BLOKES THREAD-aimed at blokes-shielas welcome.

[serendipityricho]

Seems to be a lack of threads for blokes.
On other threads,some ladies have mentioned, their OHs
would post, but had no interest in most of the threads on offer.
I can bump this thead twice a day,so its easy to find.
Give it a go---Richo.

[domino-710]

Elephants are better - they don't spit nor wobble. lol

[ambercat16]

Camels are surprisingly comfortable to ride - I highly recommend a visit to Broome or Alice Springs sometime soon so you can have the experience😎

Some years ago (probably close to 20 years ago)  I spent a week in Broome with Mum.  She also had a long time wish to ride a camel so we found a company that led you (on the camels) from their farm, across all the sand dunes and then along Cable Beach just on sunset. It was magical and one of the memories of Mum that I will always have.

[countessalmirena]

ambercat, I want to do that!

domino, I have read that riding an elephant is actually painful for the creatures. According to quite a lot of websites, not only are their spines not equipped for bearing the weight of a rider, but also the training methods to make the elephant submissive to humans (involving the use of bullhooks and nail-studded bamboo sticks) are cruel.

However, even a basic understanding of biology would make one just a little bit sceptical. The information is spread over different websites, but they use similar words and there isn't a reputable journal reference in sight. It may be a PETA assertion without real attribution. I don't doubt the cruelty aspect when you've got elephants being ridden for hours on end, all day, with one tourist after another, in order to maximise the return with tourists spending their travel dollars for "experiences".

... It's more the "their spines can't bear the weight" aspect that I think may well be misleading. Sitting on an elephant's neck with one's feet behind the ears, in the manner used by the elephant trainers, avoids stress on the vertabrae. Speaking purely biologically, there is no reason why an elephant cannot be ridden in this manner.

The other aspect is making the elephant "safe to ride"... i.e., being tamed so that it doesn't become dangerous for interaction with humans. If an elephant is "tamed" by cruel means (obviously the cheapest way, sadly), it creates nothing but disgust and pity in me.

There are valid examples of genuine ties of affection between a human and an elephant. If an elephant were tamed with kindness, and not forced to accept whatever humans inflicted on it, that's another story... and in such a circumstance, I would love to ride an elephant. But I don't want my selfish desire to ride an elephant to perpetuate cruelty upon an elephant. Those creatures fascinate me; I love their majestic oddness, the glorious weirdness and beauty of them, their social organisation with the matriarch seeming to impart her wrinkled wisdom to the little baby elephants, their carefully paced wandering... They are beautiful.

A property very nearby has a full-size elephant sculpture standing there, visible from the road. Every time I drive past, I slightly slow down to look at it and smile.

My father once pulled my mother's leg, soon after they were married. He told her how most households in Holland had their own household elephant; it was quite standard, apparently. (The actual term used was Kamer Olifant.) Of course there's no such thing - but my mother believed it for years until he finally told her it was a joke. To this day, I love the idea of little household elephants...

[brich79]

Hi All,

Richo Jnr here. His favourite (only) son. I want to sincerely thank you all for being here every day for Dad. He really enjoyed the community and I think it kept him going on the quiet days. He loved an audience for his humour and really missed having that, going from a sales rep seeing many people each day to being retired. This community filled that void. He certainly was proud of his blokes thread.

I have posted this picture as it is a nice recent one of him with my son and daughter, but also to give you a little glimpse into his corner of the world where he did all of his postings. I'm pretty sure that is the blokes thread open on his PC in the background.

I see this link to his funeral has been posted earlier, but here it is again. Any tributes placed there will be seen by many of his friends and family who aren't aware of the community here.
https://www.latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au/funeral-notices/notice/richardson-peter-richo

Linda, I checked his P.O.Box tonight and there was a parcel slip there. I am assuming it is for the ugg boots which I will collect on Monday, thank you. (or had he already received them?) We will send him off wearing them as we want him to be comfortable.

For any wondering, I think it was a heart attack. He had just had a shower and had his going out clothes on and must have been ready to go to the bank. I think it was very sudden and he didn't suffer. He wasn't alone long.

[domino-710]

And just what do you think - we have done with - the horse.

Some have been so cruelly treated - nup - not even going there.

I'm out.

[domino-710]

Thank you so much Ben.

I will be there on Friday.

[countessalmirena]

Ben, thank you for posting. Richo was making new friends here in addition to those who knew him for a long time. I think you're right; that must have been the Blokes thread on his computer.

It's a terrific photo.

[countessalmirena]

There are definitely some who have broken horses cruelly.

I prefer to see animals treated with gentleness... but I will probably never invite a crocodile to tea.

[Anonymous]

Richo found ebay and it's forums about 15 to 17 years ago. These forums became an important part of his life, a link with folk from all walks of life and other countries.

His main interest was books. He was an extremely smart bloke, I think he had forgotten more than we will ever know. His knowledge was truly amazing.

The forums kept changing, he eventually started his own Thread and he was very proud of it, he was welcoming to everyone,
He had the longest Thread in the latest ebay Forum  was almost at 10,000. Lots of folk popped in, he often popped into other threads and,in his own words, "would occasionally stir the pot and vanish"

He loved his family, friends, ebay,fishing his precious books and the bush. I will never forget his famous miscues, best one was the toaster, he was still searching for it years after it disappeared. He also loved music, I was so jealous whe he told me he had seen Roy Orbison live in his youth.

There is so much more to Richo it's hard to compress so many years into a few words.

I will never forget the laughter, some sadness, stirring and general chatting.
I have lost a cherised friend. You may be gone now bloke, but never forgotten.
I will be with you in spirit as you are farewelled.

misslinda

[kopenhagen5]

Nice post Ben. Thanks. 🙂

Whether you know it or not, you have a lot of friends here whom know you and your family from the proud posts by your father (Richo).

So I hope you will feel at home posting here if you find time.

Many would love to see and hear how you and your ducklings are growing.

Cheers with a VB. 🙂