Absolutely Anything Else

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Bring your sunscreen because everyone is planning on Balaton this summer, unless they come up with a media blast of the water having black algee !
I'm thinking the best is to just buy a weekend house and spend my money on a pool.
I've already have done it if up to me alone.
Or better yet, just go home for good and move to a building with a built in pool only for the residents. Usually those old floks homes have zero people swimming in their pools. Wonder why they even put a pool in at times.
More of a luxury feature of if the grandkids visit once in awhile, even then they are resricted in hours of useage, residents only mostly.
Heard the open air pools will be alright for those without an immunity card, just cant use the indoor areas.
We are all being tested.

Those pools are for exercise!  Obviously old bodies need some support while doing that stuff.  Probably they only use it a few hours a week.  They'll be doing that synchronised swimming or exercise.  They do that at the Annagora swimming pool/water park in Balatonfoldvar.  Surprising how many people join in.

We won't be going to the spa and we'll be avoiding crowded beach down at Balaton.  We have access to the lake via the neighbours private walkway so we'll do that.  So long as I can launch my canoe.  That almost sounds like a euphemism. 

One of my older kids has decided to go camping.  No foreign travel.  Normally she'd come here.  Haven't seen her for 2 years. And another sprog we haven't seen since February 2020 and unlikely to see before 2022.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Cynic wrote:

...
I'll let you know when I feel frightened.  As for LBC, I wouldn't believe all you hear on that station - £135, including fit to travel document is the going rate (my daughter uses it regularly).  I've got a box full of the tests upstairs, Mrs C has to test every other day and as part of the ZOE testing group (link), I test weekly.

Here, having spent billions keeping the country going, what they can't do is accept it happening again, so they are being ultra-cautious.  If the cost is some people can't lay on the beach for a few weeks, then so be it; I suspect you know where my sympathy lies.

I wasn't referring to those in the UK who want to travel elsewhere for holidays.   It wasn't about going to the beach from UK to somewhere else.  It was something else. 

The frightened bit was about here - many Hungarians do not speak English or another language and the government controls all the media.  So they can spoon feed them any old nonsense.  It's a recurrent problem.

Anyways, I was actually referring to people here who want and need to travel there and come back here.   The costs and number of tests are ridiculous in the UK - the PCR tests cost a maximum of HUF 20K here (about £50).  The price is mandated by the HU government.   UK government could easily set a fixed price for it but they choose not to.   The LBC quoted numbers are from the government's own web site! Last one on the list is £390!

At the moment, it's 4 tests and 10 days quarantine from HU to UK and 10 days on return here.   So that's just looking absurd.  It's going to cost north of £500 just to take a round trip and waste huge amounts of time even if the traveller and all the people in between have been vaccinated.  I could live with £200 but £500 and stuck inside is just taking the mickey.

The rate of vaccination here is very high (albeit some with Chinese and Russian vaccines but also with AZ and Pfizer).   It's almost as high as the UK.  And Malta was short changed on being green.  Let's not talk about Portugal's flip flopping colours.

I actually want to go to to see my Dad.  He's 97 and was in hospital with an infected hand. I haven't seen him since August 2020. At that age he could drop dead anytime and I might not see him again.  I was volunteering to look after him but it's a PITA with the overbearing PCR and quarantine requirements at each end.   I'd have to take care of his shopping, arranging his appointments, drive him around and so on.   He cannot drive his own car as he cannot change gear (due to his dodgy hand).  Yes, he's still able to drive at 97. I couldn't afford to hang around waiting for 10 days to be over.    If I've been vaccinated and he's been vaccinated and we stay together in a bubble, avoid everyone else, use masks and hand sanitiser, I am sure we'd be golden.   With proper precautions, UK is looking far too OTT.

I kind of get how you feel.  My wife can't get to see her Dad who is in a care home in Holland; he's survived catching Covid and is still soldiering on; I guess she feels guilty for not being there for him.  He's not alone, the wife's sister and brother are still local and our daughter lives not far away, so I guess her guilt is being able to live it up in the UK while everybody back home is living through a curfew.

That price I gave you for the test is the actual price my daughter has paid on her last 4 trips; the UK Government website you quoted from actually says that prices they give "are a guide - the final price you pay could be different to the displayed price"; they are very different in real life; not helpful, but it's what the Government does when they don't want to have to update stuff.

Cynic wrote:

...
I kind of get how you feel.  My wife can't get to see her Dad who is in a care home in Holland; he's survived catching Covid and is still soldiering on; I guess she feels guilty for not being there for him.  He's not alone, the wife's sister and brother are still local and our daughter lives not far away, so I guess her guilt is being able to live it up in the UK while everybody back home is living through a curfew.

That price I gave you for the test is the actual price my daughter has paid on her last 4 trips; the UK Government website you quoted from actually says that prices they give "are a guide - the final price you pay could be different to the displayed price"; they are very different in real life; not helpful, but it's what the Government does when they don't want to have to update stuff.

Well there you go.  Your Mrs will want to get in to see her Dad.  My nephew and his missus live in Amsterdam and they got married a few weeks ago.  No-one could go!

My Dad is visited by my brothers and sisters but I'm the only one who could be there more or less full time for a few weeks while his hand gets better.    My sister has got her own personal care issues along with her hubby (he's got a long term debilitating illness). The others live far away.  My work doesn't require me to go to an office here so I could easily do it on the dining table with the laptop.   It's going to cost us to get in some temporary helpers which will cost upwards of £2K a month.  My Dad is "too good" for a care home and he's not sick enough for NHS CHC and should improve over time.

I'm not really complaining about the tests themselves. I am complaining about the cost and the quarantine.  Especially after vaccination.  Those PCR test costs are a racket.  Even here at £50 a pop, it's money for nothing, I'm seeing PCR testing buses and portable testing places popping up all over.

The restrictions are now interfering with commerce as well - one of my relatives has to go to Germany to install some equipment.  Cannot go and do it.   Messing him up and his customers. Not without 20 days quarantine. It's just killing business. I need to go to Asia - cannot go.  Becoming seriously damaging.

I think a lot of people will be very angry.  It's going to have to change pronto.

I was going to register for my test just now and noticed the registration is saved for three months and can be used multiple times. No further registration is required. It's free which is a bonus so I can visit my local tonight. It's valid for 48 hours which I don't get as I could be infected at any time.

Just popped up in the Dutch Press that from 30 June, the French are going to have free testing for all tourists and no restrictions on travel.  I really hope this works for them.

