Monday 9 May: Economic illiteracy and incompetence cost the Tories Barnet Council

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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547 thoughts on “Monday 9 May: Economic illiteracy and incompetence cost the Tories Barnet Council”

  2. Morning, all Y’all!
    Hazy sky, plus a few C. Not bad for a working Monday… Terrace looks good, with lots flowering plants, tidy as well!

          1. That’s Richard O’Brian’s mouth and it’s also him singing. Always loved that tune

          2. I enjoy the whole film and show.
            We once went to a dressing up version of the show. Slim MB was kitted out as Frankenfurter. I decided Magenta was better bet for someone of my build.

          3. Must have been a terrific night out. I too love it all. My fave tune is I’m going home. I really like Tim Curry’s voice on that one.

        1. 5:45 for us on a work day. Makes the hair grey, I’m really only 25…

          1. Early morning on a sunny day can be lovely… Birds coughing into life, little traffic, air fresh & clean, flowerbuds just opening, fresh coffee made… Everything shiny and new.

          3. In my house I’m coughing with all the dust that the workmen are creating cutting boards etc. for the ceilings. Apart from the mega-clean I’ll have to do when it’s all plastered and painted, it’s got into my lungs, I think.

            They put up dust sheets, so what it would have been like without those is almost unimaginable…

          4. So it seems but it’s not a time I have seen since I gave up teaching.

        4. Oh gosh me too – I spent the last 3 1/2 hours battling with two ear worms – first that Groovin’ with Mr Bloe tune, which I loathed at the time and which someone posted yesterday, and then the theme tune for Midnight Cowboy, which I have always liked, but didn’t want on repeat for 3 1/2 hours…

          I’m sooo tired…

        5. Oh gosh me too – I spent the last 3 1/2 hours battling with two ear worms – first that dreadful Grooving with Mr Blow tune, which I loathed at the time and which someone posted yesterday, and then the theme tune for Midnight Cowboy, which I have always liked, but didn’t want on repeat for 3 1/2 hours…

          I’m sooo tired…

  7. Economic illiteracy and incompetence cost the Tories Barnet Council

    So they voted Labour instead

    1. I know the frustration – only 37 people in my constituency voted for an independent (our wishy washy Lib Dems got in again, despite lots of moaning about the tower blocks going up round here.)

    2. Barnet gave their entire business to Crapita and it’s been a disaster. Remember I’ve lived here for 33 years. It’s been way more expensive than it was supposed to be and the services are dire.

  8. The choice of Ncuti Gatwa proves the BBC has given up trying to please ‘legacy’ Doctor Who fans. 9 May 2022.

    The Timelord is entering a new dimension. Time, space and the internet were rocked on Sunday afternoon by the surprise naming of the 14th Doctor. Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will become the first black actor to play the role. “The future is here,” proclaimed the announcement. It most certainly is.

    It goes without saying that the BBC and returning showrunner Russell T Davies have picked Gatwa first and foremost for his sheer talent. His character in Netflix’s Sex Education, Eric Effiong, is a fan favourite and won Gatwa a Best Actor award at the Scottish Baftas in 2020. He was also in the running for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme at tonight’s main TV Bafta ceremony, the third year in a row he had been shortlisted.

    The BBC has given up pleasing anyone but themselves. They chose him not because he’s Black, but because he’s Black and Gay! Lol!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/05/08/choice-ncuti-gatwa-proves-bbc-has-given-trying-please-legacy/

    1. “have picked Gatwa first and foremost for his sheer talent”
      So if he had been a straight, white, working class English Christian male with the same talent, he would have been picked, right?

      2. I am disgsted that some one newly arrived in the past x years whos knows NOTHING about early black and white TV and innocent programnes for Children and the much loved famous actors who were a safe pair of hands .

        Doctor Who is a white role .. diversity has snatched white childhood culture once again ..

