#chinese automobiles

[azuremallone]

[1o1percentmilk]

Commission for a close friend \(•u•\)

[retropopcult]

"Portuguese-American communities in California. Main Street (East 14th at Callan) in San Leandro.".  With a rare Graham Hollywood automobile parked at the curb lower right.  Photographed April 1942 by Russell Lee for the Foreign Information Service of the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information.

[journeytothewestresearch]

God of Cars

Today I learned that Chinese Folk Religion has a "God of Cars" (Che shen, 車神). He is depicted as an armored or robed general holding a wagon/chariot wheel and a golden stamp or seated in a driving pose. His statues usually include the phrase "travel safely" (churu pingan, 出入平安).

Folk knowledge sometimes associates him with Xi Zhong (奚仲), a Xia dynasty minister credited with inventing the chariot.

[wolfman-al]

A Hongqi SUV seen at a shopping mall in Frankfurt. Appearantly they are now trying to sell in Germany/Europe, since the market of chinese politbuero members is a tad bit slim. Also, does anybody else think that it is ironic that a luxury car brand is called "Red Banner"?

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"POLICE COURT HAPPENINGS AND DAILY REPORTS," Vancouver Daily World. October 7, 1912. Page 4. --- William McKay, 621 Seventh avenue west, was this morning injured by the elevator in a biscuit warehouse on Homer, at Drake, when he was cleaning the windows next to the shaft. McKay's back was hurt and his foot crushed. He was not seriously hurt, though his injuries justified a quick run in the ambulance to the hospital.

Lost His Cadillac. H. V. Peters, living in the Broughton apartments, left his auto at the door of the building last night. Intending to remove it later to the garage, but when Mr. Peters came out again he found that the car had vanished. The thief left no trace except the ruts of the wheels in the dust by the curb. It was a good dar, too.

Arrested in Victoria. C. Mureer was yesterday arrested in Victoria by the order of the local police force, who want him on a charge of stealing a suitcase and its contents from T. Calhoun, a local teamster. Murcer will arrive from the Capital City today and answer the charge in court tomorrow. Thought He Saw Something. Seeing steam issue from the rear window of a department store at 60 Hastings street east yesterday afternoon, Donald Blynd thought it was smoke, rang in an alarm to the firemen and then waited to see a gallant battle with the flames. But the fire boys, when they entered the building, convinced Blynd that he only saw steam coming from a waste pipe.

Raid the Blind Pigs. Deputy Mulhern sent his stalwarts on the hunt for blind pigs yesterday. and said stalwarts went and located a half-dozen alleged little sinks of iniquity in which intoxicants of one brand or another were sold. Evidence was secured against the men. Their cases will be called tomorrow.

Stole Chinamen's Clothes Some thief entered a rooming house at 131 Shore street last night and stole the working clothes of Charley Loo Kee and Lou Yuen, two Chinamen who slept downstairs. The thief carried away about everything there was in the room, outside of the furniture. His depredations will amount to approximately $100.

Waited a Month. Edmund Evans, who speeded his auto along Granville street more than month ago, was this morning fined $20 by Magistrate South. The speeding, if speeding it was, occurred on Granville, at Robson. Evans said that his car skidded when he applied the brakes.

Could Not Understand. Mr. Swelberg could not understand what it was all about when the officer told him to move on, and this morning in court it was the same thing. So they will get an interpreter and help him out tomorrow when his case 18 called. In the meantime ball of $10 is allowed Swelberg, who raised the money from the corner of one of his pockets.

He Drank Firewater. Louis Capilano, scion of a proud Indian chieftain, imbibed too freely of high-power water and misbehaved. They charged him with being in a state of intoxication, proved it up on him this morning and fined him six bux.

To Examine His Head. James O'Donald, charged with assault by his own wife, asked the court what he was talking about this morning when the charge was read to him. They thought there was a blur on the mental pictures he forms, and so let him talk. He said some funny things, rambled like the description of the gowns worn at a ball, and was then sent to the doctor to get his head examined and cross-examined.

Sent Out of Town. Mrs. A. Y. Keely, or Kelly, was today ordered to get out of town. She was one of the women who were picked up in the Pender street rooming house last week when Wilson dived head first out of the window and Detective Tisdale went after him. The woman pleaded guilty to vagrancy. She leaves tonight.