Cynic wrote:

Just popped up in the Dutch Press that from 30 June, the French are going to have free testing for all tourists and no restrictions on travel.  I really hope this works for them.

That's got to happen in the UK.  The way it's going is unsustainable.

Airline industry group representative said this morning that they cannot survive another year.   Debt is so high, they'll see airlines going under.   And there will be huge knock on effects with airports, hotels, taxi companies and so on.  Unemployment will rise.

Michael O'Leary (Ryanair CEO, not Denis Leary the actor) also waded in a day or so ago and while I think he's a right so and so obviously and always wanting to butter his own parsnips, he wasn't wrong about  the incoherent nature of all these restrictions.

IDS (Ian Duncan Smith - MP and former party leader) also gave an interview and he made a lot of sense that things have to change. I cannot stand that bloke but he was very rational.   

Even the Portuguese are bleating at high level.  One pundit stated over 100K UK persons are in Portugal now.  And the airlines have laid on extra flights in an attempt to  get some income.  And they feel betrayed having mobilised capacity. 

Quite a bit of pushback going on.  Shapps (Transport Minister) and Boris will get it in the neck.  I like Shapps not least because he's a pilot  and he has his own plane.  But on this, HMG has misjudged the mood.   Bit like the lowering of the aid budget - a very ill informed and misjudged reduction. Maybe Boris will be facing rebellions across multiple issues.

Today I went overt to the hospital to get a check up on my eyes.
There were people lined up for a 1/4 mile at least. Hundreds in line to get vaxed.
Seems the jab program is working.
After the 2 hour wait, we took a short stroll around our area. Seemed like moslty another spring day any year. Hardly anyone wearing a mask and people were out and about doing whatever they do.
Nice to see actually.

I was highly amused by Louie Gohmert's question to the US National Forestry Service and Bureau of Land Management. Gohmert is a  politician.

Gohmert's Moon Question

You can see the other person trying hard to keep a straight face.

I had my 1st AZ jab in March and was scheduled for early June. I've been on the phone and Emails trying to figure out why I didn't get an appointment now that the date on my vaccine card had passed and how I could schedule one now. No joy.
Had a Hungarian friend call. She said they told her to just go to the hospital and they will do it. So I went...
Luckily I went early. Already a good line forming. I asked the nurse if I could get my 2nd jab, that I had no appointment. She said sure. Waited in the appointed line and an hour later I had my 2nd shot, no problems at all.
Still haven't received my vaccine card though. Asked about that, nurse said the Hungarian system can't process foreigners, so I need to go in person to the local government office and have it processed there. It's now on my agenda.
Almost everyone is walking around mask-free. I don't imagine all of them are vaccinated. But I hope to be able to take a trip in the future. Was thinking Portugal, but maybe Spain or Southern France?  Still deciding...

Vicces1 wrote:

I had my 1st AZ jab in March and was scheduled for early June. I've been on the phone and Emails trying to figure out why I didn't get an appointment now that the date on my vaccine card had passed and how I could schedule one now. No joy.
Had a Hungarian friend call. She said they told her to just go to the hospital and they will do it. So I went...
Luckily I went early. Already a good line forming. I asked the nurse if I could get my 2nd jab, that I had no appointment. She said sure. Waited in the appointed line and an hour later I had my 2nd shot, no problems at all.
Still haven't received my vaccine card though. Asked about that, nurse said the Hungarian system can't process foreigners, so I need to go in person to the local government office and have it processed there. It's now on my agenda.
Almost everyone is walking around mask-free. I don't imagine all of them are vaccinated. But I hope to be able to take a trip in the future. Was thinking Portugal, but maybe Spain or Southern France?  Still deciding...

Good luck with that travel idea. 

The green card might work for overseas travel as it is in English as well.  The paper they give you (at least for Pfizer) at the vaccination point is not in English.  Just another PITA.

When I was in the queue at Janos Korhaz, someone came along and asked if anyone was there for the 2nd jab.   Couple of people said yes and they were zoomed to the front.

Does anyone know the latest news about Dr. Fauci?
Heard he is in some hot water  with the US.gov. now since he did something with US tax payer funds to support the lab and research being done there in China.
He was making bank on our buck.
I don't trust a one of them.
I wouldn't worry about none vaxed people not wearing a mask, that is just too much to think a tiny virus is being or ever was able to live outside a body, be it animal or human( same thing really).
If so, then why aren't dogs and cats being masked up? Better yet, why aren't they wearing diapers?
We are living in times of half truths and lies in our faces.
In any case the only vax recommended for those over age 60 is Moderna or the J&J one.
You know the one that can give you blood clots.
The headaches people say they may have after a vax could possibly be from a small hemorage in the brain post vax.
Not everyone is going to drop over striaght away but I give it another 18 months or so to see what the real dangers of getting jabbed are.
Hope there are no issues but if they lie with one thing they can't be trusted with anything.
Then again ,I'm no scientist,,, To quote Fauci,"Trust me,I'm a scientist"..yea, right.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Does anyone know the latest news about Dr. Fauci?
Heard he is in some hot water  with the US.gov. now since he did something with US tax payer funds to support the lab and research being done there in China.
He was making bank on our buck.
I don't trust a one of them.
I wouldn't worry about none vaxed people not wearing a mask, that is just too much to think a tiny virus is being or ever was able to live outside a body, be it animal or human( same thing really).
If so, then why aren't dogs and cats being masked up? Better yet, why aren't they wearing diapers?
We are living in times of half truths and lies in our faces.
In any case the only vax recommended for those over age 60 is Moderna or the J&J one.
You know the one that can give you blood clots.
The headaches people say they may have after a vax could possibly be from a small hemorage in the brain post vax.
Not everyone is going to drop over striaght away but I give it another 18 months or so to see what the real dangers of getting jabbed are.
Hope there are no issues but if they lie with one thing they can't be trusted with anything.
Then again ,I'm no scientist,,, To quote Fauci,"Trust me,I'm a scientist"..yea, right.

We've just been to the Asia Center near the Polus shopping mall in North Budapest.  No-one masked there and very few masked inside.  Mrs F and I came to the conclusion that the Asia Center could be the setting for a Hungarian version of "People of Walmart".   It's a really weird place.

I like Dr Fauci.   Mainly because I don't like Trump.  I trust Fauci more than I would trust some You Tube conspiracy loon.  Fauci is close to vaccine royalty and  I reckon he's pretty much untouchable.  He's tolerated Trump and the right wing nutcases and has been in post forever.  He'll die in harness. Great survivor.   At least Fauci isn't suggesting people drink bleach or insert lights into themselves.  I give up.

