl @politicdormouse.bsky.social · 1d

Hattie T. Scott Peterson. In 1946 1st African-American woman to earn bachelor's degree in civil engineering. 1947 Survey & cartographic #engineer for US Geological Survey. 1954 1st woman engineer to join local US Army Corps of Engineers. #WomenInSTEM b. #OTD 11 Oct 1913 bit.ly/3hKbQLJ

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

That's a VERY angry budgie

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

Ooh, no - I haven't, but thanks for the tip off.

I do remember its loss though, and some of the allegations flying around about its condition at the time. The nature of submarines is that if something goes wrong it very easily goes badly wrong.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

Fighting over Pi? But that... that's irrational!

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

I can remember being told to be excited at seeing a buzzard as they were ridiculously rare. Fifteen years later there was a nest outside my office, and I was delighted because they were now an everyday bird for me, but I moved to York and there were none. They're here now. My heart soars with them.

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Reposted by Dreadnought Holiday

Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

My favourite trebuchet story is Edward I spending three months building one at Stirling Castle - nicknamed Warwolf - then angrily ordering the garrison back inside when they tried to surrender before he had a chance to use it at them.

Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 1d

Reading Holy Warriors,Jonathan Phillips' excellent history of the crusades, I learn that catapults on the opposing sides at the siege of Acre at the end of the 12th century went by names such as "Bad Neighbour" and "Evil Cousin."

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 1d

My favourite trebuchet story is Edward I spending three months building one at Stirling Castle - nicknamed Warwolf - then angrily ordering the garrison back inside when they tried to surrender before he had a chance to use it at them.

Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 1d

Reading Holy Warriors,Jonathan Phillips' excellent history of the crusades, I learn that catapults on the opposing sides at the siege of Acre at the end of the 12th century went by names such as "Bad Neighbour" and "Evil Cousin."

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

(tbf he's probably busy doing the next prime ministers of France. He's got six to find just to get us to Tuesday)

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

This implies there's some sort of line of succession being maintained somewhere, possibly by the same chap who does the Royal Family.

I do hope he doesn't get the two lists mixed up.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

YES!

Also the only animals to fly through the power of jazz hands.

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Reposted by Dreadnought Holiday

Maz Jovanovich @mazjovanovich.bsky.social · 2d

They say a picture tells a thousand words - and this one definitely does.

I found it unexpectedly today while in search of another image and it stopped me in my tracks.

Smiling pregnant woman in military uniform being promoted by another woman and a man, who are both putting new rank slides onto her shirt, in front of an aircraft.

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

Yes!

Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

All the essential bits are still attached in that image…

It's a 1930s fighter designed to operate from relatively austere airfields (by modern standards) - it ought to be able to take some stick. I just hope "safely returned to service" means "we've finally caught up with 8 decades of maintenance".

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

I've run the sums before on some of the more egregious murdertugs and always been reassured by the numbers that drop out, but never tried it for one of these. Must have still been unpleasant to be around.

In the painting I assume it's been ballasted to increase the elevation?

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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d

Sort of.

It's more like taking a few timbers from the Mary Rose, building a replica around them, dumping the rest and announcing the replica is now the Mary Rose.

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