Zombies Over-run Rochdale!

Well, Perhaps
What else can cause a population to flee in terror?  Yes, yes, an invasion of land-mobile Great White Sharks, except that we're a long way from the Irish Sea.  Mysterious killer monsters from The Upside Down?  Don't be ridiculous!  The second season of "Stranger Things" hasn't even started.  New Kids On The Block doing a free concert?  Now you're just being silly.  Zombies is by far the most sensible explanation.
     "What's rattled his cage now?" I can hear you quibbling.  Leaving aside the slightly squeaky note in your voice as you consider the possibility that zombies are real, I shall explain. 

Look at them, fleeing!

     This collection of panicky humans wasn't unique or isolated, the procession went on during the morning and into the afternoon, and nobody who went past ever returned.  Clearly the undead had taken over Rochdale, because that's the direction these people were fleeing from.  Even more evidence!

Still fleeing

     "They don't seem to be exactly running," I hear you observe.  Well of course not!  We're British, we don't panic, we leave that to more excitable types.  In the case of an emergency, proceed slowly to a place of refuge and remain out of eyeshot of the hordes of ravening undead.

A Few Clerihew
We've not had any of these quirky little space-fillers for a day or two, and I do so enjoy regaling you with the fruits of my imagination whilst walking the dog*.  Whether you enjoy them or not isn't really the point, it's my blog and that's that.  Okay, let the merry quipping begin!
     

Chris Hemsworth

Is banned from Perth.

I refer to the Scottish town, 

not the place that's Under and Down.

     Who knows what dreadful crime he committed to be banished from the Purl of the North?  Personally I suspect he put sugar in his porridge.
     Also, getting barred from Perth, Australia would be problematic for him, as he's Australian.
     Now, who else can we insult?  Aha.  I spy a prog rocker trying to look inconspicuous.

Roger Waters

Hired porters

To carry his stuff around,

In the days of the Sixties Underground

     Ha!  I can't imagine anyone less likely to do that, he'll really get infuriated when these verses meet his sight.  Now, here's one person I've had my satirical eye on, although his surname has been his best defence - until now.

William Shatner

Visited Patna.

Even if it was only a single time

It helps as his name is hard to rhyme.

     Patna, for your information, is a city in India.

The cold, hard, unimpressed stare of Mr. Waters

More Of Madam
Ah yes the daily doggy update.  These are from yesterday, after we went up and around Darling Daughter's old school.  Weather not exactly hot or sunny, yet at least not raining.  Art?

Edna lower right

     After two walks that total nearly an hour, our princess was a bit tuckered out. Art?

     I know, I know, this isn't exactly news, but I have an obligation to keep Wonder Wifey up to speed on how her surrogate daughter is doing.  If not, there will be trouble in the world.  My world.
     Oh, and get this -

     Shocking, isn't it?  And yet so typical of First Bus. There's the 409 still heading into Rochdale, a town now infested with zombies.  They really don't care about their passengers, do they?

Er -

     Of course, I may be overthinking this a bit ...

I think it may be a slow news day at the Beeb, one of their articles is about a law banning people in Hampshire from walking more than four dogs at a time.  North Korea? French Presidential elections? The war on ISIS?  Pallid, inconseqential nonsense compared to walking the dogs!

This is it!

     People can't get enough of this, and - I know I'm contradicting myself** - apparently walking the dog is news, and you lot need to know more more more.  Don't worry, you will!

Conrad Predicts The Future
And it isn't pretty.  Some years ago, whilst on a cruise ship, I came up with a rationale for a sci-fi story and wrote it down.  Earth has sent out a combination of exploratory and diplomatic starship mission, to reconnect with planets previously colonised but which have broken off contact with the mother world.

Planet Earth; your home planet

     Part of the reason for these colonies being established was flight from the oppressive dictatorship of AUTHORITY on Earth.  I'm not sure if AUTHORITY is an anagram or not, but it has to always be in upper-case.  There were two versions of AUTHORITY: the original, composed of cyborg ubermenschen who were relatively benign, and the latter version, who were most definitely not benign, and who were a lot more machine than human.
     Well now, Professor Yuval Harari has come up with a compelling argument that this is what is going to happen, not merely might.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-39706765

     There's the link.
     You can get ready to acknowledge your new masters aaaany day now, and you're welcome.

Meet the new boss

*  Patience, the Ednews comes later
**  Not that I care a whit.