You May Think I Was Channelling The Spirit Of Biggles Or Bertie Wooster
Not a bit of it! Though it does give me an 'in' to depict either one of those two. Art!
That's the AI Art Generator's version of "Biggles and Bertie Wooster" so don't ask me what it's contorted little electronic mind was thinking, on th
ANYWAY I mention those two fictional heroes - you know, I don't think I've ever read any background of Bertie in the Great War, although he was surely of an age to serve in it, and being a pilot would be right up h
ANYWAY AGAIN I mention those two fictional heroes because neither of them used curse words, in fact nothing stronger than 'You rotter!' when in real life Biggles, an officer in the Rifle Brigade before joining the Royal Flying Corps, would very likely have used rather fruity language at times.
My usual reversion here is to consult my 'Collins Concise Dictionary', which stated: "A person adjudged insolvent by a court, his or her property being administered for the benefit of creditors" to which I would add "or business".
Where does it come from? Why, the Old French "banqueroute", itself derived from "bancarotta", the Old Italian derived from "Bank" and "Rotta" which means "Broken". So what word does this end in?
BANKRUPT.
Ta da! Art!
I've put this here as a placeholder, and yes, I might have used this yesterday when the Intro was about 'Tank' except I'd have to explain why it wasn't spelled correctly and that would have involved a warren of rabbit holes.
ANYWAY AGAIN AGAIN I was looking up info about bankruptcies, and South Canada has a whole raft of different versions, ranging from Chapter 7, which seems to be for individual, up to Chapter 11, which is for businesses. There's even a Chapter 15, which covers cross-border debtors and creditors. I mention this in passing, as the subject matter here concerns bankruptcies in Modern-day Mordor.
As shown above, the military aviation company "TANTK Im G M Beriev" may be going bankrupt soon, as an example of this status at work. A Ruffian institute called the "Arbitration Institute Soyuzmash" has confirmed that TANTK has a presumably verrrry large debt owing to another entity called "OOO PTC Vector", coyly withholding details about how large. Art!
TANTK used to make the A-50 'Mainstay' AEW & C aircraft, of which the Ruffian may have as many as 3 left, or as little as none. Once again, investigative journalists are not encouraged to determine the exact number.
'PS01' on Twitter revealed that the total 2023 revenue for TANTK was ₽13.4 billion, with ₽527 million in profit (about $5 million), so this utterly dismal news is solely due to the financial strictures of 2024, and an interest rate of 21% on any loans the company took out to finance the business.
"Ah, but the Kremlin might help prop up such a prestigious company!" I hear you quibble.
They might, except this isn't an isolated example. "The Moscow Times" - which reports from safety outside Mordor - warned that Ruffian, not Western, experts warned about a wave of corporate bankruptcies arriving in 2025. In 2023 10% of Ruffian manufacturing companies were paying out over 66% of their pre-tax profits in interest; that figure has now doubled to 20% in 2024. And those were pre-tax profits, before the government takes a big chunk out of them. Put simply, if these companies default, the Kremlin has nothing to bail them out with. Art!
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| Doleful coal |
The coal industry used to be a consistent earner for Modern-day Mordor. Not any more! In 2024 they managed to make a loss of ₽80 billion, which is $823 million in money that's not toilet roll. They have suffered under sanctions and falling exports, so if they cannot increase their revenue stream those losses may accumulate and force a decision about bankruptcy
It continues to get worse. Yes, it most certainly can, Vulnavia! 800 shopping malls face insolvency (another euphemism for 'bankruptcy'), along with road construction companies. New loans were down by half in November and December, because businesses cannot afford to pay back loans at 21% interest.
Keep watching this space and bring on the buckets of popcorn!
A Tad Concerning
Conrad spotted a byline on the BBC's New webpage, the font of all that's fit to be writ, and idly noted that motorists might be inconvenienced. Art!
Well who cares if a bunch of petrolheads with nothing but rubber and steel between the ears get put out by either diversions or roadworks?
Then I spotted the same picture with a different title and suddenly matters were of concern to Conrad. Art!
The Snake Pass, you see, is the shortest route from The Mansion to Richard's domicile in Storrs, on the outskirts of Sheffield. Otherwise it's a long dogs-leg of motorway traffic.
'Picturesque' may be true. If you're the driver you can't view the vistas because you're too busy keeping an eye on the road, which in parts does twist and turn like a snake, frequently has roadworks, running water, landslides and sheep roaming loose along the verges. Art!
Conrad was fortunate the first time he travelled to Storrs, as the snows had ceased and Glossop Council had sent snow-ploughs along the route, clearing it yet leaving towering drifts alongside the tarmac.
Erosion and landslips are quoted in the article, and I can confirm that the council are facing an uphill struggle to maintain the route.
"There's one place on Snake, at Alport, where you can see that half the road has gone," said Cupit.
Traffic lights have therefore been installed so that cars can still use one of the lanes."
Snake Past?
Another Ooops Moment
Yes, another incident from that annoying collection of mechanical mishaps, which I have managed to detail a little, beyond the nil information provided. Art!
Okay, this unit is from 'Leibherr', whom we've encountered before, as being a Teuton heavy-engineering company. Whatever this thing is, it weighs many, many tons, or you'd not need a pair of heavy-duty cranes to lift it. The identifying factor is that 'Leibherr LHM 320", which Conrad's aged yet still percipient eyes noticed. Art!
So, what's being lifted and lofted is the base unit of a Leibherr crane unit, absent the jibs and booms. You're welcome. Art!
Looks a bit bent to Conrad. I think the killing joke here is that these were a brace of Liebherr cranes doing the lifting. Ooops oooops.
Late-breaking news from Interpol HQ in France, possible sighting of the Motley in Uzbekistan. Art!
Wellllll it may be the Motley. Conrad is unsure what on earth else it might be.
Our Journey With Bernie
Continues! Our progress with the first series of FPG trading cards has been a bit spotty once we hit the #60+ numbered cards, where several have simply been unobtainable. Let us scope out what might be next. Ah - #71 "Stegosaurus" Art!
Calling this 'Macabre' is a real stretch. I mean, Ol' Steggy was a veggy, that being a herbivore that dined on plants, not other dinoes.
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