William Reid

ex foreign exchange dealer who helped set-up Jubilee 2000 before starting a website which seeks to discover why Africans remain perpetually poor.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Some advice for Rachel Reeves tomorrow!
‘I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: try to please everybody.’ Herbert scope, journalist, in The World of Swope.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Our world is in a wretched state. Bullies trying to take over nations without being seriously confronted, hapless and corrupt governments in poor countries exploiting their people whilst too many of us in the rich world fail to take responsibility for our lives. It cannot go on.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Africa accounts for 2.7% of world trade. Top African exporting nations are South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Angola and Libya. Africa’s exports consist mainly of oil, minerals (gold diamonds cobalt), timber, coffee, cocoa, cotton and primary agricultural products.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

In 2022 Mark Wedgwood became the first person to cycle through all of the 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger maps in numerical order. This unlikely journey began in May in Shetland and ended in Cornwall 6 months later having completed 7,000 miles.
https://t.co/wuUQg78V5W

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Russia is 68 times the size of the UK and occupies 11% of world landmass. Obviously it is still not big enough!
China is 39 times larger than the UK. Canada and USA are both 38 times bigger and there are 11 US states larger than the UK. Australia is 32 times larger/India is 12.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Are the following UK Cheeses or Motorway Service Stations?

Yarg, Lymm, Millstone, Pease Pottage, Kidderton Ash, Baldock, Chevington, Leigh Delamere, Woolley Edge, Gordano, Ashdown Foresters, Teviotdale, Bonchester.

C S C S C S C S S S C C C

[William Reid @reidsutd]

During World War 1 there was a secret meeting at the War Office to come up with ideas for a better messaging service by pigeons. One bright spark suggested mating pigeons with parrots - so that they could give the messages orally that they carried back. But that idea didn’t fly!

[William Reid @reidsutd]

In the history of famine in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any truly democratic country with a relatively free press. We cannot find exceptions to this rule. Amartya Sen - Nobel prize winning economist - ‘Poverty and famines’
https://t.co/oGYOHuamQV

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Scottish Gritting Machine names. Spread the word!

Hanseland Grit-all,
For your ice only,
Tam o’Salter,
Coldfinger,
Robert Brrrns,
Licence to chill,
Salt Disney,
Snow Connery,
Lew-Ice Capaldi,
Chilly Connolly,
Sir Salter Scott,
Taylor Drift

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Some families in Guatemala City daily recycle items from the giant rubbish dump there in order to survive. Then the dump gets closed due to a sinkhole. Fortunately https://t.co/kF92g0SVDz stepped in immediately to provide food parcels for those families eking out an expense there

[William Reid @reidsutd]

For Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General, 'good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. However, in pursuit of these goals Africa, unfortunately, suffers from a leadership deficit.’
https://t.co/wuUQg78V5W

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Nutritionists have long known that the first meal of the day is the most important for healthy living. ‘Breakfast like a king, lunch like a ploughman, dinner like a pauper’ the old adage goes.
https://t.co/oGYOHuamQV

[William Reid @reidsutd]

When Adlai Stevenson was running as Democract candidate for US president in 1952 a supporter yelled out that he would have the vote “of every thinking American”. Stevenson replied, “Madam, that's not enough. I need a majority.” He lost twice by a landslide
https://t.co/wuUQg78V5W

[William Reid @reidsutd]

After independence in 1960 Aden Daar was elected Somalia’s first president. In 1967 he was defeated by Abdirashid Shermarke making him the first leader in Africa to peacefully hand over power to his elected successor. Africa had to wait until 1991 for the next peaceful handover.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

The Dutch approach to cycling offers funding for infrastructure which makes pedalling safer. So does a rule codified in 1994: in a collision between a car and a cyclist, drivers are assumed to be at fault unless they can prove otherwise. But reckless cyclists can still be blamed

[William Reid @reidsutd]

Whisky has been produced since the 15th century and today there are 140 distilleries in Scotland. Scotch must be aged to a minimum of 3 years usually in bourbon, sherry or port barrels. Only 8-10% of whisky produced is sold as a single malt whisky. The rest goes into blends.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

To make the most of life we need:
Vision - keep searching for the way forward and it will come.
Determination - no matter the setbacks don’t give up.
Proficiency - everyone has this in something.
Luck - as Gary Player used to say 'the more I practice the luckier I get.’

[William Reid @reidsutd]

In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa the pupil/teacher ratio is absurd: in Central African Republic it is 83:1, Malawi 59:1, Chad 57:1, Mozambique 55:1, Guinea-Bissau 52:1 and South Sudan 46:1. Imagine having to control a class of 80 kids! Conversely in Mauritius it is 16:1.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

100 years ago Spanish Flu took 2.5% of the world population. In 541AD the Plague of Justinian took 15% of people. The Great Plague of 1665 took 20% of Londoners. But the largest pandemic in history was the Black Death of 1347 which took away 40% of people living in England.

[William Reid @reidsutd]

At the 1900 Paris Olympics an unknown 9 year old won with the gold medal Dutch crew in the coxed pairs in rowing. In the final this crew decided to ditch their normal cox and offer the place to a 9 yr old French boy. He didn’t qualify for a medal but the cox who was shunted did.