Wednesday 21 October: Endless, capricious rule changes are demoralising the country

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its comments facility (now reinstated, but not as good as ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be banned.

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/10/20/lettersendless-capricious-rule-changes-demoralising-country/

720 thoughts on “Wednesday 21 October: Endless, capricious rule changes are demoralising the country”

  1. I’m almost starting to think this whole pandemic really is a conspiracy. 21 October 2020.

    I’ve been suspicious from the start. Back in March, when this novel virus first swept in from the East and countries across Europe started bolting their doors even before cases mounted, I remember saying to people, ‘Blimey, what aren’t they telling us yet?’

    Covid-19 was obviously proving to be a lot more virulent than swine flu, but even early on it was clear that the virus was sparing the vast majority of the population. Those I knew who caught it either suffered symptoms similar to a mild cold, or none at all. Bemused, as the Government set about building Nightingale hospitals that would hardly be used and Britain’s vibrant cities turned into ghost towns, I kept thinking to myself, ‘when are they going to tell us what’s really going on?’

    Morning everyone. The conspiracy is of course in maintaining the fiction that this is some uniquely terrible disease. It’s the Common Cold in disguise. Were it not for the political foofaraw no one would even know it were here!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/almost-starting-think-whole-pandemic-really-conspiracy/

    1. It’s take 8 months to say in the press what we were all thinking and saying 8 months ago.
      This is all down to the Davos movement for revolutionary change, nothing more nothing less.

      1. What a pity the DT, our representative in the MSM has been so weak and compliant. Nothing about Hydroxychloroquine and the thousands of lives lost because of political denial of its efficacy. Every weather event including an inevitable,wait for it, climate change.
        Terror in the face of faith.

    2. There were two rays of hope yesterday in the Deputy Chief Medical Officer’s incomprehensible slide presentation. The young people’s graph was going down because more of them were being tested and the old people’s graph was going down because Van-Tam said we’ve decided not to treat the 85+ year group in ICU.

      1. Soon it will be the over 75s who are not treated, then the over 70s, then the over 60s. Of course it has been going that way for a while, just not officially. The country cannot afford to fund the NHS to treat older native people and the ever increasing number of needy immigrants.

        1. There is a country where the natives realise they have become a burden on their society and it is accepted the those who are facing a limited life expectancy withdraw into the wilderness and face the inevtable alone.

          Oh dear – I think the UK is getting that way already if what you say is right.🙄

          2. I gather as the body cools down, shivering stops and you get an overwhelming feeeling of warmth as your life slips away.

            Could be a better way of dying than experiencing your last days on a ventilator and relying on scientific medical evidence for someone to turn it off.

        2. Be fair. They will ask the over 75s for proof that they’ve paid the telly tax.
          No proof – no treatment.

    3. Annabel Fenwick Elliott, with the benefit of hindsight, talks about how “the Government set about building Nightingale hospitals that would hardly be used”. She should have lived in the early 1940s and advised Hitler to scrap Operation Barbarossa because it would not work. Or perhaps she would have waited until Hitler died before, like the decision to build Nightingale hospitals, she ridiculed his decision to invade Russia.

      1. You would have thought that Herr H would have read about Napoleon and realised that General Winter would have caused Operation Barbarossa to fail.

  5. The biomass (wood chips) plant which supplies the central heating and hot water for the five dwelling on this farm went phut around 7:00 pm yesterday evening and I’m cold & grumpy. Not sure if the engineer will get here today. Going back to bed.

  6. Thousands of girls are subjected to FGM before being paraded down the street watched by machete-wielding guards during Kenyan tribe’s month-long ‘circumcision season’ 20 October 2020.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26d0b62583649890b0f5e17a62fbd151ad81eb4a34e66dbffd33342db1fa7214.png

    Thousands of girls are being subjected to FGM and paraded down streets after mass cutting ceremonies in Kenya.
    More than 100 girls in Migori County have been cut each day since the last week of September, according to a local NGO.

    You can hardly get past all the comments (191) about this from Black Lives Matter and the Feminists!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8858701/Thousands-girls-subjected-FGM-followed-parade-month-long-cutting-event-Kenya.html

    1. How does this work with critical race theory about white male privilege and colonialism?

  7. Morning all

    SIR – The Government’s constant, last-minute rule changes on Covid-19 are playing damaging games with our minds.

    We are a couple in our 70s and face a long winter, with no close contact with our families. To lift our spirits, we planned a number of mini-breaks in Britain over the coming months, with one other couple each time. We are all extremely careful people, and would not eat in restaurants or visit shops, but would benefit enormously from the change of scene. We have now been moved to Tier 2, so cannot 
do this.

    We are hugely disappointed. It just feels unnecessary. One consistent rule to shield the elderly and vulnerable would be manageable.

    Jean Thompson

    Woodham Ferrers, Essex

    SIR – I am sure that the elderly and vulnerable in Wales will comply with the new lockdown measures (report, October 20) to help reduce intensive care bed uptake and deaths. But why has the rest of Wales also been asked to do the same? We know that the average age of death from Covid-19 is 83 years old. If you are under the age of 45, the risk is extremely small.

    ADVERTISING

    It is time for the latter group to be released from lockdown in order to save the economy, people’s livelihoods, and the physical and mental health of the whole population. A heavy-handed approach cannot be justified when the science has identified which adults could cause the NHS to become overwhelmed.

    Dr Christopher M Keast

    Reading, Berkshire

    SIR – How nice: Granny and Grandpa have followed the rules. Now let’s lock them in their houses so that young people can go out and spread the virus among themselves.

    James Hawkins

    Hayling Island, Hampshire

    SIR – Two weeks ago, I suggested to a friend (an eminent doctor) that we were moving from a pandemic to a situation where Covid-19 was endemic in the population. He accused me of playing games with words.

    Yet Sir Patrick Vallance has now said precisely the same thing, suggesting that “the notion of eliminating Covid is not right”, and adding that people “would have to learn to live with [it]”.

    Surely, in light of this belated recognition of the obvious, we need to radically to rethink radically our approach to the virus and put a stop to this endless cycle of lockdowns.

    Brian Gedalla

    London N3

    SIR – Ian Rennardson (Letters, October 20) criticises Tony Blair for contacting the “overworked and stressed” Matt Hancock about quarantine rules.

    The fact that Mr Blair needed to seek clarification speaks volumes about these rules. This failure of a government may well be overworked and stressed, but misdirected hard work is no better than no work at all.

    Clive Pilley

    Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex

  8. Why this sudden interest in tailgating?

    SIR – Colin Henderson (Letters, October 20) seeks a hand -signal to discourage tailgaters.

    I was told it was to hold the pad of the index finger a short distance from that of the thumb, in view of the offending driver, highlighting so as to highlight the very short distance between the vehicles. I am not aware that it has ever been misinterpreted.

    Adam Herrick

    Sawston, Cambridgeshire

    SIR – I show signal to a tailgater by showing one finger (you are only one car-length behind me). If that doesn’t work, I show two fingers (you should be two car-lengths behind me).

    Nigel Johnson-Hill

    Harting, West Sussex

    SIR – Slow down and let them pass. They can take their dreadful driving elsewhere.

    Liz Beaumont

    London SW19

    SIR – I have found that judicious use of the hazard lights usually slows tailgaters down painlessly and safely.

    Arthur W J G Ord-Hume

    Guildford, Surrey

    1. When a lorry tailgates me, I wait until there is a hill and then systematically slow down to 15 mph, forcing the tailgating lorry to go all the way down the gears, and it takes it a long time to get back up to speed. I can then pull away out of trouble.

      A few random dabs on the brake pedal also keeps them awake.

      1. That used to work vey well, but modern lorries have automatic gearboxes, so being slowed on a hill is no big deal.

  10. Morning again

    Scammers’ paradise

    SIR – I am about to be arrested by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, will soon lose my Amazon Prime status, and recently had £300 taken from my bank account.

    For anyone even more elderly and confused than me, these frequent telephone calls could be terrifying. Were I to respond fully to them, money would be taken fraudulently from my account, yet it seems these scams go unchecked and unpunished.

    That most calls probably originate abroad is, given modern technology, surely no excuse for BT and others to do nothing. If I block the caller’s number it is only one of many that they use and they are back the next day. I could pay BT to have caller ID, but I would still have to put down The Telegraph to get up and check every call that comes in.

    Why is it that nothing can be done to stamp out this blight?

    Will Rumsey

    Crowthorne, Berkshire

    1. I never answer my phone these days. It is on speaker phone after a message. Usually the scammers and cold callers ring off immediately. I usually pick up if it’s someone I know.

      I know how irritating it is to call someone and just get voicemail. I get a sinking feeling of doom when it’s from a helpline, and can spend a very long time bombarded by irritating muzak, followed by a spoken message that sounds at a distance as if a real person has answered the phone, so I put everything and rush in just to be told that my call is important.

      I don’t like doing this to others, but really the days when I answer the phone when it rings are in the past.

      1. “I never answer my phone these days. It is on speaker phone after a message. Usually the scammers and cold callers ring off immediately. I usually pick up if it’s someone I know.”

        Same here, JM (and good morning). If the phone is showing a number not in its memory then they can whistle for it, and they are left with the answering device. On the odd occasion I have inadvertently picked up a nuisance call I merely put the phone to one side and carry on with what I was doing. If the caller is looking for a named person my response is “I’ll go and get him (or her)” and again leave the line open. Both will be blocked when they eventually hang up.

      2. One day (note to self: must get a life) I was so bored I went into a convoluted story claiming that I was the neighbour comforting Mr. A because his wife had – that very morning – run off with the milkman.
        Both of us forgot what ‘Jonathan’ was trying to sell me.

    2. It can be done, but it is not being done. The police websites give advice but do not give an address for actually supplying evidence. The big companies who feature in these scams, Amazon, Paypal, and the like, say “thank you for advising them”, but clearly do nothing.
      I really do not see the point of maintaining MI6 if it cannot have a little counter-intelligence practice by seeking out these fraudsters and blackmailers and killing them, wherever they reside in the world.

  11. SIR – If we are to believe that the NHS is open, why can’t I get an ear-syringing appointment? And why has my pacemaker appointment been postponed indefinitely?

    Colin Thomas

    Bridgend, Glamorgan

  12. SIR – In June our local hospital made 
an outpatient appointment for my wife in December. Last Monday, she received two letters from the hospital, both written on the same day; the first changed the initial appointment to a telephone appointment and the 
second cancelled the telephone appointment.

    We’ve yet to decide if this represents a flexible response to the national crisis or just wasteful incompetence.

    Paul Saunders

    Thame, Oxfordshire

    SIR – Our NHS health centre is a multi-doctor surgery that looks after about 30,000 patients who do not have a named doctor. My wife’s repeat prescription didn’t arrive at our pharmacy, so we visited the centre to explain our problem. We were met at the door by a bouncer who said that no one could be allowed in without an appointment and that the only way to get one was by phone. We sat in the car park for a long time, in a queue of nine on the phone. We are both in our 80s.

