Thursday 5 May: A&E departments should not have to step in to do the work of GPs

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here.

381 thoughts on “Thursday 5 May: A&E departments should not have to step in to do the work of GPs”

    2. Doesn’t look a bit like me, as well you know, Annie. (Good morning, btw.) PS – I don’t think much of Keir’s man boobs. Lol.

  2. Morning all.

    Following the latest news here’s the weather report:

    “April’s come and gone but May might arrive with Lorraine!”

  4. Good morning all,
    Sunny morning , the dawn chorus was magnificent .. noisey and very demanding .

    Quietened down now , there must be a cat about.

    1. We have a dawn chorus of HGV quarry traffic every morning so, unless it’s really warm weather, our bedroom windows are kept shut.

  5. 352423+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    The Stockholm voting brigade shortly going active, the mantra is building “must vote tory (ino) party keep out lab (ino) party” “must vote lab (ino) party keep out tory (ino) party”

    The peoples can observe quite clearly these past three plus decades the damage this anti
    English / GB voting pattern has done in the pursuit of getting their party regardless of
    consequences to nation into number ten
    ( mass uncontrolled immigration ongoing & government controlled, a very seriously injured infrastructure fit to collapse, etc,etc,etc.
    I have a very nasty feeling the electoral herd
    are about to ( at the delight of the lab/lib/con politico’s) vote for much more of the same.

  6. Work-shy Britain is sleepwalking into a doom-spiral of decline. 5 May 2022.

    Everywhere we look, Britain appears broken, our society, economy, culture and institutions in severe decline, the product of two generations of political leaders who have refused to tell us difficult truths. Maddeningly, the pathologies that are eating away at our prosperity and quality of life – the generalised public and private incompetence, the buck-passing and free-riding, the collapsing NHS, dysfunctional housing market, stagnant economy, decrepit infrastructure and toxic culture-war idiocies – feel increasingly unresolvable, unfixable even.

    There’s no appearance about it! Boris may be running around posing as the Saviour of Ukraine but the country he supposedly leads is on its last legs!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/05/04/work-shy-britain-sleepwalking-doom-spiral-decline/

    1. Good morning Minty ,

      I woke up early this morning, the birds were singing their hearts out.

      As I lay there … I composed a letter to the DT in my head ..

      Sir

      How far away are we from becoming a 3rd world country , or more to the point, are we there yet?

      Yours blah blah

      Maggie S

      Then reality struck home , the DT will NEVER print anything from me becase they banned me from commenting .

      1. Morning Belle. I suspect that there is an ongoing program to eliminate “Difficult” commenters from MSM threads much as Opinion Polls create their own pool of supporting pollsters. You are probaby just one of many!

        1. I’ve been getting an odd message from some attempts to post there. Sometimes, immediately I start typing, there’s a red message to the effect that they’re sorry about this but their internet connection has problems so comments are disabled. I think it’s part of the programme you describe.

      2. Take an alias, a nom de plume.
        With a slightly elevated title, but not one that would be published in any society guide.

      3. Good morning Veritable Loveliness

        Grizzly is obviously more politically correct than either of us and more in line with the groupthink – he still get his letters published in the DT.

      4. Good morning Veritable Loveliness

        Grizzly is obviously more politically correct than either of us and more in line with the groupthink – he still get his letters published in the DT.

    2. …the product of two generations of political leaders who have refused to tell us difficult truths…

      Not only refused to tell us but refused to try to correct our demise. Looking at what is now happening re our society, one can speculate that the ‘failure’ was intentional. Allying the UK to the EU was a major step in reducing the UK’s ability to even maintain its status in the World, let alone build on it.

  7. ‘Morning, Peeps.

    Today’s leading letter:

    SIR – I am a retired GP working part-time in an A&E department in central London.

    At least 90 per cent of the patients I am seeing have been unable to contact their GP, have not been able to get an appointment or have been sent to us with conditions that, in the past, would have been managed by their GP.

    This means that the taxpayer is paying me as a locum-rate doctor for my assessment as well as the GP who declines to do their job properly.

    Dr Gregory Tanner MRCGP
    Middlezoy, Somerset

    At this rate Dr Tanner will never be out of work – at least for as long as primary care is allowed to do much as it likes.

    1. I thought that one reason A&E depts are in use for issues that should be attended to by GPs is because ‘incomers’ and many others aren’t registered with a GP because they don’t have an NHS number…A&E doesn’t check.

  8. SIR – I work 10 hours a week over two days as a practice nurse. Over the past six months, patients have failed to attend 28 double appointments (20 minutes) and 20 single appointments, despite being sent reminders both one week (if already booked) and the day before their appointment.

    This is a terrible abuse of a free service, and therein lies the problem. We are taken for granted, and some patients who need appointments have trouble getting them.

    Jacky Ellinger
    Southampton

    Of course this is not acceptable, but did your surgery do a quick ring round to see if anyone wanted to bring their appointments forward by a few months??

    1. Look to your back room staff, Jacky. There you will find why people didn’t turn up.

  9. SIR – Why does Professor Stephen Toope, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, want to reduce the number of students coming from private education (report, May 5)?

    He would do better trying to increase the number coming from state education. Seeking the lowest common denominator is not the way to achieve any form of “equality”; denying deserving haves is not a way to improve life for perceived have-nots.

    David Pearson
    Haworth, West Yorkshire

    Hear, hear!

      1. Only since left wing ‘wokeness’ became the norm in academia. There’s always been lots, under the covers, but it’s previously been moderated by a layer of mature older staff.

        1. One of the first vindictive things that Tony Blair did when he came to power was to scrap the Assisted Places Sheme which enabled school pupils in state schools whose parents could not afford private school fees and whose educational needs were not being met to go to private schools.

          In my view those in state schools who show the potential to get top grades should be given funding to attend private schools in the Sixth Form so that they can compete on equal terms with those in private schools. The worst solution is to tell such pupils that they don’t need to get as good grades as those in private schools because those with better grades in private schools are going to be nobbled!

          Levelling Up – or Levelling Down?

        2. One of the first vindictive things that Tony Blair did when he came to power was to scrap the Assisted Places Sheme which enabled school pupils in state schools whose parents could not afford private school fees and whose educational needs were not being met to go to private schools.

          In my view those in state schools who show the potential to get top grades should be given funding to attend private schools in the Sixth Form so that they can compete on equal terms with those in private schools. The worst solution is to tell such pupils that they don’t need to get as good grades as those in private schools because those with better grades in private schools are going to be nobbled!

          Levelling Up – or Levelling Down?

