Wry & topical glance at how to get a seat on the Tube

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Permalink Reply by james walsh on May 16, 2009 at 11:27

Ironically, schweppes tonic water contains quinine, the anti-malarial drug.
Fact: Malaria has killed more military personel ever than actual fighting.
Malaria is not a fashionable news item though is it ?

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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on May 16, 2009 at 13:27

A memory from an old quinine addict. On becoming a republic in 1971 Sierra Leone set out to dump the old imperial Honours System of knighthoods, OBEs, MBEs etc. Among the new honours the relevant Minister proposed 'The Order of the Mosquito' for outstanding valour, or some such. His 'thinking' was that without the friendly ministrations of the female anopheles mosquito Sierra Leone and all West Africa would have suffered from as great an influx of European settlers as the White Highlands of Kenya. He had to be persuaded that the same mosquito had for centuries killed more millions of West Africans in 'The White Man's Grave' than imperialist invaders. As far as my malaria-addled brain can recall, the Order of the Mosquito was never in fact awarded.

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