    Having spoken to a receptionist, our problem was sorted with an apology and the promise of a prescription in two days’ time. I don’t complain about the NHS, which I publicly applauded recently, only about some of those 
who run it.

    Jim Lane

    Stourbridge, Worcestershire

    1. Some have behaved as we were entitled to believe they would behave, but some have behaved with an unprecedented neglect of their duty towards the sick.

    3. Whatever one thinks of the medical staff working for the NHS, the administration is useless.

  13. The Government is using some very advanced algebraic mathematics to provide support to Greater Manchester:

    £(Andy Burnham’s ego) = £60M – £(COVID Support Package)

    1. ‘Morning, Angie. There isn’t much to smile about in the constant stream of repetitive pandemic news, but I laughed like a drain at little Burnham’s live press conference when he realised that £60m had just become £0m for the want of £5m! His embarrassment as it dawned on him that his ‘negotiation’ had just bitten him in the bum, on live telly, was priceless. Was the timing accidental or, just for once, was he the victim of a well-planned government gotcha? Either way, it was delicious!

    2. ‘Morning, Angie. There isn’t much to smile about in the constant stream of repetitive pandemic news, but I laughed like a drain at little Burnham’s live press conference when he realised that £60m had just become £0m for the want of £5m! His embarrassment as it dawned on him that his ‘negotiation’ had just bitten him in the bum, on live telly, was priceless. Was the timing accidental or, just for once, was he the victim of a well-planned government gotcha? Either way, it was delicious!

  14. The Government is using some very advanced algebraic mathematics to provide support to Greater Manchester:

    £(Andy Burnham’s ego) = £60M – £(COVID Support Package)

  15. In an article about PCism…

    “What got lost, of course, was the fact that whatever Gadot’s ethnicity, she should be able to play Cleopatra if she is the best woman for the part. Roles in art don’t “belong” to certain ethnicities, with the possible exception of Othello. But who has the energy to point that out?”

    Why is the role of Othello protected then? I take it it’s OK for yer blick actors to play white roles, but not for white actors to play blick roles.

      2. He also played the Mahdi in the film ‘Khartoum’, with General Gordon played by Charlton Heston.

        1. I think ‘Minty was referring to a white male playing a part now reserved for black actors.

    2. Isn’t Othello a BBC lesbian in the remake? A good role for the new Doctor Who, I suggest. Nobody with a penis need apply, unless they identify themselves appropriately according to E&D rules.

    4. But was Othello black? He is described as a Moor, which suggests North African origins with a dark brown complection rather than sub-Saharan Africa black.

    5. Othello is not a protected role. Has everyone forgotten Larry Olivier’s excellent portrayal back in the ’60s?

    6. I don’t think the role of Othello has ever been protected – for either the play, or the Opera. The suggestion that is should be is somewhat bizarre, I agree, but it’s never been the case.

      1. I think, maybe, the PCists have decided in the recently that no white person should ever be cast in the role.

        1. They may be trying to push in that direction – whether it will make any difference or not is another matter.

          Certainly as far as the opera is concerned most recent big company productions have featured a white tenor in the title role. But then again, the number of non-white, internationally renowned, opera singers is somewhat limited.

  16. What we can learn from Sweden. 21 October 2020.

    Anyhow, the Swedes would be the first to admit they do not emerge from this crisis as the world’s public-health superpower. Still, they comfortably avoided the doom-laden prophecies of Professor Neil Ferguson, whose Imperial College model, when applied to Sweden by researchers at Uppsala University, predicted a punishing 85,000 deaths as a result of its non-lockdown policy. So far, Sweden has had just under 6,000 deaths. This is despite Ferguson’s insistence, a full week after Sweden’s daily deaths actually peaked, that fatalities would continue to ‘increase day by day’.

    They don’t publicise it but the Government still listen to this clown and his fellow travellers here in the UK and of course the present lock down regime is a result of his initial prognosis. Ferguson is a sociopath and fraud. His algorithm was fake and every forecast he has ever made has proved to be not simply wrong but catastrophically awry.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/10/21/what-we-can-learn-from-sweden/

    1. Gates pays Fergs, SAGE, the media, Boros and other politicos so everyone listens to Gates.

      It’s a perfect circle !

    2. The PTB are listening to that charlatan because it gives them the excuse to take even more control over our lives.

  18. Good morning, all – and a very happy Trafalgar Day. The crews of our leaking aircraft carrier and the frigate would send you greetings but they are all in quarantine, or changing sex.

    Remember the big parade to Trafalgar Square?

      1. Especially the one above John Lewis’s main entrance. People used to say “I’ll meet you under the c(l)ock”

        1. The RHS band always plays that at divisions.
          In fact, I’m trying to remember if they play anything else.

    1. Good morning. Dull isn’t it.

      No walkies for Dolly the Dog today. I will have to get the treadmill out.

  20. SIR – Ian Rennardson (Letters, October 20) criticises Tony Blair for contacting the “overworked and stressed” Matt Hancock about quarantine rules.

    The fact that Mr Blair needed to seek clarification speaks volumes about these rules. This failure of a government may well be overworked and stressed, but misdirected hard work is no better than no work at all.

    Clive Pilley

    Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex

    No Mr Pilley, he knew the rules. He wasn’t seeking clarification, he was seeking exemption.

    1. The DT reported it was a visit to the White House! Any chance it may have been to review evidence?

    3. Bears repeating:

      On a recent trip to the United States , Tony Blair, Ex. Prime Minister of the UK and now U.N. Middle East Peace Envoy, addressed a major gathering of Native American Indians.
      He spoke for almost two hours on his success in bringing about a lasting peace settlement amongst the warring nations of the Middle East, likening it to the way that the U.S. Government found a suitable agreement with the North American tribes.
      At the conclusion of his speech, the crowd presented him with a plaque inscribed with his new Indian name – Walking Eagle.
      A very chuffed Tony then departed in his motorcade, waving to the crowds..
      A news reporter later asked one of the Indians how they came to select the new name given to Tony Blair They explained that Walking Eagle is the name given to a bird so full of shit that it can no longer fly.

  21. ‘Morning again.

    Allison Pearson today, in slightly frivolous mood:

    As the clocks change, we will really miss those celebrations which bring light and good cheer into this dark time of year but are now cancelled due to the wretched virus.

    Might it be possible to salvage some festivities to keep up morale? Funnily enough, an exchange of emails on that very topic between the Department of Health and the Occupational Health and Safety Manager for a district council just came into my hands:

    Dear Minister,

    Forgive the intrusion on your time, but October 31 is fast approaching and our councillors are getting concerned that traditional pursuits, such as trick or treating and apple bobbing, are not Covid-safe. We have heard informally that Halloween is cancelled this year, but the news does not seem to have reached the people here in Bintley Wayward. Far from! Pumpkins have already been spotted on doorsteps, suggesting a degree of covert carving activity in contravention of Subsection 13b of the Dangerous Entertainment and Fun guidance. It is not clear to me if the guidance has become law yet, although it could be part of that bill you rushed through Parliament at 4am on Monday morning when no one was looking?

    I personally organised a police raid on a local supermarket where 200 Witch Sustainables and 47 Skeleton Fancy Dresses were confiscated. Unfortunately, there was a scuffle in the changing rooms while an attempt was made to remove a seven-year-old child from a T-Rex onesie. As you know, trying on garments of any kind is strictly forbidden because the coronavirus is believed to linger on cloth for between 3 hours and 28 days, depending on who you believe. It is wholly disproportionate and unfair for the child’s mother – a barrister, worse luck! – to sue the council and me personally for child endangerment.

    Like you, I’m sure, I was shocked to read that one in five Britons doesn’t even know what lockdown tier their area is in! And some 17% are unaware of the tier system altogether! We may need to start isolating such reckless individuals in camps for their own safety. I’m sure Secretary of State Hancock has something in mind.

    At this time of global pandemic, I would appreciate any official advice on how to further suppress Halloween and its revellers.

    Yours sincerely

    Mr Clockwell

    The reply…

    Dear Mr Clockwell,

    The minister shares your concerns about Halloween. However, we do believe it is still possible to enjoy it safely while getting our message across. Some ideas for you include the following:

    Rule of Six: In England, you may not have more than six individuals in your home, excluding ghosts and poltergeists. Being non-corporeal they are not believed to increase transmission.

    Masks: People may be wearing a mask anyway, so a face covering can easily be incorporated into their costumes. However, any good may be undone if multiple hands rummage in a bucket of sweets. Suggest tying individual bags of confectionery to a fence or telling children that too much sugar is bad for them. If they get fat, the Covid monster will devour them. That should act as a deterrent!

    Apple bobbing: Potentially hazardous as droplets may be exchanged. Suggest numbering individual apples and assigning each child a number. Change the bowl of water between goes.

    Trick or Trace: Instead of receiving sweets, we recommend that youngsters collect positive Covid-19 tests as they go from door to door. This will be a huge help to the national test and tracking operation which, as you may know, ran into some difficulties on the Isle of Wight. Baroness Harding has assured us that the £12.6 billion has not been wasted. The Chinese man she gave it to says he has already delivered 1,346.88 million pieces of PPE and the testing kits will be with us by Christmas. Please do NOT collect any negative tests. The minister feels they are unhelpful at this time.

    Of course, the safest option of all is that people stay at home and watch something scary with their loved ones. Any news bulletin will do…

    1. So, call the police to get help with the menopause? Not your doctor (silly me, of course not, doctors aren’t doing docting these days). More excuses to not do something about nasty rough criminals…

      1. Morning OB

        The stupidity of that police force saying this
        Leicestershire Police
        @leicspolice
        We are proud to support #WorldMenopauseDay a worldwide awareness event for all people approaching, currently going through and beyond the menopause.

        People?

        1. I think some husbands go through stress when their wives are experiencing the menopause.

          1. Some women, like me ,just sail through it with out any problems. Some of us are very blessed.

            (PS) Er , I actually think that men go through a change, which makes them incredibly difficult to cope with!

          4. Not you. Just imagine, all middle-aged women in Leicestershire are being patronised; the slightest display of anger or disgust is automatically put down to their hormone imbalance.
            But Plod understand them …..

    2. There are some (plenty) dimwits in this world and a disproportionate majority of them seem to be in ministerial roles and members of the police force.

    5. Our Police Farce is beyond redemption. No crime in Leicestershire, obviously…

      ‘Morning, Belle.

    6. Distributed – as it’s Twatter I hope successfully.
      Edit: just had a reply, so I’ve done it rite.

    7. Our Police Farce is beyond redemption. No crime in Leicestershire, obviously…

      ‘Morning, Belle.

    2. Just copied this to Facebook and you can guess what happens. It isn’t removed completely but it’s immediately slapped with “fake news” alerts.