Cats and dogs are not the same as humans and don't have the same diseases.  We're not the same at all. I don't know any dogs or cats that have dementia or Alzheimers.  My dog might have it or it might just be a dog.

BTW, the Russians ARE vaccinating animals against COVID19.  Click here.

Fauci is an internationally recognized infectious disease expert with decades of experience. Fauci was the world's 10th most cited HIV/AIDS researcher from 1996 through 2006. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and holds 38 honorary doctoral degrees from universities all over the world. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College.
-- Just think about that -- 38 honorary DOCTORAL degrees!!
As a physician with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fauci has served the American public health sector in various capacities for more than 50 years, and has acted as an advisor to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.
Fauci has made important scientific observations that contributed to the understanding of the regulation of the human immune response and is recognized for delineating the mechanisms whereby immunosuppressive agents adapt to that response. He developed therapies for formerly fatal diseases such as polyarteritis nodosa, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and lymphomatoid granulomatosis. In a 1985 Stanford University Arthritis Center Survey, members of the American Rheumatism Association ranked Fauci's work on the treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and granulomatosis with polyangiitis as one of the most important advances in patient management in rheumatology over the previous 20 years.
In 2003, the Institute for Scientific Information stated that from 1983 to 2002, "Fauci was the 13th most-cited scientist among the 2.5 to 3.0 million authors in all disciplines throughout the world who published articles in scientific journals."[2] As a government scientist under seven presidents, Fauci has been described as "a consistent spokesperson for science, a person who more than any other figure has brokered a generational peace" between the two worlds of science and politics.[12]


There is almost nothing to dislike about the man who has served so generously, and nothing to suggest he has ever acted with impropriety.

Hmm, guess no one is watching the main stream news media from the states.
He is in deep water with his e-mails to China.
Fauci that is, not Hilary, not this time.
Got a notice from the US State Dept. Hungary is still on the do not visit list as it is a level 3 C-19 country.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Hmm, guess no one is watching the main stream news media from the states.
He is in deep water with his e-mails to China.
Fauci that is, not Hilary, not this time.
Got a notice from the US State Dept. Hungary is still on the do not visit list as it is a level 3 C-19 country.

I did read about the China e-mails but I didn't see anything in them unusual.
I reckon Fauci is to health as Attenborough is to nature.  I'll take either of them over some faux news story.

Hungary and Hungarian politicians might become persona non-grata with the main world governments.  O1G and Fidesz have found their election enemy for 2022 in the LGBT community.

I hope the electorate has decide to reject the politics of division like they did with Trump. 

Anyway, Trump's getting closer to the cuffs snapping on.  One of his team has thrown him under the bus. Yay!

I don't vote not right or left ,I know it seems I'm all liberalish at times or conservative but in reality it is against my personal reglious and moral beliefs to vote .( Not a chruch goer but still live by Biblical laws if I can)
I'm all for a change, can't be too much worst then what's been going on for centuries.
I know that's not popular these days to state you believe in the Bible but i do my best.
I think we all will see huge changes within a couple of years if not sooner.
Some people will be happy and some not.
I  don't trust the media or anyone who's sold out into the system with believing in education. science, or themselves.
We all fall short.
I doubt Trump or anyone will see handcuffs in this lifetme.It would be nice but doubt it.
Russia giving jabs to dogs, well I will have to look into that .
Interesting since we are to believe this virus came from a bat.
I'm just an observer, no "dog" in the fight.
Whatever happens we little people have little say in it.
Reminds me of my sisters idiot terrible last boyfriend. His mother was BFF's with Leona Hemsley, the social tyrant, tax evating Queen of Mean.
Hard to fathom how my sister met and was involeved with this class of evil.
Her boyfriend was buddies with those guys from 9 Inch Nails, they were Soupy Sales sons, a couple of them at least. Son's of the rich and famous.
They all were dark energy people.
Off topic again, sorry.
Saw a long and great movie last night on Netflix.
Cannes film winner from 1978.
The Tree of the Wooden Clogs.
Don't think we little people mattered in the past and we sure don't matter much now either.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I don't vote not right or left ,I know it seems I'm all liberalish at times or conservative but in reality it is against my personal reglious and moral beliefs to vote .( Not a chruch goer but still live by Biblical laws if I can)
I'm all for a change, can't be too much worst then what's been going on for centuries.
I know that's not popular these days to state you believe in the Bible but i do my best.
I think we all will see huge changes within a couple of years if not sooner.
Some people will be happy and some not.
I  don't trust the media or anyone who's sold out into the system with believing in education. science, or themselves.
We all fall short.
I doubt Trump or anyone will see handcuffs in this lifetme.It would be nice but doubt it.
Russia giving jabs to dogs, well I will have to look into that .
Interesting since we are to believe this virus came from a bat.
I'm just an observer, no "dog" in the fight.
Whatever happens we little people have little say in it.
Reminds me of my sisters idiot terrible last boyfriend. His mother was BFF's with Leona Hemsley, the social tyrant, tax evating Queen of Mean.
Hard to fathom how my sister met and was involeved with this class of evil.
Her boyfriend was buddies with those guys from 9 Inch Nails, they were Soupy Sales sons, a couple of them at least. Son's of the rich and famous.
They all were dark energy people.
Off topic again, sorry.
Saw a long and great movie last night on Netflix.
Cannes film winner from 1978.
The Tree of the Wooden Clogs.
Don't think we little people mattered in the past and we sure don't matter much now either.

No-one would criticise you for believing in the basics rules of the 10 commandments but the rest of it, meh, no way anyone wants that distorted thinking running one's life.  Think Gilead and the Handmaid's Tale.   It's dystopia 101 with no way to vote them out.   Having to believe in anything like that is a problem in my mind but some people find there's a sense of community in the Humanists.  Not promoting it, just saying alternatives exist.

If you want to scream, watch The Serpent on Netflix.   You just want to slap the people around the head for putting themselves in such crazy and manipulated positions.  You want to jump up and shake them to wake up to their situation.   Maybe it was the hippy trail of the 1970s.  And one has to wonder what was up with the accomplices. They obviously have some serious weaknesses. 

BTW, Trump's Controller has jumped ship.  This guy must have the details on Trump's finances and what went where.   Since Trump got banned from social media and if he does jail time, would he be on the election trail next time? He once said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and still be elected.  Not sure that still flies.

As for voting, I heard parts of Malcolm X's speech "Ballot or the Bullet" the other day.  Doesn't matter if one is black or white, it was really powerful stuff.

