I received this doll as a present from my sister when she lived in the US, I must have been 15 or thereabouts. She carried a baby on her back. Her male counterpart still has his head but like the baby his backpack made of a piece of fleece is gone.
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“Death grinned because, as has so often been remarked, he didn’t have much option.”
(Terry Pratchett, Mort)
The poor sod can’t even smirk.
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Streetlamp posts here often have stickers as have electricity distribution boxes and cigarette vending machines. Many are of various football clubs and they are often really ugly in content, wording, and art. Mainly because they are not in support of the creator’s own club but against the “enemy”, their favourite club to hate.
However, I saw one sticker which I wholeheartedly support because it expresses my disdain for football, national and even more so international football.
“Against modern football!”
I have nothing but scorn for modern football – the amount of money that is involved is immoral, the functionaries are corrupt (probably not all but it has been shown again and again). My last straw was the awarding of the FIFA world cup to Saudi Arabia (Qatar in 2022 was already disgusting: the handing the games to the emirate for lots of money, the questionable selection procedure (which might or might not have involved bribery), the building of new stadiums which was accompanied by what can be described as modern day slavery and totally unacceptable conditions for the workers, the ecologically undefensible air conditioning of whole stadiums – I could go on). When we lived in Saudi we used to make fun of Saudi Arabia’s attempt to get the Olympics into the country, an attempt which was abandoned when they heard that they would have to allow female athletes and female spectators. I don’t know how FIFA will resolve the audience issue – I don’t care. I have stopped watching the sport. My husband still watches, I usually leave him to it but I have nothing but contempt for this sport now.
Now that was a rant and a half.
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The Bostal See (or Lac de Bostal) in the German Saarland bordering France was created in 1979. It is used almost exclusively for recreating, swimming, boating, and as a nature reserve.
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That’s the crest on top of the huge wine vat in the cellar of the Heidelberg Castle – not the BIG vat, though, but quite big. And it’s dusty. FOWC with Fandango: Dusty
These bronze reliefs show scenes depicting the Premonstratensians who founded the Cathedral of Havelberg (a town in Brandenburg, about an hours drive west of Berlin) in the 12th century. They are on the outside walls of the cathedral. Not, I think, a very flattering representation: contemplative life, removed from the people; lording over a battlefield, soldiers and skulls, during the Wendish Crusade, a military campaign to crush the Slavs; contemplative life, removed from the people; and feasting on the labours of others in the last. The artist is contemporary Bernd Streiter.
FOWC with Fandango: Relief
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but if you ask me, I usually come
and join the fun.
FOWC with Fandango: Shortcoming
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pictures imperfect blog 