        1. Diversity seems to snatch everything we have – it can’t do much by itself, can it?

    3. I don’t know whether he’d make a good Doctor Who but he is absolutely fabulous in Sex Education.

    4. Ncuti Gatwa is part of the plan to groom children , and probably showing little girls that water melon smiles are okay and trustworthy.. aiding more diversity .

    5. They missed a trick; they could have had a black lesbian to do the job. I haven’t watched Dr Who for decades. This is the last thing that would entice me back.

  9. Russian airstrike on school may have killed more than 60 people. 9 may 2022.

    At least 60 more people who are believed to have been inside the building at the time of an airstrike are now fear dead, the governor said.

    “This is a genuine atrocity of the ‘Russian world’: a cynical strike on a school with a bomb shelter,” he said. “The Russians don’t care who they kill.” He would not specify if there were children among the victims.

    Contrary to the official narrative the Russians are not throwing ordnance around willy-nilly; not only because it is expensive, but because it is counter-productive. In a defended airspace a strike on a non-military target is not just a strike wasted but a dangerous luxury. In the recent wars in the Middle East, schools, hospitals, mosques, have all been used to conceal and store weapons as well as house the local military HQ’s. This is not only because they have the room and facilities for such but an attack on them produces useful propaganda. That this was on a weekend when the children are off school suggests not murderous impulses on the part of the Russians but that they waited until they had a clear shot at a legitimate target.

    I have become increasingly disillusioned with the Ukrainian accounts of incidents in this war. Everything is an atrocity, every incident a War Crime or Genocide. I suspect that they are a nation of Habitual Liars much like the Arabs or Pakistani’s!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/08/60-people-feared-dead-russian-airstrike-school/

    1. Stopped believing it ages ago. Stopped reading it weeks ago. It’s all twisted propaganda crap.

  10. Russian airstrike on school may have killed more than 60 people. 9 may 2022.

    At least 60 more people who are believed to have been inside the building at the time of an airstrike are now fear dead, the governor said.

    “This is a genuine atrocity of the ‘Russian world’: a cynical strike on a school with a bomb shelter,” he said. “The Russians don’t care who they kill.” He would not specify if there were children among the victims.

    Contrary to the official narrative the Russians are not throwing ordnance around willy-nilly; not only because it is expensive but because it is counter-productive. In a defended airspace a strike on a non-military target is not just a strike wasted but a dangerous luxury. In the recent wars in the Middle East, schools, hospitals, mosques, have all been used to conceal and store weapons as well as house the local military HQ’s. This is not only because they have the room and facilities for such but an attack on them produces useful propaganda. That this was on a weekend when the children are off school suggests not murderous impulses on the part of the Russians but that they waited until they had a clear shot at a legitimate target.

    I have become increasingly disillusioned with the Ukrainian accounts of incidents in this war. Everything is an atrocity, every incident a War Crime or Genocide. I suspect that they are a nation of Habitual Liars much like the Arabs or Pakistani’s!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/08/60-people-feared-dead-russian-airstrike-school/

    2. Looks as though the wildling rootstock has overwhelmed the grafted plant, like so many…

    3. I got lost in a rhododendron once. Took a short cut through one the size of half of Leicestershire, and had difficulty finding my way out…

  12. Good morning, all. Sunnyish start to the day.

    I see that woke William was sounding off about the “planet being ablaze”. He is beginning to make his loony father seem normal.

  13. The police in the Beer Stumbler scandal will be in the wrong whatever decision they make about issuing a fine.
    In fact they will be Durhamed if they do and Durhamed if they don’t.

    1. Durhamed if they do and Durhamed if they don’t.

      Morning Bob. An effort worthy of Stephen!

  14. SIR – The cost of living – particularly energy prices – was the key issue of the local elections. So why did the Lib Dems and Greens do well, when they are driving the expensive green agenda? Because the Conservatives have kowtowed to it.