Yes, follow the big 10 and try with the rest.
I have just about forsaken all the pagan holidays.
Never was into them much anyways.
Hippie trail, I was a bit too young to be a real Hippie, fell in between the Hippie and the Punk years, guess they were the Freak years!
Check out the documentary on the "Source" several crazy Hungarian dudes were close to, "father" althought hey were smart enough to not be mentioned in the documentary.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Yes, follow the big 10 and try with the rest.
I have just about forsaken all the pagan holidays.
Never was into them much anyways.
Hippie trail, I was a bit too young to be a real Hippie, fell in between the Hippie and the Punk years, guess they were the Freak years!
Check out the documentary on the "Source" several crazy Hungarian dudes were close to, "father" althought hey were smart enough to not be mentioned in the documentary.

I like pagan holidays myself.   I'm not keen on the hype that goes with them.  We should get back to the basics.   I mean what's REALLY wrong with maniacally dancing naked around a bonfire at 2am?

Meanwhile, I cannot believe how trusting those hippies were.  In the face of  determined bad people, they didn't stand a chance.  Who in their right mind gets in a car with them?

I've always thought poison was a woman's choice of murder weapon. Didn't stop Charles Sobhraj who clearly was a total sociopath.

My friends and i used to hitch hike in S.Ca.
99% of the time I was with a freind.
The first time I ever hithced or tried to rather was when I was 16 and my 2 older school friends were 18. Just in our little safe town going to a farmers market/boot sale thing.
Along comes a car, out pops my father and my step-father!
I got a one way ride back home!
Still in contact with one of these ladies..
Once I hitched from visiting my mom to Hollywood towards early evening.

Some 30 something year old guy picked me up.
That was the only time I was ever sort of afriad of the driver.
He put on some weird music tape and said he was a sex therapist or soemthing insnae like that.I just nodded my head and as soon as we ran up to a red light. I got out of the car.
Freaky experience.
My friend and i had anti-pervert outfits for hitching rides.
Anyone who picked us up had to be col or off their rockers.
My outfit was a man's Tux jacket with tails, men's dress pants and shoes with a silk scarf, women's evening hat with veil and white lace gloves, or something similar depending on the weather.
Once without my sisters knwledge my friend and I tok my then 3 year old neice joy riding with us in Hollywood.
We decided that day to dress like mime's. We wore tights and leatards with white face, covered up with layer after layer of scarfs and wore ballet slippers.We dress up the baby too.
As we stood in West Hollywood going towards Bevery Hills and beyond we were called by 2 black guys up high standing looking down at us from the balconey of a hotel rom.
I didn't even look up but my friend knew who they were.
They were in the Chambers Brothers band. They yelled at us not to move they were coming down to us. They took our photos! Crazy really since it should of been the other way around.
We once hitched from Hollywod to Santa Cruz and onto Frisco with 4 cents between us in cash.
All fun, we were feed along the way by drivers, ne was even some oold grandfather wh took us inside a restaurant t feed us.
Nothing weird went n, well the old guy mentioned something strange but we told him we were ging to wait for another  ride because we decied to go elsewhere , not where he was going.
I'd never hitch again, we were lucky we knew sort of how to handle oursevles plus or insane outfits were a real turn off for most perves.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My friends and i used to hitch hike in S.Ca.
99% of the time I was with a freind.
The first time I ever hithced or tried to rather was when I was 16 and my 2 older school friends were 18. Just in our little safe town going to a farmers market/boot sale thing.
Along comes a car, out pops my father and my step-father!
I got a one way ride back home!
Still in contact with one of these ladies..
Once I hitched from visiting my mom to Hollywood towards early evening.

Some 30 something year old guy picked me up.
That was the only time I was ever sort of afraid of the driver.
He put on some weird music tape and said he was a sex therapist or something insane like that.I just nodded my head and as soon as we ran up to a red light. I got out of the car.
Freaky experience.
My friend and i had anti-pervert outfits for hitching rides.
Anyone who picked us up had to be col or off their rockers.
My outfit was a man's Tux jacket with tails, men's dress pants and shoes with a silk scarf, women's evening hat with veil and white lace gloves, or something similar depending on the weather.
Once without my sisters knowledge my friend and I took my then 3 year old niece joy riding with us in Hollywood.
We decided that day to dress like mime's. We wore tights and leotards with white face, covered up with layer after layer of scarfs and wore ballet slippers.We dress up the baby too.
As we stood in West Hollywood going towards Beverly Hills and beyond we were called by 2 black guys up high standing looking down at us from the balcony of a hotel room.
I didn't even look up but my friend knew who they were.
They were in the Chambers Brothers band. They yelled at us not to move they were coming down to us. They took our photos! Crazy really since it should of been the other way around.
We once hitched from Hollywood to Santa Cruz and onto Frisco with 4 cents between us in cash.
All fun, we were feed along the way by drivers, ne was even some old grandfather who took us inside a restaurant to feed us.
Nothing weird went n, well the old guy mentioned something strange but we told him we were ging to wait for another  ride because we decided to go elsewhere , not where he was going.
I'd never hitch again, we were lucky we knew sort of how to handle ourselves plus or insane outfits were a real turn off for most perves.

Never heard of the Chambers Brothers band.   Maybe it was your chance to be famous!  Weirder things have happened.  Some people get famous for no reason at all. Kardashians for example.  Who are they again?  And why should I care?

People have all sorts of reasons to want to be famous. There was a HU guy I met once with who was convinced mini golf was the way to go.  He planned to build mini-golf courses all over the place.  Like a chain.  I also met a South African guy sometime later who had a similar idea.  He wanted to start mini-golf tournaments in LV or somewhere.  I wondered if there was something about mini golf that affected a particular type of person.   Like a mini golf susceptibility gene.   

I am not sure hitching would be so popular here.  It's relatively cheap to travel around the country. I used to hitch in the UK and I picked up people when I was bored.  Some of them were weirdos but what put me off was some guy who was nice enough but jeez, he really needed a bath. I think he'd been sleeping rough for sometime and just hadn't kept up on his personal hygiene.  I did manage however to get him a few hundred miles further on.