      1. Of course. Professors cannot be trusted unless they are bought and paid for by those who are doing such.

      2. Of course. Professors cannot be trusted unless they are bought and paid for by those who are doing such.

    2. Another thing alongside all this, how come all the indigenous people’s are promoted to the fore front of human rights, all of course except for the white indigenous. In reality it actually puts black ‘African Americans’ in third place. Obviously the white’s in Canada the US Oz and NZ in second. But in Europe the white population in well earned first. There is so much blatant disrespect for the indigenous in Europe it is becoming more than a bit of a worry. What’s more of a worrying aspect is leftwaffe whities who are causing the problem.

    4. Hmm. I’m fairly certain the palace of Westminster was built in the Victorian era, as were most of the buildings behind it. Windrush was 1940s, if memory serves.

      That would mean those very welcome, industrious individuals from the British Empire inherited all of that rather than had any role in building it. At all.

  29. Good morning all.

    Like many of you, I’m experiencing heavy rain, but I ain’t moaning about it.

      1. Ah, those dim distant days when you left the cinema feeling entertained and your ears weren’t ringing.

          1. You’re not missing much.
            We’re old farts, so I buy a DVD for about the price of one cinema visit – or even one seat – and we sit in the comfort of our own home without our hearing being fried or our blood pressure sent rocketing by the witless fidgeters around us.

          2. The kiddiewinkles buy us a boxed set or two for Christmas and that generally keeps us entertained for a year. That and memorising the scripts of all the Steven Seagal, Jason Statham, and James Bond films shown every week on Freeview.

        2. And humming the theme songs such as the Brothers Karamazov Cha Cha or that very catch ditty Incredible Shrinking Man I Love You.

    1. As this campaign cannot be fought over the issues and real problems the US is suffering, nor Democrat cities be trusted to behave rationally for the good of their citizens instead of using public money solely for political point scoring America is stuffed, and long may it burn.

        1. Wrong root, Grizz. It comes from menses – months – owing to the regularity of the cycle.

  32. BBC R4: Across the Red Line – Does impartiality impede good journalism?.

    Author and LBC presenter James O’Brien and ex-Head of BBC TV News Roger Mosey debate whether impartiality impedes good journalism. With Anne McElvoy.

    45 Minutes of utter tripe with the conclusion that 95% of the media are so far right that that BBC’s impartiality is a beacon of rectitude and virtue.

    The BBC’s motto: If you tell a lie big enough and often enough the morons who pay the licence fee will eventually believe it.

    1. If you tell a lie big enough and often enough the morons who pay the licence fee will eventually believe it – coined by Dr Göbbels, I believe.

  34. DT Story Today

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/10/21/brexit-trade-deal-within-reach-says-michel-barnier/

    Brexit trade deal is within reach, says Michel Barnier
    EU chief negotiator’s European Parliament speech appears likely to pave way for trade negotiations with UK to resume

    Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

    [Psalm 146]

    Do any of my fellow Nottlers sincerely believe that Britain will not capitulate and give away far too much?

    2. I am prepared to wait until the end of the year and see, Richard. Whatever concessions (if any) the UK ends up making, we will at least be closer to an independent country than we were just before the 2016 Referendum took place. Whatever the result, the MSM will find plenty of critics to badmouth and downplay the final situation.

    3. 325818+up ticks,
      Morning R,
      Put not your trust in lab nor in the lib con coalition from which there has been no help for decades.
      Ogga i ; 11.20 am.

      Many of us have been telling the multitudes for years
      but they no blurry listen.

      2. Carrie ought to shave Boris’s lower abdomen so that Barnier and Co can no longer hold him by the short and curlies.

        1. I took the trouble to check the Brexit Party still has a website showing membership options. A pointless and futile gesture maybe, but any chance of my vote going to the Tory party has become infinitesimal.
          I pray there are many more like minded voters.

    5. Nope. It will all disappear in cascade of appeasement, transfer of “inalienable rights”, unbreakable agreements, vast payments, surrender of internal governance, subjection to foreign courts in perpetuity.
      We could just call it the “Ultimate Jealous Continental Revenge on Albion”.

      1. The whole ‘walk away’ by Boris was no more than a pathetic charade to try and deceive the British public who voted for a proper Brexit.

        The main problem remains the WA which was a sell-out and which Boris and none of his faux Brexiters (like Grease-Fogg) were not prepared to discuss in any detail before the general election.

        I also blame Nigel Farage who fell at the last hurdle in letting Johnson get away with a total surrender WA.

      1. They clearly found that there was a shortage of available rubber dinghies and so they are hoping that being extradited to Britain will save them having to make an uncomfortable Channel crossing now that winter is coming.

    2. Fake UK passports, Drivers licences and other forms of fake ID, have been available on the internet for years.

        2. Did Mr. Rashid keep that one from you?
          What are chums for if it’s not to defraud the British taxpayer?

  38. Astonishing weather – after last night’s galeforce winds it is now sunny, calm and 23C. Shorts and t-shirt back out of storage!

  39. If you’re pinning your hopes on a Covid vaccine, here’s a dose of realism. 21 October 2020.

    Much has been said about how the world will return to normal when a vaccine is widely available. But that really won’t be true. It is important that we are realistic about what vaccines can and can’t do.

    Vaccines protect individuals against disease and hopefully also against infection, but no vaccine is 100% effective. To know what proportion of a community would be immune after a vaccination programme is a numbers game – we must multiply the proportion of a population vaccinated by how effective the vaccine is.

    This is a roundabout way of saying: You’re Screwed!

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/21/covid-vaccine-immunisation-protection

    1. It’s obvious that the “Great Reset” is embedded into government policy here and around the world. They really should start to come clean and admit it.

    2. Very similar to the TV advertisements about cleaners and disinfectants, never 100% sure of destroying all bacteria and all known germs.

    3. And Boris has bought about 340 million doses – of five different types – for a population of 75million? Or is that what the population is expected to be very shortly?

  42. Trump asks Barr to investigate dubious claims against Joe and Hunter Biden. 21 October 2020.

    Hunter Biden is the subject of reports by the New York Post about a laptop hard drive purportedly left at a repair shop in Delaware and obtained by Trump ally Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor is now Trump’s personal attorney and his search for political dirt on the Bidens has played out in public, having contributed to Trump’s impeachment for approaches made to Ukraine.

    The Post has not allowed other outlets to see material taken from the laptop allegedly owned by Hunter Biden. But Democrats in Congress and media reports have said the FBI is investigating the Post stories as the fruits of a Russian disinformation campaign. Giuliani is known to associate with at least one individual who US agencies consider an asset of Russian intelligence.

    Almost the entire deep state has tried to either stifle or denigrate this story but no one who has gone to the trouble to research the evidence about this laptop has any doubt that it belongs to Hunter Biden. A full account of how it came into the public domain can be found at the link below!

    https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2020/10/yes-the-hunter-biden-emails-are-authentic-by-larry-c-johnson.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/20/trump-barr-special-prosecutor-joe-biden-hunter-biden

  43. On a lighter note, the cycle race “Tour of Spain” (Vuelta) has just started. On Sunday they reach the Pyrenees and the Col du Tourmalet. Often one of the most dreaded features of the Tour de France which is normally held in July the steep mountain has never been included a race this late in the year. Last month the Tourmalet was covered in snow. Could be interesting.

      1. The same people who will be paying for their accommodation, food, power, travel. healthcare, kids schooling etc etc. The good old taxpayer.

      2. If you ain’t got nothing you ain’t got nothing to lose.

        [Bob Dylan]

        Those who cannot pay the fine should be placed in the stocks and the public given rotting vegetables to throw at the them.

  45. Good afternoon all.
    I have just received an appointment for a ” telephone consultation ” with my neuro specialist. It is over two weeks ahead and I must ensure that I am by the phone at a given time. So no poking bits of me to estimate my weakening.

    I guess that this is better than nothing as the Welsh NHS staggers on.

    2. Oh dear , who on earth was the twerp who made you an appointment .

      Can’t you ring them and suggest how impractical a telephone consultation is ?

      So sorry Issy.. We are all surrounded by knaves and fools at present.

      Are you in lock down, by the way?

      1. Hi Belle. Lockdown from friday 6pm. My days are usually very isolated, apart from the two main carers. It would have been nice to get to the clinic, but it is safer like this, for sure.

  46. SIR – Colin Henderson (Letters, October 20) seeks a hand -signal to discourage tailgaters.

    I was told it was to hold the pad of the index finger a short distance from that of the thumb, in view of the offending driver, highlighting so as to highlight the very short distance between the vehicles. I am not aware that it has ever been misinterpreted.

    Adam Herrick
    Sawston, Cambridgeshire

    More to the point, Adam Herrick, are you aware that such a gesture has ever worked, given the difficulty in seeing through a car? Better to slow down, keep eyes on the road ahead and both hands on the wheel, I would have thought.

    SIR – I show signal to a tailgater by showing one finger (you are only one car-length behind me). If that doesn’t work, I show two fingers (you should be two car-lengths behind me).

    Nigel Johnson-Hill
    Harting, West Sussex

    Ho ho, Nigel Double-Barrelled – if you are for real then even two car-lengths behind is still far too close at all but very low speeds. You are more likely to encourage road rage…

    Edit: If these letters have been through proof-reading then someone should be ‘let go’ immediately!

    1. Adam Herrick is telling them to slam on the anchors.
      (My spoolchocker tolled me that’s the rite smelling.)

  47. 325818+ up ticks,
    Lest we forget, please keep in mind ALL supporters / members / voters of the lab/lib/con mass uncontrolled immigration / paedophile umbrella,
    submissive, pcism & appeasement coalition party that we could never have reached such dizzying depths as a nation without your continuing input.
    We can guarantee much more of the same.

    Over 7,500 Illegal Boat Migrants Arrived in Britain This Year

      1. 325818+ up ticks,
        Afternoon W,
        War, ( the total will be )
        When the money runs out, DEVALUES, DEvaues, devalues, they will want kind, and take it.

    1. She ensconced herself inside Dame Vera Lynn’s old (1930’s style)
      house in The Downage Hendon NW4.
      On google earth it’s about the 2nd or third from the bottom end, left hand side.

      1. Yes, I’ve seen the picture. Very nice. I imagine quite expensive, even for the boss of a charity.

        (Mark Carney’s semi went for £5m.)

        1. I use to ride my bicycle past twice a day, to and from school.
          Never caught a glimpse of the lovely lady.

    2. An unholy alliance if ever there was one. And running a charity! Badly, by all accounts.

    3. Hearings to continue until December! Cripes, are they waiting for fair winds to sail her to the courtroom.

      1. She’s waiting for Black Friday (Month?) at Dunelm so she can get a new outfit for her court appearance.

  49. We don’t think that the BBC is biased towards the left…we KNOW it is! What a load of Horlicks…From the DT:

    BBC chairman: the over-50s think we are biased towards the Left
    Sir David Clementi said perceptions of political bias are age-related

    By
    Anita Singh,
    ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
    20 October 2020 • 8:11pm
    Sir David Clementi

    Only the over-50s believe the BBC is too Left-wing, the corporation’s chairman has suggested, as he said perceptions of political impartiality are age-related.

    Sir David Clementi said younger people tend to believe that the BBC is too Right-wing and part of the Establishment.

