Saturday 16 January: With resourceful staff, care homes can get their residents vaccinated

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),
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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/01/16/letterswith-resourceful-staff-care-homes-can-get-residents-vaccinated/

861 thoughts on “Saturday 16 January: With resourceful staff, care homes can get their residents vaccinated”

      1. Excellent! If you don’t have winter, how can you tell if the world is still going round? Contrasts… Ying & Yang & all that.
        Morning, Tom.

      1. Just breaking my self-imposed January absence from the NoTTL site to pop in and wish you the very happiest of birthdays, Bill. Keep well!

  3. US Capitol rioters aimed to ‘capture and assassinate’ politicians, prosecutors say. 16 January 2021.

    Insurrectionists who invaded the US Capitol planned to take members of Congress hostage and perhaps execute them in a military-style offensive, prosecutors have alleged.

    Those arrested included a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Larry Rendall Brock Jr, 53, a veteran of four tours of Afghanistan, who reached the Senate floor in a helmet and body armour, and carrying zip-tie handcuffs.

    Morning everyone. Insurrectionists? That’s flattering to deceive. It is of course necessary for the Democrats and their Accomplices to demonise the Capitol demonstrators because that is what provides the justification for silencing and eventually prosecuting President of the United States. Were Colonel Brock and his military friends contemplating any such action then they forgot to bring along the essentials for such an operation. Firearms. Without them any threat would be meaningless. All the members of the Security Forces were heavily armed and would have crushed any attempt to carry out such an action. This said there has been a coup. The Left with its Globalist allies has overthrown the legally elected President of the United States.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/15/us-capitol-rioters-aimed-capture-assassinate-politicians-prosecutors/

    1. The forcast snow the other day was a bit of a damp squib. The weather couldn’t decide whether to rain, sleet or snow.

  7. First impression of the news this morning was that they are back onto covid project fear, they can’t find enough here so they show it from other countries, mainly the USA where they can blame it all on Trump.

    1. There are 197 countries, so that gives them plenty of scope.
      Add in counties (Kent mutation for starters) and this one will run and run.

  8. A good morning to all from a dark & wet Derbyshire. Raining and a -1½°C on the yard thermometer.

      1. ‘Morning, Anne, as was once said on the weather forecasts, “A light snowdering of poh.”

        1. Hmm, one hour later, pelting down and the paperman’s and postman’s footprints obliterated and now covered by 2-3″ of the stuff.

          I’ve to collect the milk from the gate and Dotty has to go and do her business out there. Being a little white Chihuahua, we’d better put the lead on her.

          3. Spartie is whizzing out into the garden and quickly back again. He’s not even pausing to trade insults with the Norwich Terrier next door.

          4. Spartie is whizzing out into the garden and quickly back again. He’s not even pausing to trade insults with the Norwich Terrier next door.

      1. It shows up the crass idiocy of the gormless expression ‘weasel words’. I’d rather trust a weasel than any politician.

        1. ‘Morning, George, to keep with the alliteration but avoiding weasels maybe we could invoke, Stoat Stutterings or Ratty Ramblings.

          1. ‘Morning, Tom.

            Disagree. We should stop using animals as pejorative terms for humans, which are, by far, the most detrimental species that ever evolved. Calling a rat or a snake “a bloody human” would be injuriously insulting to it.

          3. Or calling a feral pigeon a “flying rat”?

            Why not call grey squirrels “tree-Democrats”, and feral pigeons “flying Pinkoes”. After all, Democrats and Pinkoes are far more detrimental to the planet than rats, grey squirrels or feral pigeons could ever hope to be.

          1. No, it’s a weasel. It has the diagnostic short, monocoloured tail of that species.

            Stoats (which are twice the size) have a longer tail (in proportion to body size) that is tipped with black. It is those black tips that remain when the stoat adopts its winter white coat of ‘ermine’. Those black tips remain visible when the pelts are used as embellishments on the ceremonial robes of Peers.

    3. Look at its little ‘hands’.😊I have now decided I want a pet weasel…. although on second thoughts, the PCs would have it for breakfast.

      2. We used to keep ferrets. We had a polecat-ferret cross called Matilda who was very similar in appearance. She was a great little character.
        They are intelligence, but very sharp – especially the teeth.

        1. Most cats are very reluctant to try and mix it with stoats, weasels or ferrets. At least our cat, Chaucer, walked away from them when he saw anything like them in the garden

        1. Judging from the above observations some might concur it has been designed : To Infancy and beyond – totally repelling.

    2. Who’s the chuffing idiot who designed it?
      Who’s the chuffing idiot who manufactured it?
      Who’s the chuffing idiot who marketed it?
      Who are the chuffing idiots who are buying it?

      Chuffing! A chuffing good swearing displacement word from chuffing north Derbyshire and south Yorkshire.

    1. She only did 16 years because Bill Clinton commuted her sentence on his last day in office in 2001!.

      Democrats appease terrorists at home and abroad!

  16. Safe you say?

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9151341/Norway-adjusts-advice-vaccine-deaths-isnt-alarmed.html

    The Norwegian Medicines Agency stressed they were not alarmed by the deaths – they expected some – but is updating its advice to allow doctors to make a judgement whether to vaccinate their most frail patients.

    Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician, said ‘common adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines, such as fever and nausea, may have contributed to a fatal outcome in some frail patients,’ in the body’s first report on vaccine side effects.

    23 deaths out of I wonder how many vaccinations in the over 80’s

    1. It is a real conundrum. How many of them were tipped over the edge by the vaccination?
      We all know that some people have ‘mini-infections’ when they are immunised.
      I wonder if ‘our’ NHS will allow doctors to exercise their judgement? (Rhetorical question)

      1. I agree but I suspect that the aids to making life intolerable will be employed to force people to accept the jabs.

        I wonder whether these will be recorded as Covid deaths and I also wonder how many very elderly and frail who supposedly died with/of Covid around the globe were merely given the final gentle nudge that even a severe cold would have provided.

        1. Pimlico Plumbers boss and vociferous anti-brexiteer Charlie Mullins, has just said that if the employees won’t have the “vaccine” they won’t have a job!

          1. I thought Pimlico Plumbers were recently ‘done’ for not actually employing many people and hiding behind ‘self-employed status’ to avoid giving their ’employees’ rights.

          3. I think he has now qualified that by saying those already employed by his firm will not lose their jobs if they refuse vaccination but it will be a qualification for new employees.

          4. You’re probably right pm. I wasn’t being very objective about him! No jab, no job!

        2. I view it as a box ticking exercise.
          And we will wait until the AstraZeneca/Oxford jab is available as it appears to be based on tried and tested methods.
          Or, as an ex-Labour MP and still practising GP explained, it’s because we’re nationalistic old farts.

    2. Almost certainly safe. Norway had vaccinated 42,000 people as at 14th Jan. Norway has a population of a bit over 5m, so given their popn structure is similar to ours, it’s not unreasonable to expect about 150 deaths per day (or nearly 3,000 since they started vaccinations on 27th Dec); most deaths will be elderly people, some of whom will have recently had the vaccine. There’s a good question about the efficacy of vaccinating anyone clearly in the final stage of life, but the story is scaremongering.

      1. That neatly avoids the issue.

        Of that 42,000 how many were over 80? And of those deaths in the over 80’s how many would still be alive if they had not been vaccinated; and how many of the deaths that have been so swiftly attributed to Covid were actually merely deaths of people clearly in the final stages of life but are being used as Covid death scaremongering?

        1. I’ve just checked Norway’s life expectancy figures. Give or take a month or two, it’s the same as Great Britain.

          1. Yes, so my back of an envelop estimate of almost 2,000 deaths in a normal year since they started vaccinating, is about right. So 23 or 1% of these having died after receiving the vaccine shouldn’t be cause for concern.

          2. It is a difficult one. It’s quite possible they were so frail that the better option would have been to not vaccinate and give them a further few weeks, but what sort of life would it have been? On the other hand, it’s winter which is the culling season for the failing. Possibly it was hoped that the injection would enable them to see their families or friends again and the morale boost would give them a new lease of life.
            But it is a decision for doctors and/or families, not bureaucrats.

          3. “The country’s medicines agency reported today that of these fatalities, 13 have been autopsied and showed signs of suffering side effects such as fever and nausea.”
            Not just random deaths then.
            I’d probably still take the risk of having the vaccine if I were over 80 with co-morbidities, but as I am neither of those things and I have a history of food allergies, I’ll give it a miss.

          1. No front line medics, no care home workers, no essential workers first?

            And you are still sidestepping the issue.

            Either the very old and very infirm were going to die soon and Covid and the vaccine are merely a nudge that moved the process slightly, and we are being locked down and having the economy trashed unnecessarily, or Covid and the vaccines are potential killers of the elderly. You can’t have it both ways.

      2. I don’t think the story is scare-mongering. It quotes the Norwegian health authorities as saying they are not worried because they expected some deaths from the vaccine.
        For a Daily Mail article, it’s actually pretty balanced.
        The DM is fully on board with the pro-vaccine agenda.

      3. “Almost certainly safe.” Doesn’t inspire confidence in me. At 76 with COPD and chronic heart disease, I shall refuse.

  17. It’s good to see the Demonrats so consistent down the years in older times they whipped their slaves who had the effrontery to want to learn to read…………
    Today they censor any thought on social media to the right of Stalin so there’s nothing to read that opposes them
    Plus ca change

  19. Good morning, all. Made it! Many thanks for all your messages of good will. This is where we should be having lunch – with the family joining us – in Monaco, in a lovely resto over-looking the harbour:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/df98eb64f2622c9f75c95b40fccd85356e9e72c8223797da67bc14cc2112f771.jpg

    To make up for it, however, this was Gus and Pickles last night in pre-birthday celebration mode:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/571205aaf4634d95c043fcd146176fd8cbfeff74bc02fd357faf1040c742bad3.jpg

    They are quite distrait this morning – it snowed heavily (and unexpectedly) overnight – they can’t make it out!

    I’ll be in and out today…celebrations, y’know. Like lighting the stove….

    1. Happy birthday, Billy.

      I’m raising a mug of tea in salute to you (no disrespect: I’m being temperate for a few months).
      Skål! och grattis på födelsedagen!

    5. Good morning Uncle Bill! Hope you have a wonderful birthday with MR and the kittens! Many happy returns to you and many more to come! Thanks for your funny and intelligent commenting and fab pictures! 🎉🍾🎂

    6. Your mission Mr Thomas, if you choose to accept it, is this time next year in Monaco.
      This memory will not self-destruct in ten seconds

      Have as good a day as possible.

    8. Happy Birthday, Bill! Hope you’re feeling well and have a lovely day. (Predictive text changed that to lively – I’m sure G & P will be!)

  20. SIR – Con Coughlin’s article on Taiwan (Comment, January 13) was spot on. Sadly, if China were to invade the island tomorrow, there isn’t a country in the world that would do anything beyond posturing. Beijing knows this.

    Huw Baumgartner
    Bridell, Pembrokeshire

    And there, in a nutshell, Huw boyo, you have nailed what is wrong with the world.

    Posturing is the 21st century’s way of showing dissent. In the past, all abominations against the person, the family, the locality, the peer grouping and the country were dealt with, naturally, by a calling to arms. It is a natural condition of nature to defend what is being attacked, this applies to plants as well as animals, and humans—as animals—are naturally equipped, physically and mentally, to defend themselves against any attacks.

    It seems clear that modern man has now had that ability bred out of him and, instead, simply sits and whinges about the unfairness of it all. He who capitulates is lost. This is capitulation on a massive global scale.

      1. I just hope his lallies stand up to all the bardering of his eke.

        It’s certainly a queer old world.

        1. Don’t you think the “man-bun” just sums it up? They’re not “men” and they look stupid! (IMO)

          1. My elder son has one of these things. He knows it annoys the hell out of me, which is probably why he has it.
            One of my colleagues has one too. He also wears pale blue socks with pink flamingoes on them. I assumed he was gay for a long time, but apparently he has a girlfriend.

          6. My son says that he won’t have hair forever, so he may as well make the most of it while he’s got it…

          12. There are fahsends of ’em….. I don’t think Chinese tyrants worried too much about casualties.

          13. Ah.. but those are samurai. The man bun was a sign of being a warrior. It’s the tightly wound hair.

            When modern poncy men have one it’s because they’re weak, limp wristed Lefties who’d run away from battle rather than toward.