I rarely hitched alone and only did so because I was young and dumb.
The Chambers Brothers were famous in the US.
They were a soul band. "Time has come today" is their big tune.
They were nice and really excited about taking pictures of some crazy ladies even my little niece.
Don't think we ever told my sister we hitched with her baby.
Young and dumb.
Getting too hot here to fast.
I've never wished to be famous, would chose rich over famous any day.
The lake was nice last week but I got chilled because the wind started.
Better luck next time.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I rarely hitched alone and only did so because I was young and dumb.
The Chambers Brothers were famous in the US.
They were a soul band. "Time has come today" is their big tune.
They were nice and really excited about taking pictures of some crazy ladies even my little niece.
Don't think we ever told my sister we hitched with her baby.
Young and dumb.
Getting too hot here to fast.
I've never wished to be famous, would chose rich over famous any day.
The lake was nice last week but I got chilled because the wind started.
Better luck next time.

From German TV Chambers Brothers.

Cynic wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I rarely hitched alone and only did so because I was young and dumb.
The Chambers Brothers were famous in the US.
They were a soul band. "Time has come today" is their big tune.
They were nice and really excited about taking pictures of some crazy ladies even my little niece.
Don't think we ever told my sister we hitched with her baby.
Young and dumb.
Getting too hot here to fast.
I've never wished to be famous, would chose rich over famous any day.
The lake was nice last week but I got chilled because the wind started.
Better luck next time.

From German TV Chambers Brothers.

First I've heard of them. 

But this one works better for me - Chambers Bros Rockin' the Blues

If only I'd known about them before!

fluffy2560 wrote:

Cynic wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I rarely hitched alone and only did so because I was young and dumb.
The Chambers Brothers were famous in the US.
They were a soul band. "Time has come today" is their big tune.
They were nice and really excited about taking pictures of some crazy ladies even my little niece.
Don't think we ever told my sister we hitched with her baby.
Young and dumb.
Getting too hot here to fast.
I've never wished to be famous, would chose rich over famous any day.
The lake was nice last week but I got chilled because the wind started.
Better luck next time.

From German TV Chambers Brothers.

First I've heard of them. 

But this one works better for me - Chambers Bros Rockin' the Blues

If only I'd known about them before!

Same, neither had my wife.

SimCityAT wrote:

[img align=C]https://scontent.fvie2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/201923607_2171018139728907_2392548354025400365_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=9wrq27C0pxIAX90ib9t&_nc_ht=scontent.fvie2-1.fna&oh=7e0de3cf354df65c0b0519a710554563&oe=60D3E6D7[/url]

Yes. 1-1 but it won't make much difference for Hungary as they are at the bottom. France is top of their group. 

In the England group it should be a good 'un against Czech Republic on the 22nd.  I watched the England-Scotland match and it was quite dull.

England-Scotland match I was falling asleep, what a waste of 90 mins that was.

From the days when music was music.
My sisters boyfriend,the one we personally blame for her demise...
was a drummer but was put out of studio work when they invented those drum machines.
Everything went downhill in music once they took short cuts like that.
I love digging up music from my teen years. Jefferson Airplane, Jerthro Tull , music I've not heard for a very long time.
It still sounds great after more then 40 -50 years.
The Chambers Brothers, the 2 guys we met seemed super nice and friendly.
Nice to know not everyone famous is a jerk.
My little bro, (now 52!) used to work as a roadie for bands when he was in his early 20's.
He refused to share to many tales in front of me, my husband heard more then I did.Wild days for sure.
He worked several times for Iron Madien, I always think of Iron Butterfly though, more my generation of music.
Said they were cool guys.
He worked once for Stevie Nicks.
He said she was so sweet, she personally went over to thank the crew and asked them all to be sure to have some lunch and invited them to a little party after the show. They were too busy to attened any party but it was sweet of her to ask.
In fact my bro's friends were in a band that was just about to ,"make it" in the industry. They were boked to tour Japan when something went wrong with their contract and they were dumped. They were called, "Swinging Thing". My bro was looking forward to going to Japan with them to work in the crew.
I mentioned my sisters went to HS and college with some of the guys from ,"The Grass Roots". My older sister had a crush at college on the singer and was always talking about how cute he was.
He's dead now, cancer.
For some people fame is short and for others it seems to last a lifetime.
I don't think one person is more talented then the other, just more lucky.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....My friend also "got into troubles" at age 17, I attended her,"quickie" wedding in her parents house, she had to leave school mid term....
But then again... she did marry a older college guy from Iran who is listed as number 110 in line for the throne.
They were able to bring in $100,000 each during the troubles in the 1970's legally... She had a major jump start at a young age.
I remember riding around our little city after she returned to the US on her own from Iran with her girl, we were house hunting in her new paid off car in 1978, she paid cash for a house...
Her husband arrived a bit later with another loan of cash....

Are they still together?   

Bet they don't visit Iran very much now.

Things have  changed for the better. Having a bun in the oven and no ring on the finger is not  unusual these days. In fact, it's more or less the norm.

By chance I notied this old post about marrying young and my friend who used to live in Iran.
Not sure why I didn't answer before.
Yes, my friend is still married t her husband from Iran.
They have been together since she was 17, now she is 66.
They are great-grandparents too.
Her husband runs a slate mine in N Calif.
He used to build bridges in Iran after he finished eningeering school in Ca.
His family never really excepting my friend because she isn't Muslim.
She speaks Farsi like no one's business.
She is a blue eyed tall blonde, half Swedish and half German with some UK DNA too.
I was with her when she met her husband, I now sort of think it was a set up with me being there for her parnets and that she and her husband had met before that night.
Think it because she moved to the far side of town and didn't go to my school any longer so maybe she met him elsewhere.
We were attending a little ride fair in our town and she just walked over to this tall dark man and gave him her phone number.
My friend was super shy and as far as I ever knew never dated a guy ever.
I was slightly embassed looking back because the whole time she was speaking to him, their eyes were locked on each other, I was pulled at her sleeve telling her we had to go.
He actually sort of scared me, we were 17 and he was,"old" college age plus in our small little town I'd never seen anyone with his looks before, red neck what can I say?
I was trying to protect her from this stranger.
Well, 4 of us friends went to her wedding inside her parents house and then she was off to Iran in a big rush.
Lived there for 5 years.
I worked with people from Iran in Las Vegas, it is very common it seems for students from Iran to find blonde wives in the US.
Well, her husband was shut out from the family business with his brothers in Ca. because of my friend not being a Muslim so they opened up their own co.
They have a large commound in N Ca., 120 acres of land with a river going through the proeprty, they raise animals , goats, sheep.
They have several cabins built for memebers of their family, they children and grandchildren and my friends father who is elderly now.
I visited her parents in our town a few times when she was in Iran. They wanted to show me photos of their trip over there to visit her.They seemed happy too.
It worked out just fine.