    “There is a general trend. We do a lot of impartiality surveys and they show that about a quarter of our audience think we lean to the Left, and slightly less – but nevertheless a very substantial number – think we lean to the Right. But the interesting thing about it is that it’s very age-related,” Sir David said.

    “Once you get over 50, there are a significant number of people who are convinced that we all live in Islington and we all, you know, whatever. They’re convinced of it.

    “But if you speak to a younger generation, they occasionally think we’re part of the Establishment and we lean to the Right.

    Sir David recalled giving a speech to students in Salford shortly after December’s general election. Afterwards “six or seven young students came up to me to berate me on the BBC’s performance in the election, which they said had been so heavily biased towards the Conservatives, they couldn’t believe it.”

    Speaking to the Voice of the Listener and Viewer autumn conference, Sir David went on: “There is a very big, age-related issue around the matter of impartiality, we take it seriously.

    “For the great majority of our output we are very good but [director-general] Tim Davie has made this his priority number one and we are doubling down on impartiality.”

    In one of his final public appearances before he steps down in February, Sir David took the opportunity to hit back at politicians who criticise the BBC.

    “I find that too many of the people I talk to with very strong views about the BBC don’t spend too much time with the BBC. They get up with Today, they go to bed with Newsnight and they don’t watch much in between,” he said.

    Of critics who want to see the licence fee scrapped in favour of a Netflix-style subscription, he said: “I have no doubt that the BBC could thrive as a subscription model, but it would not be the BBC that the nation knows and values.

    “Those who promote – and there are a lot of them – the notion of a subscription services brush aside these points. They rarely grapple with the technical problems, they do not explain how radio is to be paid for, they don’t engage with the commercial reality of a subscription service, nor do they point out to the public the types of investment, programmes and services that would be lost.

    “Their argument is largely ideological”.

    Sir David said that US streaming giants have plenty of entertaining content “but in terms of ‘inform’ and ‘educate’, as well as ‘entertain’, the BBC reigns supreme.”

    Asked to name the biggest challenge of his chairmanship, Sir David said that charging the over-75s for their licence fees was “the most difficult decision we’ve had to take”.

    1. The problem I have with this analysis is over how “Left” and “Right” are defined.

      If you are elderly, it is Left Wing to accept the modern and imposed contemporary conventional thinking on race and “gender” (often meaning sex), regardless how ridiculous it is to those brought up with traditional definitions.

      If you are young, it is Right Wing to be in the pockets of global business interests when they brazenly conflict with the future welfare and prospects of those that must inherit the husk of what is left, once the snouts have had their fill.

      I think both positions are quite compatible, and the real villains are those in power who offend both young and old outside their metropolitan power bubble. Political theorists wilfully decline to provide a language to express it, preferring to divide and rule the public with ‘Left’ and ‘Right’.

    2. ‘Sir David said that charging the over-75s for their licence fees was “the most difficult decision we’ve had to take”.‘Especially given that the BBC only agreed to fund licences for the over 75s as a quid pro quo for a range of things they wanted the Government to agree to – a deal apparently described as “good for the BBC” by Lord Hall! Since the BBC have unilaterally gone back on their part of the agreement I look forward to the licence fee being returned to the rate it was before the BBC were allowed to increase it! And then I woke up!!

      1. I would be happy to pay full whack for the licence fee if the money was spent on decent programmes, rather than the likes of Lineker and Ball.

        What’s more, you don’t have to spend Hollywood style on blockbuster style to produce a decent show. Postgate & Firmin made memorable and much-loved shows pushing bits of card around in a shed, and the missus knitted the Clangers, I believe.

        1. All the best series were made on a tight budget, as then the story had to stand for itself, rather than rely on big stars and whizzy effects to attract an audience. Such as Hitchhikers Guide, the old Dr Who, Dad’s Army, and more.

          1. When they made ‘I Claudius’, instead of employing a thousand extras for the circus scenes, they multitracked the crowd noises, filmed exclusively the platform (which is what the story was about) and had the same half-dozen gofers in costume in a loop being the grand procession. Our imagination did the rest.

            Back to Smallfilms, Emily Firmin was paid the princely (princessly?) sum of a bag of sweets to introduce every episode of ‘Bagpuss’. Would Claudia Winkelman have got out of bed for that fee? Would she have done it any better, even if she got paid the going rate for celebrities to do so?

          3. Few people did depraved as well as John Hurt.

            Brian Blessed’s Augustus death scene was an olympic feat of superhuman breath-holding. For what seemed three minutes of a long monologue from Livia, the camera was the whole time in close up on Augustus as we watched the light go out of his eyes. He conveyed the actual moment of death without moving a muscle.

          5. Clangers.
            How many children’s programmes nowadays would refer to ‘the music of the spheres’?

    5. They’ll charge over 75s – but all those new arrivals in hotels and barracks will be watching for free.

      and as for radio – why can I turn the radio on and listen with no interference or problems – yet If I want to listen to the same BBC station I have to have Cookies stuck on my computer and also have to “sign in” to get the same content?

    6. The BBC has been lurching to the left for many years and they have much to answer for in the decline of standards in the UK.

      When I was 28 (well under 50!) I was living abroad and I used to rely on the BBC World Service radio for excellent, impartial news coverage. The news was read by people with clear, educated voices such as John Wing, Elizabeth Francis and Pippa Harben.

      In 1986 a new managing director was appointed – a left wing minimalist, John Tusa. Suddenly the newsreaders were replaced with those who spoke with ‘regional accents’ (making it difficult to follow through the static, especially for those whose original language was not English), no news bulletin was complete without a mention of human rights, the environment and Amnesty International, and comedy programmes ceased to be funny.

      Watching the BBC World Service TV today, one would be forgiven for assuming that educated indigenous British people are now extinct! Now, I no longer allow my brain to be frazzled by the BBC, to the extent of never opening any page on their website – even recipes!

      Tusa started the rot and the BBC has never recovered. Sir David is living in a liberal cocoon, totally out of touch with reality.

  52. 325818+ up ticks,
    Doing well deserved bird, found guilty for liking of underage chicks and described as a fowl pest.

    Fowl! Paedophile Who Had Sex with Pet Chickens Jailed for Three Years

    2. I think he misunderstood the lads’ vernacular of chasing a few good looking chicks, eh pet.

    4. Good morning Ogga

      This is an example of the sort of filth who are abusing animals!

      Spaniel Aid UK
      22ttSlhoponsiorced ·
      WARNING CONTENT MAY UPSET!!
      I want to introduce you to Henry who came to us last week from a National rescue organisation who wanted a breed specific rescue to give this boy a chance. Henry is a springer or cocker cross possibly with a retriever. He is about 8 years old. Henry was found wandering the streets in a dreadful condition and came under the care of the dog warden.

      Now this is the nasty bit sorry. He arrived with severe damage to his rear end which they believe is sexual abuse. He went to the vet and had his rear end repaired but has since understandably been very sensitive in this area. This is a boy who you just need to look at him to know he has had a terrible life. He is always pleased to see you but carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has been repaired physically and we will do our very best to repair him mentally. Before we agreed to take him we obviously asked our fosterers if anyone would give him a go and as they always do they offered. So Henry is in a calm quiet one person foster home where he is being walked and fed and given toys but the rest of life is on Henrys terms. He will tell us when he is ready to trust a human again.

      I want to use Henry’s story for 2 reasons. First to give a huge shout out to our admin. They all join us just wanting to help give a dog a chance of a better life and within weeks if not days they are dealing with people suffering homelessness, addiction, mental health issues , domestic violence and so on and on. They have no training to deal with this they just get on with it in the best interests of the dog while crying and not sleeping and swearing. Now last week they had to deal with the sexual abuse of an animal. They are heroes.
      Secondly unashamedly I want to push our fundraising for our assessment sanctuary. Henry was lucky in that we had a space and we hope he will be able to live in a home as a pet but if not we will need somewhere for him to go to live as good a life as he possibly can. Where he will be loved and cared for and never ever hurt in any way again. Sanctuary spaces are like hens teeth and the standard of care varies wildly from fantastic to some that have been recommended to us in the past then being raided by the RSPCA! So we need somewhere of our own and soon for the next Henry that comes along. So if this story (and it has been very watered down) makes you feel anger sadness revulsion, or all 3 then please please donate a few pounds
      Welcome Henry 💔
      https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/assessment-centre..

      1. 325818+up ticks,
        Morning TB,
        You post with feeling, I hope what you have highlighted of Henry’s past plight hits home.

    1. It takes too long to train locals. Never mind the time needed to set up a nursing program, it is the endless years of inaction and hollow promises by politicians that stop UK training programs from being viable.

    2. You can buy a diploma for gynaecology with no more experience than a passion for amateur Trump cat-stroking.

      When I was in the civil service in a Government agency being privatised, the established staff were jumping ship and applying for other jobs. My office manager (nicknamed ‘Bluto’ because he was a dead ringer for Popeye’s nemesis) was always on the lookout for vacancies as a shower attendant in a girl’s school, but he never got anywhere with it.

          1. I remember seeing a clip of a plastic blow up man with a fishing rod on a beach.
            Silly old Billy and CSO looked to be on a very important mission until they discovered it was a set up.

      2. I have often wondered where these illegal economic migrants – the 1000s that arrive each year – manage to lay their hands on the €5,000 needed for the crossing.

          1. Possibly = but someone must be going around with very large quantities of cash. Funny the French plod haven’t done anything about it… (sarc)

          2. Probably done by families via a hawala system so cash doesn’t need to be handled.
            Get one member “in” and the potential reward is getting the whole family in.

    1. All the more reason not to enter into any trade agreement with the USA, never to entrust anything to the Cloud, and avoid anything bearing the prefix ‘smart”. These people cannot be trusted, and the sooner we can relate to one another offline, the better.

      1. With the recent visit of Blair to the US and Clegg working for their ‘private’ Media, I have nothing but suspicion all round.

  55. ‘Morning All

    Comment in DT main news item:

    “Police have called on pubs and restaurants to check customers IDs to ensure they are following lockdown rules, it has emerged.’

    The police have no power whatsoever in these circumstances to ‘check identities’, much less require an answer.

    I was a police officer for thirty years and a detective for twenty-five
    of those. A police officer can ask for your details if they have
    reasonable grounds to suspect you of a specific offence, NOT fishing for
    one you may have committed. I will not be giving my details to any
    police officer or ‘Covid Marshal’. Sitting in a restaurant is reasonable
    grounds to believe you are about to eat a meal, nothing more.

    Even if you HAVE committed an offence you still do not commit a further
    offence by refusing your details although you do then hand the officer a
    power of arrest to establish your identity.

    If you are arrested
    you still do not commit any further offence by refusing your details in
    the custody office although that will usually get you before the next
    available magistrates court IF the police have sufficient evidence to
    support a prosecution. Do NOT under any circumstances answer any
    questions. A polite smile is good. It also helps if you tell them you
    are on hunger strike. The food is truly awful and you will not be
    missing anything. It also makes for a better tale on your release.