No More Fortune Telling. There must be no more fortune telling, declared Magistrate Shaw. A lady who was haled before Magistrate Shaw today pleaded guilty and was fined $25 and costs. The magistrate then uttered the warning to fortune tellers.

[tech91india]

BYD Seagull photos and specs released by MIIT

BYD Seagull photos and specs released by MIIT

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released photos and specifications of the Seagull, an electric city car manufactured by BYD. This city car is rumored to hit the market this year and is priced between $8,860 and $14,770. The Seagull will be the most compact car in BYD’s Ocean series, which currently consists of four vehicles: Seal, Dolphin, Destroyer 05 and…

[zvaigzdelasas]

Hydrogen-powered trucks are expected to reach life-cycle cost parity with their fossil-fuel-burning peers in China by 2027 even without the aid of subsidies, a milestone which the world’s biggest producer and consumer of the zero-emission energy source, seeks to achieve eight years ahead of Europe.

This will push forward the country’s ambition to dominate the market for hydrogen fuel cells in the transport sector as Beijing’s enabling environment starts paying off, an industry executive said.[...]

“China has developed a world-leading industry in commercial vehicle applications for hydrogen fuel cell technology, with enterprises ranging from upstream raw materials to downstream products over the past decade,” said Robin Lin, chairman and president of Refire Group, a Chinese supplier of hydrogen fuel cell technologies.[...]

China has stepped up its game this year with the central and local authorities releasing a variety of hydrogen-related policies and incentives, following the release of its first national-level guidelines for the hydrogen energy industry in 2023.

Nearly a third of its end-2023 fleet of 18,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were sold last year alone, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, indicating the gathering pace. In a further sign of accelerating offtake, China targets to have at least 50,000 units on the road by 2025, according to its national plan.

According to Lin, China has seen significant reduction in the manufacturing cost of hydrogen fuel cell systems, which account for roughly half the cost of a hydrogen vehicle. The cost has dived from over 30,000 yuan per kilowatt in 2015 to less than 4,000 yuan per kilowatt now.[...]

“In transport, heavy-duty trucks could be the first to achieve successful commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cell technology,” he said.[...]

In China, high-purity hydrogen generated as a by-product from industrial processes, such as Shanxi province, is around 25 to 40 yuan per kilogram at local hydrogen refuelling stations, while high-purity hydrogen in other regions, such as Shanghai, is around 50 to 70 yuan per kilogram at local hydrogen refuelling stations, according to Refire.

13 May 24

[theladysunami]

As someone who doesn’t speak a lick of Chinese (and really struggles to distinguish tones), I have some question for any fluent Chinese speakers.

It’s a common trope in SVSSS fanfiction where Shen Qingqiu and/or Shang Qinghua use terms for modern technology and the PIDW natives around them are puzzled by it.

What sort of homophones (or near homophones) are there for words like “airplane,” “cell phone,” “television,” “refrigerator,” “microwave,” and so forth? In other words, what might PIDW natives think they’re hearing while trying to listen in on the transmigrators? Are there any (near) homophones that depend on the dialect being spoken?

If the PIDW natives saw the words written, rather than heard them, what meanings might they come up with based on the characters used?

I can guess at some possible interpretations by looking things up in Yabla’s Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary, but they’re rough guesses at best.

I’d be delighted if someone actually knowledgeable could provide some insight on what Mobie-jun and Luo Binghe might think their husbands are talking about when they hear them use words and phrases “from their hometown.”

Edit: Apparently my homophone guesses weren't nearly as terrible as I'd feared, so I'm going to edit this and stick some of them under a read more for fun.

Native speakers please feel free to bully me if I screw up!

Airplane (飞机, fēi jī) "Flying Machine" 飞, fēi: "to fly" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Flying Chicken" (飞鸡) We definitely need fics where everyone thinks SQQ insists on calling SQH a chicken for some reason.

Cell Phone (手机, shǒu jī) "Hand Machine" 手, shǒu: "hand," "to hold" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Head/Chief Chicken" (首鸡) ● "Hand Muscle" (手肌) Does Shizun need a hand massage, or miss the "top-dog" chicken he grew up with? Who knows!

Telephone (电话, diàn huà) "Electric Talk" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 话, huà: "language," "speech," "talk" Possible Homophones: ● "Palace Talk" (殿话) ● "Shop Talk" (店话) The most likely guesses seem to be that the phrase has something to do with situational modes of speech. How one speaks in a palace hall, or how one speaks in an inn/shop.