Anyone getting informed twice for each posting in the forum?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyone getting informed twice for each posting in the forum?

Yep - we have a few issues at the moment, that's one of them.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
By chance I notied this old post about marrying young and my friend who used to live in Iran.
Not sure why I didn't answer before.
Yes, my friend is still married t her husband from Iran.
They have been together since she was 17, now she is 66.
They are great-grandparents too.
Her husband runs a slate mine in N Calif.
He used to build bridges in Iran after he finished eningeering school in Ca.
His family never really excepting my friend because she isn't Muslim.
She speaks Farsi like no one's business.
She is a blue eyed tall blonde, half Swedish and half German with some UK DNA too.
I was with her when she met her husband, I now sort of think it was a set up with me being there for her parnets and that she and her husband had met before that night.
Think it because she moved to the far side of town and didn't go to my school any longer so maybe she met him elsewhere.
.....
Well, her husband was shut out from the family business with his brothers in Ca. because of my friend not being a Muslim so they opened up their own co.
They have a large compound in N Ca., 120 acres of land with a river going through the proeprty, they raise animals , goats, sheep.
They have several cabins built for members of their family, they children and grandchildren and my friends father who is elderly now.
I visited her parents in our town a few times when she was in Iran. They wanted to show me photos of their trip over there to visit her.They seemed happy too.
It worked out just fine.

It must be very odd to come from a country run by people like the ayatollahs in Iran.   It would be almost intolerable to go back and these days really risky.

I can only imagine the strange situation post-WW2 where the Jewish citizens of say,  Germany or Austria, or even Hungary or Poland, finding it uncomfortable to think of going back to a completely different regime and lifestyle with the chance of being arrested for any reason.    Now I think of it, perhaps Belarus, Russia and China are current examples too.

I've been watching a TV show about spies called Tehran on Netflix.  A lot of it is in Persian but the main language is English. It has some very fine actors of Iranian origin in it.   They do a very good job of the nuances of survival in a system which wants to oppress and kill them.  Of course it is propaganda but still a story that involves the viewer. I'm looking forward to season 2.   

Interesting about the goats and sheep.  We had an idea to raise alpacas but some chance hereabouts and I'm no farmer. People keep them in the UK but they have usually multiple other animals like sheep together with them.  I believe the alpacas are excellent guard animals.    I also thought about using goats for clearing land.  Goats eat anything.  Sheep only cut the grass apparently.       

I didn't think I could face dispatching the goats and converting them into kebabs.   I have eaten goat before in a "Bedouin tent" out in a desert area of the Middle East.  It was very tough and chewy but the cooking was interesting - over hot coals buried in the ground inside a metal drum. The meat was hanging down inside and then the top was covered with a metal sheet and a piece of old carpet.  I suppose it was a kind of oven. 

Now I've written that I want a kebab.

Cynic wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyone getting informed twice for each posting in the forum?

Yep - we have a few issues at the moment, that's one of them.

Ok, noted.....noted.....(fadeaway)....noted.....

Not getting double posts , so far.

My sister did the ,"Hippie Trail" in 69 or 71 when she lived in London.
Her UK husband and another couple and she went on the road.
They drove a van all over Europe, into the middle east, in India and down to Sri Lanka, Tibet was on the list as well.
She said overall the middle eastern peple were kind to her.
Once , not sure what happened to their van but they were riding a bus for a long trip out in nowhereland.
The bus stopped so everyone could stretch their legs and follow the call of nature.
The women all wore long dresses and just squawted to do their thing.
My sister had jeans on so without even speaking a word the ladies all circled my sister to give her some privacy while she used the WC. That was kind and very sweet from those women. No words needed just being human.
My sister was really fit and around 110 lbs. She picked up dysentary in Idia and loost 30 lbs.
She was extremely ill for a long while.
Before that however she said the would drive into some village and order a meal.
While waiting for it they could hear an animal crying and being slaughtered... Gave her the creeps but she also said it tasted really fresh and good.
She has hunted and killed a dear with her bow in the past, skinned it ect. so she isn't put off easily.
Me, No way, still remember when my HU MIL killed a fresh chicken for us, I couldn't even look at the food let alone try it out.
Lots of feathers in the yard is what I remember and my 3 year old son crying when we came home and he couldn't find his friend the chicken too chase.

I remember when I was in grade school. I had a litle black girlfriend in my class. My older sister just also happened to be friends with this girls sister, they too were in the same class.
Nice girls from somewhere in the southern part of the US.
My mom drove me over one afternoon after school to play at this girl's home for a few hours.
We were 8 or 9 years old.
Had fun playing dolls in her room then we decided to go to her backyard to play.
Bad idea. Her fahter and another man had just slaughtered the family cow and it was hanging upside down from a tree.
We just came out as they slit it stomach open.
No screaming or anything from me but wow, shocking.
That's not how my mom brought home the beef!
I told my mom about it and darn, I wasn't allowed to go to her home ever again.
My sister went over to see her friend and said they were baking the brains in the oven when she wa sover.
She refused dinner at their house...
It was probably normal where they had lived before to just slaughter at home like that.


I will look into finding that show on Netflix.
My friend said her husband was number 110 in line to being the Shaw.
maybe his number is now even closer since she told me that decades ago.
She moved to Iran in 1973 and came back to the US in 1978.
She really liked it over there before the SHTF.

So super humid and hot this week.
We took a couple of needed trips to the lake. In this heat that is the only thing to do, that or sweat it out indoors.

I'm a bit down this morning, got some bad news about my brothers health.
Time to cry a bit then to send out some positive healing energy.
Living a life of excess catches up to everyone at some point.
Over eating, over drinking really isn't the way to live.
I'm going to research some diets for him for healing but I'm afraid it will fall on deaf ears.

On the bright side, my husband read this morning that they are lifiting more restrictions here in Hungary, more places are opening up even to us unvaxed hold outs.
I'm fine either way, still don't plan on dinning out or going to the clubs.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Not getting double posts , so far.

