Look up to the sky on a clear night and you could be forgiven for thinking the Martians are arriving. You will often see strange glowing objects drifting across the night sky. I am sure the authorities have been contacted many times by people reporting UFO’s above their houses. The objects may be unidentified to some but one thing is certain; these objects do not defy Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Gravity and as proven by Newton - what goes up - must eventually come down.
These ‘mysterious’ objects in the night sky are of course Chinese Lanterns. These Lanterns may look pretty in the night sky but they have the potential to bring down an airliner, they are responsible for killing cattle, they also are considered a fire hazzard. Just type Chinese Lantern into a search engine and read the havoc caused by these nuisance creators.
The images below of used lanterns were all taken by me this afternoon while out walking the dog. I did not go on a Chinese Lantern hunting expedition, I just stumbled upon them; you can’t miss the damn things when you know what to look for! They look like giant discarded condoms hanging in trees, lying in fields and littering the streets. If a Tameside resident gets fined £500 for creating litter by discarding a cigarette butt, using a scale of measure; anyone releasing a Chinese Lantern should be fined at least ten times that amount because as Newton told us: what goes up - must come down, and when these lanterns land they create a lot more litter than a discarded cigarette.
If these lanterns were bio-degradable it would not be too bad, but they’re not. The one pictured hanging in the tree in Denton Woods has been there since last winter and has only just re-appeared because the leaves which were covering it have fallen from the tree.
I also think there is a real danger of one of these lanterns landing on a roof and covering the gas flu which would prevent noxious fumes from escaping and could in theory gas the occupants of the house.
I call upon Tameside Council to take a stand and ban Chinese Lanterns in the borough of Tameside.
14 comments:
Yes! I see them coming over my house late on at night.
I am reminded of the WW2 Japanese ballon bombs used against the USA. Also "Operation Outward", a similar UK action against Germany.
Your comment TC, comparing these lanterns to discarded cigarettes is very good and also accurate.
But then these things tend to be launched on "Hiroshima remembrance day" (No "River Kwai" remembrance I note.)and other multi-cultural events, so that is PC and ok.
More xenophobic horseshit. Would you be calling for them to be banned if they were called English Lanterns?
More foreigner worshipping horseshit. TC is calling for them to be banned because they are a litter nuisance and a potential hazard. Their being called 'Chinese lanterns' is irrelevant apart from tonydj's reasoned and intelligent point about the chronic oversensitivity of the British government re foreign cultures.
The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.
The latest from Cameron is he 'wants' to send home some of the massive number of foreigners in Britain's prisons. This is just like him 'wanting' to stop the EU giving Britain's prisoners the right to vote, the idea of it makes him 'feel physically ill' apparently. In other words he's going to DO f**k all about either, because just like the LibDems and Labour he's on his knees to the EU.
Can someone tell me what the point is in HAVING a British government if it is constantly overruled by the EU on so many vital issues?
I agree they should be banned.
Tameside Hyde Waiting To Welcome Home British Troops (part 2)
What a pity you don't support them when they are fighting for us in Afghanistan.
How are they fighting for 'us' in Afghanistan? It is not they who wage war un us but us who wage war on them.
Yes! answer the question BNP SUM.
Tameside Labour, yes we're fighting in Afghanistan while British maternity wards in Oldham, Blackburn, Bradford, Burnley, Luton, Birmingham, Leicester, large parts of inner London etc etc etc are full to the brim with Muslim babies. They outbred every other cultural group in Britain by ten to one at least between 2004-2008, and LABOUR, with their ten year 'rub the British people's noses in it', floodgates welded open immigration policy played a massive part in that.
We are a supplier of Sky Lanterns and Chinese Lanterns in the UK and we are constantly looking at ways to improve our product and make it more environmentally friendly.
We have had many talks with Trading Standards and we've carried out a huge number of tests on our products to ensure they are as safe as possible.
There is no reason that Sky Lanterns should be banned in the UK. We however would like to see some kind of legislation come in to remove poor quality Sky Lanterns from the market. These are a potential hazard and use a much thinner paper, possible dripping wax and usually contain wire.
If a standard is brought in, it should mean that all Sky Lanterns use a minimum thickness of paper. They should all be wire free, have a preattached fuel cell that is woven in a certain way and should be limited to a certain size!
We've done a lot of research into Sky Lanterns and they are a lot better for the environment than things such as Fireworks... Nobody can deny that.
Hi Lewis,
Thanks for your detailed response. It certainly adds perspective to the debate.
Regards
TC
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