    At court continue to refuse your details even if, as in my case, you have
    been identified by fingerprints. Make it very clear you will not be
    paying any fines or costs. Depending on how annoying you have been you
    will probably be sentenced to time served or a day in custody ie until
    the court finishes sitting.

    The quickest way to find yourself in a
    police state is to cooperate in it’s establishment. I am happily
    retired and have time to spend in civil disobedience.”
    Sound advice…………..

    1. When the police in Scotland were spending their expensive time (50,000 man hours and £1.2m) in attempting to find cause to prosecute Tommy Sheridan for perjury they interviewed his wife.
      The police interrogated, or rather attempted to interrogate, Mrs Sheridan for long periods.
      From a BBC article:
      “The police tapes also show how under questioning, Gail exercised her right to silence. During her interview, Gail, a Catholic, clutched her rosary beads.
      But during a break from questioning, detectives removed the beads from her, and suggested she may have had Provisional IRA terrorist training.
      The detective said: “Gail, I must ask you at this time, who has schooled you to make no comment, or sit and focus on one point on the wall?
      “Because I can tell you now I have interviewed people who have been held, held under the Terrorism Act … and that is the kind of activity I would expect from them.
      “It’s a recognised PIRA form of terrorism technique, focus on a spot on the wall, focus at the table, focus at the roof, focus at the bin, say nothing.
      “Who’s trained you in the technique?”
      Gail does not respond.”

      Police Scotland, as they are now, decided to accuse Mrs Sheridan of being trained by the Provisional IRA. Without evidence. It seems that the police have never looked up Youtube and searched for advice on being questioned by the police. The advice repeated in many recorded lectures to American law students is to say nothing whatsoever to the police.
      The treatment of Tommy S seems very much like the precursor of the treatment of Tommy R.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12057630

    2. Maybe it needs to buy some more mirrors to replicate an audience. Mental health issues and all……….

  58. Morning, Campers.
    (DON’T Touch The Roof!!!!)
    Whatever Andy Burnham’s reasons for his stance – here are some numbers:
    Population in 2020:
    Liverpool 902,000
    Greater Manchester 2,730,000

  61. Blimey … all our best government ministers are BAME:

    Teaching children that white privilege is a fact is breaking the law, says minister
    Kemi Badenoch tells Commons there is a ‘dangerous trend’ in race relations that should not be taught in schoolsTeachers who tell their pupils that white privilege is a fact are breaking the law, the women and equalities minister has said.

    Kemi Badenoch told the Commons there was a “dangerous trend” in race relations that should not be taught in schools.

    She said: “It is the promotion of critical race theory – an ideology that sees my blackness as victimhood and their whiteness as oppression. I want to be absolutely clear – this Government stands unequivocally against critical race theory.”

    Ms Badenoch was speaking in response to the Labour MP Dawn Butler, who said history needs to be “decolonised”.

    Calls to decolonise the curriculum have been gaining pace at universities, where students have urged professors to examine whether courses are too dominated by white male European points of view. They have also been growing in schools, where many teachers are keen for pupils to learn the history of colonialism and the slave trade from a less Eurocentric perspective.

    But Ms Badenock said the curriculum did not need decolonising for “the simple reason that it is not colonised”, adding: “We should not apologise for the fact that British children primarily study the history of these islands.

    “And it goes without saying that the recent fad to decolonise maths, decolonise engineering, decolonise the sciences that we’ve seen across our universities, to make race the defining principle of what is studied, is not just misguided but actively opposed to the fundamental purpose of education.”

    She said pupils should not be learning about “white privilege and their inherited racial guilt”, telling the Commons any school which teaches “these elements of political race theory as fact, or which promotes partisan political views such as defunding the police without offering a balanced treatment of opposing views, is breaking the law”.

    Last week, MPs were told that white working class boys will continue to be left behind because notions of “toxic masculinity” and “white privilege” suggest they are the problem. Professor Matthew Goodwin told a select committee the national conversation had become “preoccupied” with issues around gender, race and ethnicity and focused around “historic grievances”.

    In the USA, Donald Trump has directed the Office of Management and Budget to crack down on federal agencies’ anti-racism training sessions, calling them “divisive, anti-American propaganda”.

    The OMB director, Russell Vought, directed executive branch agencies to identify spending related to any training on “critical race theory”, “white privilege” or any other material that teaches or suggests that the United States or any race or ethnicity is “inherently racist or evil”.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/10/20/teaching-children-white-privilege-fact-breaking-law-says-minister/

    Long past time for our government to follow Trump (who was, as with Big Tech censorship, himself late onto this one.

    1. Instead of labelling black or white, why not simply teach history as it was and talk about the reality and causal effects on our society now.

      Such as simple things like women’s liberation, genuine feminism – not the Left wing we want a 6 figure salary without earning it nonsense we have today. The common wealth of nations and racial equality.

      Then we could look at where the tensions come from and then, truly then we might be able to resolve some of the nonsense.

    2. Quiz Time
      Q. How do you a make clock out of a blanket a bowl and a stick?
      A. I do not know and neither does anybody in Africa.

          2. What have the Romans ever done for us?
            They had white van men before the combustion engine was developed.
            “Sic transit gloria mundi.”
            Gloria suffered motion sickness in a large van on the first day of the working week.”

          3. Yeah, but apart from roads, water, months of the year, days of the week, planetary names, philosophy, economics and so on, what’ve they ever really done for us? Ohh, I missed language.

            I think the best thing the Roman’s ever gave us was Life of Brian and joke names, like Biggus Dickus.

          4. He has a wife you know. Incontinentia. Incontinentia Bucket.

            I nearly pissed myself too when he said that. 🙂

  63. 325818+ up ticks,
    “Deja Vu” is it not ? we have been here before, there is no opposition to
    johnsons actions to my way of thinking.

    This farage chap aided & abetted johnson before achieving an 80 seat win, and now playing “in name only tory” long-stop once more, threatening with the brexit group.

    Farage: Brexit Party ‘Prepared to Restart Fight’ If Boris Agrees on Soft-Brexit EU Treaty.

  64. I lived in a country that was not racist. It was, and still is to some extent, sectarian. I am interested in old boats. In 1879 a new design of boat was created, a combination of a fife and a scaffie, with a straight stem and a rounded undercut stern.
    The Zulu war took place that year and the boat design was given the name “Zulu” in honour of our enemies. It was one of the most efficient sail-driven fishing boat designs ever.
    Do racists do such things? I don’t think so.

    2. When my father worked in the Sudan he commissioned several large cargo carrying dhows or fallukas to be built. He managed to incorporate centre boards in the design to give the vessels a marginally better on wind performance. At the time of my father’s death – 30 years after he retired from the Sudan – some of the Tracey Boats – as they were known locally – were still in service on the Nile.

  65. Yesterday, “NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid”. It did so to collect samples which will be returned to Earth in 2023.

    “This amazing first for NASA demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands.”

    All those brilliant people in the US and abroad have worked hard in cooperation to advance human knowledge.

    In the meantime, I was wondering how many of Mr, Biden’s supporters have lifted even their little fingers to advance anything, let alone knowledge. Yesterday a police officer was beaten up by a Biden supporter, a man of colour with an intellect so low that it would undoubtedly be hard to measure. His friends stood by to encourage him and nobody helped the policeman who had to be airlifted to hospital. At the very least, such people should not be allowed to vote. But without such people Biden wouldn’t have a hope of winning the election.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/bystanders-mock-livestream-brutal-beating-police-officer-injured-badly-needed-airlifted-hospital-video/

  67. High Court rules that Home Office policy in removing people from the country is unlawful.

    “The right to access the court is an absolute and inviolable right,” said the court.
    “The right to access to the court is not a relative right to be balanced against other rights and interests, the convenience of the executive or the courts, or the risks of abuse of process.”
    What the Court is saying that anyone who arrives in this country illegally has an inviolable right to access the courts. That cannot be allowed. This must be changed. Only British citizens should have the “right” to access our courts.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54632985

      1. Nah.
        Totally fit for purpose.

        Blair saw that to further his objectives he needed to change the purpose of the courts, hence his “reforms”.
        And that is why you are seeing what is happening.

      2. If that means, Supreme Court, disband it now and revert to appealing to the Law Lords and, if necessary, HM The Queen – as it used to be.

    2. The problem is that UN law states that asylum seekers have a right to legal assistance. Now, as many are not actual bona fide asylum seekers, but economic migrants, perhaps the law needs changing? I won’t hold my breath however.

      1. That said, I can’t understand why they don’t lose that particular right the instant they leave the first safe country where they could have applied for asylum.

          1. 325818+ up ticks,
            Evening AA,
            They are needed as re-placement units
            in many ways plus bolstering up the
            coalition party membership.

        2. The very fact that they do proves that they are NOT asylum seekers.

          Any person genuinely fleeing from terror or persecution would fall on his knees and worship the ground of the first safe country he reached.

      2. We should ditch the UN. It has become an interfering political influence. It has not prevented any conflicts as far as I know?

        1. But, Horace, after winning the Second World war
          for us, for our ever gratefulness and bended knee,
          surely ,,, you do not doubt the integrity of the UN.

          [I know, I know!! …Dates etc. !! ]

          2. Don’t you call me a ‘Silly girl’!
            I will have you know….. what
            were we discussing?

  68. 325818+ up ticks,
    With the thousands of potential terrorist roaming the streets and being topped up daily via Dover maybe locking decent peoples down has a good side with the above mentioned now joined, out on bail by,

    Greater Manchester Police have announced the arrest of 21 men aged 18 to 58 as part of an ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation (CSE).
    Reality being lock up your daughters, sons etc never been truer.

      2. I’m sure the video, if stopped or played slowly will give plod the reg no. Oh, wait a minute…

  69. Daily Mail Story

    Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner ‘shouts “Scum!” at Tory MP Chris Clarkson’ in heated House of Commons clash over Covid – before she is slapped down by furious Deputy Speaker

    I suppose there is a time and a place for abuse!

    I freely admit that I am free with my abuse and contempt for politicians and slebs on this site where I am amongst friends but I would be wary of saying some of the things I say in a more public forum. Mind you, one of the unwritten rules of the Nottlers is that one should not descend to personal abuse of one’s co-posters on the site but one should voice one’s disagreement politely and lucidly when one does disagree with them.

    Many MPs could be very aptly described as scum – indeed I have used the term myself – but should the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party use such a term in Parliament?

    .

    1. It’s no surprise to me when commenting on facebook the lefties are the worst of the lot while thinking the are morally superior at the same time.

    1. Before we know it they’ll be stopping ministerial cars in the UK and demanding money – even something like £65M from the PM!

    2. In the UK the driver would have been arrested, charged and sent to prison. And ordered to pay compo to the bleck.

  71. OT Interesting example of the way the meaning of words can change. A chum of mine – a distinguished writer of text books and critical reviews – was asked by his new publisher to provide “a synopsis”. He naturally took the word to mean what it has always meant – and sent in a brief precis of the work.

    Turns out that in modern publisherese, “synopsis” means a sales pitch – an explanation of the potential market etc.