            I, of course, wouldn’t run from battle. I’d walk, sedately, because I am fat.

      2. ” … a vegan activist and no threat whatsoever to spiders or tight jar lids.”

        Love it!

      3. I’m genuinely confused about whether that is satire or not!
        (Laugh if you will, but I read something recently on Twit to the effect that people shouldn’t have to be 16 to give consent to hormone therapy, because nobody asks people to give consent to puberty, do they. It was not satire.)

    3. Goebbels would have been wetting himself over this but…

      …maybe he wrote it. Any way it’s good to have a starter list for rounding up the Common Purpose eejits.

    4. Creepy indeed.
      The document assumes that it’s the job of government to change people’s behaviour!
      In other words, government sees itself as the wise parent guiding members of the public through life from cradle to grave.
      What could possibly go wrong with that scenario?

      Also, see this funny quote from page 19:
      !We are also affected by the feelings we have for the messenger: for example, we
      may irrationally discard advice given by someone we dislike.32 Feelings of this kind
      may override traditional cues of authority, so that someone who has developed a
      dislike of government interventions may be less likely to listen to messages that
      they perceived to come from „the government‟. In such cases, the most effective
      strategy for changing behaviour may be to use third parties or downplay
      government involvement in a campaign or intervention.      ”

      Bring on the Australian health experts and women who lost 22 stone during lockdown in the Daily Mail!

  23. It is -6ºC inside my conservatory (-11ºC again outside)!

    The conservatory, uterum, has a 36 m² floor area, is mainly glazed but has no insulation in the roof. For the months of spring, summer and some of the autumn it is a sitting-out area with direct access to the garden via large sliding doors.

    In winter it is a large, and very convenient, fridge!

    1. Winterhage in yer Weegie – Winter garden, to translate for yer non-Scandi speakers.
      It’s -11C outside just now. Beautifully sunny, snow on the ground (not that much down here, 55m above Oslofjord level, but about 3 foot at Firstborn’s farm (+ ca 250 m and a good distance inland).
      I’d love such a space, Grizz, but we have a)nowhere to put it, and b)little money reserve to do anything until the sewer insurance coughs up.

  24. Morning all

    SIR – My son’s partner works in a care home with 40 residents. The other day it got a call to say that vaccinations were available if they could make themselves ready in an hour. They did.

    Some of the residents have dementia but, while getting things ready, staff managed to persuade 32 of the 40 to have the jab.

    My son’s partner stayed on after the end of her shift and took pictures of herself with each of the 40 residents, which she sent to the families with an explanation of what had happened.

    It is the dedication of people like this (who are not employed by the NHS) that is making life tolerable for care-home residents and their families.

    John Palmer

    Wellington, Herefordshire

    SIR – I chair Revitalise, a charity providing respite centres for disabled people. One of our centres has been taking Covid patients discharged from hospital to free up hospital beds. It has to pass additional infection control checks and have dedicated staff. However, Revitalise is being forced to cease providing this service for new patients, as no UK firm is prepared to provide indemnity insurance for the care of people with Covid-19.

    Advertisement

    We have been trying to solve this problem with insurance companies and the Government for weeks. The Government has the power to fix this and must act swiftly to do so.

    George Blunden

    Chair, Revitalise

    London N1

    SIR – It’s not just care homes and hospitals in danger of spreading Covid. My father, aged 96, caught Covid from his wonderful carers at home. Sadly he died in hospital on Wednesday.

    Are there statistics for this? It cannot be an uncommon occurrence.

    Sue Beale

    Maidenhead, Berkshire

    SIR – There are reports that it takes much longer to vaccinate care-home residents than people in a GP surgery. We also hear that GPs could vaccinate more people if they had supplies. If they have time available, perhaps they could help or send staff to care homes.

    Nigel Richards

    Moulsoe, Buckinghamshire

    1. George Blunden should be careful, describing himself as a “chair”, lest someone decides to sit upon his sorry carcase!

      1. That gets up my nose as well.
        I was always quite happy to be addressed as ‘Madam Chairman’.
        But then, I was also used to being called ‘a right little madam’.

        2. Ooh! What was that advert with a snotty little girl saying “And mummy says I’m a proper little madam”?

          2. “Madam” has one translation of “Horemamma”.
            I guess a rapper might call that HoMa…
            I’ll get me winter coat…

          4. “Madam” has one translation of “Horemamma”.
            I guess a rapper might call that HoMa…
            I’ll get me winter coat…

          1. I have been referred to as Poison Dwarf.
            I really must get into this ‘offended’ thing and make a few bucks.

        4. I really don’t see why it’s an improvement to be referred to as a piece of furniture rather than as a man.

  25. SIR – I retired as a hospital consultant two years ago. I registered to help in the vaccine programme and spent 12-13 hours completing 45 modules of online training.

    I have supplied two referees, an enhanced DBS certificate and I have a current licence from the General Medical Council. This was almost three weeks ago.

    I received no indication of when I might be able to help. But I had a phone call yesterday from someone at NHS Professionals who said: “Just calling to see how you were finding the vaccine registration process.”

    At the end of our discussion, I asked how many retired doctors had actually been deployed so far. The answer: “None.”

    Dr Neil Wilson

    West Hanney, Oxfordshire

    1. The last thing NHS managers want is a lot of retired professionals with specialist knowledge and time on their hands writing whistle-blowing articles for the newspapers!
      I bet none will ever be deployed either!

    2. A BTL Comment on dr. Wilson:-

      Robert Francis
      16 Jan 2021 8:36AM
      I am acquainted with Dr Neil Wilson, who modestly describes himself as a retired hospital consultant.

      He was actually a world authority and pioneer of children’s heart procedures. His recruitment to the campaign should have taken about 30 seconds.

    3. 13 hours of on line training? Let me guess – diversity and equality, safety in the workplace, corporate responsibility, bribery act…..

      It’s idiotic.

  26. Political Good Idea

    Nancy Pelosi called Joe Biden into her office one day and said, “Joe, I have a plan to win back Middle America in 2020!”

    “Great Nancy, but how?” asked Joe.

    “We’ll get some cheesy clothes and shoes, like most Middle-Class Americans wear, then stop at the pound and pick up a Labrador retriever. Then, we’ll go to a nice old country bar in Montana and show them how much admiration and respect we have for the hard-working people living there.”

    So they did, and found just the place they were looking for in Bozeman, Montana. With the dog in tow, they walked inside and stepped up to the bar.

    The Bartender took a step back and said, “Hey! Aren’t you Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi?”

    “Yes, we are!” said Nancy, “And what a lovely town you have here. We were passing through and Joe suggested we stop and take in some local colour.”

    They ordered a round of bourbon for the whole bar, and started chatting up a storm with anyone who would listen.

    A few minutes later, a grizzled old rancher came in, walked up to the Labrador, lifted up its tail, looked underneath, shrugged his shoulders and walked out. A few moments later, in came another old rancher. He walked up to the dog, lifted up its tail, looked underneath, scratched his head and left the bar.

    For the next hour, another dozen ranchers came in, lifted the dog’s tail, and left shaking their heads.

    Finally, Nancy asked, “Why did all those old ranchers come in and look under the dog’s tail? Is it some sort of custom?”

    “Lord no,” said the bartender. “Someone’s out there running around town, claiming there’s a Labrador retriever in here with two assholes!”

  27. Morning again

    Hugs after goals

    SIR – Football is a contact sport. Each team shares a changing room before and after a match. Players tackle each other throughout the game, and push and shove when a corner is taken.

    So why is there such a fuss about the hugging (Letters, January 15) during the celebration of a goal?

    Tim Nixon

    Braunton, Devon

    SIR – Footballers’ embraces are a kick in the teeth to recreational golfers and tennis players who play yards apart and use safe forms of congratulation. These considerate amateurs are denied access to their sport.

    Jacqueline Freeman

    Sidmouth, Devon

  28. SIR – Premier League coaches feel that they are powerless to stop footballers breaching Covid restrictions while celebrating goals.

    The answer is quite simple. There cannot be one rule for these superspreaders and another for the rest of us. Stop all football matches for the foreseeable future, and stop paying them meanwhile.

    Lady Coward

    Torpoint, Cornwall

  29. Made in China

    SIR – Ryan Bond (Letters, January 13) is absolutely right: in view of China’s behaviour, we should stop buying its goods. However, this will require all online sellers to state the country of origin of the goods they are offering.

    In the days when I could go to shops, I always checked where an item was made, and if it was China I did not buy it. Now it is often only on delivery that I find out where something was made.

    If British businesses state in every promotion each item’s country of origin, it might help to create a UK industry to produce goods currently made in China.

    Would it be too much to expect MPs to add this to the Trade Bill now before them ?

    His Honour Ian Alexander QC

    Fifield, Oxfordshire

    SIR – It is hardly possible to avoid Chinese-made goods. In my local DIY shop, about 65 per cent of the items – and all the power tools from American and German brands – are made there.

    Many of us would prefer not to assist the Chinese economy, but successive governments have failed to prevent the ruin of domestic manufacturers by the onslaught of cheap Chinese products.

    Dermot Elworthy

    Tiverton, Devon

    SIR – Con Coughlin’s article on Taiwan (Comment, January 13) was spot on. Sadly, if China were to invade the island tomorrow, there isn’t a country in the world that would do anything beyond posturing. Beijing knows this.

    Huw Baumgartner

    Bridell, Pembrokeshire

    SIR – A team of international scientists has landed in Wuhan to investigate the origins of coronavirus (report, January 15). Good luck with that.

    Simon Crowley

    Kemsing, Kent

    1. “…successive governments have failed to prevent the ruin of domestic manufacturers by the onslaught of cheap Chinese products.”
      Like holding back the tide – the combination of expensive rubbish made in Britain vs cheap rubbish made in China.
      Three words: Motorcycles, cars, Japan.

        1. The Japanese decided to get into the big digger market in the UK (and elsewhere). They sold various brands of big diggers (Komatsu…) at subsidised prices that undercut British machines. The only British digger left is JCB, I think.
          Free trade and supine government. “Th UK is open for business ravishing. No change there.

    2. There are some resources on the internet for searching for goods not made in China, for example search “mobile phones not made in China”.
      However, one also has to avoid Chinese owned factories like those in northern Italy.

    2. Dobby (the Sphinx) escaped yesterday into the winter wonderland, sans jumper, and shot across the lawn! Turned very blue and hurtled back into the house, looking startled and wowling at me, as though it was my fault!

        1. That’s it NtN! Pile on the guilt, why don’t you! I’m a mother ergo I spend my life feeling guilty!

          5. A mother’s place is in the wrong. And I still feel guilty even though our two boys are now late thirties, the elder being 40 this year.

    4. Good morning Bill.

      The cats are so elegant looking , what a great idea to bring a pair of them home . They are a lovely distraction.

      Happy birthday , warmest wishes for a lovely day.

    8. How elegant they look!

      Happy Birthday, Bill! I shall sing for you in celebration, but not so loud as to startle the kittens. Have a wonderful day!

    2. Happy Birthday, Bill. I hope the sun is shining for you in your corner of north Norfolk! Enjoy your day.

      2. When you’ve fallen on the highway
        And you’re lying in the rain,
        And they ask you how you’re doing
        Of course you’ll say you can’t complain

        Leonard Cohen; Waiting for the miracle!

      3. When you’ve fallen on the highway
        And you’re lying in the rain,
        And they ask you how you’re doing
        Of course you’ll say you can’t complain

        Leonard Cohen; Waiting for the miracle!

      4. Whoops………. i read that as all playing the guitar 🎸 but i’ve got the blues running through my veins.

  33. Morning all.
    Happy birthday to Uncle Bill. 😁
    And snow everywhere.👀
    Heating on and on 👍

      1. Morning Bob3

        I really don’t care what her opinion is , but if this is what a University education has done for her, the Guardian will love her!

      2. All academics should be sent to farms to pick fruit & veg.

        I’m sure someone tried that once before. Scratches head…

    1. Hi Grizz,

      Good heavens 😲😲😲

      Because we have been housebound and not been here there and everywhere , looks like councils hare having a field day , what utter twerps .