          1. “those in state schools who show the potential to get top grades should be given funding to attend private schools in the Sixth Form “ – but taht would be admitting that the State system isn’t much good, Rastus. That will never happen. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the NHS is still apparently “the envy of the world”, for example.
            The State cannot fail.

          2. Oddly enough, I had a similar conversation with a neighbour this morning. She said that her daughter was being bullied because she was bright and one of her classmates had suggested that she pretended to be thick! What a state to be in! That’s why I’m in favour of grammar schools. At least there bright children (and particularly bright children from working class backgrounds) were expected to step up and achieve.

      2. Only since left wing ‘wokeness’ became the norm in academia. There’s always been lots, under the covers, but it’s previously been moderated by a layer of mature older staff.

    2. Chance for an enterprising university – I know, I know – to let it be known that private school applicants are welcome.

  10. “Safe and effective”?

    Nothing to hide?

    Watch what Naomi Wolf – who is co-ordinating a major investigation, with 2,500 people interpreting the information and 250 lawyers assessing the legal aspects, into the Pfizer documentation – has to report on the third tranche of releases. From 5 minutes 24 seconds in The War Room with Steve Bannon and Naomi Wolf

  11. Good morning all.
    Back to a bright start with a still cool 4½°C outside.

    Someone on Going Postal keeps his eye on American events and it appears that Hillary’s lawyer could be in the shite. Lets hope a lot of it sticks onto her.
    https://youtu.be/sFkbe_KP_MI

  12. SIR – A senior road crime police officer has endorsed cyclists’ use of helmet cameras to report dangerous driving (report, May 2).

    There is just one problem. Motorists can be traced through registration numbers, but cyclists who flout traffic regulations are anonymous. They require no registration and no insurance.

    It is time for a level playing field.

    Stephen Howey
    Woodford Green, Essex

    Fat chance, Mr Howey. The lunatics now run the asylum when it comes to what cyclists can get away with.

    1. Dashcams & the like are not allowed in Norway, as privacy protection laws require you to be notified that you are in a video surveillance area. They are very hot on it, too: if you have a wildlife camera outside where the public might wander (such as on your farm), you have to put up warning notices.

  13. Good morning, everyone. If you are having local elections, don’t forget to vote.

  14. Morning, all Y’al.
    Another sunny day. Water use restrictions now coming in, and there’s wildfire warnings all over the south of Norway. No bonfires, barbies (unless in a dedicated barbie spot) or other outdoor fires are allowed.
    🙁

  15. Falklands veterans call for answers over Exocet missiles that killed crewmates. 5 May 2022.

    Members of Margaret Thatcher’s Falklands War government also called on France to respond to the allegations.

    Lord Tebbit said the French should “explain themselves”, while David Mellor suggested the French were not telling the truth about what happened.

    Cdr Norman, 78, who was first lieutenant on HMS Sheffield and is the most senior living member of the crew, joined other survivors on Wednesday as they marked the 40th anniversary of the Exocet strike.

    Look over there! There’s an Exocet! There is no real call for what is a minor technical matter from forty years ago. They’ve just rung around to create the impression of some demand. This story is just a deliberate distraction from reality.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/04/falklands-veterans-call-answers-exocet-missiles-killed-crewmates/

  16. SIR – After my second power supplier went bust, I was transferred to Shell Energy. My bills doubled as both the standing charge and the unit cost doubled. Shell wanted more than a doubling of my direct debit, so I am paying the bill in full each month.

    This month, Shell ignored the meter readings I supplied and “estimated” 60 per cent and 40 per cent more than my actual use for the bill. I paid the sum I should have been billed, based on the readings supplied.

    Now I am getting threatening emails, telling me that my credit rating may be damaged if I do not pay what has been demanded in full. This is not the behaviour of an honest supplier.

    The diversified energy market is not working. We desperately need a coherent government plan for power supply that works for consumers – domestic and commercial.

    Gillian Courage
    Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

    You are not alone, Ms Courage. I, too, have the misfortune to have been placed with Shell, and this is almost exactly what they tried to do to me – despite arriving on their books with a healthy credit balance. I told them what they could do with their demands for more of my money and that I wasn’t in the business of providing them with interest-free credit when they won’t pay me a bean for my credit. Furthermore, I would not permit any increase in my monthly DD until it was all used up. They did try again, but have since fallen silent after I made it clear that any further unreasonable demands would be passed on to OFGEM and my MP. Since then it’s all gone rather quiet…I trust that “troublemaker” now appears on my record.

  17. Re my comment earlier , I sent my short scribble to the DT letters editor. I received an acknowledgement, including this .

    “You might enjoy our new collection of previously unpublished letters called So That Went Well… It is available from Telegraph Books at £9.99 + £2.50 P&P (courier option available). To order, call 0844 871 1514 or visit https://books.telegraph.co.uk/Product/Kate-Moore/So-That-Went-Well–Unpublished-Letters-to-the-Daily-Telegraph/23835901
    Many thanks again for taking time to write to The Daily Telegraph.”

      1. It’s only taxpayers’ money, so they can afford to be generous.

        Nobody in Government is going to check.

        1. Guincam
          @Guincam3
          ·
          1h
          Replying to
          @GBNEWS
          Home Office staff’s union are challenging this Rwandan deterrent. They apparently don’t like the policy on humanitarian grounds, their hurt feelings that is. What a disgrace, that a Gov’t plan is being destroyed by Gov’t paid staff.

      2. It’s only taxpayers’ money, so they can afford to be generous.

        Nobody in Government is going to check.

      3. Because we have already awarded them “human rights” to our money.

      1. Of course that’s the answer just as invoking Article 16 and getting rid of the NI Protocol has been necessary from the moment it was put in place.

        But why would Boris Johnson – who is and always has been a Remainer at heart – want to loosen the EU’s squeeze on his testicles – he obviously gets a masochistic pleasure from it?

  20. SIR – Like many others (report, May 4), I found that my energy supplier was overcharging by deducting exaggerated estimated payments by my direct debit. My account was several hundred pounds in credit, but the supplier refused to make a refund.

    I immediately cancelled my direct debit and now pay the correct amount online for the actual energy consumed according to my meter readings.

    Peter Froggatt
    Dorking, Surrey

    On the same point, my water supplier came up with a demand for a huge increase shortly after we moved here early last year. It was the same supplier we had been with for 45 years, so they knew our consumption down to the last drop. Despite providing them with meter readings they persisted. After further excessive demands they eventually apologised and said that it was a bug in their software. That old chestnut! I told them I didn’t believe them and forwarded everything to OFWAT. Since then, silence.

