More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)

[anona]

Churchill: autres temps, autres mœurs, I hope. But we needed him then. I didn't hear his speeches actually during the war, but my great aunt (5' if that) said that after hearing "We shall fight in the streets and in the fields" she put a poker by the front door, determined to be ready. Her answer to his off-microphone comment of ‘But God knows what we’ll fight with', only of course she didn't hear it.

[cmh]

The Two Ronnies  "four candles" script sold at auction the other day for £28000 (it had sold in 2007 for £48500 after it had appeared on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow). It consists of 4 hand pages hand written by Ronnie Barker.

[Ozzyjack]

I noticed that I had an email from Olga. ( Olga is my pen friend from Svobodniy in Russia )
Olga was particularly excited as she told me that her long time dream of one day visiting Australia ( & me ) was finally going to happen.

Les, I have changed my mind several times about whether I should raise a possibility about your pen friendship with Olga.  It may be all above board and for your sake, I really hope it is.  However, it has several elements in common with the beginnings of a well known scam and I would not be a friend if I didn’t alert you to that possibility.

Please have a look at the following warnings:

Email scams – particularly the paragraphs on protect yourself
Outsmart the scammers with the checkout

I hope I am way off the beam and being overcautious, but it would pay to be careful.

[Ozzyjack]

Churchill: autres temps, autres mœurs, I hope. But we needed him then. I didn't hear his speeches actually during the war, but my great aunt (5' if that) said that after hearing "We shall fight in the streets and in the fields" she put a poker by the front door, determined to be ready. Her answer to his off-microphone comment of ‘But God knows what we’ll fight with', only of course she didn't hear it.

Other times, other customs, indeed.  Stiffening the backbone of an already brave people was one of his greatest contributions to winning the war.  Getting the Americans to finance the war effort through Lend-Lease was another - although facilitating this was the excuse for rushing into the disastrous Greece Campaign. About 39 percent of the Australia troops in Greece on 6 April 1941 were either killed, wounded or became prisoners of war.

Love your great Aunt.

[anona]

Thanks, Ozzyjack, I didn't know (failed History O-level on the two WWs). And nearly as many New Zealanders killed too, I see. (Altogether about 7% more than died in the Coventry air raid the night of 14/15 Nov 1940.) And despite the defeat it seems they fought bravely and had some successes.

How glad I am I'll never have to make those sorts of decisions. Seeing your footnote quote about men and women reminded me of something in the news here a few days ago. A list of FTSE 350 companies' explanations of why their boardrooms are dominated by men included claims that
women do not fit into the board environment,
women don’t want the pressure, and
"all the good women have already been snapped up".

Business Minister Andrew Griffiths called the explanations “pitiful and patronising" ...

[Hobbit]

I was not familiar with his work, but I did a bit of research and I reckon he is a top choice.  Have you considered a young Aussie I saw interviewed the other day? He appears to be particularly down to earth and pleasant and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bit of talent.  His name is Hugh Jackman.

I'll leave you with a couple of "Two Ronnies" sketches.  Not their best but even their average is worth a watch

Hi Jack
Thanks for the Two Ronnies sketches.  Highly entertaining as usual.
I have to admit to completely loving Hugh Jackman. He is very talented, a smashing bloke & very easy on the eye.  He is definitely a man I'd like to spend my pocket money with
I'm going to do a separate post to Les & reiterate what you said about Olga.  I'm sure he reads all the posts but I can't help but have a very bad feeling about it. 
I may have mentioned it before but I think Ronnie Barker wrote as Gerald Wiley.  It meant that nobody knew it was him.
Spare a thought for the workers tomorrow morning when you're a gym bunny or swinging your nine iron
Ciao
Pen

[Hobbit]

Good Evening Les
Firstly I was so very sorry to hear about you and Karen.  Such a great pity.  It's possibly something your Great Auntie might say but it's probably for the best.  A relationship isn't much without trust. 
My other concern which Jack has already raised is Olga.  Please please please do proceed with great caution. You are a very kind, thoughtful & generous person.  I would sincerely hate you to be the victim of a scam.
Sorry if that sounds patronising but it's well meant.
Look after yourself
Penx

[anona]

Oh, Les. Flights booked - you were put on the spot! You must know each other very well?

[Ozzyjack]

Thanks, Ozzyjack, I didn't know (failed History O-level on the two WWs).

I was always reasonable on the broad brush of history but woeful at remembering the details, and that has got worse with age, but I compensated by becoming pretty proficient at Google

[Les303]

I noticed that I had an email from Olga. ( Olga is my pen friend from Svobodniy in Russia )
Olga was particularly excited as she told me that her long time dream of one day visiting Australia ( & me ) was finally going to happen.

Les, I have changed my mind several times about whether I should raise a possibility about your pen friendship with Olga.  It may be all above board and for your sake, I really hope it is.  However, it has several elements in common with the beginnings of a well known scam and I would not be a friend if I didn’t alert you to that possibility.

