Happy Middle of The Week Wednesday.....

In today's Issue :-

The Serial - Hat Box - Part 3
International No Tobacco Day
Breaking the Law or Faking the Law ?
Tobacco Facts
Answer
Finish With a Song

NEW.....Serial

Recently I was approached by my local museum to provide a piece regarding their
collection of vintage hats. They wanted something to use on their web site and with
the display.

I came up with a little story.

Rather than publishing it on here in one big chunk.
I've decided to break it down to short manageable pieces so you
can enjoy a brief read.

Hope you enjoy.....

Hat Box

by Neville Raper

May 2017

Part 3

..........Rob snatched off the boater; reality snapped back into full fact focus. He reached up and touched his face; it was covered in a thick layer of dust. Rob used his T-Shirt to rub some of it off.

He must have bumped his head, he thought, although he wasn’t aware of losing consciousness. The irony of this wasn’t lost on himself.

He moved and removed the lid of another box. This time it revealed a bright yellow helmet. He picked it up in his hands. It was a fireman’s helmet; it looked like it was from the second world war. Once again, it seemed new, unused. 

The visor was clear with no scratches, and the leather straps used to attach to the head smelled clean and freshly tanned.

Rob hesitated but wanted to ensure that what just happened with the boater was just dust in his eyes and a bang to the head. He slid it on.

Immediately, the smell of acrid dense smoke filled his lungs; he retched into his mouth. He felt an intense heat. Looking down, he saw the hairs on his arms and legs shrivel and oxidise on his skin. They broke off and mixed with the dust.

Rob felt his clothes tighten, the material within them reacting to the temperature.

He couldn’t see anything. The smoke was a black hole eating oxygen and light in equal measure. He looked at his hands and was terrified to see blisters starting to form. 

As he stared, one popped, and viscous fluid ran down his wrist. He’d seen and endured enough. Struggling, Rob felt the strap melting into his chin. He scratched and clawed, managed to get his nails underneath and threw the helmet off. 

To his disgust,he could see tendrils of his charred skin follow it.......

INTERNATIONAL NO TOBACCO DAY

Every day, we see them huddled in the rain and the cold, bent over a cigarette.

The stench gets into their clothes and hair, stains their teeth brown, and pollutes the air around them. 

(Can you guess I don't smoke )

No Tobacco Day is dedicated to those who are determined to leave this horrible substance behind them, and encourage others to do so as well.

Just think of the money you will save !!

BREAKING THE LAW OR FAKING THE LAW

Another quick quiz..... Going to give you a law it it a real law ( Breaking the Law ) or

have I made it up ( Faking the Law )

In York, excluding Sundays, it is perfectly legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow. 

FACTS ABOUT SMOKING 

About 40 per cent of men worldwide smoke as compared with nearly 9 per cent of women.

One person dies every six seconds due to tobacco.

Tobacco use is the second cause of death globally (after hypertension) and is currently responsible for killing one in 10 adults.

In the developing world, tobacco consumption is rising by 3.4% per year. About 15 billion cigarettes are sold daily - or 10 million every minute. About 12 times more British people have died from smoking than from World War II.

Although accurate butt facts are rare, that's an average of less than two cigarette butts daily from each of earth's 1.2 billion smokers, just 13% of the estimated 15 billion filtered cigarettes being smoked each day.

The country with the heaviest smokers, per capita - China.

BREAKING THE LAW - ANSWER.....

Did you work it out....??

In York, excluding Sundays, it is perfectly legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow. 

So is it Faking the law ? or Breaking the law ?

IT'S TRUE !! - Breaking The Law..... But only with a bow and arrow !!

Well that's it for today....

See you tomorrow..

Finish with a song..... This is Smokie ( get it ? )

Living Next Door to Alice

Released in 1976 ( 41 years ago !!! )