My sister did the ,"Hippie Trail" in 69 or 71 when she lived in London.
Her UK husband and another couple and she went on the road.
They drove a van all over Europe, into the middle east, in India and down to Sri Lanka, Tibet was on the list as well.
She said overall the middle eastern peple were kind to her.
Once , not sure what happened to their van but they were riding a bus for a long trip out in nowhereland.
The bus stopped so everyone could stretch their legs and follow the call of nature.
The women all wore long dresses and just squawted to do their thing.
My sister had jeans on so without even speaking a word the ladies all circled my sister to give her some privacy while she used the WC. That was kind and very sweet from those women. No words needed just being human.
My sister was really fit and around 110 lbs. She picked up dysentary in Idia and loost 30 lbs.
She was extremely ill for a long while.
Before that however she said the would drive into some village and order a meal.
While waiting for it they could hear an animal crying and being slaughtered... Gave her the creeps but she also said it tasted really fresh and good.
She has hunted and killed a dear with her bow in the past, skinned it ect. so she isn't put off easily.
Me, No way, still remember when my HU MIL killed a fresh chicken for us, I couldn't even look at the food let alone try it out.
Lots of feathers in the yard is what I remember and my 3 year old son crying when we came home and he couldn't find his friend the chicken too chase.
....
Bad idea. Her fahter and another man had just slaughtered the family cow and it was hanging upside down from a tree.
We just came out as they slit it stomach open.
No screaming or anything from me but wow, shocking.
That's not how my mom brought home the beef!
I told my mom about it and darn, I wasn't allowed to go to her home ever again.
My sister went over to see her friend and said they were baking the brains in the oven when she wa sover.
She refused dinner at their house...
It was probably normal where they had lived before to just slaughter at home like that.


I will look into finding that show on Netflix.
My friend said her husband was number 110 in line to being the Shah.
maybe his number is now even closer since she told me that decades ago.
She moved to Iran in 1973 and came back to the US in 1978.
She really liked it over there before the SHTF.

So super humid and hot this week.
We took a couple of needed trips to the lake. In this heat that is the only thing to do, that or sweat it out indoors.

I'm a bit down this morning, got some bad news about my brothers health.
Time to cry a bit then to send out some positive healing energy.
Living a life of excess catches up to everyone at some point.
Over eating, over drinking really isn't the way to live.
I'm going to research some diets for him for healing but I'm afraid it will fall on deaf ears.

On the bright side, my husband read this morning that they are lifting more restrictions here in Hungary, more places are opening up even to us unvaxed hold outs.
I'm fine either way, still don't plan on dining out or going to the clubs.

Sorry to hear about your brother.  It's hard to hear that stuff.  Makes one think about one's own situation.  I'm 61 soon and I'm thinking sometimes about my own mortality.  Perhaps I've only got 20 years or maybe less left on Earth.  On the other hand, if I look at my parents - Mum went at 90 and my Dad is still ticking over at 97, so long as I'm lucky then perhaps I've got almost 40 years.   No-one knows the cards they've been dealt.   Perhaps its the best way otherwise we'd all be paralysed and not do anything.

I've often thought about going on a long road trip across Europe and beyond - we've done some trips before (driven Hungary to Spain - took 3 days).   I did read online about some Irish guys who drove to Australia in a BMW - was on a web site.   Obviously they had to ship the car on the last leg.  I think they shipped the car back to Ireland at the end and flew back after touring Australia for several months.  I was surprised that it only took them something like a month.   It looked like a good adventure.  Biggest hassle was China - they had to pay for some government fixer to come with them in the car while they transited the country.  I had thought about driving my car to Central Asia but while it sounds like fun, it'd be really expensive to do and I'd have to take a load of spares.  People do those long trips to far flung places but I expect it's all stopped with COVID and wars/conflict along the way.  I saw a very fancy expedition Mercedes 4x4 in Africa with Swiss plates and oddly I saw a converted ambulance with UK plates in Thailand.   

I was in Central Asia and I was going to look at some fire pits where natural gas was leaking out of the ground and it had been burning for years. Tourist spot.   As we went into the countryside I saw a guy leading a cow along the street.   Saw the fire pits, hung around a bit, then went back to the capital.  On the way back we saw the cow hanging from a tree, a buy with a very big knife and a queue forming to buy some meat.  I suppose just the way it is.  I expect they used every part of the animal and nothing was wasted.  Normal for there of course.   They did this to the goat we ate in the Middle East.  And last night we did have some home made kebabs.  Biggest complaint I have is Tesco's pitta bread is terrible.

I am still not clear on the COVID restrictions here.  I don't know if I have to quarantine or not as the published information never talks in enough detail about permanent residents and their vaccination status.  It's all about visitors on holiday.   Mrs F will have to call the help line to find out when the time comes.  I'm hoping to go to the UK end of July now but I'm not hearing the news I want to hear from there regarding the quarantine. 

But I would say that everyone should get the vaccine.  I expect they will eventually force everyone to get it and it'll be impossible to do anything without it.

We suspect sooner or later we will also have to get a jab but for now, not interested in doing so.
Still not sure which one to even consider.
I wish things were different, we think in an ideal world the gov. should pay people enough when they finish school to explore the world for say 10 years. Then kill themselves working until retirement time, should make that sooner also.
Old people should have the optin of giving all their money to a senior only community, could be whatever you have from a dollar to a billion .
They should provide everything for a nice fun old age and give all medical care.
If you die soon after moving to the community then so be it but if yu live another 40 years that's great too.
You should have an option of backing out after a trial period and get your money back minus whatever living expenses were fr your time in.
Probably never going to happen but I wish people would sometimes think outside the normal to find something that is good for everyone.
I saw a documentary once about a senior experimental community in Sweden.
Everyne had their own modern flats and everything they would want or need was right there. They had stores that used no real money. Since people are so brainwahsed into money they had sme sort of fake bills god for the stores so people believed they were paying their way. Beauty salons clothing shops and all inside the community.
Everyone seemd so happy there and safe.
I also saw that many people no longer want to work since they were paid during C-19 in the US with unemployment payments. Some got more without working then doing the old 9 to 5er.
Guess once we break our habits it's hard to pick them up again.

Yes, I was taken aback this morning with my brother writting me.He is a real quiet type. Like you're lucky if he writes one line n your birthday and is quiet the rest of the year.
For him to actually write me 2 times in 2 days is something.
He is young, 61 or is it 62? Born in late Sept. of 59.
I tend to freak out until I make peace with life.
I still remember the car coming dwn the st. with he and my mom coming home from then hospital when he was born. It was so exciting to see him.
I've  always loved it when my mother brought home a baby.
I remember getting up on a schol day around 4 am to sit with my mother while she was in labor with my sister.
She was cooking pots of tomato sauce so we would have food while she was in the hospital.
She made the best sauce, learned from an old Italian lady years ago.
We went to the lake twice this week, going to avoid it for the weekend.
Far too windy today for a nice swim without choppy waters.
It was so hot yesterday that some guy brought out a huge died fish frm the lake and tossed it by the trash.
Nice of him but dang, wish he had found a bag for the poor thing. The smell was reeking when the wind blew!
It was as warm as bath water yesterday at Velence and on Tuesday there were still cold spots in the lake.
We had fun thugh swam myself silly, hardly was able to walk up the stairs to get to the flat!
Love it when I burn myself out like that, to me that's a good day having so much fun that I literally drop.