    5. It’s when you see this nonsense that you realise just how important it is that councillors and officialdom be removable on a whim. That’s public money wasted. Those responsible should be facing the sack and the bill for the waste.

    6. I do wish councils would keep politics and silly ideas out of road furniture and markings.
      In Oxford, they’ve got a dumb silly rainbow pedestrian crossing. I never use it, but always cross at a random point on the (busy) road. It would be disrespectful to wipe my feet on the rainbow flag, you understand.

    7. It doesn’t really matter what people try and do these days someone will always think they are better and wiser.
      For example a good friend of mine who i have in the past carried out quite a lot of work for including a ground floor home extension. He wants me to make a two seater bench he’d like to donate to the village in his memory and have it placed in an open orchard area.
      Easy you’d think ………….but no, a parish councilor and seemingly local health and safety ‘expert’, but really a self promoting, self important DH, is now poking is nose in.
      Probably one of the committee of people who made the decision to remove all the dog waste bins around the local area and have the dog faeces put into any of the open litter bins. Some outside shops and at least one next to a bus stop. That’ll be lovely in the summer. But not as lovely as sitting on a hand made wooden bench with a friend, chatting and watching the apples grow on the trees in the orchard.

        2. A similar thing happened at the golf club Grizz, the masons tried to take over and series of gents who had taken ‘early retirement’ became the hierarchy. And so it still goes on i have heard that a lot of former members have been leaving.
          Same as in the current police farce.
          More than twenty years ago from golf i knew a senior cop from his office in east London. He told me that a memo was sent around the station and it was from that day forbidden to call the s desk sergeant ‘Chalky’. His name being White, but he was black, he ‘Jilled’ it in soon after that. The day the much needed and established humour died.

  38. STOP PRESS

    Have just finished opening cards and things.

    VERY MANY THANKS to the NoTTLers for the presents. Greatly appreciated. Will be thinking of you all as we eat and drink.

    5. Haven’t been lurking here in a long while, so I didn’t know it was your birthday. Have a lovely, if snowy, day.

      1. Have you not seen the Rastus Nottlers’ birthday list.

        January is a bumper month and we have another birthday coming up on Monday and two more before the end of the month.

        I you would like to give me your details I shall add them to the list so we can all extend best wishes when the day comes.

        Some people have pointed out the errors and omissions in this list. Please let me know if there are any errors or omissions below so I can try to correct them:

        02 January – 1947 : Poppiesmum
        07 January – **** : Lady of the Lake
        08 January – 1941 : Rough Common
        09 January – **** : thayaric
        10 January – 1960 : hopon
        16 January – 1941 : Legal Beagle
        18 January – **** : Stormy
        23 January – 1951 : Damask Rose
        27 January – 1948 : Citroen 1
        10 February -1949 : Korky the Kat (Dandy Front Pager)
        11 February- 1964 : Phizzee
        22 February- 1951 : Grizzly
        24 February- 1941 : Sguest
        28 February- 1956 :Jeremy Morfey
        29 February- **** : Ped
        05 March—– 1957 : Sue MacFarlane
        08 March—– **** : Geoff Graham
        26 March—– 1962 : Caroline Tracey
        27 March—– 1947 : Maggiebelle
        27 March—– 1941 : Fallick Alec
        19 April——- **** : Devonian in Kent
        26 April——- **** : Harry Kobeans
        24 May——– 1944 : NoToNanny
        08 June——– **** : Still Bleau
        09 June——- 1947 : Johnny Norfolk
        09 June——– 1947 : Horace Pendleton
        23 June——– **** : Oberstleutnant
        25 June——– 1952 : corimmobile
        01 July——— 1946 : Rastus C Tastey
        12 July——— 1956 : David Wainwright/Stigenace
        18 July——— 1941: lacoste
        19 July——— **** : Ndovu
        26 July——— 1936 : Delboy
        29 July———- 1944 : Lewis Duckworth
        30 July———- 1946 : Alf the Great
        01 August—— 1950 : Datz
        03 August—— 1954 : molamola
        10 August—— 1967 : ourmaninmunich
        18 August—— **** : ashesthandust
        19 August——- 1951 : Hugh Janus
        04 September- 1948 : Joseph B Fox
        07 September- **** : Araminta Smade
        11 September- 1947 : peddytheviking
        12 September- 1946 : Ready Eddy
        13 September- **** : Anne Allan
        15 September- **** : veryveryveryoldfella
        26 September- **** : Feargal the Cat
        30 September 1944 : One Last Try
        07 October—– 1960 : Bob 3
        11 October—– 1944 : Hardcastle Craggs
        25 October—– 1955 : Sue Edison
        12 November- ***** : Cochrane
        01 December– 1956 : Sean Stanley-Adams
        06 December– 1943 : Duncan Mac
        10 December– **** : Aethelfled
        16 December– **** : Plum
        21 December– 1945 : Elsie Bloodaxe

        (E&OE)

  40. Dear

    The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Stop work on HS2 immediately and hold a new vote to repeal the legislation”.

    Government responded:

    HS2 will provide essential North-South connectivity, greater capacity and shorter journey times. This railway will play a vital role in delivering the Government’s carbon net zero objectives.

    The Government has carefully considered the merits and disadvantages of proceeding with HS2 and has firmly concluded that it should go ahead. HS2 will transform our country’s transport network, and help to rebalance opportunity fairly across the country. This railway is a long-term investment which will bring our biggest cities closer together, boost productivity and provide a low-carbon alternative to cars and planes for many decades to come. During construction, we want HS2 to be the most environmentally responsible major infrastructure project in UK history.

    HS2 has rightly been subject to a great deal of Parliamentary and public scrutiny. Phase One was the subject of considerable debate in Parliament during the passage of the High-Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act 2017 (“the Phase One Act”). The Phase 2a Bill is currently being taken through Parliament. The Government agreed with the Oakervee Review’s conclusion that splitting Phase 2b into smaller sections, and more than one Bill, could facilitate scrutiny in Parliament, and make its management and construction more manageable. Just this month, Andrew Stephenson MP, the dedicated HS2 minister, went before the Transport Select Committee to discuss HS2 in depth, and a record of this hearing can be found on Parliament.UK.

    Ministers have made a clear commitment to greater transparency on HS2, and Andrew Stephenson is reporting bi-annually to Parliament on the project.

    We are continuing work on managing the full impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on delivery of the HS2 programme. We intend to update Parliament on the latest position as part of the next six-monthly Parliamentary Report, expected in Spring 2021.

    This Government takes its environmental commitments extremely seriously. The environmental impacts of HS2 were closely scrutinised by Parliament during the passage of the Phase One Act, which gives statutory and planning authority for the construction of Phase One. Alongside the Act, the Government also published a suite of additional environmental commitments to further reduce the impacts of the project.

    As well as environmental protections, a range of measures to mitigate and compensate for environmental impacts have been put in place. This includes a commitment to seek to achieve ‘no net loss’ to biodiversity and the creation of a ‘green corridor’ alongside HS2, which will provide bigger and better habitats for wildlife, and integrate HS2 into the landscape. Phase One expects to support 33 square kilometres of wildlife habitat – an increase of around 30% compared to what’s there now.

    All environmental measures, whether they be the creation of new habitats or the enhancement of existing habitats, will be supported with long-term management plans and agreements. This will ensure that the new railway leaves a long-lasting legacy for both wildlife and future generations.

    HS2 will give us a step-change in capacity delivering better connectivity between our largest towns and cities. The Government’s decision to proceed with HS2 supports our objectives on climate change as the railway will play a key role in decarbonising our transport sector. This is because, once HS2 is in operation, it will offer a low carbon alternative to cars and domestic air travel. It will also free up space on the existing railway for thousands more passengers to travel by rail and to move more goods by rail freight, taking lorries off our roads.

    Securing the land and property needed to construct the line of route across all Phases is vital to the programme’s success and is often the first impact that we have on line of route communities. A range of statutory and non-statutory property compensation schemes are available that seek to compensate affected parties fairly while protecting the public purse.

    Our policy is to provide fair compensation for those directly and indirectly impacted but the process and disputes for claims can inevitably be traumatic for some. Andrew Stephenson commissioned a detailed review of the acquisition and compensation process to ensure that there is a renewed focus on those who are being impacted by the new railway. The report contained 36 recommendations which are actively being implemented which will see rapid improvements for local communities.

    For the reasons set out above, the Government has no plans to repeal any legislation relating to the development and delivery of HS2. However, we will continue to welcome further public and parliamentary scrutiny of the project.

    Department for Transport

    Sorry Dear Nottlers .. just more government twaddle .

    3. HS2 is a financial device to transfer public money into the wallets of politicos and cronies.

      A railroad has nothing to do with it.

    4. Another part of the Great Reset. Apparently Eurostar is about to go bust – only one train a day running now.

    5. Another bunch of idiots who don’t know the difference between Carbon and carbon dioxide.

    6. HS2 will probably never materialise but as Polly notes, payment for lucrative contracts awarded to politicos and their cronies will still be honoured.

  41. Prime Minister Blair, in Downing Street, with Mr Major !

    So what actually happened once 31% of QinetiQ had been sold to private equity fund Carlyle Group?

    Here’s my interpretation, hypothesis and opinion what it’s all about………….

    Carlyle created a new defense business involving QinetiQ utilizing purchases from other sources, mainly in the US, and put them together.

    The Carlyle approach is to buy cheap and sell expensive which is fair enough….

    The only snag being how they buy cheap and sell expensive.

    If you check out Carlyle personnel, most are ex politicians, ex defense industry and ex services with connections to federal and state government.

    So the ability to buy cheap comes from ”contacts”, ”favors” and ”kickbacks”, exactly as I believe happened with QinetiQ. I would not be surprised if the ability to sell ”expensive” comes along the same route.

    Insofar as the UK is concerned, the involvement of Mr Major I think is a crucial element. Imho, he was able to guide Mr Blair to a source of value which could be enhanced at the right moment with a $7 billion contract, and to ensure the sale price was kept low. Notice how Carlyle asked for a $50 million reduction, and immediately got it!

    Substantial payoffs for managers were part of the mix to keep them quiet. Probably certain civil servants were in on it too.

    That’s my hypothesis, and the fact that Mr Soros was a $100,000,000 Carlyle investor is the icing on the cake because it exactly matches what happened in the US fiscal expansion 2009, the rescue of IndyMac Bank involving $14 billion in federal funding where Mr Soros made a profit of $3 billion, and the sale of 750 UK buildings. Mr Soros was already a close associate of Mr Blair from the 1996 New York Plaza Hotel meeting, and I think it’s likely he met Mr Major in 1990.

    All those deals were one way bets. Losing was deliberately made impossible.

    I think QinetiQ made at least $100,000,000 plus for the participants in what looks like a very well organized fraud.

    If I’m wrong in the foregoing hypothesis, please tell me where.

    Look forward to hearing……….

    1. More is the obvious and blatant fraud. If there’s anyone who doens’t think that these ex politicos wine and dine the heads of departments and ministers with offers of after office jobs, I’ve a bridge to sell them.

      The tax payer is then forced to buy goods at immense cost – often things we do not need. It’s offensive and why such should be prevented. Any such sweet heart deals leading to those involved being shot. It’s treachery, waste and blantant fraud.

  42. BREAKING NEWS

    It’s been leaked that the Government plans to introduce a cheery ditty – based on a hit song of the 1970s – at the start of every Covid briefing, in an attempt to boost public morale. The lyrics will be displayed on the lectern so viewers can join in. The song – which is expected to climb the charts rapidly – has been recorded by a group, known as the “BJs”.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e35616451196f366178fa5de66b0eb7c7ad0a827c981cbc62cc645b8bc8fde1.jpg

    3. 328553+ up ticks,
      Morning DM,
      Will it have a big white ball bouncing along
      reminiscent of the village ?

          2. Just looked it up. It reminds me very much of one of my most-missed favourite pubs in Norfolk. The Walpole Arms at Itteringham.

          3. Lots of bars and little rooms, in a series of almost tunnels through thick walls, fireplaces, and excellent range of beers and ciders – and good food, majoring in pies. At least, when I was there last, about 2 years ago. Who knows now?