      1. I gather you had a huge storm yesterday. And soon the winter frosts and snow will hit Dordogneshire…

        1. We escaped, we had a bit of warm wind that brought down a few leaves and branches., it wasn’t really strong enough to lever a lawyer off a ladder.

          And eventually less snow than Narfulk plus the joy of very cold weather that is crisp and dry, not dark and dank…

          1. No, Sos, that Norfolk wind soon gets rid of the snow – nothing for it to drift against. And, that wind is a lazy wind. It will only go straight through you.

          2. I suspect that you’re forgetting that I’m in Dordogneshire.

            In 12 years we’ve only had snow last more than a day a couple of times.

            What we do get is temperatures lower than Norfolk but very dry, so minus 10 here doesn’t feel anything like as cold as zero does in the UK

          5. We very rarely get snow in North Norfolk. Indeed, we had more in Laure than we ever do here.

  73. 325818+ up ticks,
    12 months incarceration, day of release deport along with family to families place of origin accompanied by appeal lawyers at lawyers own expense, no win ,no refund.

    Yussef Alwali Charged After Cross Was Ripped Down From London Church

    1. Well, I mean, blatant provocation having a big cross outside a church. Should be covered to prevent offence being taken by miffed Moors.

      1. 325818+ up ticks,
        Afternoon M,
        You’re right I see it now,
        a sure-fired case of entrapment.
        Heavy compo payment coming up for him being upset,I watched the fight and his struggle, my heart went out to him but made the cross the winner.

  74. Off topic

    https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Interior-minister-Gerald-Darmanin-says-he-is-shocked-by-global-foods-in-French-stores-as-social-media-reacts?utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=f2f493b80a-NewsletterOct72020_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9b5fbe85b4-f2f493b80a-357910569

    The French Interior minister has commented that International food aisles encourage “separatism”.

    Naturally the Woke have exploded.

    But he’s right, in supermarkets put all produce of a kind together. Halal should be marked as such, but kept in the appropriate area.
    If it’s meat, put in with all the rest and if the supermaket puts it next to non halal, eg pork, well tough titty.

      1. well. All supermarket meat (not pork) is halal. The only sure way to avoid halal is to use a local butcher and check out the abattoir that he uses.

        1. “All supermarket meat (not pork) is halal.”

          Why?

          I feel sure that is not in line with the wishes of the (vast?) majority of their customers.

          1. It isn’t the case, either. There are plenty of abattoirs which don’t do halal slaughter.

          6. Our local farm shop says their lamb isn’t halal. But there’s no proof, because there’s no labelling.

          9. There probably is, but since most of my info is via customers I’m not giving away details, I just don’t do so, for very obvious reasons. Suffice it to say that animal welfare is a big selling point with most buyers and, contrary to the comment above, most UK abattoirs are not in the hands of Muslims. There are some, but it’s a long way from being all and they are often the smaller ones which don’t deal with cattle.

            St Merryn Meats at Merthyr Tydfil kill sheep halal, but not beef; and it is quite likely that some other places do the same. Most UK beef is stunned for the simple reason that dealing with 450 – 750 kgs of live bovine is not a job to be undertaken lightly and anyone getting too close and personal with a sharp knife is likely to find that they are the one doing the bleeding; not the beast.

          10. “There are some, but it’s a long way from being all and they are often the smaller ones which don’t deal with cattle.”

            Or pigs I assume.

          12. A lot of abattoirs which kill cattle and/or sheep don’t kill pigs. Handling pigs for slaughter is a bit specialised. On the other hand Muslim business-men are not all deeply religious and they are interested in the bottom line so it’s possible that there may be a Muslim owned abattoir which kills pigs – but you could probably take a pretty safe bet that the staff on the line won’t be Muslim.

            There are a handful of UK abattoirs which kill horses, but nearly all the meat is exported.

            The biggest single UK firm which kills cattle, sheep and pigs is wholly owned by Morrisons, the only one of the big supermarkets which actually owns its own slaughter facilities. They kill all Morrisons meat and sell surplus. All Morrisons meat is stunned pre-slaughter, including poultry and fish.

          14. Good evening, Lacoste.

            I apologise for sounding like the ‘broken record’
            but, as I have mentioned several times previously:
            Yer UK abattoirs are only interested in money;
            We [or some of us,] will always go for the cheapest.
            Yer muslims will not buy meat that is contaminated
            with non-halal slaughter methods.
            QED..Yer British abattoirs, by and large, kill animals
            by ‘halal’ methods …. it saves them having to provide
            two facilities!!
            Yer pays yer price … You get what you pay for!!

          15. Thank you, Garlands, for yer enlightenment; it is extremely unfortunate that ‘the market’ is working in favour an alien culture.

          16. Because, partly I suppose, so that the abattoirs can process all their meat the same way. I do not know at what point the meat is earmarked for specific customers but it seems likely that it will hang in chill store for a while after slaughter before going to a customer.
            Some places advertise how long their meat is matures, ten days, fifteen days and so on. A local butcher is likely to buy the carcass from a known farm and it will be destined for his shop so it may avoid the halal route, depending on the abattoir. The number of abattoirs has reduced considerably from former times. An abattoir may be very many miles away from farm and butcher.

          17. The majority of slaughterhouses within the U.K are now run by muslims. Do your own research.

            It’s a clue to what’s coming.

          18. I do, dear. Also check out the businesses with licences for making drugs like paracetamol. The names are on the packets. The companies are often in residential areas, blocks of flats.

      2. We will never get that. They know we would rebel if we realised how much of what we currently eat is alal.

          1. In our local supermarket about ten years ago, the shoulders of NZ lamb had arabic writing on, the legs didn’t! That was when I started avoiding all of it.

      1. Indeed, but apart from making it easier for Brits to find, why shouldn’t they be among condiments and biscuits?

        1. Are you suggesting Marmite is a condiment?
          How very dare you?!

          …. Food of the gods!! 🙂

          1. Indeed, but food of the Gods would be a separatist aisle, so in which aisle would you place it?

          8. *Memo to self……Make sure we have Marmite when next we meet. Dolly will conceal it within her luggage.

            Have you tried Cheddar and Shiphams Sardine paste sarnies?

          9. ‘Have you tried Cheddar and Shiphams Sardine paste sarnies?’

            No, I haven’t … what am I missing?

            Good evening, Dear One, x

          10. The poor persons Gentleman’s relish and cheese. Try them as a toastie and you will never bother with a croque again. Vive us !

          11. Well. If you are not keen on strong cheddar or sardine paste then i would give it a miss. It’s a combo that i like on occasion.

            Cuts the mustard as it were.

          12. Good morning, Dear One.

            I do like strong cheddar and sardines,
            I wonder if the two together might be
            too much but I quite fancy cheese on
            toast topped with grilled sardines!
            Contrary as usual!! :-))

          14. My Dad used to have ‘Gentleman’s Relish’
            on his toast soldiers, … but I think that was
            anchovy based.
            Good evening, Nanners.

          16. There are still numerous outlets for GR…

            https://www.google.co.uk/search?sxsrf=ALeKk0047cXTK2W8HEkC8pXyKIY2dSiRtA%3A1602885460276&source=hp&ei=VBeKX62ADomEjLsP1vGggAs&q=gentleman%27s+relish+waitrose&oq=gentleman%27s+relish&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgEMgUIABDJAzICCAAyCAguEMcBEK8BMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoLCAAQsQMQgwEQyQM6CAgAELEDEIMBOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQyQM6CAguELEDEIMBOgIILjoFCC4QsQM6DgguELEDEIMBEMkDEJMCOgsILhCxAxDJAxCTAjoLCC4QsQMQxwEQowI6BAgAEApQt8K4BVjl-bgFYN7auQVoAHAAeACAAYcCiAHPF5IBBjMuMTAuNZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab

          23. Yep, little g, so good that I put a teaspoonful into my Corned Beef hash – does that make it a condiment, especially when spread on hot toast. However I put butter AND black pepper on muffins – yummy.

          1. True.
            }:-((

            One thing I find amusing is the way yer French put stuff in unlikely, but when one thinks about it, logical places.
            Where would you look for croutons?

          6. There is a similar approach here, we find them near the fish and shop prepared ready meals, which are surprisingly good (HG sometimes leaves me to fend for myself)

            Although one can also find them near bread, and in the baking section.

            Why in the baking section you might ask… because it’s opposite the stock and herb side of the aisle which is next door the the pre-prepared soups aisle.

          10. Like ready made mashed potato, bagged grated cheese and a handful of other such items I suspect that they are a boon to the cook who can no longer see well enough to avoid burned, chopped or grated fingers. One of my older clients began to buy such things some years ago whilst she was still just about able to cater for herself… now, sadly, she is not only almost completely deaf but largely immobile and relies upon help for almost everything.

          11. Be honest. You are referring to yourself. Nottlers would help if you let us. We could burn your food for you. Just ask. 🙂

          12. Judging by the different types available they certainly do here and to be fair to the producers they are easier and better, certainly than the ones we’ve made.

    3. The minister is suffering from Woke. What i cherished about travelling abroad was the diversity. To try other countries foods.

      1. I agree re travelling and food, but for me shopping while living in a country, is slightly different from holidaying and “trying”.

        When we first moved here, shopping was a perverse pleasure, because one had to hunt high and low to find things. Yes it is convenient to find “British” or “Asian” on a separate section, but I can’t help thinking that it’s no different from communities in the UK creating their own ghettos.

        We have a fresh food supermaket that puts most British farmers’ markets and supermarkets to shame.
        They just place all the fruits, all the spices, all the fish etc etc together. I see produce that I don’t have a clue what it is, other than it’s a fruit or whatever. But that tempts me to try them. In the supermarket I watch “Brits” head for the aisle and wonder why they bothered to live here.

        Yes, there are things that are quintessentially British, but by trying alternatives I have few that cannot be adequately substituted.

        Each to their own…

        1. You still sober?

          The only reason i travel is to experience other cultures. Food and new vistas being the reason for leaving my happy home.

          It doesn’t sound to me that you have integrated that much.

          1. You’ve got that upsidedown, we go “French” wherever possible.

            My point was that too many Brits and for that matter Africans, Asians and Arabs stick religiously to their own and by separating products into nationalites makes it easier for them not to integrate.

            There is a huge difference between visiting a country for a holiday ordering interesting meals in a restaurant and living there.

          2. Very true. I came across the most ghastly clique of Britons in Munich, who never spoke German at all as far as I could see. They had English speaking tax advisors, doctors, dentists etc, and they sent their children to English speaking schools.
            I met a couple who were moving back to England because they couldn’t afford a private English school for their two children, who did not speak German because they had attended an English kindergarten.

          3. Ich habe auch, in Deutschland gebleiben. But that was the 60s when few Germans spoke English so I had to learn – in dem bierhaus, bestes Deutsch aber plat.

          4. Ich habe auch, in Deutschland gebleiben.

            Ich auch bin in Deutschland geblieben (I too have stayed in Gemany), or, ich bin auch in Deutschland geblieben (I have stayed in Germany also). Two quite different meanings. Better to say ich habe in Deutschland gewohnt.