Television (电视, diàn shì) "Electric View" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 视, shì: "to look at," "to regard" Possible Homophones: ● "Court Examination," "Imperial Exam" (殿试) ● "Think on/Remember a Matter," "Worry About Things" (惦事) Why demon lord husbands would pine after imperial exams is anyone's guess.

Refrigerator (冰箱, bīng xiāng) "Ice Box" 冰, bīng: "ice" ● 箱, xiāng: "box" No homophones needed. Meaning is obvious. Huzzah!

Microwave (微波炉, wēi bō lú) "Tiny Wave Stove" 微, wēi: "tiny" ● 波, bō: "wave," "ripple" ● 炉, lú: "stove," "furnace" Possible Homophones: ● "Power Sowing Furnace" (威播炉) No great options here, so they'd likely assume it's some special pill furnace variety.

Car/Automobile (汽车, qì chē) "Steam Vehicle" 汽, qì: "steam," "vapor" ● 车, chē: "vehicle," "chariot" (archaic) Possible Homophones: ● "Qi Chariot" (气车) ● "Near Vehicle" (汔车) A Qi powered chariot sounds pretty neat actually. The phrase could mean something like "whatever vehicle is nearest" though? Or a short range vehicle? (Google translate interpreted 汔车 as "car racing").

Courtesy of @hopingforbrain

airplane's full name can be heard as 'beating (up) flying chickens to the sky'. not in the wanking way, but actually throwing hands with the poultry.

[communist-ojou-sama]

What do people who believe in Chinese invasion of Japan even think China would be aiming to gain from such an invasion? Japan has insignificant natural resources. Is it the machinery? The PRC is already the world's premier manufacturing economy with increasingly a bigger and higher-quality automobile and rail industry than Japan, so that's out. Is it the population? Literally why? And what's more it'd undermine their quite pristine reputation in the global south as a neutral and non-interventionist power that prizes above all international law. Japan isn't Worth invading lmfao

[ruhua-langblr]

小红书 Vocab

小红书 (also referred to as xiaohongshu or XHS) is a Chinese image-based social media platform. It is a combination of the feed, likes, shopping, and video aspects of instagram, with the ~aesthetics~ and majority female audience of pintrest. I've grown really fond of it and found that it's algorithm is better than instagram and MUCH better than pintrest with giving me content I enjoy.

I'm going to offer some vocab that is either unique to the platform, or slang that is found on the platform (esp in bullet comments). I don't want this to be too long, so some terms may be omitted if they are found on many other social media apps

APP 小红书: Literally "Little Red Book". Probably a play off of Chairman Mao's book of speeches and writings which is also referred to as the Little Red Book. The app is not at all political, but more so trying to evoke the "essentiality" and "knowledge" aspect of the term. 笔记: Notes. XHS's name for its posts 收藏: Favorites. Separate from likes, these are bookmarked collections. This and Likes can be hidden 赞过: Likes. Notes that you "heart" will appear here. 关注: Notes from people you follow 发现: Discovery tab 附近: Recent notes

CONTENT 直播: Live-Streams 美甲: Nail Art 穿搭: Style 美食: Food 发型: Hairstyling 头像: Avatars/Profile Pictures 动漫: Animation and Comics 彩妆: Makeup 壁纸: Wallpapers 绘画: Drawing/Art 护肤: Skincare 影视: Film/TV 游行: Travel 减肥: Weight Loss 家居: Home 家装: Interior Design 学习: Studying 读书: Reading 情感: Romance 攝影: Photography 手工: Crafts 文化: Culture 游戏: Video Games 音乐: Music 舞蹈: Dance 搞笑: Comedy 明星: Stars 文具手: Stationary 校园生活: School Life 心里: Psychology 科学科普: Science 艺术: Art 社科: Social Sciences 萌龙: Cute 综艺: Variety 箱包: Handbags 潮鞋: Sneakers 健体塑型: Bodybuilding 职场: Office 婚礼: Wedding 汽车: Automobiles 潮玩手办: Collectable Figures 母婴: Parenting 机车: Motorbikes 户外: Outdoors 运动: Sports 露营: Camping COMMENTS (Things you'll see in tags/descriptions/bullet comments) PLOG: Picture blog. Usually like a blog, but with photos/photo collage (also sometimes vlogs get this tag even though they're videos) 爱自己的100种方式: Originally from a feature on Douyin that would give a "treat yourself" style prompt if you comment this phrase 泰酷辣: Cool. Took off from this meme. “太酷啦” 上岸: Similar to "Goals". Usually posted to applaud an achievement/amazing life experience 巨: Super. Usually used in describing really tasty food “巨巨巨好吃” cos: Cosplay emo: The original meaning—emotional. More often used to mean a depressed mood than the style/subculture 磕: to ship a couple (cp) For the Lesbians t: Tomboy/masc lesbian (Sub-types include 铁t，奶t，娘t, 爷t, 长发t, 短发t) p: Femme lesbian (p said to come from "Pretty girl" or “婆”） h: neither femme nor masc/futch le/les/啦啦: Lesbian 双女主: F/F couple (IRL or in fiction) 淘淘乐/TTL：T/T relationship 泡泡龙/PPL: P/P relationship 黄鹤楼HI: H/H relationship TPL: T/P relationship 🐟: Ultra passive bottoms