  44. Wet, grey and windy ‘ere. No snow, not toooo cold, at least, not biting like it has been.

  45. SIR – Since Exeter citizens subscribed to erect the statue of Sir Redvers Buller, surely today’s citizens should decide its future, and if deciding if is to be removed, they subscribe to pay for its removal, not a woke minority.

    Brian Spence

    1. I can’t see what anyone might have against Sir Henry Redvers Buller VC GCB GCMB except possibly the Boers, and maybe the Zulus, neither of whom have complained about our past actions. If the Ashanti complain then Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scouts will also come up in the woke gun sights.
      Maybe the only people who should vote are holders of the Victoria Cross on a “jury of peers” basis, kind of thing.

      Edit ,Addendum from Wikipedia
      Baden-Powell published a diary of life giving the reasons, as he saw them, for the (fourth Ashanti)war: To put an end to human sacrifice. To put a stop to slave-trading and raiding. To ensure peace and security for the neighbouring tribes. To settle the country and protect the development of trade. To get paid up the balance of the war indemnity. He also believed that if a smaller force had been sent, there would have been bloodshed.
      The British force left Kumasi on 22 January 1896, arriving back at the coast two weeks later. Not a shot had been fired but 18 Europeans were dead and 50% of the troops were sick. Among the dead was Queen Victoria’s son-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg, who was taken ill before getting to Kumasi and died on 20 January on board ship, returning to England. In 1897 Ashanti territory became a British protectorate.

      Bad, bad British spoiling the cultural practices of these happy-go-lucky black natives

      1. As if to prove how stupid politicians are; Nancy Pelosi and her fellow clowns posed kneeling in remembrance of Fentanyl Floyd, proudly displaying scarves with an African tribal pattern on them. The tribal pattern was…of the Ashanti!

    2. Since when does Joe Public have any say in municipal decisions – they are left to the woke leftards.

    3. Since when does Joe Public have any say in municipal decisions – they are left to the woke leftards.

    2. I’ve got two columns of three large plastic lidded-boxes in my chest freezer. And a small book at the side to record what’s in them.

      Nerdish, I know, but it saves a shit-load of time looking for things. Removing the boxes, taking out what I need, and then replacing them takes seconds.

        2. I remember cleaning mum’s chest freezer out soon after dad had died. There were, at various levels, deep down into the permafrost, no fewer than eight boxes of a certain foodstuff that she insisted on buying at every visit to the shop. When I asked her why she kept buying them, she replied, “Because I like them.” When I pointed out that she had eight boxes of them in the freezer, some going back ten years, she just shrugged!

        3. I found a jar of plum butter at the back of the cupboard the other day. Dated 1998, not a scrap of mould and still tastes just fine.

      2. I had to buy a new chest freezer two years ago. It’s not enormous (250 litres – about 9 cubic feet) so I don’t need a notebook as I have the contents in my head, but everything is in baskets which sit quite tidily on top of one another and, as you say, I can whisk them out and back again very quickly.

    1. Europe is allowing black and brown migrants to devalue rich European cultural heritages .

      Visit any African/ asian city to see how the throng have trashed all the assistance they recieved during colonial times .

      1. And millions in Foreign Aid since. All that happens is that they breed millions more – then want more money – while half of them head for Europe for even more free stuff.

    2. Mr Batten’s Tweet below apparently gives a link to one Mr J Epstein’s Book of contacts (unredacted!). I suspect a few hundred people are going to be changing their telephone numbers…..

      1. 328553+ up ticks,
        Morning S,
        Agreed, high rankers of the “don’t do as we do, do as….. brigade.

      1. Being honest, that’s piddly. Whether it’s one row or a hundred thousand the process is the same.

      2. My thought exactly ( happy birthday btw ) . In my previous employment I was a system administrator for a very large national database, there were incremental, daily, weekly and monthly backups, physical backups were taken offsite daily to a disaster store 5 miles away. There is no way that a properly run system could permanently lose data on this scale.

        edit loose loose replaced by lose . tks T5i.

        1. Thank you for the good wishes.

          I had the same thought last week when in touch with a local firm of solicitors – who rejoiced in telling me that they ran a “paperless” office.
          My immediate thought was about backups……

          Those who rely on IT are completely mad if they do not do as you say.

          1. Years ago, our sons’ business used an ingredients manufacturer who rejoiced in their ‘paperless office’. The ‘boys’ had to change suppliers since the orders were always wrong – usually short of what was ordered or the wrong stuff arrived.

          2. My online mentor ‘Ask Leo’ hammers home tirelessly the need for back-ups.

            His sage words are, “If it’s only in one place, it’s not backed-up.”

          3. the other sage advice is to verify that you can recover from the backup.

            At least one client was proud of their backup process until we asked them to show us the restoration of key data. They had really made a mess of cycling through the backup tapes, they were useless.

        2. We used to run “disaster” tests fairly regularly. It was disconcerting how often the back-ups didn’t work, for a variety of reasons.

          Many, many years ago a bank I was working for had its disaster contingency site near a major airport. A plane crashed and if it had slid a few more yards it would have taken out the site! A very rapid reassessment of Disaster and contingency planning

          1. I half hod a lifflong bottle with my spillings and grummer so am accustarded to been corrrneckerd , I don’t think I’m dyslexic as I read and understand without issue ( excluding Prof Ferguson and the Socialist Worker) . Spelling tests were only second in trauma to those b’stardly gymnasium ropes I could never climb.

          2. Good evening, Datz.

            Are you apprenticed to HJ?
            If so, you are doing very well!

            If not, beware of pedants!!

      3. Didn’t I read a while back that folk who had DNA & finger prints taken but were not subsequently prosecuted won the right under the Data Protection Laws for their information to be removed from the police databases. In other words police forces are obliged to delete these data (and not retain back-ups). Of course human error / cock ups often happen – hence the wrong data set being deleted?

      4. Didn’t I read a while back that folk who had DNA & finger prints taken but were not subsequently prosecuted won the right under the Data Protection Laws for their information to be removed from the police databases. In other words police forces are obliged to delete these data (and not retain back-ups). Of course human error / cock ups often happen – hence the wrong data set being deleted?

      5. Trouble is, they’re required by law to delete certain data, which means no back-ups, or it’s pointless.

        1. Delete the main record, check that was correct, delete the records from backup. S’easy.

      2. As opposed to a normal review, which would take 8 or 9 years and determine no one was responsible whatsoever.

        This is lots of headless chicken panicking.

    6. Shades of the DSS losing and/or sending off to the wrong people details of parents’ bank accounts. I don’t remember if ‘lessons were learnt’.

    7. There’s a chap over on Breitbart, who goes by the name of “Depayne”, who says he’s an experienced computer programmer. He says it would be impossible for just one numpty to delete those records “accidently”. There would have been alarms going off all through the system, asking for confirmation of deletion and no one person could have authorised it. In any event, the workstation from which the deletion was attempted could be readily identified. Any final authorisation to delete the files would have had to have come from the very top.

      He also said that recovery of the records should be relatively easy for a reasonably competent and experienced programmer.

      Unfortunately, I can’t find the thread to quote “Depayne’s” exact words but I think that’s the gist of it. Seems to me that he knows whereof he speaks, although I’m no computer-nerd.

      Any computer-wise NoTTLers have thoughts on this?

      1. All I can say is that when I tidy up emails or empty the trash on my laptop, warnings come up asking me if this is what I really want to do and reminding that the items are lost forever.
        Surely there would be more – and larger – warnings for something like a national database.

        2. Every system has a base level, and all the controls safeguards etc are built on top of that. If he was working directly on the server OS, he would have had no warnings. Clean up exercises (I have done many) have to be done at the base level or you can’t get anything done, for the reasons you outline.

      2. If working on a server with CLI (Command level interface) it is very easy to do. It is very likely a Linux server because they are the most reliable, and
        rm -r *
        will ruin your life, or if talking to an SQL database
        delete from important_table; where lengthy condition
        will do the same (because the condition will be ignored)

        But … why didn’t they have backups?

        Footnote: Patel cannot be blamed for every moron who works in her dept. The Home Office has been very good at getting rid of politicians they don’t like by making ‘mistakes’.

        1. I imagine they do. If an automated process did this no human was involved. A machine account did the work. They do have backups. I’d rather think this is cloud hosted at this level. An awful lot of public sector has gone into Azure.

          1. The only safe way to do this job is to make copy before you start, strip the stuff out on the copy, saving a command list as you go by whatever technique, get the departments to sign off that the copy has everything it should, then run the command list on the live data.

            They said the stuff was deleted by a person. If they have backups then why the fuss, it would just be a cockup best kept buried.

      3. Hi, DM, good to see you back on form.
        I’m not a nerd but with the arrival of processor/memory driven systems e.g. in my experience large telephone exchanges and our in office data changes, regular back-ups were essential should a problem arise. Our office servers were backed-up every night and records of the jobs executed existed on more than one system and more than one office site.
        IIRC the exchanges automatically backed-up the data to on-site disk regularly through the day and regular back-ups to tape were made and stored off-site. Also, there existed a system to track the data changes on each exchange with a three character ‘word’ on each exchange electronic header – I used a simple numbering system i.e. 001 for Jan the first, 002 for the second etc. With my records on the office server stored in ‘Year’ directories my team and I could find any changes in next to no time.

        1. Good afternoon and thanks for that, Korky! So it seems that there must be something far amiss with the Police Data System, if such an “accidental” deletion could happen.

          “Accidental” – aye, right!

      4. Aren’t they supposed to delete innocent bystander records from their database? There is probably a process to do that and that process was misused. It is easy to come up with scenarios, none look good on the IT department.

        No sensible system would actually delete a record, it would just flag it as unused, but if it is police records and they guarantee removal, maybe they do physically delete the record.

        Recovering parts of a database from a backup is not easy, especially when the database is still live and probably being updated. I’ve had to do it, not impossible, just needs a lot of care in the programming.

        1. From their report it seems the records were marked for deletion and were duly deleted. However, it seems the wrong records were deleted.

          Generally you’d stage those records so a human reviewed them before they were actually removed, or, at most they’d be removed from the tables.

          Either way, it’s good that they admitted it quickly rather than trying to hide it.

        2. They were, as Stephen said, forced by the courts to remove data from witnesses, bystanders etc completely; they are not supposed to retain it in any form or to, in effect, created a national database of as much information as they can grab by any means fair or foul. They have, repeatedly, dragged their feet over the removal of such data; so if their databases are vast and unwieldy they would be less so had they done the job properly.

      1. For me the tweet doesn’t suggest there wasn’t a backup. In my professional experience I am very aware that recovering deleted parts of large, complex databases is not a trivial matter.

        To my mind, you are not an IT professional until you have caused a major incident with business impact. I consider myself an IT Professional and I suspect another has recently been added to our ranks! :o)

        1. Yet… a single database? In one location? Without fail back/B database?

          Heck, this sort of environment should have not only a failover unit but practice A and B databases. App problem? Revert to B.

          However, as regards major incident. A long time ago working on the port authority VMS databases I learned that up takes you up a directory.

          Down, however, doesn’t take you down a directory. It turns off the server. Ho hum!

    1. Ghosts? Maybe all the dead people who voted for him. Presumably they shouldn’t be too worried about covid.

  52. Dear Maggie ……………
    You recently signed the petition “Release the Home Office’s Grooming Gang Review in full”:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300239

    On Wednesday 13 January 2021 the House of Commons agreed to suspend sittings in Westminster Hall, where petitions debates take place, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. This means that petitions debates that were due to take place in the coming weeks are unable to go ahead, and have been postponed.

    The Petitions Committee will be considering petitions that are currently awaiting debate, including this petition, and we will let you know as soon as a debate on this petition has been rescheduled, or the Committee decides to pursue this petition in another way.

    Responding to the closure of Westminster Hall, Petitions Committee Chair Catherine McKinnell MP said:

    “On behalf of the millions of people waiting to have their petitions debated, I am disappointed that the Government hasn’t made it possible for debates to continue virtually while Westminster Hall has to close.

    “The Petitions Committee will continue to take action on petitions, including taking evidence, speaking to petitioners and holding our own virtual sessions, but I hope that in the coming weeks the Government will bring forward plans to make sure that petition debates can restart as soon as possible, and including as many MPs as possible.”

    We will confirm plans for these debates with petitioners by email, and you can also get real-time updates on the Committee’s work by following them on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions.