  21. SIR – Those calling for a windfall tax on oil and gas producers should remember that the Chancellor then decides who should get help, with yet more form-filling required.

    The way to help consumers instantly is to remove the green taxes – which can amount to 25 per cent of the payment – from our bills.

    The energy companies are awash with green money, so this tax could be removed for (say) six months.

    Penny Cole
    Watlington, Oxfordshire

    Well said, Ms Cole. Even better – scrap the green taxes altogether…

  22. Sweden and the crisis of integration. Spiked 5 may 2022.

    Last week the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, gave us a clue. Bravely – given the culture of cancellation that tends to surround issues to do with immigration – Ms Andersson said integration is failing in Sweden. Sweden has not successfully incorporated into its social and moral fabric some of the vast number of immigrants it brought in during the great migrant crisis of 2015, she said, and as a result we now have ‘parallel societies’. In the aftermath of last month’s riots, when largely Muslim mobs expressed their violent fury about the denigration of a Koran, Andersson honestly addressed the Swedish people. ‘Integration has been too poor at the same time as we have had large [amounts of] immigration’, she said. ‘Society has been too weak, resources for the police and social services have been too weak.’ This failure of integration has led, inevitably, to ‘segregation’, she said, so that we now have ‘parallel societies in Sweden – we live in the same country but in completely different realities’. Both Islamism and right-wing extremism have been able to fester in our ‘weak’ society, said Andersson.

    Small numbers of immigrants can always be accommodated and may actually be beneficial (the Huguenots) but once numbers reach a critical level separation becomes not just an aberration but a self-sustaining reality. We can see this historically. Jewish Ghettoes; the parallel lives of the Norman conquerors and the Anglo-Saxon natives for example and if the numbers are sufficient they will literally swamp the indigenous population and effectually erase them from political and economic life. We are in the latter position. The numbers who wish to come to the UK are beyond measure and even without Religious and Social differences will eventually collapse a system that is already under tremendous strain. We can actually see the beginnings of this with national and governmental institutions that no longer work and the inability of the Political Elites to enable even their own policies to be implemented. The system is already in the process of dissolution and only the actual date of its final disintegration is undetermined.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/05/05/sweden-and-the-crisis-of-integration/

    1. The numbers who come to Britain , bringing their stone age culture with them , have really had an effect on law and order , because even though we are hosting them , we are accused of racism etc ,yet NO ONE dares speak out about them…

      The police are scared of them, and every large town and city either has a muslim mayor or many muslim council members . We cannot protest , nor can we protect our strong academic history , communities and farming .

      No wonder the Church of England is so weak, many of us view the mumbo jumbo of Allah promoters as a great interference , and lots of us are put off by the uttered religious tosh spoken by the ABC and Prince Charles .. that we keep our God close to our own hearts privately

      1. We’re digging our own grave, Belle, and the PTB are just telling us how deep to dig.

        1. Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
          Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
          The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
          The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
          The best lack all conviction, while the worst
          Are full of passionate intensity.

          The best lack all conviction – but we do not have the best in power any more – instead we have self-aggrandising and incompetent, cowardly people who have no belief in our traditional British values and no pride in our country and our history.

          The worst – which includes virtually everyone in the government – are either full of manic posturing or are completely comatose and not capable of doing anything.

          Britain has been paralysed – the country is in limbo waiting supinely for an alien culture to overwhelm us.

          1. Part of that verse is used as a front-piece in “The Devil’s Juggler” by Murray Smith – well worth a read!

          4. ‘Britain has been paralysed – the country is in limbo waiting supinely for and welcoming in an alien culture to overwhelm us.‘

    2. ‘Both Islamism and right-wing extremism have has been able to fester in our ‘weak’ society, said Andersson.”

  23. Sweden and the crisis of integration. Spiked 5 may 2022.

    Last week the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, gave us a clue. Bravely – given the culture of cancellation that tends to surround issues to do with immigration – Ms Andersson said integration is failing in Sweden. Sweden has not successfully incorporated into its social and moral fabric some of the vast number of immigrants it brought in during the great migrant crisis of 2015, she said, and as a result we now have ‘parallel societies’. In the aftermath of last month’s riots, when largely Muslim mobs expressed their violent fury about the denigration of a Koran, Andersson honestly addressed the Swedish people. ‘Integration has been too poor at the same time as we have had large [amounts of] immigration’, she said. ‘Society has been too weak, resources for the police and social services have been too weak.’ This failure of integration has led, inevitably, to ‘segregation’, she said, so that we now have ‘parallel societies in Sweden – we live in the same country but in completely different realities’. Both Islamism and right-wing extremism have been able to fester in our ‘weak’ society, said Andersson.

    Small numbers of immigrants can always be accommodated and may actually be beneficial (the Huguenots) but once numbers reach a critical level separation becomes not just an aberration but a self-sustaining reality. We can see this historically. Jewish Ghettoes; the parallel lives of the Norman conquerors and the Anglo-Saxon natives for example and if the numbers are sufficient they will literally swamp the indigenous population and effectually erase them from political and economic life. We are in the latter position. The numbers who wish to come to the UK are beyond measure and even without Religious and Social differences will eventually collapse a system that is already under tremendous strain. We can actually see the beginnings of this with national and governmental institutions that no longer work and the inability of the Political Elites to enable even their own policies to be implemented. The system is already in the process of dissolution and only the actual date of its final disintegration is undetermined.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/05/05/sweden-and-the-crisis-of-integration/

        1. sunshine then cloudy then sunshine here In South Hants. There were several loud percussive bangs here last night. It made the Portsmouth News. Dolly was distressed so i rolled her in a quilt and put her on the bed next to me.

  25. Not a lot being made of this:-

    Labour council candidate suspended after ‘Holocaust Hoax’ article she shared is exposed
    Belgica Guaña is no longer endorsed by the party following JC report

    A Newham Labour councillor who shared an article that denied the Holocaust and claimed Adolf Hitler was “completely justified” in persecuting the Jews has been suspended from the party after the JC revealed her shocking post.

    Belgica Guaña, who is standing for reelection, shared “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Peversity on Facebook in Febuary 2016, which was uncovered by Labour Against Antisemitism researchers.

    Several hours after the JC broke the news, the Labour Party said Ms Guaña was no longer a candidate endorsed by the Labour Party.

    It is understood that the councillor, who was first elected in 2018, has been administratively suspended pending investigation.

    While suspended members are not allowed to run for Labour, as Ms Guaña submitted her election forms before her suspension she cannot be removed from the ballot.

    The article shared by Ms Guaña says: “The so-called “Holocaust” is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them—a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day.