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Analysis: East of Eden (Cultural References)

IWW: IWW stands for the Industrial Workers of the World, an international union which achieved the height of its membership and power in the early 1920s. Colloquially, they were known as the Wobblies and were primarily focused on promoting the interests of the world’s growing class of industrial workers.

Woodmen of the World: fraternal organization founded in 1890 which also functions as a private insurance company for its members.

Bindle-stiffs: colloquial for migrant workers; hoboes.

Paregoric: 18th and 19th century home remedy with varied uses (diarrhea, cough suppressant). Main ingredient is opium. Was available as an over-the-counter drug in the United States until 1973, when it was classified as a narcotic and is now only available by prescription.

Iron Wine Tonic: a tonic used to regain strength. Contained wine and iron citrate.

Lydia Pinkham: an herb and alcohol based tonic name after its inventor. Used to alleviate menstrual pains.

Carbolic Acid: also known as phenol. In small doses, is used in the production of many common cosmetic products. In large doses, it is a poison.

Epsom Salts: magnesium and sulfur compound. Can be used as a laxative, but is also used for bath salts.

Castor Oil: odorless and tasteless oil from the Castor plant. Was a popular home remedy for constipation.

Model T: first mass produced American automobile by Henry Ford’s Ford Motor Company. Fifteen million Model Ts were produced between 1908-1927.

Magneto: an electrical generator. For the Model T, a flywheel magneto produced alternating currents of electricity to a coal and could be considered the equivalent of a modern day alternator.

Quartermaster Corps: a logistical branch of the U.S. Army providing service support, such as material (including ammunition) and food distribution, and field services such as repairs for showers/laundry/clothing.

Faro: a card game.

Fan-tan: popular Chinese casino game similar to roulette.

Hayburner: slang name for a horse.

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[captain-price-unofficially]

A Type 36 armored car in service with the "Shanghai Police Station Automobile Unit", during the Chinese Civil War. Essentially a CCKW 353 truck with 8mm steel plates welded onto it and two 7.62mm Maxims.

[simply-ivanka]

Germany Should Have Listened to Trump

Tuesday 2.27.2024 Wall Street Journal

By Walter Russell Mead

Trump was right about Berlin’s self-defense and risky energy dependence on Russia.

The lower house of Germany’s Parliament voted to legalize the recreational use of cannabis last week. It was a timely move. Germany’s leadership class is going to need all the mellow it can find in a world that isn’t going Germany’s way.

Russian advances in Ukraine and American paralysis over the next aid package are reinforcing the reality that Germany needs to defend itself but lacks the power to do so. So are developments in the Red Sea, where German manufacturers must cope with shipping delays as the Biden administration fails to keep the vital waterway clear.

Forget the 2% of gross domestic product that Germany has repeatedly promised and failed to spend on defense. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shocked many observers this month when he said that in the new world situation, Germany may have to spend as much as 3.5% of GDP for defense.

The economic news is also grim. Last year Germany’s GDP shrank 0.3%, and last week the government slashed 2024 growth estimates to a pitiful 0.2%. Economists expect negative growth during the first quarter of 2024, placing the country in recession. The outlook for housing is bleak, with business confidence reaching all-time lows. The news in manufacturing is little better. This month the widely followed HCOB German Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 46.1, the eighth month in a row that the index has pointed to decreasing economic activity.

Energy prices are a particular sore spot. The chemical giant BASF announced €1 billion in spending cuts in its German operations, blaming a mix of weak demand in the German market and “structurally higher energy prices.” Enormous U.S. subsidies under the so-called Inflation Reduction Act are leading German companies to look across the Atlantic.