    Thanks,
    The Petitions team
    UK Government and Parliament

    You’re receiving this email because you signed this petition: “Release the Home Office’s Grooming Gang Review in full”.

    To unsubscribe from getting emails about this petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/76965296/unsubscribe?token=qY8FOIqEwCK00BKxeh8G

    1. ” have been postponed.” – and with this Covid lark destined to never end – postponed means “brushed under the carpet”.

    2. Good afternoon, Maggiebelle

      I received this e-mail for two petitions I had signed: one on banning supertrawlers fishing in British waters; the other on grooming gangs.

      Covid will prove to be an excellent way of having public opinion interred.

      (The pun is not entirely unintentional)

    1. There are now significant numbers of Somalis in the UK. Has no one had the wit to suggest employing him in one of these areas?

      1. He should still be able to speak the native language, though.

        My father did a lot of language examining for the BMA. He got offered some marvellous bribes to pass those who deserved to fail. He was devilishly tempted by the offer of an Arab stallion!

        2. Before going to the Sudan my father passed out top in his Civil Service Arabic exams after getting a First Class degree in Classics from Cambridge.

          However my mother, with no academic qualifications at all, was far better at communicating with the ordinary African people.

      2. Not while endless cash for translators is available. All on the taxpayer as usual. One EU country (Holland maybe ) told them there that they had to learn the language or else they would be deported. They packed their bags and turned up here. Hands out. They didn’t learn the language at the old place. I guarantee they haven’t learnt anything here – apart from robbing the system.

  55. Reckless hit-and-run driver, 23, who mowed down and killed childhood sweethearts, 79 and 75, as they walked to a restaurant just months before their diamond wedding anniversary is jailed for just two years
    Ann Nickerson, 75, and husband Lawrence, 79, heading to dinner in Newcastle

    Asif Hussain, 23, knocked them over before driving off on November 23, 2019
    Mrs Nickerson died at the scene while Mr Nickerson died in hospital later
    Police launched a large-scale search for Hussain before he handed himself in
    Hussain, 23, of Wingrove Gardens, Newcastle, was sentenced to 2 years in jail

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9154381/Hit-run-driver-killed-childhood-sweethearts-79-75-jailed-just-two-years.html

    We have our sovereignty, so what has happened to our law ..

    2. Looks like he received the maximum for ‘causing death whilst driving uninsured’, with the other offences, i.e. failing to stop, exceeding the speed limit, possession of class B drugs, ‘taken into consideration’ and then ignored.

    5. As little as 12 years ago there was no jail sentence available for causing death by careless driving, and causing death by dangerous driving was not a custodial offence in the 80s. What is happening? It’s getting better.

      Look at the sentencing guidelines
      https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/causing-death-by-careless-or-inconsiderate-driving/
      which the Court cannot exceed. If the couple were considered to have crossed the road in a risky manner, that would reduce the sentence from the possible maximum 5 years. The same for any ‘mitigating factor’.

    6. Remember, diversity is a strength.

      On the upside, if you do want to bump off a politician, drive into them.

      2. Too near the bone? My lovely wife gives me permission to disagree with her as long as I don’t do it in public.

          2. Don’t worry – us chaps could do with a bit of ribbing now and again – especially after what happened to the very first rib…..

        3. My good lady has just taken our 5 year old Grand son and our lab out for a walk.
          And unfortunately she put her wellies on in the garage and went back and forth in the house collecting the bits and pieces needed for a dog walk. Don’t’ worry dearest # # i’ll get the vacuum out of the garage and clear it up. I’m so glad the mud was dry, have a good walk while it get on with making the pizza’s for our meal later. Always look on the bright side of life 😎😍

          I’ll open the side gate so they can come in, mud and all, when they come back, but not through the front door. # # # #

  61. And you thought it couldn’t get any worse….

    From the DT:

    Local NHS leaders are forcing GPs to throw away vaccines rather than give second doses, medics have revealed.

    Doctors who are organising clinics at short notice and find they have several injections left are being warned that they cannot use them on staff or any patients who have already received their first jab.

    While it is understood some are refusing to comply, others are said to be fearful that their supplies will be cancelled if they do not follow instructions.

    Dr Robert Morley, the director of professional support at the Birmingham Local Medical Committee, described the instructions, which are being reported by doctors across the country, as “extremely counterproductive, nonsensical and ludicrous”.

      1. It doesn’t say that the unused vaccine shouldn’t be given to other patients, just that any vaccine left after six hours should be discarded – presumably because it would be ineffective.

        1. 328533+ up ticks,
          S,
          Where do you live then seeing as you know our butchers wife ?

          I was on about discards at Fishguard

    4. On a larger scale, dear Trudeau cancelled an order for the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday, on Friday Pfizer announced that they are closing down their plant for an upgrade so supplies will be greatly reduced for several months. Basically he went sole source without confirming the supply.

      Have none of these ‘leaders’ ever made a sensible decision?

        1. Thats the one. If we survive his ministrations someone will write a book about his corrupt administration, playing Mr dressup is the least of his misdemeanors.

      2. “Have none of these ‘leaders’ ever made a sensible decision?” They’ve never had a proper job, so they haven’t been used to correct decision-making. No matter what they do, their salary gets paid, usually they get promotion and there are no consequences of their constantly c0cking things up.

        1. Are you saying that ski instructor was not good training for a premier? He didn’t even need to succeed there with his big trust fund behind him.

          We agree completely.

  62. Here’s an image of my COVID-19 vaccination card which carries a reminder for the second jab in March 2021:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66cb367d8684dd954777bf9423fa28931322c3d094e9e8ea9464bc97fdea4ec2.jpg

    The stress of trying to arrange a booking on line or by phone and in attending a vaccination centre in such low temperatures is likely to cause more deaths through HBP heart attacks and hypothermia induced by waiting in cars to be called into the centre.

      1. 328553+ up ticks,
        Afternoon RE,
        Agreed,
        In a decent society she should have no threats of any description against the stance she is taking,
        would like to see her followed by another saying I am a nurse of….
        followed by another saying I am a nurse of…..
        ALL with the same message.

    2. “Enjoy life”
      Does this imply that people who aren’t vaccinated won’t be able to enjoy life?

      1. Perhaps it should say Enjoy what you have left of your life! (whether or not you have decided to take the COVI-19 vaccine).

      2. Perhaps it should say Enjoy what you have left of your life! (whether or not you have decided to take the COVI-19 vaccine).

  63. In 1890, Henri Poincare proposed the Poincare recurrence theorem, which
    postulates that a system will return to its original state after a
    sufficiently long amount of time.

    Theoretical physicist Don Page used
    the theorem while discussing information loss in black holes and
    asserted that the Poincare recurrence time for a system as massive as
    the visible universe is 10^10^10^10^2.08 of any unit of time: seconds,
    Planck times, millennia, whatever…the number is so large that units
    are frivolous.

    This means that if you waited 10^10^10^10^2.08
    millennia, long after all stars have died, all matter is devoured by
    black hole singularities and subsequently ejected, leaving the universe
    as a barren waste of Hawking radiation, you will see the universe reset
    itself into what it is today, with the Milky Way, our solar system, the
    Planet Earth, all of its creatures, all of our technology, culture, and
    political affiliations, and Disqus will still be broken.

    1. An air ambulance should not be used to transport dead people.
      He wasn’t flying fast enough.

      1. An Open Day at the labs I worked in 1989. A fireman came to see if he’d like to be a lab technician. I asked why, and he said that, one day, he just couldn’t go on shift any more. He’d had it with pulling burned bodies out of wrecked cars on the M25.
        I didn’t have a lot to say after that.

        1. Although clearly a lot of work has been done to make lithium batteries compartmentalised & safe for Evies (electric vehicles) my guess is that there is bound to be a design flaw somewhere, and those batteries can burn hot.

        2. Friend’s daughter is working in a big ICU – they’ve got roughly 150% of their normal capacity for patients (crammed into any and every available space) and death rates at way about normal.

          She goes home at the end of her shift to two pre-school children and a lovely husband, but she’s running out of steam.

      2. Which really doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect them. Learning to cope is not the same thing as not caring.

        The article is actually quite good and the headline is the work of the Daily Mail, not the Prince.

      1. But he still has some way to go to catch up his half brother!

        We hope you are about to tuck in to a delicious birthday cake lovingly baked by Carolyn?

      2. We’ve seen nothing yet. Just wait until the climate conference this year. Charles is the WEF’s useful idiot, already being advertised all over their website.

    4. A pilot with mental issues should be off sick and seek treatment. It is the legal responsibility of the holder of a commercial license and appropriate medical to declare any condition that will affect their performance. So maybe, the trauma was not quite as bad as stated!

      1. There’s a lot of that about these days …..too much.
        Perhaps there’s an opportunity to sell cilises on line as worn by Silas the priest in the Da Vinci Code.

    7. He saw the same as ambulance drivers, firemen, paramedics and A&E staff see every days for years on end.

      1. Early barges on the Inland waterways were powered by wind in the sail: see one or two of Constable’s paintings…

    3. Tree huggers should bear in mind that wood-fired steam cars use an easily renewable resource and provided the chimney stacks are equipped with high voltage particulate filters these vehicles should meet Green Party proposals for inner city emission zones.

    1. Is Geoff preparing a special ITU place on this site on the day of the inauguration, for Pol and others, just in case Donald isn’t made President for another 4 years?

  67. I was out fishing yesterday when I heard a soft voice saying “Kiss me,
    then I will turn into your faithful mistress”
    I looked down and saw a little frog, ” I said “Was that you speaking”?
    The little frog said “Yes, kiss me and I will turn into your faithful
    mistress”
    So I picked the little frog up and placed it in an empty bait box.
    When I got home, the missus was out, so I opened the bait box and the
    little frog said “Are you going to kiss me now so I can turn into your
    faithful mistress”?
    I said “Nah, at my age I’d rather have a talking frog”

  68. First up was May talking about how the Tories were going to save Britain
    and make it stronger in Europe; then it was Hammond talking about his
    budget proposals. Last but not least Jezza piped in about how Labour
    would win the next election.
    Strangest episode of Top Gear I’ve ever seen.

  69. The EU And The Euro
    This is the simplest – and probably the most sensible – explanation,
    about the EU and the Euro, ever to see the light of day:
    Baldrick: “What I want to know, sir, is before there was a Euro there
    were lots of different types of money that different people used. Now
    there’s only one type of money that the foreign people use. Now, what I
    want to know is, how did we get from one state of affairs to the other
    state of affairs”.
    Blackadder: “Baldrick. Do you mean, how did the Euro start?
    Baldrick: “Yes sir.”
    Blackadder: “Well, you see Baldrick, back in the 1980’s there were many
    different countries all running their own finances and using different
    types of money. On one side you had the major economies of France,
    Belgium, Holland and Germany and on the other, the weaker nations of
    Spain, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal. They got together and
    decided that it would be much easier for everyone if they could all use
    the same money, have one Central Bank and belong to one large club where
    everyone would be happy. This meant that there could never be a
    situation where financial meltdown would lead to social unrest, wars and
    crises.”
    Baldrick: “But this is a sort of a crisis, isn’t it sir?”
    Blackadder: “That’s right Baldrick. You see, there was only one slight
    flaw with the plan.”
    Baldrick: “What was that then sir?”
    Blackadder: “It was bollocks.”

  70. Not one of my normal posts. Bit more serious. If anybody knows of any
    lonely old people who will be eating Christmas dinner alone because they
    have no family or close friends, can they let me know, I need to borrow
    some chairs.

      1. Twas the night before Christmas
        And all through the house
        Not a creature was stirring
        Except for a Scouse

        He’s in through your window
        He’s out with a sack
        To take to his dealer
        To swop for some crack

  71. Traditionally, vaccines deliver a dead or weakened virus into the body but Covid vaccine is a synthetic agglomeration of genetic material and chemicals – a delicate mix – which must be kept at extraordinarily low temperatures, so creating logistic problems.

    Now here’s the thing. Since the “wild virus” seems to flourish, day or night, sunshine, rain or snow, and at all temperatures, would not it have been wiser to stick to the tried and tested method of vaccine manufacture, requiring no special conditions of storage and making distribution easier?