    “The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter.”

    It continues: “the Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

    It describes Anne Frank as a “bisexual degenerate” and says her diary is an, “obvious fraud… laced with pornographic and sexually subversive passages”.

    The article concludes: “In fact, as hard of a pill as it is to swallow, the Jews are using their made up story of genocide as the primary tool to pull off a very real, much worse genocide, with the entire White race as their victims!”

    It ends with a picture of Adolf Hitler with the words “you should have listened” superimposed on top.

    A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

    Ms Guaña has been contacted for comment.

    https://www.thejc.com/news/news/labour-council-candidate-suspended-after-holocaust-hoax-article-she-shared-is-exposed-5ATeBOzigGEEsv9jGzB1JT

    2. “The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans
      with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration,
      subversion, and economic and psychological warfare”

      Exactly what the muslims are succeeding in doing.

      1. I was about to post on the same lines, but [for once] did read down!

      1. True, she is entitled to state her beliefs.
        HOWEVER, that comes with the responsibility to accept the consequences and, should she feel hard done by, she has always got the courts to obtain redress of grievance.

    4. Given the demographics, Ms Guano is a shoo-in.
      Sit back and watch the fun.

  27. When home-working is a cover for shirking.

    SIR – Many years ago I entered the Inland Revenue via its open executive competition.

    As an executive tax officer, I was placed in charge of a team of 60 people. Everywhere I found slackers and time-servers who took many days of “sick” leave, which so demoralised me that I left after 18 months.

    I’m not at all surprised that, from the top downwards, civil servants are reluctant to return to the office, although I imagine working from home is less productive. Ring most government departments and you get a very substandard service.

    Do civil servants lose their London weighting when working from home? I bet they don’t.

    David Wallin
    Edwalton, Nottinghamshire

    SIR – I am getting very fed up with the continual assertions and insinuations that civil servants working from home are not pulling their weight or doing their jobs properly.

    I was a civil servant for more than 37 years and my wife still works in my old department, mostly from home. She works extremely hard and invariably exceeds her contracted hours, regularly starting at 8.30am and stopping after 6pm. Her “lunch break” is generally 10 minutes to get something to eat in front of her laptop.

    Others in the department tell me that they have observed an increase in productivity since people began working from home because, with no time wasted travelling, they work longer hours. If a minority are shirkers, they will be so wherever they work.

    In my career, I travelled thousands of miles on departmental business, but the current way of working largely eliminates this, with considerable savings for taxpayers.

    Another important benefit of home working is a reduction in traffic, which has to be good for both the environment and other commuters.

    Roger Pugh
    Hull, East Yorkshire

    People sitting on their arse before a computer, whether at home or in a cosy centrally-heated office, are not working! They are merely sitting on their arse.

    Science has defined the meaning of work:

    “WORK is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement. In its simplest form, it is often represented as the product of force and displacement. A force is said to do positive work if (when applied) it has a component in the direction of the displacement of the point of application. A force does negative work if it has a component opposite to the direction of the displacement at the point of application of the force.

    Work transfers energy from one place to another, or one form to another. The SI of work is the joule (J), the same unit as for energy.”

    There is no directional powering of any force when sitting on your arse, especially at home. Such people are not working; they are merely whiling away time.

          1. My point is that tip-tapping on a computer screen, whilst sitting on your arse, does not qualify as WORK as per the definition of the word. It is a pastime, even though you may get paid well for passing that time.

          2. Brain work and concentration (being in the zone) uses a lot of calories. It is definitely work.

  28. Rarely are DM comments witty, but this is one to treasure: other characterless politicians are availablele.
    “Put Starmer in front of a magnolia painted wall and suddenly the wall looks vibrant and exciting.”

    1. Which reminds me, I ring barked a conifer I want to kill in my garden. I used to climb it with a ladder to keep the top under control, but I’ve lost interest in doing that any more. That was 2 years ago and only in the last couple of months, during the dry spring, have I noticed any sign of distress in the foliage.

        1. I have my original copy (5th impression 1941). The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated beautifully by Robert Lawson.

        2. I have my original copy (5th impression 1941). The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated beautifully by Robert Lawson.

  31. Picked up on this last evening. With the government’s population estimate of around 70,000,000 why would 650,000,000 doses of “vaccine” be required? Simple maths makes that between 2 initial doses and 7 – 8 boosters per head? Overkill? (pun intended)
    One comment (cynically?) makes the point that £4 billion wasted is insignificant in the overall covid scheme estimated to have wasted >£450 billion. To the bunch of wastrels in government it’s clear that they haven’t paid heed to Tesco’s advertising campaign.

    The U.K. has used just 142 million of the stockpile of 650 million vaccine doses it purchased, leaving an estimated £4 billion worth of vaccines unused and, at current levels of take-up, likely going to waste.

    Daily Sceptic UK “Vaccine” Demand Collapses – 80% of doses unused

    1. I wonder what will happen now that Pfizer have been forced into their data dumps by the US Supreme Court? The data that they wanted to keep under lock and key, hidden from the eyes of the world, for 75 years. It is truly shocking…. No mention in the media. The last deposit showed an efficacy of 12% (and not 95% as claimed) for just seven days whereafter it is reduced to 1%…. This turns out to be just 0.84% better than one’s own immune system. It is not safe for pregnant women nor for breastfeeding ladies. I will see if I can find the reference to this last data deposit, I have so much stuff now.

      Edit: Here it is: https://www.icandecide.org/pfizer/
      Edit: https://twitter.com/Dragons68317191/status/1522089685899743232?s=20&t=YMPcUW-Wexwq1PdkzVpTqw

      1. And still – otherwise intelligent and sensible people are still getting their boosters and then they are surprised that they catch covid……….

      2. Mark Steyn has been covering these issues on GB News. He had Naomi Wolf on a couple of nights ago, though on this occasion they were discussing the horrors of US abortion law. Having once been an advocate, she is now appalled by what increasingly can only be called infanticide.

      3. “Naomi Wolf has gone from being a feminist icon to an anti-vaxxer banned by Twitter.”

        I wonder why?

        “When a young person asks what business he or she should go into one should say:

        Ventilation maintenance – there are going to be a hell of a lot of repairs to do when the shit finally hits the fan.”

      4. The other link I put up, to Naomi Wolf on the War Room, has NW informing the audience that the latest tranche of documents contains files that cannot be opened. As Rick would comment, “Awkward”.