          5. Peddy, bear with me on this. I do NOT profess to speak Haupt Deutsche. When I tried with mein schwegerin wie is Hanoverian, sie sacht, “Tom du sprecht Deutsch wie ein bauerlander!”

            Because I do. I’ve never had a German lesson in my life having learnt it by ear in Neiderhine Westphalia – Straelen, Keavelar, Weeze, Goch, Kleve. It’s small wonder that I have that sort of accent. But, from Munchen bis Berlin und til Luckenwalde, I was generally understood. Similarly, I get by in Swedish, French and to a certain extent, Spanish. Plus what was a smattering of Mandarin and Tagalog. Sometimes you just have to brave, plunge in, make the mistakes and don’t worry if you’re corrected.

            I have no intention of (or need) to become fluent in German or any of those languages.

          6. I was not chastising you, Tom. Your attitude to plunge in & not fear mistakes is the right one; I was the same in my early years in Germany & I wanted G. friends to correct me, although they were often too polite to do so. Sometimes I made deliberate mistakes to see if they were helping, if not, I used to correct them.
            This year I quit the Cambs U3A German discussion group after 6 years because I got fed up with so-called advanced speakers mumbling at the carpet & the German chairwoman did nothing to correct them.
            I recently joined a U3A middle Swedish course to refresh my Swedish, which, after 15 years is getting rusty, only to discover that the tutor’s Swedish is far worse than mine. Good job there’s no money involved.

          7. I joke (as does BT at me) about being in Dordogneshire, but the sad truth is that many of them never make the slightest attempt to integrate.

            Our language skills are poor, but we attend as many village functions as possible, usually the only Anglais there, and use local restaurants and bars; and in every instance the French have been incredibly welcoming because we try to speak French and we don’t, under any circumstances, try to change their culture, object to the hunt (chasse) complain about noise/clocks chiming or any of the hundred and one things that the UK incomers complain about in the UK..

          8. In my experience it was mostly the Murcans, but München had a lot more Brits than my bit.

          9. There are similar cliques in Düsseldorf. Probably in most large German cities.
            That couple are denying their children the possibility of growing up bilingual. My 2 are completely bilingual English/German.

          10. A friend from South Wales is married to a Frenchwoman. Their daughter (about 11) speaks and writes English, French and Welsh. From a very early age she recognised that her nain understands no French and that grand-mère et grand-père are equally adrift in Welsh, although they understand a little English.

          12. Maintenant il n’y a que six nains parce que l’on a exilé Atchoum 🙂 Nain, apart from being French for dwarf is Welsh for grandma – grandad is taid.

          15. And i think you have me upside down. I am not just holidaying like the Ryannair chavaraty. I have always wanted to experience some of what the country had to offer.

            Much less likely in the future.

          16. PS

            I thought the only reason you travelled was to stay one step in front of the law…

            };-O

        2. Yep, we found that Super U was much better than Carrefour for fruit and veg and, around Christmas, had interesting meats like kangaroo and ostrich. Horse flesh was good and I have a very good recipe but, here in England ne pas de cheval:

          Pot-Au-Feu De Cheval (Horse Stew)

          Ingredients:

          500 gr flank, topside, collar horsemeat
          3 cloves of garlic – chopped or crushed
          1 onion – rough chopped
          Mix of vegetables (leek, celery, carrots, cabbage, peppers, broccoli etc., about 250 gr of each)
          2 beef stock cubes (Oxo is good because it crumbles easily.)
          2 tbsp Bisto gravy mix (if required)

          Method

          Place the meat in cold water and let it cook over low heat removing foam and grease until it boils.
          Having completed step 1, crumble the beef stock cubes into the liquid.
          If the liquid appears to be too much, increase the heat and reduce the liquid to 50%.
          Add the garlic, onion (you can caramelize it) and the vegetables and let it cook for eight hours at a low heat.
          If the liquid appears too thin, consider adding Bisto as a thickener.

          Serve with potatis Clift.

          1. Ah, cheval. Les chevaux. Yes. Or rather no. For me it would be like eating dog. The English have a special relationship with the horse, comme les chiens.

          2. Nothing wrong with horse, Mum. Very tasty and, if it’s on the butcher’s counter, why not? It’s still dead.

          5. Bisto ? Beef stock cubes ? What the hell is wrong with just treating the ingredients gently?

          6. Our LeClerc has a horsemeat section and it seems to be popular, there are many gravy mixes and thickeners, so Bisto would never come into the equation

          7. My recipe is slanted toward English use. If I were in France, as I was for a year, I would look for the local equivalent.

    2. They were just about to restart the trial in the US after the previous hold. Let’s see how that goes.

      How about spinning it as The test was successful, the patient developed antibodies.

      1. How about spinning it as: The test was successful but the patient left his body, what remained was interesting.

        1. As a way to help protect the nhs, the patient has donated his body to science.

          This story hasn’t made it to cnn and they are normally pretty good about spreading doom and gloom. Could the express have done a bit of exaggeration?

    3. Knocked down by a number 19 bus 27 days after they were injected. Ergo, died of COVID-19.

          1. I was reading about some of the outrageous demanding letters being sent out to the public by the BBC regarding payments and renewals of the licence fees.
            Prisoners get free heating, laundry no council taxes prompt medical attention and free TV but i don’t know if the get a choice of programmes.

          2. They have loss of liberty – but then they deserve that as the only punishment for their crime.
            We, on the other hand, have committed no crime, but have also lost our liberty to do what we wish, and go where we want, whether that is just to a concert, theatre or abroad on holiday.

    2. Beware! It used to be the case (and maybe still is) that if you claim relief for working from home, that the portion of your house devoted to home working would be subject to capital gains tax when you sell.

      1. And business rates; and elfin safety may sniff round….then there’s the extra insurance….

  79. Normal service has been restored to the heating circuits at Schloss Citroen. A bloke with a large spanner took a look at the Heath Robinson conveyor system which feeds wood chips into the central boiler and had become gummed-up and hit it.

    *********************************************************

    Mark Lehain
    It’s time for schools to be politically impartial
    21 October 2020, 2:07pm

    While the government’s strategy on Covid might be as clear as mud, on the problem of a partisan school sector, it has recently struck a remarkably forthright position.

    Yesterday, the Minster for Equalities Kemi Badenoch said:

    “‘We do not want teachers to teach their white pupils about white privilege and inherited racial guilt. Let me be clear that any school that teaches those elements of critical race theory as fact, or that promotes partisan political views such as defunding the police without offering a balanced treatment of opposing views, is breaking the law.’

    Saying this shouldn’t be controversial. It’s long been a legal requirement for schools to be non-partisan and to cover political issues in a balanced fashion. Just as schools and teachers must abide by health and safety legislation or the Equality Act, so they should follow the law on political impartiality.

    The taxpayer thinks this too. In polling carried out for my campaign group, the Campaign for Common Sense, 83 per cent of people agreed that ‘schools and teachers should be neutral when teaching children about political issues.’ Only 20 per cent agreed that ‘schools should encourage pupils to get involved with campaigns like Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter.’ Importantly, there was consistent overwhelming support for impartiality across all ages, regions, socio-economic status, or voting habits.

    Regardless of the legalities and public opinion, a simple fact remains: every family should feel that they and their child are welcome at the school they choose. This isn’t possible if institutions adopt controversial ideologies or endorse partisan organisations.

    Given all the above, why did Kemi Badenoch feel the need to say what she did?

    Well, contrary to what some might claim, it’s not about clamping down on debate in schools. Far from it: teaching young people about controversial issues is a vital part of any education. Life is not black and white, and no one is suggesting that teachers should pretend otherwise.

    The problem is that in recent times growing numbers of schools and teachers seem to have forgotten about the need to be impartial, or don’t consider that views they hold are political and contested. Controversial ideas as presented as a given, and pupils are discouraged from challenging them too.

    For example, concepts like ‘systemic racism’ and ‘white privilege’ are interesting ways of analysing society, but they are absolutely not provable facts. They’re also challenged by people from all walks of life and political leanings. Teaching pupils they are set in stone, or basing school policies on them is immoral and definitely illegal.

    Similarly, while groups like Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion have massive profiles and support amongst the media, they are explicitly partisan organisations with biased policies. If schools cover them with pupils they should not do so uncritically and ensure that credible opposing alternative organisations and ideas are covered at the same time.

    The thing is, this is exactly how brilliant teachers address other sensitive topics every single day, whether it’s RE teachers looking at euthanasia, History teachers studying miners’ strikes, or school assemblies in aid of food banks. It’s just that some teachers have decided that certain issues aren’t political or can be taught in ways in defiance of the law.

    The reaction by many on social media and elsewhere to Kemi Badenoch’s statement and the Department for Education’s recent guidance on this topic, proves there is much work to do to bring some schools and teachers back in line with the law

    Kids deserve a balanced education. It’s wrong that niche authoritarian views can be imposed on them at school, under the guise of compassion or ‘anti-racism’. And it’s great that we finally have a government that is openly challenging divisive ideas. The key now is to follow through and ensure enforcement of the law, and not leave it at words in Hansard or unread Department for Education guidance. Hey teacher, leave those kids alone!

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/it-s-time-for-schools-to-be-politically-impartial

      1. Perhaps, Citroen, those are the ones who will either end up as gang members and County Lines drug-dealers or, they might be the ones that lead the coming revolution.

      2. “The performance of our immigrant children has been particularly outstanding…It was ever the case. Immigrant families have, throughout history and across the world, been amongst the most hard-working. They are also the most inclined to place high value on education.”

        Not all of them…

    1. Dear Plum, no more please!

      There is only so much evocation
      one should expect in one evening!

      1. Heating paid for, three square meals a day, free telly ….
        Probably get to see doctor, dentist and optician as well.
        Don’t knock it.

    3. Good for Granny but the rest prove that Yorkshire men and women are flakes – Evening, Grizz.

  82. Just when you think that it couldn’t get any worse.

    There is a confidence vote in the Canadian parliament today and it is coming down to the Green Party MPs and a couple of independents to decide the outcome.

    If Trudeau gets his way we will be off to an election and I suspect that Trudeau will get a majority this time – after all would you vote for more government handouts or a serious effort to brings ome semblance of control to the spending.

    All of this because Trudeau and friends are surrounded by allegations of corruption and Trudeau is trying to kill any investigation.

    1. Not news really. They are all corrupt. Pick a country, town or city governed from the Left. Go on .

    2. Looking at the pattern of what gets to the top, I can only assume the West harbours a death wish.

  83. I need to get a life: Part 493.
    The highlight of today was chatting to Stewart (none of that wussy Frenchified spelling) at Scottish Widows while trying to sort out one of elderly chum’s myriad possible investments (the bond wasn’t actually written on parchment, but near enough).
    When he told me his name, we discussed ways of spelling the name, Scottish history, a quick reference to Mary, Queen of ….. he sounded just like MB’s late Uncle Wille. Once you triggered a subject, he was off. The same gentle – but unstoppable – flow of words.