Chinese competition is another massive worry. China long ago passed Germany as the world’s largest car producer. Increasingly, especially in electric vehicles, it is challenging Germany as both a low-cost and high-quality manufacturer. Beijing aims to marginalize German capital goods and automobile companies in China while Chinese exporters challenge German dominance in world markets.

With the associations representing the small and medium-size Mittelstand firms that make up the heart of the German economy warning in a rare joint open letter about Germany’s loss of competitiveness, Economy Minister Robert Habeck isn’t mincing words. The economy is in “rough waters.” The “competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location” is in doubt.

It isn’t all doom and gloom. The outlook for the service sector is brighter than for manufacturing, and as the Journal reported last week, the Ifo Institute’s business-climate index improved slightly this month. The best that can be said for the outlook? “The German economy is stabilizing at a low level,” according to Ifo’s president.

Meanwhile, Germany’s dysfunctional three-party coalition government is paralyzed by internal struggles. The largest party in the coalition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), is deeply divided over foreign policy, with many nostalgic for good relations with Russia and allergic to military spending. The SPD also wants Biden-like government spending initiatives to revive the German industrial machine and expand social benefits. The Greens, the next-largest party, are by German standards foreign-policy hawks but continue to press for a rapid energy transition that drives up costs for business and consumers. The third party in the coalition, the Free Democrats, wants to hold the line on government spending. As if this weren’t enough trouble, the conservative opposition parties have a blocking minority in Parliament’s upper house.

This is not where Germans thought they would be. Sixteen months ago, I visited Berlin and heard from a stream of government officials, think tankers and economists that everything was working fine. Russia was failing in Ukraine. The energy transition would boost German competitiveness and employment. Germany’s Mittelstand would handle anything China could throw at it.

Under the circumstances, it’s no surprise that antiestablishment parties are growing in Germany. The far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) currently has more support than any of the governing parties, with one recent poll showing the AfD at 19%, the Social Democrats at 14%, the Greens at 13%, and the Free Democrats at 4%.

The most bitter pill of all for Germany’s establishment may be the realization that on the most important issues facing Germany, Donald Trump was right where they were wrong. Getting in bed with Vladimir Putin for cheap energy was both foolish and deeply disloyal to the West. German defense policy was self-defeating and dangerous. China wasn’t a reliable partner.

“Ich bin ein Berliner,” was President John F. Kennedy’s message to Germany. If Donald Trump returns to the White House, his message will likely be “Das habe ich gleich gesagt,” or “I told you so.”

[aneurinallday]

Green Eyes

Chapter 1: Arcadia

Thomas Shelby was lonely. There was a coldness in his bed that he couldn’t warm, an emptiness that he couldn’t fill no matter how many whores and paramours he brought back to his mansion.

His beloved Grace was dead - gunned down during a failed attempt on Thomas’s life. He’d watched the life leave her, one breath at a time, while he’d cradled her in his arms, helpless to stop her from slipping away. He’d felt her go motionless, and after some time, he’d felt her go cold.

Now he lived alone in his great house in the countryside, his only company the servants who tried to hide their fear, and a young son who was a constant, painful reminder of the life he’d lost.

Little Charles had been only two years old when Grace had been killed - barely old enough to understand the gaping hole that had been ripped through his world. Now he was old enough to not just ask how his mother had died, but to blame the one responsible.

She’d taken the bullets meant for Thomas.

To Thomas, it was almost a relief when work took him away from his country estate in Warwickshire and back into the city. Back into Birmingham.

The Peaky Blinders operated out of Small Heath, an impoverished, crime-infested area of central Birmingham - a square mile of grimy streets and rundown terraced houses, where steel foundries coughed out smoke and where gang violence was rampant.

As much as he enjoyed the peace and beauty of the countryside, Thomas would always belong to Small Heath, to its dirt and squalor and misery. It was the beating heart of his criminal empire; and even as his reach extended outwards to London and New York, it remained the seat of his power.

He missed it. He missed the stench of industry and the non-stop noise of the factories. He missed his pokey little flat on Watery Lane, where he and his siblings had lived just a few doors apart. He’d grown up there, and become a man there, and part of him hoped to die there. The filth of the Grand Union Canal was in his blood.

After meeting his brothers at the Garrison pub, they piled into a car, and from there, drove across the darkening city into unfamiliar streets. There, they kept their eyes sharp and their hands near their holsters.