    1. I think the reason they did not was published in a paper from 2012, and is explained online for non-experts by Professor Dolores Cahill, eg in her conversation with James Delingpole. All the animals tested were protected from the virus, but then a similar virus came along later and they all died.

    3. I’ve read somewhere today I think via this thread that the Pfizer vaccine needs to be diluted. Anybody know with what and how much?

  73. There is far more produce coming into Britain from the rest of the world, better and cheaper than the EU. eg if you see any green grapes from South Africa just try them and see what I mean.

  74. A bloke goes into the Barbers, the Barber is in a mood and a right
    miserable git
    He sits down and the Barber says “Going on holiday then”?
    The guy replies “Yes ,me and the wife are going to Rome”, the Barber
    says “I wouldn’t bother mate, we went last month and it was shit, who
    are you flying with Al Italia”?
    The guy replies “Yes”
    The Barber says “We flew with them ,they were shit, I bet you’re going
    to the Vatican to see the Pope as well”?
    The guy replies “Yes, me and the wife are devout Catholics”
    The Barber says “I knew it ,so predictable, me and the wife went there,
    it was shit”
    A couple of months go by and one morning the bloke walks into the
    Barbers,the Barber recognises him and says “You’re the guy who went to
    Rome, shit isn’t it”?
    The guy replies “Actually it was wonderful, the weather, people and the
    food were all fabulous”
    “What about Al Italia, they’re shit aren’t they”? said the Barber
    “Actually we got upgraded and the flight was great” replies the guy
    “How was the Vatican then? I bet it was shit” asks the Barber
    The guy replies “Actually it was brilliant, the Swiss Guard came out and
    selected me and the wife and ten other people for a private audience
    with His Holiness, we were taken into his private study, where we held
    prayers and then the Pope laid his hand on our heads and blessed us”
    The Barber asks “Did he say anything to you”?
    The guy said “Yes, he said “Who cut your hair? it’s shit”

  75. There is an article on bbc.co.uk about teaching Fiennes his Suffolk accent for “the Dig”. I’ve just watched the trailer and it ain’t much of a Suffolk accent is all I can say, half Colchester by the sound of it. He should have watched Akenfield – now that’s proper Suffolk.

          4. I remember a performance of Treasure Island at The Crucible in Sheffield (before it was given over to snooker). The actors all had Bristolian accents I imagine coming from Bristol Old Vic.

            It was most convincing and one of the few successful performances on a thrust stage that I can recall.

        2. I have a map of English accents. There is a line going roughly from The Wash to the Bristol Channel, which widens out at both ends. Above the line people say ‘Bath’ (with a short A sound). Below the line they say ‘Barth’ (with a long A sound). At the widened bits in the middle [Cornwall, Devon and Somerset at one end; Norfolk at the other end] they say ‘Baaath’ (with a long growling A sound).

    2. I used to be able to distinguish between Sussex and Hampshire, but I’m out of practice now. Trondheim & Steinskjer, yes, but not much use in the UK…

      1. When I was a teenager in London I could tell if lads came from more than 3 miles away. Self preservation.

        1. I used to attend Salford College of Technology on block release courses. Around Manchester, you could almost determine which street someone lived in by their accent.

          I grew up in Carlisle, but just outside the city boundary. I never had the local accent, but merely sound Northern to those who express an opinion. I’ve been accused of being a Geordie, which is fighting talk, but I admit that while I was working on the Lanes – a city centre redevelopment – with a load of North Easterners, I began to sound like an extra from Auf Wiedersehen Pet…

      3. There was quite a difference between the rural Aberdeenshire accent and the that of the fisherfolk (and their neighbours) who lived around the coastal edges. Since the 1970s the local accents have been greatly diluted but it’s still possible to here the original from time to time (except that I haven’t been there to hear them at all for 15 months now – and goodness only knows when I’ll be able to see the new baby in the Borders).

      4. I spent several years living and working in Banffshire and Aberdeenshire – it didn’t take too long to learn ‘The Doric’ a dialect that is peculiar to that part of the world but of course, I wouldn’t expect Jennifer Downvoter to bother to learn anything outside her own bigoted view of the world,

    3. If you ever feel romantic about ‘country life’, watch Akenfield. It was hard, the men were broken by the continuous back-breaking work. That was in 1900, 50 years before they were starving in the agricultural depression. A film to make you realize what soft lives we live.

      1. Indeed.
        It’s hard enough on Firstborn’s small farm with no animals, just trees and bees to herd, and 40 years of maintenance to catch up on.
        Problem is, outside work stops on November for winter, until April.

        1. Plenty of drinking time then? The Scandis are bit known for that. But working all summer in the good weather, locked up with nothing to do in winter. No wonder they are such good skiers.

          1. The telly is crap, but the women good-looking & sporty. Wonder what alternative activities could take place in the long winter nights??

          4. On a visit to Lapland many years ago, our local guide explained “In the summer we go fishing and we make love (not at the same time). In the winter it is too cold to go fishing.”

          5. I live in Scandyland, on the same latitude as the Border country in the UK. Similar light and similar weather patterns to Northern England.

          6. Spent my first thirty years in Carlisle, which is about as close to the Border as you can get without being subject to Queen Nicola. I agree about the light, but, being close to the Solway, winters were rarely hard. I’ll admit to walking home in the early hours of New Year’s Day amid snow and ice, and I remember frozen pipes and frost on the inside of the windows. Trying to travel anywhere was fun, though. I once had to dig the car out of a snowdrift on the M6, when two cleared lanes suddenly became one.

      2. 1900 was 30 years before the agricultural depression. The hungry thirties.

        Agriculture was doing quite well in the 1950s as people still appreciated the food on their plates after the war-time rationing.

    4. If you ever feel romantic about ‘country life’, watch Akenfield. It was hard, the men were broken by the continuous back-breaking work. That was in 1900, 50 years before they were starving in the agricultural depression. A film to make you realize what soft lives we live.

    5. It’s exactly the same when a drama featuring Sheffield is put on. They have a gang of actors all speaking a BBC bog-standard ‘Yorkshire’ accent’. Anyone who has spent any time in Sheffield will know that they do not speak ‘Yorkshire’ there. The Sheffield dialect is one of the most idiosyncratic in the country. Only Sean Bean, who is a native Sheffielder, speaks it.

      It’s very similar in the case of the ‘standard’ BBC Russian/Eastern European dialect. They are all taught to speak in the same anodyne way and it sounds just like they are getting ready to cough up some phlegm!

      1. A much under-rated actor in my view.

        I can’t recall a film or series where he has starred that I did not enjoy.

        1. I used to have a gorgeous newsreader from Radio Hallam ring me up every Monday morning, when I was comms officer at Chesterfield Nick, asking about any crimes taking place over the weekend. We always had a bit of banter (and she didn’t have a hint of a Sheffield accent).

      3. I would suggest that there is no such thing as a “Yorkshire” accent.

        Having spent 6 years living on the North York Moors it was easy to hear that there were a great many accents across the length and breadth of the county. Even from Kirkbymoorside to Whitby the accent changed (as it did between rural and coastal communities in my native Aberdeenshire).

        I’m always amused that non-Scots expect me to be able to read Burns with an authentic accent. I can make a reasonable at reading Burns because I’ve taken trouble with the wording, but it’s about as authentic as a Yorkshireman (from whichever part of the county) reading Devonshire dialect.

        1. As you say dialects within Yorkshire alter from town to town. I’ve been to remote areas of the county and been completely discombobulated when the locals tried to communicate with me.

  76. The lawyer says to the wealthy art collector tycoon: “I have some good
    news and I have some bad news”.
    The tycoon replies: “I’ve had an awful day, let’s hear the good news
    first”.
    The lawyer says: “Your wife invested £5,000 in two pictures today that
    she figures are shortly going to be worth a minimum of £2 million, maybe
    more”.
    The tycoon replies enthusiastically: “Well done, very good news indeed!
    You have just made my day; what’s the bad news?”
    The lawyer answers: “The pictures are of you screwing your secretary”.

  77. You are driving in a car at a constant speed. On your left side is a
    sheer drop and on your right side is a fire engine travelling at the
    same speed as you.
    In front of you is a galloping pig, which is the same size as your car,
    and you cannot overtake it.
    Behind you is a helicopter flying at ground level.

    Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also travelling at the same
    speed as you.

    What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

    Get off the children’s Merry Go Round, because you’re pissed.

  78. Nicked,if bloody only……………

    This is wonderful – top comment this morning from Lockdown Sceptics:

    “Wonderful
    to see videos emerging from Italy following the #IoApro (#IOpen)
    movement which saw 50,000 restaurants open despite government
    restrictions. For those with Twitter, @robinmonotti has been providing
    the updates. My favourite clip was of police being heckled in a
    restaurant by customers, the translation of their fury along the lines
    of “GET OUT! We pay your wages! You work for us! GET OUT!!”

    This is a truly fantastic development by all accounts, a number of the
    restaurants looked very well attended, showing that this kind of mass
    civil disobedience is winning hearts and minds across the continent.
    Clearly our disgraceful mainstream media would never dare to cover such a
    dangerous movement, but I feel that they may have no choice as this
    unique dissent sweeps across Europe.

    The virus of non-compliance
    is more terrifying to the government than any strain of Covid-19. Its
    spread cannot be modelled. It can engulf whole cities in days. It can
    only be suppressed by brutal authoritarianism, which will light the
    touch paper for civil unrest.

    There will be many sleepless nights in Westminster over the coming weeks.”

    3. The govt takes our taxes – then make sure themselves are ok along with their rich pals. The rest is thrown away in Foreign Aid to achieve nothing there. Then our govt “borrows” more money – and puts our taxes up to pay for it. Absolute madness.

    4. For a school to succeed with white working class boys, there must be discipline. Some penalty available that makes them think “Oh sh*t, better avoid that”. At the moment schools have no sanction that even slightly bothers the lads. No effective sanction, no work. But lots of bullying.

      After school detention? More like after school club.

      Plus it would be good if they didn’t have 70% female teachers, all focused on “it’s so good to help a girl really do something” (but not a boy) and enforcing a very female culture in the school. If the genders were reversed it would be a major scandal, complete with govt. stepping in.

      1. That comes from home though. If there’s no discipline there – because the kid is merely a cash cow – then the school gets the problem.

        This needs tackling at a much lower level: Scrap. Welfare.

        1. Working class lads have always had absent fathers, Army, Navy, work – you name it, and some women are useless at dealing with adolescent boys without male support ( some are very good), never mind the women who are just feckless mothers.

          That is why school is so vital, it can show boys who are getting no help at home a better way, show them the benefits of a degree of discipline and encourage self discipline, show them role models of the man they might be. A boy will pick bits from his many role models and assemble himself from that. Saying “discipline starts in the home”, but often doesn’t, often never did, you can’t fix that. Boys in that position shouldn’t be abandoned as “too difficult”, although they will hate the learning process.

      2. They also need competition – a definite no-no in these days of all shall have prizes. I had good results (for them) from educationally challenged boys in my French classes because I had a (highly despised and frowned on by the management) wall chart with stars. The lads were desperate to get more stars than their mates. I awarded stars for improvement as much as getting good marks. Some of them, no matter how motivated, were barely literate in English so stood no chance of mastering the intricacies of French. In my view, they would have had more use out of getting remedial English lessons.

        1. That is the female world (of teachers anyway), boys need to fight, and win, and lose.

          1. Scrap Common Purpose, get real teachers who understand real life and can impart that knowledge.

      3. 49 strokes of the cane as I left school, made me realise as a Boy Entrant in the Royal Air Force at 15½, what discipline is and WHY it is necessary.

    5. Why girls education? Why bother with the world when our academic standards are so low, with appalling rates of literacy and numeracy?

      The problem is the state. Big government uses education as a whipping post. A complete conversion to free schools, paid for with a voucher would improve standards. Some people argue that some kids wouldn’t get educated. Fine. The voucher is worthless otherwise and if the kid doesn’t get an education… they don’t eat. It’s time we stopped playing with the dross in society.

      As it is, I pay taxes for Junior to get his education. I don’t pay so some foreigner does. If the state wants to tell me what it will spend my money on, then the state needs to be reminded just who is the master – and it’s NOT them.

      1. Only problem, Wibbles, is the need to get Common Purpose right OUT of the education system. They are brainwashing our children.

