RIP my dad, John Mervyn Lancaster 06-01-35 to 10-12-24 None of you knew him, but you will probably know some of his work. In his early life he was a biker and in the late 50s rode an ex army Norton which my mum rode pillion on. When he and my mother lived in New York from 1961 to 1964 he worked as an editor for Collier’s Encyclopaedias. One of the scientists who he met with and whose work he edited for the encyclopaedia was Issac Azimov (a professor of biochemistry as well as an author). For much of 1970s and 80s he was a senior civil servant specialising in training. He was responsible for things such as the 1978 Youth Opportunities Programme and its replacement in 1983 the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). He was also responsible for the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and in 1987 the Scottish equivalent, the SVQ, which he designed and implemented when he left the services of the English government and decided to move to Scotland to live with his future wife.
Sorry for your loss. I started work on the YOP. My first pay packet was £21.50. It was very much a success and 6 months down the line was offered a full four year engineering apprenticeship. I’ll never forget my first (tax free) pay packet of £92.60! Some jump from £21.50. Happy days. Went and bought a Z250…
A very sad obituary to read. Difficult to deal with at this time of year. My most sincere condolences
Such magnificent beasts kept in captivity doesn’t really chime with me… I don’t really like zoos for this reason… but…… I was in Dubai a few years back and I happened across a pretty impressive aquarium where they had a muhassive crocodile. Fuck me, what a size!! Apparently it was the biggest in the world at that time. And it was quite mesmerising with its size…
Normally I agree but in this case I think Burt was rescued from a crocodile farm and so couldn’t go back to the wild.
Yeah same here - but when working in Singapore I sort of had to go see their well regarded zoo and the highlight for me was the African wild dogs. They were surprisingly beautifully coloured and appealing looking hounds. And if we're talking size I'll raise you the stuffed Alaskan Brown Bears in NYC Natural History Museum - about the size of a Fiat 500.
Firstly, RIP to your Dad, but wow, they are some accomplishments right there. I started on a YTS in 1985 and since then have had a half decent career. I’m sure many would join me in saying thanks.
In Florida a few years ago we went to Gatorland. There they would suspend whole chickens above the pond of one of the biggest Alligators that they had. It would then plant it's tail on the floor or the pool and rise up about 10-12 feet out of the water to pluck the chicken off the line. Whilst I get, and tend to agree with, the sentiments about keeping creatures like this in captivity, there was something magnificent in the way it got out of the water to claim its snack. And the sound the jaws made when snapping shut has never left me...
Top predators that have evolved to almost perfection are always incredibly impressive to me, crocodiles, alligators, sharks, birds of prey, big cats etc.
Ive seen those bears. The sort of thing that you see on CBeebies.... if you want a proper size bears, look for the ones in Anchorage Airport -Kodiak bears-now they are a proper size. Make you think when your camping out on the island.....