Night had fallen, and they were no longer on their own turf. This was Cobb territory.

Cobb’s Boys were the only gang left in Birmingham that could still rival the Peaky Blinders in power and wealth. So far, they’d managed to coexist because they moved in different circles. The Blinders were bootleggers, bookies, and fixers; they made their vast fortune by smuggling alcohol and Chinese opium, rigging horse races, and manufacturing automobiles. Cobb’s Boys were pimps and hit-men. They weren’t stepping on each other’s toes.

Nevertheless, an overlap of interests was unavoidable. Thomas didn’t want to take over Cobb’s brothels, and Cobb didn’t care about horse racing; but Thomas was interested in establishing more smuggling routes and overseas contacts, and Cobb was interested in receiving Chinese opium at a discounted price. Both of them had something the other wanted.

Thomas had strongly resisted the suggestion of a Cobb-Shelby merger. He considered the Cobbs’ business dealings, which tended to be of a dirty and degenerate nature, to be beneath the level of the Shelby Company Limited. These weren’t the sort of men he wanted to break bread with.

Nevertheless, he’d accepted the proposal for a mutually beneficial alliance, which promised the Shelby family an annual cut of the Cobbs’ earnings in exchange for peace between the two gangs. After all, without money there was no Shelby empire, and without the Shelby empire, there was no Thomas Shelby.

So here he was, walking into Cobb’s kingdom, about to inspect one of the brothels whose earnings he would soon be claiming a cut of.

The Arcadia.

What Small Heath was to Thomas, the Arcadia was to Cobb. What had started as a tiny, grubby operation had grown into one of Britain’s most infamous establishments. Men travelled from all over the country to lose their minds here. What happened in Arcadia stayed in Arcadia, and the owner’s high standards ensured that its employees were the cream of the crop.

With his hands in his pockets and his brothers watching his back, Thomas walked through the doors into a sweltering haze of tobacco smoke, opium fumes, and musk. They passed through ostentatious gold curtains onto a crowded dance floor, where a pianist was hammering an energetic melody on a grand pianoforte, while people danced and revelled. Cobb’s Boys lurked around the corners of the room, watching the clients with sharp eyes.

A young man wearing a sleeveless, tasselled flapper dress was standing on the piano, singing a bawdy song with gusto - slightly drunk, but mostly on-key. His curly dark hair flopped over his eyes as he twirled, almost losing his balance, much to his own amusement. Thomas’s gaze lingered on him, until Arthur’s voice drew his attention away.

“There he is,” Arthur commented, nodding towards a figure approaching them. “The proprietor of this fine establishment.”

“The bastard,” John muttered under his breath.

Cobb was a lean and wiry man, blond-haired, sharply dressed in a tailored suit and colourful tie. He walked with a limp which did nothing to detract from his threatening aura. He greeted them with a grin on his face, but his eyes were dead and cold.

“Mister Shelby! Welcome to my den of iniquity - you won’t find one better on this side of the Atlantic.”

“Mister Cobb,” Thomas greeted him with a curt handshake. “Shall we get this over with?”

Cobb guided them to a table, where they sat on comfortable couches. Drinks were poured for them, and opium was offered but politely refused.

John was behaving himself, but Arthur was restless - Thomas could feel it. He was more interested in the nearby whores than in his little brother’s dealings. His eyes followed their enticing movements while he pretended to listen.

“A toast, gentlemen,” Cobb held aloft his glass, “To our agreement. May it prove lucrative to both our esteemed parties.”

They clinked glasses. It was hot - there were too many dancing bodies and too many lit pipes, and the fluttering fans did nothing but circulate opium smoke. Thomas had already begun to sweat.

“What do you think of her, Mister Shelby?” Cobb waved his arms in a grandiose gesture, indicating the Arcadia. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? She could’ve been yours, if only you’d had the guts to take her by force.”

“Your line of work doesn’t interest me,” said Thomas.

“You’d rather sit in your little office and shuffle papers all day, hoping it doesn’t rain during the races?”

“I’d rather take advantage of the rich than the poor. That’s one of the many differences between us.”

“Oh, come now, Mister Shelby,” Cobb scoffed, “We’ve got a lot in common! We both like money. We both like driving new cars and wearing nice suits. We both served our country with honour, and lost parts of ourselves on the battlefield. I nearly lost my leg - you nearly lost your mind!”