  32. This is your co-pilot speaking… I’m only a trainee! Virgin jet to New York is forced to turn back to Heathrow after captain is told first officer had not completed his training
    Virgin Atlantic A330 from Heathrow to New York was forced to return to London while en route to the US
    The plane was over Ireland when the captain was told that the first officer had not completed his training
    Jet which can carry nearly 300 passengers had to wait on runway while qualified replacement was found
    Airline said issue was due to rota mistake and apologised, but insisted safety had not been compromised
    ** Were you on Virgin Atlantic flight VS3 from LHR to JFK on Monday? Please email: tips@dailymail.com **

    1. Radio message from Air Traffic Control Tower, Dublin Airport, to incoming Aer Lingus flight.

      Tower: “Dis is Air Traffic Control, Dublin, to Aer Lingus floight 333. Can you please give me your hoight and position?”

      Pilot: “To be sure. Oi’m foive foot six and oi’m sitting in the front seat!”

    2. Reminds me of the trip back from Madeira one year which was delayed for 12 hours because Thomson had apparently forgotten to send a plane out. I’ve sometimes wondered whether they had found all the duty pilots weren’t qualified to handle the rather tricky airport at Funchal, which needs a special course…

  33. From today’s DT:

    Rail conductor sues after he was sacked for questioning ‘black privilege’

    Former West Midlands Trains employee who left his microphone after Zoom diversity training was overheard criticising the session

    By Ewan Somerville
    4 May 2022 • 10:01pm

    A rail conductor is suing his former x offence, brought the company into disrepute and breached our equality, diversity and inclusion policy and the code of conduct”.

    Now he is taking the company to an employment tribunal, to be held in Watford on Thursday and Friday, suing for unfair dismissal.

    His case is backed by the Free Speech Union which has drafted in leading civil liberties barrister Paul Diamond to represent him, a barrister who has fought landmark cases in the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

    Mr Isherwood told The Telegraph: “I am completely shocked, I was at home in my own time talking to my wife, it was a private conversation. I had no idea anyone was listening to me.

    “I’ve lost my job, my income, my reputation, my health is absolutely shot to pieces. I’d worked there for 11 and a half years and never had anything but promotion, praise and awards and even now I can’t believe it.

    “All I was trying to do was understand the subject better – we had been asked to think of questions so I did exactly what I was asked to do. I said Ghana because it’s something I always used to talk about with one of my colleagues, who is from Ghana and supported me.”

    Mr Isherwood internally appealed in April last year against his dismissal but this was rejected and no further right of appeal was allowed.

    ‘Unfair, unreasonable and unlawful’

    The webinar, which he voluntarily attended, covered topics including what white privilege is, how to “change the privilege and power structures”, and “how to be an ally”.

    Mr Isherwood had no record of any previous misconduct, showed sincere remorse during the disciplinary process and nothing suggested he was racist, WMT hearings found.

    He is now seeking compensation through the courts alleging his dismissal was “unfair, unreasonable and unlawful”, including that his comments did not constitute gross misconduct and that the true reason for his dismissal was “WMT’s fear of facing allegations from colleagues about my conduct”.

    The Telegraph understands that West Midlands Trains denies the allegations, believing that Mr Isherwood’s remarks were offensively-expressed, pejorative dismissiveness of its efforts to address the subject of white privilege and that it was reasonable to treat Mr Isherwood’s conduct as serious misconduct.

    The company declined to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.

    * * *

    No comments allowed, shame on you DT.  Almost as bad as West Midlands Trains! Another opponent of free speech??

    1. This is probably why:-

      The company declined to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.

      1. A lame excuse for the abject failure that characterises Sub-Saharan Africa when left to its own devices. Mind, their primitive cunning may yet defeat the white privilege of the Gates Foundation.

      4. The privilege of paying for everything and inventing stuff that’s not a blanket, a cup or a stick.

    4. Nineteen Eighty Four: 38 years too late.
      Anyone got an Alexa in their house?

  34. Seems the quick up vote girlies are back! Tracy, Susan and Rebecca so far!

    1. 352423+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      We have three major causes appertaining to the odious plight of our Nation
      as in, the lab/lib/on coalition.
      Every day that passes the foreign voting element gets larger, & they are going to support / vote for their own kind.
      The indigenous supporter / voter as in the electorate in their self annihilation mode are rushing for the door marked Country’s
      looking for foreign rulers.

    1. (a) I am surprised that yer Krauts (with their Elfin Safety culchur) didn’t have some indicator on the plate glass –
      (b) I did that once in the flat we rented in Cap d’Ail – it is NOT amusing – and almost ruined my spectacles.

        1. I bent the ear-pieces and the frame. I took it to an optician in Monaco who said that she would have a go at repairing – but did I understand that they might break. I did. She did the biz – and the specs went on for ten more years!. And she made no charge.

      1. ‘Morning T_B

        From Going Postal,Weasel Zippers,American Thinker and a few others

        Have some more

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8009cacce6dad92c4f8b0dec8f22df2964584e2ddcb804d3fbb12f5cb570ae0b.png

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/abc04b716cf568d85c012459d16ad0580755b61f588bd8510a2a8488a1dfe861.jpg

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/313e9c5249e4457a9fcd5ec69dea76d3fbc2f9c2b005251908182322786541e7.jpg

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1baa35474e51c492a431aa3cd0028745807a4e8de28e75ce9fae864877529070.jpg

        1. I like the doghouse one!
          The florist in the small town in CT where I lived had a huge poster of a gorgeous bouquet in the window….the caption was, “We have the key to the doghouse.”

        2. Made me laugh – thanks. Have you heard “Guide Cats for the Blind”? It’s hilarious.

    2. Sorry Rik! We wouldn’t burn up at all! The earths orbit is elliptical anyway, so we’d really not notice the difference!

    1. Boros needs to be seriously and meaningfully confronted re this fact :- We are now as a nation paying more than 25 billion plus pounds each and every year on both foreign aid and supporting people who were allowed to turn up uninvited on our shores. No wonder the British public except of course those who claim all the increases back on expenses, are being ripped off, once again. For no gain of their own.

  40. Thwaite Hall in Cottingham will be used to house asylum seekers under a new Home Office contract. Inset, a group of asylum seekers who arrived in Kent on Friday after crossing the English Channel (Image: Hull Live / Getty)
    A former student halls of residence in Cottingham is set to be used as a major accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

    Hull Live understands Grade II listed Thwaite Hall will be used to house 200 single men under a 12-month Home Office contract. The historic hall with large open grounds was previously run by the University of Hull before being sold in 2018 as a potential development opportunity. https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/thwaite-hall-cottingham-house-200-6954753?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

    2. Not so bad if they put secure fencing round the place and control entry & exit.

    3. You are a naughty girl. Those three LibDem councillors could have you arrested for mizoginny.. musogynny… missuglynee… woman hatred.

