In post on 8 June, I talked about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and how there was an additional group of footguards from either Sri Lanka or Malaysia actually took over standing post. It turns out both were wrong.They were the Gurkhas from Nepal. Gurkhas have a long history with Great Britain, having served as troops of the East India Company beginning in 1817. Gurkha Regiments in the British Indian Army served in both World Wars. The brigrade was based in Hong Kong until the UK colony was handed over to China in 1997, when it moved to the UK.
Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal , who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath.[1].
Fast forward to the present and the Gurkha's fighting another battle, now with Britain, over pension funds. They have only recently won the right to join the Armed Forces' pension scheme and for the right to remain in the UK. As a result of the Brigade's transfer to the UK from Hong Kong, the pension schemes have not had the cost of living adjustment, and so a Gurkhas retiring now with the same number of years of service as a British soldier will collect 27% less pension.
So, I took the dogs for a walk tonight at the lake grounds and water front. The tide was in, so when we got down 
to the shore line, the usual 25 yards of mud that slowly sink into the sea were gone and the waves were lapping up against the grasslands on the shore. Allie and Misty were darting in and out of the grasses and some shallow waters, and of course I am thinking ... the mud. Allie catches sight of a pair of birds swimming right at the water's edge and she takes off after them ... through the grass, and then a little into the waves and she goes faster. The birds were struggling to start the process of flying away. I think they were startled that she was really coming. And she was loving it, so she tried harder. She got right up to the birds. She could have caught a tail feather and then, splash! No Allie! She fell into a hole. Next thing I see her head pop up and she is swimming back to shore in the waves! Guess she had a bit of a salt bath!
to the shore line, the usual 25 yards of mud that slowly sink into the sea were gone and the waves were lapping up against the grasslands on the shore. Allie and Misty were darting in and out of the grasses and some shallow waters, and of course I am thinking ... the mud. Allie catches sight of a pair of birds swimming right at the water's edge and she takes off after them ... through the grass, and then a little into the waves and she goes faster. The birds were struggling to start the process of flying away. I think they were startled that she was really coming. And she was loving it, so she tried harder. She got right up to the birds. She could have caught a tail feather and then, splash! No Allie! She fell into a hole. Next thing I see her head pop up and she is swimming back to shore in the waves! Guess she had a bit of a salt bath!New Words / Phrases -
Touch wood - means to "knock wood" for good luck
Starter for 10 - it means to brainstorm, but where it comes from is a TV show called the University Challenge
Plannery group - is a group of people you are addressing all at once, such as a room full of people at tables; versus a small group, such as one table of people in a room full of tables
G'night!