Cobb laughed at his own wit. John opened his mouth to speak, but Thomas silenced him with a warning glance of his blue eyes.

“You’re no different from me,” Cobb continued, “The quicker you accept that, the better. Anyway, I didn’t invite you here to chat. I invited you here, so that you can see with your own eyes how the sausage gets made. To assure you that our service is of the highest standards. Care to sample the goods?”

The young man was still singing and dancing merrily, seemingly having the time of his life.

“I’m alright, thanks,” Thomas said.

“You don’t trust their quality?”

“I’m sure they’re good enough for your regular clientele. Whether they’re good enough for me is a different matter.”

A brief commotion distracted them. At another table, a man had grabbed one of the dancing women and yanked her onto his knee. His hand wormed its way inside her skirt. Laughing, she squirmed away, prompting him to shout and gesticulate angrily. She was quickly replaced by a different girl, who hushed his raised voice and began to rub his crotch through his trousers. Thomas watched them coldly.

“Does my business offend you, Mister Shelby?” Cobb chuckled. “These women needed work, so I gave it to them. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Women can do other work besides whoring, Mister Cobb. You could’ve put them in a school and taught them how to type letters.”

Cobb laughed.

“You’re a real man of the people, aren’t you, Mister Shelby? They call you a thug, but really you’re an altruist. You set up soup kitchens and charities and affordable housing schemes. You work with orphans and war widows, and crippled veterans, and all the other miserable cunts who need a leg up. You give the poor people of Birmingham what they need: better jobs, better lodgings, better lives. You’re a regular fucking saint. Except that’s not true, is it?”

He leaned forward.

“You act all high and mighty, like I’m beneath you. But you still shook my hand, didn’t you, Mister Shelby? You present yourself to the world as an honest businessman, with a respectable company and a bunch of fancy titles. But deep down, you haven’t changed at all. Deep down, you’re still just a common street rat, scrapping for coins in the gutter. You wring your hands over the suffering of these poor women, yet here you are, graciously accepting a cut of the money I make off their hard work. Now, how about you sample the goods, like I kindly offered?”

John and Arthur had grown tense, the latter’s knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. Thomas remained composed.

“You said this was the best whore-house in Birmingham,” Thomas said, “So go on. Prove it. Show me your best.”

“That’s better.” Cobb leaned back in his seat again. “Girl or boy?”

“I’m not fussy.”

“Come on now, you must have a preference. Every man does.”

“Well, I must not be every man, then.”

“How about both, then?”

“Just one will do.”

“Fine, be a bore. Hey, Green Eyes!” Cobb called out. “Client for you.”

The singer jumped down from the stage and began making his way over to their table.

“He’s a particular favourite of mine,” Cobb remarked, “You’ll see why.”

“How much for him?”

“Oh, he’s on the house. No payment necessary. Feel free to leave a tip at the bar, though.”

“How kind of you.”

“I am a generous man. Normally I’d charge three pounds for him.”

“Three pounds?” Thomas scoffed, “That fucking much?”

“He’s worth it. Trust me, I know.”

Thomas was about to change his mind - the thought of Cobb conducting quality checks on his own merchandise soured the appeal - but it was too late. The young man had already reached their table.

“Hello, gentlemen!” he said. His voice was bright and sweet. “You wanted me?”

“Come here.” Cobb grabbed the singer’s face and angled it towards the light, showing it off. “Look at him. Look at that face. If he had a cunt, I’d fuck him myself.”

The singer extricated himself with a laugh, but a hint of distaste curled the corners of his mouth. Cobb’s touch seemed to repulse him. He collapsed onto the couch beside Thomas, adjusting the shoulders of his rather ill-fitting dress. He was dolled up with a generous layer of cosmetics, which had become rather smudged. He’d been exerting himself, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead and upper lip.

“Which one of you is mine?” he asked.

“That one,” Cobb answered before Thomas could. “He’s a valued business partner and a good friend of mine, so make sure he leaves satisfied. Now, would you excuse me, Mister Shelby? I have an establishment to run.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll send over some more drinks, and some girls to keep your boys company.”

Thomas nodded goodbye, and Cobb walked away.

“Fucker,” John grumbled as he watched Cobb’s retreating form. “You sure you want to go through with this, Tom?”

“I don’t see why not,” Thomas replied.

The singer turned to face him on the couch. Up-close, he was beautiful. Truly beautiful. His lovely face was still softened by youth, with a noticeable roundness about the cheeks. His eyes, surrounded by black liner, sparkled a bright green.