    1. Yo All

      Just think of this ditty

      This Little “Guy Gibson’s Dog’ went to market.

      By the time you get to Roast Beef, the Thought Perlice will have you in Jail

    2. Yo All

      Just think of this ditty

      This Little “Guy Gibson’s Dog’ went to market.

      By the time you get to Roast Beef, the Thought Perlice will have you in Jail

  44. Morning all.
    A&E departments should not have to step in to do the work of GPs.
    To make up the short fall and fill in the gaps, this morning on the news it was suggested that GPs should be coaxed to come out of retirement.

    I would stick my neck out and suggest that many GPs are now running privately registered practices and are now seeing patients in private hospitals. They are still paid by the amount of patients they have on their NHS books at their surgeries. Not as the now should be paid by the amount of consultations they have at their NHS practices. How can it take any one more than a week to reply to a simple email request ??

    1. In our neighbouring (small) town the GP practice still closes at lunchtime, and everyone goes home.

      Perhaps they are running private practice in the afternoons?

    2. My husband had an appointment at 8.30 today for a pre-assessment before his surgery on Thursday. He had a bad night and didn’t feel up to going. He called the hospital and was told by the main switchboard that no-one would be able to answer his call until 9.00. At 8.45 his phone rang and it was the nurse who was to do the pre-assessment. All it entailed was filling in forms and she said they could do it over the phone. Which they did.
      Right now we are using cabs to and from as it’s easier for us right now.
      So that would have been cab fare there and home,plus the time there simply to fill in forms which was easily done over the phone.
      Yesterday afternoon, his phone rang 4 times in the space of 2 hours from 4 different departments issuing different times for different appointments. All blithely assuming that we have a car, we don’t, and that we are quite happy to go to the hospital 4 times a week.
      Now, it is good to see the NHS trying to get on with it but it seems to be what suits them and not us. None of these departments is communicating with the others and, to be honest, it’s a bit overwhelming. I am not a control freak by any stretch but it seems like all of this is out of our control right now.
      He has to go for a 4th covid swab on Monday- he’s tested negative the last 3 times.
      We are relieved that he’s getting treatment but it’s entirely likely that this treatment would not have been needed if we’d been able to access our GP last year.

        1. I know they are trying to catch up but why on earth do they schedule appointments before you can contact them to say you can’t go? And also, if things like just answering questions for forms can be done via the phone then just bloody do it.
          Also, trying to get to grips with my new phone is like wading through….molasses. I liked my old phone and the timing of its demise was awful Triple Grrrrrr.

          1. I’ve had my ‘new’ phone for two years now and I still don’t like it! I use it for Nottl & emails and not much else. The camera is quite good but I find it hard to control. Much prefer a proper camera.

          2. I’ve been told that Timpsons repairs and replaces batteries in mobiles. There’s one not far away- I shall take it there and see. Quite when this will happen I don’t know. Next week is fully booked 🙁

          3. I bought a new battery for my phone on Amazon and fitted it myself in 2 minutes

          5. I find now that I am old(er) I no longer want the novelty of the new; I crave the comfort and security of the long-established familiar.

  45. Back from market. Gorgeous day. We sat in the garden and the MR watched me enjoying a crumpet.

    The MR – by the way – is 99% back to normal…phew… Thank you for your comfortable (sic) words.

  46. 352423+ up ticks,

    breitbart,
    Nigel Farage Predicts Rwanda Migrant Scheme Will Sink Boris Johnson if the Boats Keep Coming,

    But “nige did you not mass knife decent peoples when starting a tory (ino) top up party in pursuit of glorifying the fat yank / turkish chap ?

    1. Nigel Farage made a fatal error in removing his Brexit Party candidates from contesting seats held by Remainer Conservative MPs at the 2019 general election. Boris Johnson refused to say what was in his – or rather Mrs May’s – withdrawal agreement and Nigel Farage was naïve enough to let him get away with it.

      The dire consequences of this are that the HoC is still stuffed with remainers and we have not got a proper Brexit and shall not do so unless things in the Conservative Party change very radically.

      1. 352423+ up ticks,

        Afternoon R,
        The farage chap ran a successful campaign in running covert ( as plain as day) defence for the tubby turk & the counterfeit tory party whilst shutting down any credible opposition building.
        As for being naive I do NOT think so, the naive party’s were the ones who
        paid in £25 sobs for a up hill hiking
        exercise.
        As I said before I have him down as a tory (ino) party coxswain while in the
        UKIP party, steering a tory (ino) course.
        I have a vid showing him in full treacherous flight, would you like to see it ?

  49. Today is a good clothes drying day, bed linen on line , and more to come out of the machine .

    I walked the dogs on our local heath, watched out for snakes , saw magpies , yellow hammers , stone chat and trampled pooey cattle droppings , no flies or insects though , sterile pooh. ( still no martins or swallows)

    Came back home in a slight detour called in at a village shop in Lulworth which is only open during the season , and bought a freshly baked crusty brown cob loaf ,and a slab of Coastal cheddar cheese and came on home … road home was quiet , the fields looked green and lush thanks to the rain we had the other day .. bluebells are still with us , and the verges are full of buttercups, pink campion, ragged robin, flowering ground elder , and those little tiny blue flowers that look like little eyes , and periwinkle , hedgerows, may and blackthorn and the crab apple trees are looking pretty .

    I love early May , what a shame I cannot smell anything.

    Moh had mown the front lawn whilst I was away, he was hungry so I prepared a ploughmans lunch , fresh bread ( I cannot make round crusty cobs in the bread machine ) the cheese, tasty tomato and pickle … didn’t have any pickled onions ..

    The sun feels strong , slight breeze , and some huge clouds ..

    Hey ho .. the news is so unreal.. and life is cruel for many.

    3. “I cannot make round crusty cobs in the bread machine.”

      Bake them in the oven.

      1. Saving electricity , and my precious time ..

        Honestly Grizzly, I am not a slave to the kitchen anymore nor the kitchen sink 😉

      1. Yes Johnathan , thank you , how could I forget Speedwell, lovely wildflower .

        I used to remember every wild flower and bird call, tree and buttlerfly etc , but I seem to have developed mindfog in the past year , which is such a shame and very frustrating .

