Not in my house. I still buy and rely on Ordnance Survey Maps that I source from W H Smith. They have a compressive selection to cover the complete British Isles, and for more in-depth details I then obtain a local A to Z for a particular area I intend to visitđ
This is what I love to do. Read maps and look at all the named places. Not the obvious/touristy places, but those obscure places very, very few people would take time out to visit.
On one of my map perusals I came across - Marrinup - Number 16 Prisoner of War Camp only 60 kms from Perth but deep in the bush.
The Camp took its first prisoners in August 1943 and released its last in April,1946. It was built to accommodate 1,200 men, including Army personnel, and thousands of prisoners passed through its gates.
Most were Italian and German, who were put into separate compounds in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
The camp was basically a transit stop for workers on the way to farms or rural control centres.
The compounds were surrounded by a high barbed wire fence with triple concertina wire strategically placed outside. High powered floodlights encircled the area and six watch towers were built; one at each corner.
Camp life followed a strict routine with the day beginning at 6 am. work finishing at 3 pm and lights out at 10 pm.
Italian prisoners were sent via control centres to farms from Geraldton to Albany, where life was strenuous but less authoritarian.
For the most part they were willing workers. Unless discipline was required or they were unwilling to work, accommodation was supplied at the farm.
The German woodcutters worked in the forest and supplied Perth with 2 500 tonnes of firewood every week; enough to fill the whole of Hay Street Mall knee deep in wood! This fuelled Perthâs power generators, water pumping stations and industry. Marrinup provided half of Perthâs annual need of firewood.
Prisoners were expected to work eight hours a day whether inside or outside the camp.
)
)
)
Okay! I thought that the question above was
What things still being used today that will be gone in 10 years?
I answered sincerely, seeing as we need to conserve and preserve our forests in order to protect the Earth. As a lot of people use Google Maps or if theyâre lucky to have a car and have a GPS (thatâll eventually tell them to get into the water ahead even though the bridge is out ).
I figured that printed maps may not be around in a decades time. I didnât say it to bring out any negativity out of anyone.
Seriously!
Aw, donât take it personally. I donât think there was any negativity, just people sad and concerned at the prospect of something theyâve enjoyed and found useful disappearing? You may well be right
I react the same way when people say books will be a thing if the past. Probably true but it makes me sad to think of it
But hereâs a real bit of negativity from me!
I like to take a printed map, often a photocopied page, with me when I visit unfamiliar cities. Itâs so I donât have to get my phone out and risked having it snatched by some ruddy moped mugger
No negativity here Supergirl, and it was a good suggestion, and if it was just concerning our younger generation - because most of them will lose the skills of map reading anyway, because in a virtual world you can stick a pair of those goggles on, and there will be no need to get out of your armchair to enjoy the countryside - And you may still be right because myself and many others who still enjoy maps will either be deceased, or two old and infirm to go swanning around the country. Conservation is not a problem, you have been brainwashed into believing that there wonât be enough trees to manufacture maps and other paper thingsâŠExcept, maps and other paper things donât need a fraction of the wood it takes to build a house. So if we run short of timber, itâs because we rely on it so much in building and construction. If we are talking conservation⊠You must first consider the massive mining operations and the destroying of great swathes of land in our need for lithium and cobalt. If everyone in the country suddenly bought an electric vehicle there would not be sufficient of these rare metals to build the batteries. Not to mention the quantities needed to build the batteries for the national grids idea of building massive power storage units to subsidise and store energy when the sun donât shine, and the wind donât blowâŠSo donât worry about trees and paperâŠAnd by the wayâŠmost of the paper we use today has been recycledâŠ
Thatâs brilliant Bretrick, itâs even better when you find a derelict site that has been forgotten.
I seek out and log down trig points for a hobbyâŠ(I know itâs off subject⊠bloody life goes off subject sometimes)
During one of my visits while crashing through the nettles and brambles in a dark overgrown forest I came upon thisâŠ
I eventually found what I was looking for hereâŠ
Inât live brilliantâŠ
Yup, maps are already obsolete. On a TV show called Ellen, the host wanted to test what teenagers know. This clip is 3 years old. In it, a 17 year old is trying to fold a map and is fumbling. Sheâs never used a map and probably would have to Google to figure out how one works.
In 10 years, most people who are middle aged wonât even have used one.
Yep, thatâs what I saidâŠ
It will be interesting to see what happens to the civilised world when the internet goes down.
Headless chickens springs to mindâŠ
Yes it is brilliant. All we have to do is go and seek it out.
Same as when the power grid goes down. The civilized world canât live in darkness just because it was possible to live with candles at one time. Technology does move on.
I have many happy memories of sitting down on a Friday night with a beer or two and a couple of Ordnance Survey maps.
Iâd be planning my cycling route for early the next morning. Reading a proper map is like reading a proper book
Itâs like a house of cards butterscotch, the more advanced and complex life becomes, the greater the risk of it all collapsing. Either by a natural occurrence, or human sabotage. Putin perhaps.
I dread the day when all technology is wiped out by a solar flare?
The world would be thrown into chaos.
Yep, they come around every so often Bretrick, fortunately there has not been one since we went all technical.
And? There are always dangers to . . . anything. Without technology to warn about Putin or other sabotage, people would be even less safe.
The chicken little dance is only effective if thereâs an alternative thatâs better.
Most people are not willing to live off the grid in the unlikely event that an occurrence that happens once every 500 years will happen again. Even if it did, technology is still a better bet to help pick up the pieces than living in the dark ages.
i wonder if the inventor of the candle got mentioned in the queens birthday honours listâŠthe most worrying thing that will likely be no longer used is common sense you hardly ever hear it mentioned in Prime Ministers questions, just childish tit fot tatâŠ
No, Iâm not saying live off the grid butterscotch, and yes, benefit from the technology that there isâŠBut always have a âPlan BââŠ
Iâm afraid the government lost common sense a long time ago CrabbyâŠ
Itâs dated from 2019 but interesting!
I tried home delivery once during the pandemic but was not impressed, letâs face it, the girls selecting the stuff have no interest in the quality just quantity.
Having said that when ever I visit either Coles or Woollies there are always several girls with trolleys (not customer type trolleys) collecting for several customers each and the click and collect bays outside the supermarkets seem to be constantly in use.