why ????

[Arnie]

Bill,
Singapore was an eye opener. Bugis St is still there but it is now a fairly large Asian Market. In the short time I was there in 2017, off a Cruise ship, Brenda and I could not find any Kaiti's. When I was there in 1970/71 with the Int, when in Bugis St, if it was gorgeous, it was a boy. Only ever had my photo taken with one. First wife was sat off to the right (6ft) away.
For a variety of reasons 'going' with one was against Military Law. So it was our job to deal with any soldiers who took advantage of what they had to offer. It was highly amusing to to watch the look on their faces when informed of what they had done. Even worse when they realised they had paid for it.
Oh! Happy Days.

Arnie

[Bill Bentley]

Lucky for me your tour was probably up when I got there in 73/74. 16 Airborne Brigade had elements of all arms, training up country in Malaya. I had recently joined the Para Sqn RAC and that was my first overseas posting with them. Singapore was our R&R base. We had wanted to go over to Vietnam but the powers that be said NO !

Not much social distancing down Bugis Street back then I can assure you .

[Pinky]

Howdy,
As for us Hohne boys being about 90kms south of Hamburg had its advantages. Nuff said.
Hussar
Pinky

[Arnie]

Pinky,
I must have lived a dissolute life. The first time I saw the Reeperbahn was on the way to a football match somewhere in Schlegwig Holstein in 1959. Was a fairly new arrival in Hohne and were in John Justin's car. He was the Chief Clerk and a, presumably, straight-laced guy, because he wouldn't let me out and pick me up on the way back.
While at 7 Armd Bde in 1966 several of us from the NBC/Int Sect went to Hamburg from Soltau to put a young L/cpl from the Int Corps, who we surmised was a Cock Virgin, through the delights of Herbertstr. The street was crowded as that was the night England beat Germany for the World Cup.
The L/cpl eventually went in with one of the Ladies and another guy from the Scots Greys, went in with another Lady. He was a West Indian and a fairly large guy. Me and another Cpl from the Signals waited outside the one Harry had gone in because the L/cpl had been demanding to have 30 minutes to perform. We stood there not uttering a sound cos all these inebriated Germans were obviously pissed off at losing and we didn't want to annoy them any more than they already were. Harry eventually came out 90 minutes later with a hand written note asking him to 'come back any time for free' but try and make it during the week when they were not so busy, Bastard!

Arnie

[Bill Bentley]

I was again with the regiment when we moved to Höhne and so also got to know Hamburg's darker side. Me and a guy called Stavros used to cruise up there in his TR6 and we got up to all sorts of mischief . My only having a motorbike at the time would have made it awkward for casual contacts.

Hamburg these days is the heartland of fanatical left wing socialists. They seriously think that nobody should be able to 'own' anything and that the state should carry every useless wanker who is too idle to get out of bed and work for their own keep. Needless to say I disagree .

It's hardly surprising then that Hamburg was one of the epicenters of corona in Germany, just as it was for AIDS etc. .
Lucky that we got there before it all arrived .
.

[Arnie]

Bill,

You can say that again. Having said that study of Google Earth Street level shows Herbert Strasse same as it always was. Oh! How I miss them days.

Arnie

[Arnie]

Bill,

have to say tho that I didn't know much about Hamburg itself. As with a lot of Squaddies, I only knew or wanted to know the St Pauli area, Reeperbahn and Herbert Str

[Pinky]

On one occasion we made it to the fish market by the harbour, that was an education......about 9am all the bars there were full of Germans having breakfast and a few beers lots of um pa pa bands etc. I recall going 4 times in one week consequently I was broke the rest of the month.
From Berlin and Munster (after Hohne) on exercise on Soltau or in Hohne transit for the ranges I was happy but surprised when organised transport would take us to Hamburg for the night. Not complaining but quite the risk taken by the OC and SSM's at the time. ( big gonads in my opinion).
Happy days - mostly.
Pinky

[john kerwin]

Just a little aside. I recommend you all watch, paddy mcguinness singing the road to barnard castle.

[Bill Bentley]

Hi all,

as ever I have a theory ...

As to why the Spanish have had such a hard time with Corona:
Firstly 'they don't have a stiff upper lip'.
What I mean is that they hug and slabber all over one another like a pack of puppy dogs.
Secondly their medical care is based upon patients families supporting them in hospital. This means that food gets brought in and the whole family sit in the multiple bed wards eating and chatting with the patients, apparently without 'visiting time' limits.
Thirdly they have a much smaller quota of beds, especially intensive care beds, per thousand people.
So the hospitals are the breeding ground for disease !

And finally, they are pigs !
What I mean is: every farmer burns their rubbish on giant open fires, oil, tires, plastic, everything gets burned and the air is permanently polluted with poisonous smoke and so they must virtually all have damaged lungs etc. from childhood onwards.
Also, at least out in the country side, they do not use the dustbins which stand on almost every corner. Even those who actually make the journey to the bins just dump their rubbish in front of the empty bins. The animals and the very stormy winds scatter this in all directions, it lands in the waterways and eventually into the seas.

Why in Gods name we worry about what is going on in Africa or China when our own EU is in such a state is beyond reason.

So, what's your excuse UK ?
.