    5. Plenty of insects in my garden, Maggie, so all is not lost country-wide 🙂

    1. Bogey five.
      Wordle 320 5/6

      ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Par Four for me …
        Wordle 320 4/6

        ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
        🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

        1. Shame Khan wasn’t in the area. He could have ‘all part and parcel of living in a big city’ on his headstone.

    4. They were kind to pets, loved their mums (did not know their Dads….) etc

    1. In 1997, people voted against the useless John Major. Similar sentiments today?

    2. In 1997, people voted against the useless John Major. Similar sentiments today?

  54. Piers Morgan risks coming unstuck as viewers turn off TalkTV. 5 May 2022.

    After bursting onto British TV screens at the end of April with its plush sets, unique brand of US-style opinionated news and a heated interview with Trump, viewers tuning in to Murdoch’s BBC challenger have dwindled.

    The average viewership of Piers Morgan Uncensored, from 8pm to 9pm, has dropped 80pc – from 316,000 on launch night to 61,700 a week later – according to TV ratings compiler Barb.

    I’m surprised it has that many! It’s dreadful. It consists of talking heads of whom one is Jeremy Kyle. You would be better off buying a radio and sticking a photograph on the front!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/05/05/piers-morgan-risks-coming-unstuck-viewers-turn-talktv/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget

    2. I have been enjoying listening to Mark Steyn on GB News of late. I have to say that I much prefer him and Neil Oliver to that gas bag Piers Morgan.

    3. Talk radio is much better without the pictures! Can’t stand listening to Kyle – he’s quite hysterical at times, and I haven’t listened to Morgan or the dreadful Osbourne woman! I think Murdoch may have blundered! Big ‘names’ but awful people!

    4. Anyone know how much the very extensive Morgan advertising campaign cost them?

  55. The inescapable truth is that Boris Johnson does not want – and never has wanted – to effect a proper Brexit.

    Brussels ‘refusing to access data’ which could solve Northern Ireland Protocol stalemate
    Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says an IT cross-border trade system has been live since January but EU officials say it is inadequate
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/05/05/brussels-refusing-access-data-could-solve-northern-ireland-protocol/
    BTL

    What short memories everyone has.

    Lord Frost was standing firm in the negotiations and it looked as if Britain was about to go for WTO terms, freedom for our fisherfolk and the United Kingdom in its entirety fully out of the EU.

    And then both Johnson and Gove arrived in Brussels – have we all forgotten that and have we forgotten that Lord Frost was undermined and we were, at Gove’s and Johnson’s insistence, lumbered with a horrifically bad Brexit which is still very far from complete?

    There must be some reason why Johnson and Gove wanted the Northern Ireland Protocol – and there must be some reason why they refuse to invoke Article 16 and scrap it now. We need to know what this reason is.

    The only reason I can find is that Johnson and Gove were determined to keep Britain tied to the EU.

      1. I didn’t figure it out until the end frame where the animal is still.

  57. Just had an hour or more long blackout here in West Sussex. Anyone else had the same in this general area?

  58. I see the tarts are back. If only they had the same physique as that delightful Russian lady, yesterday.

  59. Biden’s working his magic: USA just posted a $109 Billion trade deficit for ONE month! Conspiracy theories about a financial crash being on the cards are firming up. How far behind are we in this race to the bottom?

  60. Sod it- sod it – sod it!!! Sorry folks but I am incensed.
    MH just had the paperwork for his upcoming procedures. For the big one, he will have to stay 2 nights not one. The letter specifically states that no visitors will be allowed. All the covid restrictions are lifted, are they? Like bloody hell they are. Has anyone told the sodding NHS this?
    Last time around I could be with him and take his laptop home and back next day- no way and he doesn’t want it with him because of the theft risk.
    The NHS doesn’t want to acknowledge that the stupid asinine govt has lifted restrictions… they’ve got power over us now and are not going to relinquish it.
    Who runs the NHS? It is not there for the people anymore.
    Am not going to apologise for language because I am in the mood to throw crockery around.

    1. I don’t know which Trust you are under but they sound like sadists.

      I was recently in a locked ward and i heard a Nurse asking the receptionist if someone’s wife could visit her husband. The receptionist said no. I thought…you bitch. She also had those thick painted on eyebrows. Looked like a clown.

      I got in and out of the ward by tailgating others coming through the pass activated locked doors. Once in they don’t know who you are. The Doctors and Nurses understand the risk is negligible. It’s the functionaries that are being shits. Carry a clipboard and Blag it.

      1. I think they are all addicted to power and control and love telling you what you can and cannot do. I am furious and that is putting it mildly.

        1. I don’t need to tell you but be assertive. Any show of aggression or weakness empowers them. I have also found subterfuge weakens them. Walk in as if you own the place.

          1. I may well do that! Anyway, tomorrow, after I get my dressing removed and replaced, we are going to have some fun. Maybe brunch and/or the pub and a visit to see our mate Ashish in the little shop.

    1. Par Four for me today, sweetie … x
      Wordle 320 4/6

      ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
      🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
      Some would call that an ‘Americanism’?

    2. 4 for me, but I was unhappy with the word.

      Wordle 320 4/6

      ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
      🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      2. “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.”

        [GBS]

  62. I need an x-ray on my hand so a referral from my GP… was told over the phone I couldn’t make an appointment over the phone. Would have to go in.
    Went in the next day. Was told there were no appointments, would have to go to the hospital.
    The girl behind the counter was visibly embarrassed so there was no point in exploding at her so I left.
    I just don’t have time to deal with this rubbish.
    But these people are drawing wages. I would like to know to whom I should complain but when I get going I am sometimes immoderate and I also have my job to think about.
    Hard to know what to that does not involve blowing my stack or spending hours getting fobbed off until I stumble across someone who cares.

      1. But that would be:
        PAYE

        They- and their Union – prefer:
        Pay As You Scam …

      2. You mean like the Ontario system?

        A side effect if payment per visit is that we get an upsell during the visit – anything else bothering you , vaccinations needed and so on.

      3. In traditional Chinese medicine you do not pay your doctor when you get sick or have something physically wrong with you. A good system I think.

    4. Contact your MP – they have nothing much to do but it might really help! [and thanks for the uptick, Michelle]

  63. We started to watch a prog about the Baroque last evening. Some stupid “re-enactments” – which one could tolerate. Excellent Italian talking heads – BUT – they spoke in Italian (fair enough) and their words were displayed in translation in tiny print IN WHITE or a WHITE background.

    What DO these idiots think they are doing?

    1. The other one that gets me is subtitles in Weegie on top of subtitles in English, for a programme in a 3rd language. It’s as legible as Chinese or Arabic.

      1. Yer French tend to do verbal translations on TV – OVER the original language spoken by the person. So each cancels the other out!