“What should I call you?” he asked. His smile was a wondrous thing to behold.

“Call me ‘Mister Shelby’.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mister Shelby. We can do it here, or we can go to my room. It’s nice and clean.”

“Up to you.” Thomas shrugged.

“Tom, I don’t like this,” John interrupted. “This boy belongs to Cobb. He might have something planned. I don’t trust that bastard…”

“I’ll be fine, Johnny. Our arrangement is as advantageous to Cobb as it is to us. He won’t jeopardise it.”

Green Eyes heard their exchange, and stifled a giggle.

“You’ll be safe with me, sir,” he teased, resting his curly head playfully on Thomas’s shoulder. “And if our service isn’t to your liking, I’m sure I can make it up to you.”

John looked disconcerted, but whether it was because of the young man’s flirtations or because of Thomas’s willingness to go along with them, Thomas wasn’t sure.

Arthur seemed to share John’s suspicion. He started to speak. But then the promised women arrived in a cloud of sequins and tassels, giggling and smoking, carrying trays of drinks with them; and Arthur’s mood lifted instantly.

“Come here, you,” he grunted, putting his arms around one of the women and pulling her onto his lap. “I’ve had a long day.”

“Fuck’s sake, Arthur.” John rolled his eyes, but his disapproval - and the wedding ring on his finger - didn’t stop him from smiling at the women.

“They’ll be busy for a while,” Green Eyes whispered in Thomas’s ear, “We’ve got plenty of time. Come with me.”

He tugged on the gang-lord’s arm. Thomas sighed and allowed himself to be pulled away from the table.

“Want me to come with you?” John called after them.

“No need. Have fun with the girls.”

[scotianostra]

Anthony Robert McMillan was born on March 30th, 1950 in Rutherglen, we knew him better as Robbie Coltrane.

Robbie was educated at Glenalmond College, an independent school in Perthshire, from which he was nearly expelled after hanging the prefects' gowns from the school clocktower. Though he later described his experiences there as deeply unhappy, he played for the rugby First XV, was head of the school's debating society and won prizes for his art.

From Glenalmond, Coltrane went on to Glasgow School of Art, where he was ridiculed for "having an accent like Prince Charles" (of which he quickly disposed, though not before gaining the nickname "Lord Fauntleroy"), and thereafter the Moray House College of Education (part of the University of Edinburgh) in Edinburgh.

In the early 70's Robbie took the name Coltrane, due to his love of jazz musician John Coltrane, and began a career of a stand-up comedian at night clubs, at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as an actor with Edinburgh's renowned Traverse Theatre.

After picking up a few bit parts in films and TV series I first remember Robbie appearing in the BBC Scotland comedy sketch series A kick up the Eighties, he went on from there to appear in The Comic Strip Presents films during the 80's The Supergrass and The Pope must die being the most successful. At that time Coltrane had a drinking problem, downing as much as a bottle of whisky a day. In 1986 he flew to a clinic in Mexico and was treated for obesity. In 1987 his partner for 15 years, Robin Paine, left him for good. A year later he met Rhona Gemmell in a pub. They married and had a son, Spencer, and a daughter, Alice. His career took off during the early 1990s with the leading role as Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, a forensic psychologist, in the popular TV series Cracker.

Coltrane is one of only a few to have played "baddies" in 2 Bond films, playing Russian mafia man Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. He went on to play Rubeus Hagrid in seven Harry Potter films.

Robbie has also featured in factual TV series, Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles, as well as a host of other TV series, none of which, surprisingly are Taggart! He was voted No. 11 in ITV's TV's 50 Greatest Stars and sixth in a poll of 2000 adults across the UK to find the 'most famous Scot', behind the Loch Ness Monster, Robert Burns, Sean Connery, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.

Robbie passed away on October 14th 2022, he had become a virtual recluse, living a a rented converted barn near Stirling, living off takeaways from a local Chinese. Coltrane was cremated and his family spread his ashes around several of his favourite places around Manhattan, New York.

His death certificate shows that the actor died from a string of conditions including multiple organ failure, the causes of death given were sepsis, where an infection triggers an extreme reaction throughout the body, lower respiratory tract infection and heart block.

I always loved Robbie, from his early days right through his career, it's sad when the people you grew up laughing at and enjoyed in folms and TV pass away.............Rest in Peace big man.