    2. You can fool some of the people all of the time.
      You can fool all of the people some of the time.
      And if you’re a Yank, you can fool all of them all of the time.

    3. All those complaining don’t understand. It doesn’t matter if Biden didn’t win. The media won’t let him lose. The entire state machine stands against Trump. The Left are just using another weapon – fake news.

  83. Beef and broccoli chow mein tonight (noodles in a one-pot dish).

    Chinese noodles, beansprouts, beef, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, pinch of chilli flakes, 5-spice powder, oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce, fried in peanut oil and sesame oil.

    1. I’m doing something similar from Slimming World.

      Ingredients

      350g Dried egg noodles

      Low-calorie cooking spray

      1 Onion, halved and thinly sliced

      1 Large carrot, peeled and finely diced

      1 Garlic clove, crushed

      1 tsp Ground ginger

      1 tbsp Mild or medium curry powder

      400g Frozen sliced mixed peppers

      4 tbsp Light soy sauce

      300g Skinless hot-smoked salmon fillet, roughly flaked

      A small handful of chopped fresh coriander

      Limes wedges, to serve

      Method

      Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions then drain and set aside.

      Meanwhile, spray a non-stick wok or large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a high heat.

      Stir-fry the onion and carrot for 3 minutes or until
      softened, then add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and peppers and
      stir-fry for 4 minutes or until just beginning to soften.

      Add the drained noodles and about 2 tablespoons of water and
      toss everything together. Add the soy sauce, season and stir-fry for
      another minute.

      Add the salmon and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until piping
      hot. Remove from the heat, scatter over the coriander and divide between
      shallow bowls or plates.

      Serve hot with lime wedges to squeeze over.

      Recipe courtesy of Slimming World

      Top tip for making Slimming World’s spicy hot-smoked salmon noodles

      If you’re not a fan of salmon swap it for another fillet of fish instead like cod or sea bass

      Click to rate

      (810 ratings)

      © Copyright TI Media Limited. 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SJ. All rights reserved.

          5. I have just taken a trip back to the ’70s and made a couple of Chicken Kiev’s! Sauté potatoes and trees (broccoli, according to my girls!). I also made rock buns this afternoon!

          10. Never liked that stuff. Birds’ Instant Whip had a better flavour and texture (for a powdered chemical concoction).

          12. I still order Birds custard powder online and keep a stock in for when I can’t be arsed to make a proper custard with eggs.

          14. Mmmmm ….. funnily enough, I had a yen for that yesterday.
            Fortunately, I have none in stock.

  84. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/01/15/government-must-get-grip-now-full-blown-crisis-fishing-industry/

    Government must ‘get a grip’ of what is now a full-blown crisis in the fishing industry, say fishermen
    Ministers need to urgently address problems facing fishing exports to Europe, the body representing Scottish seafood processors has said

    A BTL comment with which I agree.

    The referendum was 5 years ago and Britain will not have complete control over its fishing waters for another five years. So TEN YEARS will have passed before the fishermen get back their fishing waters for which they voted.

    And what about Northern Ireland – why has ‘the’ deal allowed the EU to have any say there?

    And what about illegal immigrants in dinghies? And what about Gibraltar?

    The more we look at Boris Johnson’s Brexit achievements the more we can see that he has achieved very little indeed. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we didn’t find that there are even worse horrors lurking in the paperwork which will be released every few weeks to keep us thoroughly miserable and disillusioned.

    1. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we didn’t find that there are even worse horrors lurking in the paperwork which will be released every few weeks to keep us me thoroughly miserable and disillusioned.

      1. What is happening, re phyto-sanitary regulations, is what would happen equally under WTO (since they set down such regulations). What would happen to the fishermen was set in stone as soon as the decision was made to leave the single market and customs union – as anyone who understood anything about the food trade knew. That Westminster took forever to get a worse deal than the one they were offered in the beginning, and therefore failed to get the relevant forms onto websites until the day before the new rules took effect, has meant a non-existent breaking-in period… but this was always going to happen.

    2. 328553+ up ticks,
      Afternoon R,
      But it is the successful result of what voting party before Country gets you,
      there should be no surprise there.

      Can this be denied ? I personally think not.

  85. That’s me signing off early on this momentous and truly wonderful day. I want to read the paper and start the crossword!

    I had dozens of cards and e-mails – two long skypes with the children and grandchildren – I feel really spoilt!

    The MR produced – after enormous effort (work which went on until midnight last night) – a 20 minute video compilation of photographs and films from all the family and friends all over Europe. Just stunning – specially the unexpected participants.

    My thanks again for the messages and cards (AND food and drink) from generous NoTTLer friends.

    Tonight, fizz, roast beef, a Loire red from Domaine Thomas (really!!) and a pavlova to finish.

    A demain – my good friends – a demain.

    3. Many Happy Returns!

      Occasionally I am reminded of some long-lost acquaintance who happens to live in Norfolk, so, thrilled by the amazing coincidence, I head to Gurgle Maps and discover that they live about fifty miles from Modest Fulton. Big county.

    4. Many Happy Returns!

      Occasionally I am reminded of some long-lost acquaintance who happens to live in Norfolk, so, thrilled by the amazing coincidence, I head to Gurgle Maps and discover that they live about fifty miles from Modest Fulton. Big county.

    3. Brilliant. They should have been made to take it back to their homes and offload it on THEIR land.

    4. I have leave to walk in a couple of fields very close to home, which belong to a client. When the river is in its proper place (and the fields are not being grazed) it’s a nice spot to walk the dog. I went there quite a bit during the first lockdown.

      One evening, as I drove down the lane to park in the gateway, I passed a middle-aged couple walking their dog. As I opened the gate and the back of my hatchback, the chap came rushing up demanding to know what I was doing. He was all apologies when I explained and he saw the dog, but he had clearly thought that I was about to dump a load of rubbish. It would have been very brazen to have done so with onlookers, but he didn’t seem to have realised that. Fortunately we were able to go on our separate ways amicably, but I was a bit startled by the challenge.

    5. Stand over the gits with a shotgun and follow them out to the main road after notifying the Keystone Kops of their number plate.

    1. I have lost track of what is happening over there. What do we think is going on with the Washington lockdown?

  89. HAPPY HOUR – lucky for some ….
    Hoping to enjoy an afternoon in brilliant sunshine I set off in buoyant mood to explore the coastal path frequented by many tourists and visitors in happier times. During my walk I spotted a used condom among several discarded facemasks and other debris.
    Quite spoilt my afternoon and on returning home I poured myself a large sherry ….so much for dry January!
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/749207a6afd6f0705762301b73e16460344dc26a2c2b2a04d8a2e8a9bc4464a6.jpg

    4. Strictly speaking condoms are against my religion so I was advised to use the rhythm method of birth control. Sounded good to me so I made a special tape to be played as needed. It started with a slow march, followed by a quick march, then to a Light Infantry Quick March, and ending with a drum solo and crescendo.

      I have to say, as a method of contraception it never really worked…

    5. I clicked on ‘View’ very tentatively, hoping to goodness you hadn’t taken a picture of the used condom.

  90. Just about to fulfil an appointment with a rib eye and a black stump so I will leave you with another gem from YouTube, it kicks these things up for me , sometimes I’m impressed other time not. The question I have is why did I not know of this band before? of interest the drummer died recently at the age of 107, talented musicians all

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5c_XZaArH4

  91. Catching up today – those of us living in parts of the Northern Home Counties and East Anglia have today been dealing with power outages. UKPN are sorting things out (one near me was a substation fire, necessitating ‘portable’ diesel generators be brough in on low-loaders) and hopefully power will be fully restored in the next hour or so. Not so good for some who’ve been without power or had partial (low voltage) power since 9.45am.

    I was one of the fortunate ones where my freezer and fridge would (just about) still work on reduced power. Others have not, and UKPN have brought in support lorries to provide people with no power with food, water, etc. They have been quite good and especially on their phone customer care line, who’ve been keeping me up-to-date with developments.

    I am though 2+ hrs behind in my meals (breakfast at 11am!).

  92. For Bill:

    https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-YFgGiUEmSnoLDqR6sg5qn9LVCNVykUppLnrVhjEqBrNXfSRRMSGR9buCvi021X7_pXSQPIt7834jXjyRXCwNNg/messages/@.id==AHNIRR4Qfrm8YAM3YgIqsN9t1-o/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appid=YMailNorrin&downloadWhenThumbnailFails=true&pid=2
    https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-YFgGiUEmSnoLDqR6sg5qn9LVCNVykUppLnrVhjEqBrNXfSRRMSGR9buCvi021X7_pXSQPIt7834jXjyRXCwNNg/messages/@.id==AHNIRR4Qfrm8YAM3YgIqsN9t1-o/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appid=YMailNorrin&downloadWhenThumbnailFails=true&pid=2

    1. Getting {“error”:{“code”:”EC-4008″,”requestId”:”de008240-582d-11eb-c000-339df2169e28″}} on that link, H.

      1. Sorry all. I can’t sort it. It was a source taken from an email sent to me.
        It works when I click on it. I do not know why.

  94. The Central Line on the London Underground is reporting “severe delays due to an earlier customer incident”. That wording is usually code for some poor soul couldn’t take any more. I wonder how lockdown has affected the number of suicides on the Tube. No published figures that I can find.

        1. How long have we evolved on this planet, and still nobody’s designed in an off switch.

          1. We stopped evolving as a species around 1900. Since then deterioration has set in and it is rapidly accelerating.

          2. We stopped evolving as a species around 1900. Since then deterioration has set in and it is rapidly accelerating.

      2. Inconsiderate to the train driver – lots of whom suffer recurring nightmares after the incident. But selfish suicides think only of themselves and not the the effect on those left.

        Call mw whacko if you must but, as a believer in reincarnation (each life is a lesson to learn) committing suicide says I can’t take the lesson, without realising that they shall just have to come back, live it all again and learn the lesson.

        1. The problem with reincarnation is that the vast majority of people can’t remember who or what they were so can’t learn from their previous life. Why do all those who claim to remember their previous existence, recall being Napoleon, Cleopatra or some other famous personage? They never recall being some miserable, filthy wretch who died from the pox, a slave in Egypt or an insignificant tribesman in darkest Africa. Enri d’Aith.

          Edit. my apologies, NTN. I didn’t read your post properly and note that you were a believer in reincarnation. I was not intending to mock you but make what I hoped would simply be a wry observation.

          1. Not so, Enri, the whole point of NOT remembering previous lives is that you MUST start afresh, without knowing what the lesson is that you must learn. Only the fullness of time and your own actions (inactions) might eventually teach you the lesson you must learn.

    4. I knew of someone who jumped in front of a train as it approached a station in France.
      The driver instantly applied the brakes (French trains are fab) and then everyone on the platform lined up to stare at him, most embarrassing.
      Sadly, several years later he obtained a length of rope.

      1. When I worked at the haulage yard a man walked out in front of one of our trucks on a French motorway. You can’t stop a 38 tonne truck in 10 yards – no brake is good enough – and there was another truck on his outside so a swerve wasn’t possible either.

        The French police (who are not usually friendly to foreign truck drivers) plied our man with coffee and sympathy and explained that they had been removing the chap from railways, bridges etc for years – they had found about 20 km further down the motorway that very morning and taken him home.

        Fortunately the driver was a very level headed lad (a somewhat gobby little Scouser, but a good driver) with a very calm wife and he got over it very well. But it’s not something you would wish to happen to anyone.

    3. There is another story in the DM about some reality star that I have never heard of. Apparently ignoring quarantine rules and out shopping.

      There is a whole class of them that deserves no respect.

  96. Evening, all. Absolutely nothing to report here; walked the dog, watched the racing and that’s it (apart from undertaking the usual chores). I’ve put everything (gardening, shopping, tidying away the last of the Christmas decorations) on hold until tomorrow in the hope I can whip up some enthusiasm. It doesn’t help that I’m sleeping so badly because of problems with reflux. After a good day, last night brought on GORD’s revenge 🙁

    1. That’s a pretty good day after some of your recent experiences.

      Is that bottle of merlot still maturing?

        1. sorry, my keyboard has trouble with merlot, I don know why because I type it in my wine order quite frequently.