    2. I had the same problem with ‘The Man Who Saw Too Much’ programme earlier this year. My complaint resulted in this not-terribly-helpful response:

      ‘Thank you for contacting us regarding ‘The Man Who Saw Too Much,’ broadcast 26 January on BBC Four.

      We’re naturally very sorry when we hear that members of our audience have been left disappointed with aspects of our coverage.

      Most subtitles are typed in white text on a black background to ensure optimum legibility, however this may change whenever there is a conversation between people to help viewers identify each speaker. It is worth noting, subtitles that are embedded within a programme are designed by the production teams therefore decisions regarding font colour are based on editorial merit.

      Throughout the programme, the commentators’ subtitles are presented with coloured text imposed in front of a black background however we recognise this approach is not applied when Boris Pahor and other contributors are talking. During these scenes we believe the text is clear and accessible for audience members to follow, although we appreciate you feel differently on this occasion.

      That said, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention and do value your feedback. All complaints are sent to senior management, and we’ve included your points in our overnight report.’

    1. Because the state wants to replace the population with a bunch of immigrants.

  65. That’s me for today. Very nice day in garden – cleaning out water butts; extending the hose – sowing more beetroot. It is said that it will rain tonight, but I rather doubt it. None seems to be likely for several days, dagnabbit.

    The best news is the MR is back to her old self. Happy, smiling – despite living with me!

    A demain.

    1. I’d bet that a story about a pensioner dying alone from cold due to climate change lies wouldn’t get much of an innings.

      After all, that’d probably be the fact not fiction.

      1. I could write mine in a lot less than 400 words.

        Born, lived a bit, died.

        ….so long and thanks for all the shite!

        3. I’ve done it and the first volume is a mere146,500 + words

          The second has now past 33,700 +words

    2. I’d bet that a story about a pensioner dying alone from cold due to climate change lies wouldn’t get much of an innings.

      After all, that’d probably be the fact not fiction.

    3. A black trans woman writes from her wheelchair about her release from slavery.

      1. In order to get on at the BBC, she’d have to claim to be still enslaved.

      1. As in: “The BBC has returned to providing programmes that most people want.”

        That’s a tall story…

    7. Unfortunately short lifers never made it to this forum – end of story! 😟

    10. Ernest Hemingway once bet a bunch of fellows he could make them cry with a short story six words long. If he won the bet each guy would have to fork over 10 bucks.

      Hemingway’s six-word story was, “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.
      ” He won the bet.

    11. I have been kicked , beaten, starved and unwanted since I can remember ..

      But , still whenever I see a human , I wag my tale with my heart full of hope .

  69. From LinkedIn, a guy I used to work with years back. Was an Engineer, now a cattle rancher…
    “Mimicking the efforts of the NTSB after a plane crash or the Chemical Safety Board following a plant explosion, the largest organized crime in history has been investigated and revealed. By reviewing data and cell phone records, over 4 million votes were illegally submitted and counted. The 2020 election was a fraud. Data driven analyzes is the heart of the digital transformation.”
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/preventfailures_cdc-study-finds-covid-19-vaccination-increases-activity-6926778758230069248-PCgx?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

    1. My reply: “It’s not the votes that count, it’s the people who count the votes that count” (c) Josef Stalin.

    1. Very apt to our current situation of having to jump through hoops to do anything these days.

      1. Tell me about it- new mobile is going back. It’s a piece of sh*t. Can’t do anything with it.
        To say I am fed up, pissed off tonight would be the understatement of the century.
        Sod this life. Thank god for Pinot.

    2. Just eff orf back to where you came from and feel loved and a failure.

  74. Evening, all. Lovely day here, but the forecast for tomorrow is wet, which is a pity as I’m off to Chester races.

      1. No doggies allowed at Chester. Carlisle, Hexham, Cartmel, Taunton (middle of the course only) and Bangor (ditto) allow dogs.

  75. I thought the lippy tarts had been removed… seems they’re back.

    1. They were, but I think they’ve been dealt with again and become ‘guest voters’.

  78. Fancy a bit of government spying?

    Without our knowledge, the government have been using mobile phones to track peoples movements.

    They were caught last year but told us that they were only interested in finding out how many were travelling across the country. It seems they lied (again).

    https://globalnews.ca/news/8812354/canadians-data-liquor-store-tracked/amp/

    Not much of a stretch to decide who has been buying too much wine and cutting them off.

    1. Even turning your phone off you can still be tracked. The phone sends a signal to the nearest mast even when switched off.

        1. Do they stop phone calls getting through to you? If they do you might as well not have a phone.

          1. Yes, they do – you have to take the phone out to connect to the network when you want to make or receive calls.

    2. Big talk because they know our government is on their side. Reality is that if they were taken there and not given endless free legal help, we’d never see them again.

  81. BBC grinning like cheshire cats over Labour gains … Black Lammy has just said … you are looking at the next foreign sec… I yelled . gedawawithyou … twerpface

  84. What a farce we witness yet again with the Lib Lab Con local elections. It is not so much ‘pass the baton’ as drop the darn thing and let some other arsehole pick it up. And so the corrupted and utterly useless merry go round of grifting incompetents carries on.

    The country, our country, has born witness as Johnson and his feeble cabal have tossed £450 billion of loaned money aside for the Covid scam, much of it fraudulently stolen with little or no accountability. Now the fat git, feigning a Churchillian pose, has tossed over £300 million to one of the most corrupt regimes on the planet after the Obama/Clinton/Biden administration viz. Ukraine.

    The punishment for these dolts need to be severe. Local elections are a pathetic distraction. Meanwhile, pure evil intent continues to motivate our government and its globalist accomplices. These bastards may believe they are invincible but will surely answer to God.

  85. What a farce we witness yet again with the Lib Lab Con local elections. It is not so much ‘pass the baton’ as drop the darn thing and let some other arsehole pick it up. And so the corrupted and utterly useless merry go round of grifting incompetents carries on.

    The country, our country, has born witness as Johnson and his feeble cabal have tossed £450 billion of loaned money aside for the Covid scam, much of it fraudulently stolen with little or no accountability. Now the fat git, feigning a Churchillian pose, has tossed over £300 million to one of the most corrupt regimes on the planet after the Obama/Clinton/Biden administration viz. Ukraine.

    The punishment for these dolts need to be severe. Local elections are a pathetic distraction. Meanwhile, pure evil intent continues to motivate our government and its globalist accomplices. These bastards may believe they are invincible but will surely answer to God.

    1. A splendid portrait that I remember from way back; it is perhaps an underutilised medium that is available to all?

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