  89. 325818+ up ticks,

    The French have a win double with their islamic ideology actions and on Trafalgar day showing us “that’s the way you do it”

    Pics: Defying Islamists, Giant Image of Mohammed Projected onto French Government Building After Beheading

    3. “The man in the moon, Came down too soon, To inquire his way to Norwich. He went by the south, And burnt his mouth With eating cold pease porridge”

    4. I think it’s about the Artemis programme to land people on the Moon by 2024 as a base to send humans to Mars.

      But I might be making that up.

    6. They’ve found “spider-like creatures” that have hatched from rock samples brought back in the early 70s.
      It seems we now have colonies of lunar ticks all over our planet.

    1. That is so funny. Shame we didn’t get t to see how small his cock is. Now, if it had been Jason Derulo’s dick they would be praising his manhood. White Perves Don’t Matter.

      1. I think he just opted for early retirement to spend more time with his family jewels….

  92. BREAKING NEWS…….

    France has reacted swiftly to the horrific beheading of a teacher.

    They’ve increased dinghy production.

  93. Good morning class. Today’s lesson is on whole numbers and I need your undivided attention.

    Anyone?

  94. Evening all. I don’t know about demoralising the country, although I expect that is the case, but judging by the people I speak to it’s infuriating the country. On a brighter note, the Connemara remembered everything from last week and built on his achievements. So satisfying! He seems to have nailed walk to trot/trot to walk transitions without hollowing, so we shall have to work on trot to canter and downwards again from now on. For 45 minutes a week I have perfect tranquillity – bliss!

  96. My posts have now just gone bit weird. Probably my fault for posting to JSP. Gosh….I wish Lottie would come back. At least we could have a good smack down arguement. 🙂

          1. You take the highway and hopefully someone can work out why you will be taking the low way.

            I used to live at a pinch point.

          3. Please remember that it doesn’t really matter.

            Unless of course we get to meet other Nottlers. Then we get to gossip big time.

            Can you tell if i’m joking?

            Would you like to meet up some time?

            I have met with others on occasions and it was relaxed and friendly.

          4. Yup. It would be fun I am sure but unfortunately the Freemasons at Essex County Council have promoted our benighted rural villages to Tier 3. I personally know of no person infected either with this manufactured ‘pandemic’ or some other seasonal flu virus.

            We have a Suffolk address but are regrettably actually part of Braintree District Council, a particularly virulent infestation of self interested Freemasons. These bastards are supposedly ‘working from home’ despite the fact that when in office they do sod all but polish their seats. The fuckers are doing even less than polishing their seats nowadays but happily recommending further restrictions on us all.

            What a sorry pass our country has come to.

          5. Don’t know about ‘Fun’. Some of them were hard work. I went to shake their hand and they proffered their cheek ! VW you know who you are ! Blimey.. Alf The Great was…well…great !

            Corim…………… join with others that are as annoyed but without the sweary.

          7. Can’t speak for the rest of them. Though those i have met have been a delight. Not in any way you would want to be trapped with ! 🙁

            South Coast . Any time. Any where.

  97. A reminder about disposing of pumpkins after 🎃 Halloween Night . Please do NOT put these on the ground for 🦔🦔Hedgehogs to eat in Gardens, Parks and Greenspaces. Pumpkin acts as a laxative and will cause hedgehogs to have serious diarrhea and dehydration. At this time of year it is vital that hedgehogs put on as much weight as possible to give them the best chance of surviving winter and hibernation. ❤️🦔 Help our prickly friends and local wildlife charities who help look after sick and injured hogs.

    2. Americans keep them hanging by their front doors next to their flags until Thanksgiving, when they turn them into pies. They might be a bit green and furry for Christmas dinner, so in England, it might just be simpler to bake them on bonfire night. A pumpkin makes a good guy’s head.

      In my childhood, I didn’t know what a pumpkin was – we used to hollow out swede for Halloween.

      1. The same here .

        I had no idea either, what a shame though that so many thousands of pumpkins are wasted in Britain. The flesh is a bit too sweet for my taste.

      2. The same here .

        I had no idea either, what a shame though that so many thousands of pumpkins are wasted in Britain. The flesh is a bit too sweet for my taste.

      3. I remember arving swedes 8nto patterns. Bl**dy sight more difficult than a so**ing pukpmin

        1. And again, this time in English…
          I remember carving swedes into lanterns. Bl**dy sight more difficult than a so**ing pumpkin

    3. Pumpkin pie
      Pumpkin soup
      Pasta sauce with onions
      Added to chocolate cakes

      There is no excuse for throwing them away!

  98. HAPPY HOUR – Escape to the Country….?
    No thanks….

    Last summer there was an unprecedented exodus from Britain’s cities as urbanites sold up and started a new life in the country. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8acaa5f284acfb349dd5db888e5cd75f312ad43e88d47f13381d860464779e98.jpg
    We lived in the country when the kids were young and it was wonderful. The local junior school was great, 39 kids in the whole school. Two small classes provided an excellent start in education. We kept chickens and ducks and loved the ‘Good Life’.
    ….but not now. I’m a Townie at heart….
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8861743/What-DONT-tell-escape-country.html

    1. Tell everyone it is dreadful – and then sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet. I have been here nearly 40 years and loathe the large towns where I once lived.

      1. Bah Humbug….
        I can only stand so many cows, sheep, pigs, muddy lanes. cocks crowing and tractors taking over the roads refusing to pull over for motorists…

          3. The problem with country living is having your blood pressure checked regularly to make sure you are still in the land of the living!……..if you can find a doctor!

          8. Dear Plum.

            Don’t hold back Plum!!

            I am sure I speak on behalf of all the Mods. …

            Go for it, … You will feel much better if you do :-))

            And who dares moderate you anyway??

          12. No, Plum, my half-brother who ran a pub in Holbeach Hurn, had a suggestion that they should have a ‘Happy Hour’. James roared across the bar (as was his wont), “Happy Hour, happy hour? Well, we might have a ‘less miserable 15 minutes’.”

        1. You don’t grow extra fingers and toes, you have to be born with them, he has the normal set.

          3. The surnames in our village go back centuries. We have lived here for 40 years and we haven’t even begun to be accepted (we are both from oop north).

    2. Hi Plum

      I enjoy where I am, but I hate mud, the stench of muckspreading , the dairy cow factories , small farms are no longer , crop spraying and the lack of insects in our neighbour hood.
      The bleating of the new lambs is beautiful, but we know they will have an uncertain death when they are a little older .

      What I love is the privacy, and ability to hide away when need be.. but sadly most people around us when we first moved here 21 years ago are no longer alive , and their old fashioned bungalow homes have been sold and converted or homes have been built in the long productive gardens that used to host chickens , a few turkeys, and goats!

      I love the the dark night sky, we have just a little light pollution but not alot .

      We usually have mice in the loft during the winter, and utility room, but now our parrot is longer alive , there are no seeds to attract them.. They are Field mice, goodness knows how they get in . We shall see what happens this winter now that Happy Parrot has gone to his perch in the sky.

      Mud and wet weather is a fact of life, a variety of waterproof and warm clothing and boots are a must,and one has to remember to shake the boots out , spiders hide everywhere.

      1. Different sort of countryside here in the hills – plenty of mud, cattle roaming free on the commons and in the roads, but no arable farming nearby. Open fields but not intensively farmed. Our cottages here once housed local mill workers but now they have all been extended and most of our neighbours are as old as we are. We’ve been here 25 years and most were already here before us.

          5. Yes – in all directions. The ground floor is built into the hillside, so the first floor is at ground level as you go up.

        2. Here, in rural Suffolk, J, we are mainly arable but are being threatened with losing close on 500 acres of land that feeds the country, to be lost and covered with solar panels. We are vigourously fighting it.

          1. I hope you’re successful. There are solar farms along the A38 – good arable land covered in panels.

      2. the smell of the muck spreading is just like it was sixty odd years ago when we lived on a farm.
        We are lucky, there is a lot of scrub land near us that is not being intensively farmed so insect and bird life is abundant. It is still a thrill to walk through the fields and be surrounded by red admiral butterflies.

        Live in a town nowadays? No thanks.

        1. I’ve never found a dairy cow factory either – as far as I’m aware cows still have calves and it takes them 2 years to become cows. That’s a bit longer than any production line I’ve ever heard about.

          There’s a huge amount of land in the UK that isn’t intensively, in fact there’s probably more of that than there is of the really productive bits which are driven to produce every last grain. As for small farms – why on earth does everyone think that every industry bar one should have modernised but that that one can stay just like it used to be for ever and ever?

      3. Hi Belle,
        I’m lucky to live near the sea and country walks beckon if I’m feeling energetic. I don’t have to rev up the car for shopping trips, a small local shop provides milk and bread, essentials. Happy to ditch the car- maintenance etc. parking… other drivers! I’m all for the easy life. The laptop has to go next!
        Who needs all this crap….!

        2. As I don’t like smoked salmon, my question is why would anyone eat it at any time of night? 🙂

        1. Fine, thank you.

          It is nice to ‘see’ you.

          How are you?

          I am sorry you left and was very sad for you
          when reading the reason why.

      1. Yo T_B

        She is our friend’s dog.

        Cassie is a biscuit hound, whois also very partial to wrapped Lemon Drizzle Cake, from a shopping bag.

  104. Goodnight, all. I shall have to be up early to take one of my neighbours to a clinic tomorrow for an eye appointment (consequently he can’t drive). It will be a day out.

      1. It was fine, thanks. He got good news, I remembered to take a book to read to pass the time and the traffic wasn’t too bad.

    2. Look on the bright side; if the clinic succeeds, you can get pished – he will drive you home :))

      1. As he’s not insured to drive my vehicle, that won’t be happening 🙂 The news was good and he is cleared to drive. He said if the answer had been no, he wouldn’t have liked it, but he could have lived with it; it was the uncertainty of “possibly” he couldn’t cope with. Now he knows for sure, he’s much happier.

  105. Follow up to the story from the Figaro I posted earlier today:

    DT Story

    Seven Britons arrested in Paris over attempt to run over a policeman outside Israeli embassy
    The suspects — four women and three men, including two minors — told investigators they were born in London and were of Pakistani origin

    DT jumping to conclusions: DT headline – but absolutely no evidence of their nationality as they have no papers.

    We should vigorously oppose them being sent to the UK

    3. Good stuff, but I wouldn’t use roadside cafes or bistros this summer in Montpellier.
      }:-((

  107. Any cause for concern?

    The western, liberal society’s bedrock credo used to be: EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED, EXCEPT THAT WHICH IS EXPLICITLY FORBIDDEN. The Soviet/authoritarian/totalitarian bedrock credo is: EVERYTHING IS FORBIDDEN, EXCEPT THAT WHICH IS EXPLICITLY PERMITTED.

          1. A return to common law (fat chance with this lot in power) was one of the main reasons I voted to leave. Being able to vote out the bastards who make our laws was another. But then, I’m a racist, xenophobic bigot 🙂

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