    2. Do you have some jollop for your reflux?
      Are you taking medication that might be causing stomach problems?

      1. Yes I have been on esomeprazole for a long time. I don’t take any other medicine and the herbal tablets I take for arthritis have never caused a problem before.

      2. I have reflux too. My parents both swore by Gaviscon but I’d rather not take anything. It’s only really problematic when it sits in the throat masquerading as a swelling.

        1. I can’t take anything else on top of the esomeprazole, that’s the problem. I had the lump in the throat and heartburn last night. Worst episode since I started taking the medicine.

        2. #metoo.
          The pills the doc gave me work well, and I only take them when I’ve a problem, then stop once it’s gone. It’s been a while now since I woke up spluttering, with a mouth and throat burning with acid.
          My main problem is micro-reflux, where you get effectively acid fumes in the throat which you then breathe in whilst sleeping, leading to lung damage and a persistent cough.

          1. I had the cough as well – first time I’ve experienced that. Thankfully, today has been better so far.

          2. My Dr sent me for all kinds of xrays and tests – couldn’t find a cause. Company Dr said it was diagnosis by medication, and he was right.

        3. I got an urge to drink a glass of milk to try to settle it down. I also take Omeprazole on prescription which also calms it down after a couple of days.

      3. Jollop!

        I’ve not heard that word since mum died. It was one of her favourite ways of describing medicine.

    3. I suffered from reflux for most of my life. Gaviscon and Rennies were my usual quack remedies. Since I embarked on my current régime of one-meal-a-day and cutting out alcohol (which I know will never be on the agenda for most people) I have not had any further attacks.

      Going to bed each night without a full stomach (and making my digestive system work overtime during the night) has also cured my insomnia.

        1. I think everyone has a different constitution, Conners, and what works for one will not work for another. One man’s meat and all that.

      2. Apples can help Grizz. Try it I have terrible reflux some days. Apples seem to neutralise the acid.
        Cut them up and eat them slowly.
        You know what they say about apples.

        2. Funny thing, Eddy, is that apples (and apple juice) actually make me worse. I’ve not had any reflux whatsoever since starting my diet. What really helps me is that I don’t eat in the evening.

          1. I take omepemresol every morning, ald way through breakfast. But sometimes I get through the day without reflux, sometimes not. I’ve never been able to work out what actually causes it. But if I do get it sliced chewed apple gets rid of it fairly quickly.

    4. I had reflux. I diagnosed myself with late onset lactose intolerance. By avoiding milk and similar any time after noon it seems to have mostly gone. The worst thing for me was chocolate, hot chocolate and especially ice cream in the evening. I don’t eat ice cream now. I do miss it. A luxury from my youth now not.

      1. I can’t remember the last time I ate ice cream. I didn’t have hot chocolate yesterday, either. I can only think it might have been that I indulged in too many non-decaffeinated coffees during the day.

        1. I only have coffee at breakfast. I cut back thirty years ago when I had bad stomach problems. Cutting down on coffee and adopting a “Bristol” diet solved it.

      1. I used to be on omeprazole, but then they put me on esomeprazole because it will be a long-term thing.

  97. Armin Laschet has been elected leader of the CDU in Deutschland, and is in pole position to succeed Merkel. That’s AKK Mk II then.

    There’s thick, very thick and astonishingly thick. Welcome to the bland new CDU.

    1. Armin Laschet – “known for his liberal views and good relations with the immigrant community, earning him the nickname “Turkish Armin”.

      Who would have guessed?

      1. No one I know who votes CDU will be happy with this, the CDU has a death wish. Death wishes in politics are usually granted.

          1. That was what I was thinking. If the AfD sorted themselves out they would be very effective, but they have some total w**kers in their regional leaderships.

        2. Perhaps our own (beloved) Tory party also has a death wish. But it won’t matter, as there will ne NO MORE elections – can’t trust the proles to do it right.

    2. Sorry, late to the party. What is AKK Mk I or MkII?

      I really hate unexplained 3 and 4 LAs.

      1. It was a comment about German politics, if you don’t recognize AKK then a short explanation will not help; you have reading to do. It’s like asking explain Le Pen.

      1. Biden cheated.

        Ok, seriously…the first 35 minutes shows most of the information, though there is an interesting discussion at the end.

        The manual of the voting software is public, and there is a feature to weight each candidates’ votes with different values.
        Unbelievable, but true.

        The analysis splits up voters who just ticked the “All Republican candidates” box from voters who voted individually for each candidate.
        They then plot % of “All Republican” voters vs the difference between Trump votes from the individuals voters and Trump votes from the All-Republican voters.

        The blue dots in the photo above represent individual wards.
        If Trump was neutral, you would expect the blue dots to hover round the red line (x axis), because there would be little difference in % Trump votes from All-Republicans and % Trump votes from individual voters.

        If Trump was less popular, you would expect the blue dots to be under the red line (negative difference).
        If Trump was more popular, you would expect the blue dots to be above the red line because more Democrat voters would choose Trump in combination with Democrat candidates.

        What you would not expect to see, would be the sloping line in the still photo above, where Trump apparently gets less popular as the % of all Republican voters rises!
        As the software developer in the presentation says, “They might hate him, but they wouldn’t hate him in a straight line.”

        Oh, and they also analyse a Democrat county – it shows a completely different pattern – in fact, the pattern that you would expect.

        2. So people are gullible enough to believe that voting machine software used an algorithm to assign different weights to candidate votes.

          And no one noticed at the time?

          3. Like surveys, they wanted to get the “right” result 🙂 I am completely cynical. I’ve seen dirty tricks with my own eyes at election counts.

          5. Are you saying that I am unlike the US Republicans who do all they can to restrict who can vote? Well thank you, I don’t believe in their shenanigans.

            I don think that I have ever posted a pro Trudeau comment anywhere but never mind, you just carry on with your dilusions.

          7. Copied from a comment on youtube:
            The entire “weighted race” option was introduced into GEMS because of a special race in Sacramento, not for election fraud. Read the email between the software developers below:

            “Sacramento is holding a mail-in election with some referendum questions. The hitch is that not all voters are counted equally. Each voter is apportioned a value, or weight, for their vote. To make things even more interesting, the rules for assigning weights vary by race. So voter X might be give weight 5 for race A and weight 12 for race B. Too fun. In Sacramento’s case, the rules are as follows:
            FOR ALL VOTERS Safety Light votes are accorded a fixed weight of 3.35 per parcel.
            FOR RESIDENTIAL VOTERS weights are fixed at 16.32 per parcel for street lights and 26.98 per parcel for decorative lights.
            FOR COMMERCIAL VOTERS weights are varying and based on a figure of .2702 per front foot for street lights and .4467 per front foot for decorative lights.
            The figures are monetary.

            The solution is to print a barcode on each ballot to identify each voter. The high-speed central count client then scans the barcode and looks up the weight for the voter for each race on the ballot, and passes them on to GEMS. GEMS then adds the weight to the counter table. Weighted races are identified in GEMS with a new race type “Weighted”.

            The weights add up pretty quick, and have a lot of significant digits: potentially millions of dollars stored to the penny. GEMS counters, central count server, poster, reporting, manual entry, etc all need modifications to handle large numbers and fractions.

            This is all in the works, and will be part of GEMS 1.18.

            Ken”

            Source: http://tenaya.physics.lsa.umich.edu/~dwchin/Diebold/diebold/lists/rcr.w3archive/200106/msg00017.html

            It’s clear there are valid use cases for weighted elections. But it’s beyond madness to use these commercial, closed source systems in a presidential election. The vote must not only be fair, it must be seen to be fair.

          8. I absolutely agree with that last point. It is not acceptable to have weighting code in the election voting machines, that needs to be a separate code stream and the two must never mix. Just the fact that weighted votes are possible means that some will believe that is what was done.

            Many counties did manual recounts of ballot papers, no machines were used.

          9. No one was allowed to notice. Inspectors were kept well back, they were up against the system, a different culture. The system is riddled with corruption through and through. And there is no longer any integrity in the institutions here in the UK. Tony Blair is quoted as saying “we have got our people in place all over the world, now”. That is the situation. Communist in all but name. It just needs one final tweak in the US and job done, unless a miracle happens.

          10. They did notice.
            I have read three separate analyses of different aspects of the voting data, by different data analysts and software developers, and all three point to anomalies that have no obvious explanation.

            The ability to assign different weights to candidate votes has been a feature of several voting systems since the start of the century.

      1. The one in the wheelchair……he is learning fast, probably filling in a form for disability benefits already
        The travel corridors are closed today, but one remains very much open.
        30 more illegal migrants into Dover again this morning.

        That is Nigel Farage speaking , Lacoste.

    1. Matt Hancock filmed out in London park after Boris Johnson’s national plea to ‘stay home this weekend’ – as crowds flock to beauty spots, supermarket shoppers refuse to wear masks and anti-lockdown protesters are arrested
      Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a video calling on the public to ‘think twice’ before leaving the house
      Moved to cool optimism that Covid outbreak is starting to ease and vaccination drive is making good progress
      The Health Secretary was filmed by a passerby casually walking through Queen’s Park in North London
      Witness told MailOnline: ‘He was there playing rugby with his son I think… he was covered head to toe in mud’

  101. I am watching a delightful film called ‘A walk in the woods ‘ C14 Film 4 … Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.. following the 2000 mile Appalachian trail.

    5. Lovely movie, T_B, We are quite close to the Appalachian Trail and in our younger years (!) have walked a few yards of it!!

    1. Something like that happened to a friend of mine years ago – her black & white cat was found dead so she buried him in the garden. Then he turned up a few days later, very much alive.

  104. This is a comment blt from a website I visit:

    “Based on all the information I have seen, there is growing hope this technocracy will not happen although online disinformation is quite rampant making it very difficult to know what info/who to trust until its proven true. I am posting something allegedly from an AF pilot who leaked it to family, and it got out: This Sunday or Monday, Trump will make a “My fellow americans, the storm is upon us.” announcement on TV. Then, 7 EBS announcements will be pushed through everyones phone and tv sets worldwide, that will outline what happens next and instructs people to stay home as GLOBAL martial law will be implemented for the following 10 days. Over those 10 days, the US military will have control over ALL broadcast media and will broadcast evidence gathered, including confessions from various defendants during military tribunals. Mass arrests will occur, especially in DC I would assume with the troop buildup there. Blackouts are expected in the short term including internet, phone, cable and some power. Make sure you have drinking water and food for a couple weeks because travel will be restricted and stores will probably be closed? This part I am speculating about because its not known yet what the EBS alerts will say.”

    Make of that what you will.

  107. II watched The Towering Inferno on ITV this afternoon.
    I thought all channels had censored themselves not to show it again after the twin towers bombings.

    1. I believe it was due to be broadcast shortly after the attack, but was pulled from the schedules at the time.

    1. Hello! If you’re there now, do let me know. You not wanting to bother people gets to fight with me being catastrophically lonely, and I do tend to make people laugh. Start of number is zero 7 four 7; I’ll post the rest and erase this if I hear from you.

  109. Not long now.. !

    “When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard.” Donald J Trump

  110. It’s now 01:30 so I’m off to my bed. Goodnight, Gentlefolk, I hope to see you at sometime (later) in the morning.

  111. President Trump has evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has infiltrated & bought off certain prominent American politicians and officials.

    It’s all about to be brought to light.

    Winning !

    1. Thanks to Trump withdrawing from those UN type organisations that were not working, China have been able to increase their influence.

      If Biden gets the US involved again, maybe the Chinese influence can be counteracted.

      But there again I suppose that you are going to announce that the entire democrat party and half of the Republicans are owned by China.

        1. Dream on and make sure you have some happy pills for Thursday. The US forces swear allegiance to the constitution, not the president, the forces chiefs have issued a statement confirming Bidens win.

          If you are inferring that there will be mass insurrection as a way of protecting the ego, then it wil be hell.

          Trump should go back to cheating at golf. Remember when he criticized Obama for playing golf during his Christmas break?

  113. Declassifying now serves the purpose of making very fresh in the public’s mind just how compromised a President Biden would be if he was allowed to be installed. Even Democrats will be cringing at the impact of that reality to them.

  114. Declassifying now serves the purpose of making very fresh in the public’s mind just how compromised a President Biden would be if he was allowed to be installed. Even Democrats will be cringing at the impact of that reality to them.

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