I know so many fantastic people who have left this reality that I am not afraid to join them. Just not in a big hurry to have a reunion just yet!
It would be nice to know we haven't left any loose strings when we go but often we have no control over events.
My odd friend, Mona in Las Vegas I am afraid has passed this last 18 months or so.
Another one bites the dust!
She had many issues, she is the lady who was left for dead when her ex-husband beat her head in with a crow hammer and murdered their 3 year old son in front of her. He died in prison.
She wrote a book about her ealry life and it was used in some colleges in the ,"women's studies dept."
She was one of the first female games dealers in Vegas.
She had 5 children ,one was murdered and the rest were taken away from her after her injury and her husband going off to ajil.
Only one of her son's was in contact with her later in her life. She went to Fl. to visit himonce.
Poor old gal, she was really one of a kind and slightly off her rocker but that was her charm.
Everyone knew she had brain damage and adjusted things for her.
She got so many people good jobs in Las Vegas in the gaming industry. I was amazed how many big shot bsses just loved her to death and hired who ever she said they should hire.
It was one oof the oddest things ever. She opened up a co. with a well respected ex-casino dealer . They found part-time jobs and full time jobs for people in Vegas. So strange that this guy would open a c. with Mona but he did , she was trusted that much even with her brain injury.
So really not all those stories about people being so hard in Vegas are true.
To know Mona was to love her, one of a kind although when she would visit me I always slightly kept an eye on her handbag. She had a permit to carry a gun!

There is evidence now that the only ones dying of COVID are the ones not immunized. Sorry to be so stark, but science is not diplomatic. Your choice.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-25/ … /100243160

And of course those not getting immunized jeopardize everyone. Young and old, healthy and not healthy, immunized and not (immunization does not mean 100% immune) alike...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I also saw that many people no longer want to work since they were paid during C-19 in the US with unemployment payments. Some got more without working then doing the old 9 to 5er.
Guess once we break our habits it's hard to pick them up again.

Saw where?
Context is everything.
Do you mean that some people don't want to work like dogs with no healthcare in the US in order to serve maskless, unimmunized people in the US while serving burgers?
Do you mean certain people don't want to work themselves to death on the back of people making magnitudes of order on top of their wages?

https://theprint.in/opinion/pov/covid-1 … on/381223/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ameri … 2014-05-01

Perhaps the best response from the US President: "Pay them more".
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-l … ing-2021-6

And before someone says the places couldn't afford it:
In March 2021, as Democratic politicians argued for an increase in the minimum wage in the U.S., many social media users pointed out that McDonald?s employees in Denmark already make about $22 an hour. We fact-checked this claim in a previous article, and found that it was accurate. After publishing this article, some readers asked us if the relatively high pay of McDonald?s employees in Denmark caused the price of the Big Mac, arguably McDonald?s most famous menu item, to skyrocket.

In short, the answer is no. A McDonald?s customer will pay approximately the same amount ? give or take a dollar or two ? for a Big Mac in Denmark as they would for a Big Mac in the United States. In fact, in many cases you?ll actually pay less for a Big Mac in Denmark than you would in the United States.
-- And remember, Workers in Denmark get 6 weeks paid vacation and social benefits like parental leave.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-mac-cost-denmark/

Reminder: The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour.

Yes, pretty much every other first world country and some third world ones have  better working hours, paid leave, maternity benefits etc than USA. This was OK before the internet and the sharing of information but people are starting to become aware of just what you get when your countries politics only offer differing flavours of right wing. I've been told that calling someone a socialist is regarded as an insult in USA but they are probably only looking at bad examples of socialism rather than the actual ideology.

Vicces1 wrote:

There is evidence now that the only ones dying of COVID are the ones not immunized. Sorry to be so stark, but science is not diplomatic. Your choice.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-25/ … /100243160

And of course those not getting immunized jeopardize everyone. Young and old, healthy and not healthy, immunized and not (immunization does not mean 100% immune) alike...
.....

In short, the answer is no. A McDonald?s customer will pay approximately the same amount ? give or take a dollar or two ? for a Big Mac in Denmark as they would for a Big Mac in the United States. In fact, in many cases you?ll actually pay less for a Big Mac in Denmark than you would in the United States.
-- And remember, Workers in Denmark get 6 weeks paid vacation and social benefits like parental leave.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/big-mac-cost-denmark/

Reminder: The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour.

There's a bit of a row going on in the UK over the use of statistics - they keep  saying cases are rising but the reality seems to be that rolling average hospitalisations are decreasing.  I've heard experts on the radio saying this is down to a mixture of vaccination rates, the cases being mainly in the young with little or no symptoms.   Some people are still dying in the UK but it's like 30 a day compared to 1500  at the top of the pandemic's previous waves.    I also heard that the vaccines are 98% effective at preventing serious disease in  anyone who catches COVID.   Not being vaccinated just seems to be dicing with death.

We were in the centre of Budapest today and it was very busy with football fans in for tomorrow's match.   It looked very normal. All the cafes were open, bars open,  people wandering around maskless in the street.   Quite different to the way it was before vaccination.

There's a well respected index for the cost of living - the Big Mac Index - published by the Economist. It's quite a good indicator of the cost of living in many countries.  Worth looking at and quite easy to relate to.

Six most expensive (12 January 2021)

This statistic shows the most expensive places to buy a Big Mac.

      Switzerland ? $7.30 (6.50 CHF)
     Sweden ? $6.37 (52.88 SEK)
     Norway ? $6.09 (52.00 NOK)
     United States ? $5.66 (5.66 USD)
      Israel ? $5.35 (17.00 ILS)
     Canada ? $5.29 (6.77 CAD)

Six cheapest (12 January 2021)

This statistic shows the least expensive places to buy a Big Mac.[27]

     India ? $1.62 (130.07 INR)
     Lebanon ? $1.77 (15,500.00 LBP)
     Russia ? $1.81 (135.00 RUB)
     Turkey ? $2.01 (14.99 TRY)
     South Africa ? $2.16 (33.50 ZAR)
     Ukraine ? $2.20 (62.00 UAH)