"derek" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:08:38 +0000, Mike Mitchell
wrote:


But it IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

No it is the "Erics" capitalising on the "Wirtschafts Wunder" boost
they got after WW2 when we were paying for the defence of Germany and
our armies in Germany were spending money contributing to the German
economy but were a burden on our own/The Amercan's.

This attitude to planning and working is
absolutely standard in Germany! This kind of work is the norm
EVERYwhere!

Where I worked in Germany (Wildblad im Schwarzwald) the hours were as
we worked in the UK, and every afternoon at 3-00pm a trolley came
round loaded with a selection of beers (up to one litre!). Hardly
surprising they couldn't get a delivery right, or within 1 month of
the right time.

What is so amazing is that we find it amazing! We cannot

No we don't that was 1965 when Grundig was a quality brand
differentiated from the cheap mass market "Empire Made" crap we had in
the UK, but SONY was already an worldwide international brand leader

seem to get our heads around the fact that we could do EXACTLY the
same as the Germans! We could be JUST as efficient.

We *are* just as efficient. Better in some respects. Don't you know
the German shops shut at lunchtime just as the German workesr have
some time to go shopping? I won't mention universal closure on
Sundays.

And half days on Saturdays.

They do not
possess two brains,

Correct.

additional arms, or X-ray vision.

Correct.

We and the Germans are cousins.

"Sort of" Correct

We Brits could show the world just what we can
achieve if we only set our minds to it.

No we can't. We've given up. Meanwhile the Germans are still in a
"Miss Marple" '60s time warp. Even my kids come back from school
exchange visits saying the Germans are living in a mid '60s time warp.

And what does that mean?

I'm thinking here of the
change-over in a single weekend of the GWR track from broad gauge to
standard gauge. One weekend, 4,000 men! In 1892!

And I can remember the days when BMW were a laughing stock motor bike
factory. which made the "Isetta" bubble car with the assistance of
"ISO" of Milan. And even more recently when BMW was an "Engineering
Eutopia" car manufacturer but the cars still had 6 volt batteries.
Recent BMW's are just a Turkish made Ford Taunus. :-)

An optical illusion/triumph of marketing.over common sense

We can organise
things when we want to. I repeat, we CAN and SHOULD strive far more
than we do, not just stand back in amazement. How good it would be for
our national pride and the economy for Germans to be watching a
programme on German TV showing a group of British builders
constructing a British house somewhere in Germany! And I don't mean a
Wimpey or a Barratt.

Now you are challenging me to extoll the versions of the "Prefabs" the
best of which are still standing.

And being pulled down as they are full of asbestos.