Please have a look at the following warnings:

Email scams – particularly the paragraphs on protect yourself
Outsmart the scammers with the checkout

I hope I am way off the beam and being overcautious, but it would pay to be careful.

Thanks Jack , Pen & anona

What good friends you are to raise such very valid concerns & warnings.
I often like to play the fool but i can assure you that i am really not a total idiot.
In the early stages, I was extremely suspicious, totally expecting the next email to be the one where disaster has struck & she needs $$$$$ urgently or the entire universe will implode, I tried a few trick questions but her responses were always consistent ( I at least know for certain that she is female as we have spoken on the phone a couple of times & her voice seems to " fit " her pictures all of which I might add are very modest & appropriate )
If it is scam, it is a very patient, elaborate & convincing one because for all the time that we have been in contact there has never been even a hint of a request for money, gifts etc. but just a consistent story of her dream to one day visit Australia.
Of course i am also aware that not all scams are about money, seduce & marry some lonely old fart in Australia, gain Ozzie citizenship, divorce him after 6 months taking half his estate with you, never have to return to the life that you were escaping from in Russia or where ever & you are set up for the rest of your life in Australia.

Well anona, if she can endure living with me for 6 weeks then i think that after that period we will indeed know each other very well.

Thanks again to all for showing such concern, the forum really is becoming a family & yes of course, i will let you know the outcome.

Sincerely Les.

[anona]

Les, the scenario you describe actually happened to a colleague of mine, except it took maybe 18 months instead of 6. By then there was the further complication (and safety for the lady) of a child.

(He was nearly "had" on one occasion previously, but found out that time before anything binding took place.)

I'm not implying or guessing this is the case here - it's just that it seems more real when one knows someone it's happened to.

[Les303]

It would have to be nearly twenty years ago when a fellow that I would occasionally have to work with went to Bali for a vacation.

His name was Justin, he was single & not particularly popular when he worked with us , because he was a big over weight man who suffered from diabetes. (he would actually dose off in his chair during his shift & who ever he was working with would have to pick up the slack ) but the thing that everybody hated most about Justin was his body odour, it was horrid & he was also just a grub, always leaving his work station in a mess.

Anyway, he came back from Thailand as a married man with a beautiful young wife.
Within a couple of weeks he had resigned from the company to open a restaurant with his new wife.
It only took about 12 months for the restaurant to go broke & close, she divorced him & left with the two kids, he was left with all the debt from the failed restaurant & had to pay allimony for the kids.
The last that i heard of him was that he was on the dole & living in a caravan park.

Thanks anona, for telling me about the unfortunate experience of your colleague.
The point of the preceding story is just to highlight that these scams have been around for a long time & i am well aware of them.

Maybe i am just a total bloody idiot because despite all of the logical evidence against it , I would still like to think that Olga will prove to be everything that she claims.

Your hopeless romantic, Les

[Maudland]

Hello Les,

Sorry if my 2p worth is inappropriate - it's not like I comment that much on here. But I read and enjoy this thread, and your stories, and was pleased for you that you'd found someone. You sounded happy.

It can be easy to feel like someone doesn't trust you when they question a situation. I think I'd feel hurt (and probably a bit betrayed) if I found out my guy had been communicating with another woman and they were planning to meet up, especially in such intimate circumstances. You know your intentions, and Karen might trust you - but she, like most of us on here, might be suspicious of Olga's motives...

If you hadn't met her smart-arse colleague, and she'd said she was off to share accommodation for 6 weeks with him, would you be happy with that? Would it mean that you didn't trust her, if you weren't? Or more that you didn't trust him and the situation?

I don't know full details of course, but is it worth talking to Karen some more about it? It seems like you care for her. I agree completely that if you can't trust each other there's not a sound basis for a relationship (or more, if she doesn't trust you), but sometimes it takes time to work out what that means, especially in the early days. Because it seems to me that people on here were saying 'Go Les, that's great news!' when you told us about Karen, and the same people are saying 'Hmmm, be careful here mate' about Olga. (Aka don't trust her?) Maybe that's not so far from Karen's reaction. We might all be wrong - and let's hope we are! - but might it be worth talking to Karen about it?

Sorry if that's a bit rambling and you feel I'm sticking my nose in, but I just felt concerned for you on both counts.

With all good wishes,
Madeleine

[Linda]

I can't understand the need for the sharing of personal matters with total strangers but then I am British!  Better by far to 'keep one's own counsel', surely?! 

[anona]

Not everyone in Britain is reticent! I was once in a long bank queue in Wales with a woman telling me the full details (and I mean full) of her daughter's childbirths and hysterectomy. When my turn came to go to the grille, she actually grabbed hold of my sleeve to stop me from leaving - I had to apologise and physically detach myself!
I've also been on an hour-long train journey in Sussex with a woman telling me all about her life and lodging circumstances for the entire journey. This trip was her annual treat, to look for a winter coat in the charity shops of the neighbouring, more affluent, town, and perhaps, if she had enough money left, to buy herself fish and chips for lunch. Some encounters, like this one, stay with you for life.