    The Lib Dems and Greens are also against the nuclear deterrent, which is strange at this time of Russian aggression. I despair at the thinking of the British public and the forward planning of our politicians.

    Malcolm Allen
    Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

  15. Curry on Eating.

    What’s more important than all the recent and current calamities in the world that are and will be affecting the UK population for the foreseable future is the fact that Sir Kier Starmer KC QCB, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, lied when he said that a curry meal turned up unexpectedly at a Labour Party event held during lockdown rules – so they ate it!

    Whilst he may not have been breaking lockdown rules he has clearly been lying and in any police investigation would expose himself to a charge of diverting the course of justice.

    Partygate vs Beergate has now become Carriegate vs Currygate! 🤔

    1. Might have been unexpected for him because he left the ordering of it to underlings.

      1. Exactly my thought.
        At home, the person who identifies as a woman probably organises such matters.

      3. A Labour spokesperson did try to defend Sir Kier this morning.
        But I think a surprise birthday cake is far more likely than a surprise curry.

    3. I have never known a curry turn up unexpectedly. Does it happen often…

      1. Quite often, actually. There have been various outbreaks of “phantom curry sending”from time to time. The first few times the police treated these reports as seriously as they do murder and made perfunctory enquiries. When it became clear that any discomfort from consuming these meals was entirely natural and not attempted poisonings, the investigations stopped. The Phantom Curry Sender continued and even expanded his activities. At one time it was widely believed that an international gang was at work, so frequent were the unexpected arrivals of kormas and tikka masalas at the doors of unsuspecting victims, who were given no warning and had no time to put plates in the oven. The early deliveries were usually directed at middle class homes, in the calm leafy streets of the suburbs. The victims seemed to have been selected at random, never given a hint of what was to come.
        Is this a sinister development? Are the Phantom Curry Senders now targeting members of the Labour Party? Will politicians be the next targets?

    4. Sending in a curry would appear to be an excellent way of assassinating the shadow cabinet.

  16. SIR – There is a PM-in-waiting inside the Tory Party: Lord Frost. In the Ministry of Defence there are several able people with Cabinet potential.

    Our current Prime Minister is now spent and unrecoverable. The many successes he is credited with are not actually his, but came about because others had the answers – namely vaccination. As a man with no military background, it has been his defence ministers who have provided his vocabulary and drive over Ukraine. His forte has been to near bankrupt us with green schemes that have actually left us cold and in some cases hungry.

    Before we embark on what many see as a possible nuclear war we need a change at the top and on the front benches to get rid of the current sycophancy and gross ineptitude.

    Philip Congdon
    Poyntington, Dorset

    2. Just a few teensy problems, Philip; vaccines are not “a success” and the response to the Ukraine has been to drive us to the brink of WW3.

  17. SIR – Every spring, as regular as the cuckoo, and just as the winter deluge of rain and flood water recedes, we are assailed by cries from the water companies to save their so-called precious resource. So scarce is it that they can afford to let three billion litres a day be lost through leaks, ask customers not to use it, and still make a handsome profit. I can’t think of any other business that annually asks its customers not to buy its product.

    Were it not for their stranglehold on supply, it would be a recipe for commercial suicide, but this farce continues every year when it is quite clear that there is no shortage of water in this country (one only has to travel north to see that this is true), but there is a regular shortage of water where it is most needed – in the South.

    The failure by successive governments to invest in a water grid, which would overcome this problem, is a major oversight that is never mentioned as part of our ever-growing list of green initiatives, or as part of the great levelling-up policy.

    Mike Bridgman
    Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

    Motto: Profit First?

    3. I would suggest that it is not the Government – aka the taxpayers – that needs to invest in the water grid but the water companies who continue to ‘earn’ profits from their lack of effort.

      The water companies losing three billion litres per day through lack of maintenance of their basic system shouldn’t be ‘bailed out’ by the taxpayers, who have already ‘invested’ in the system.

  18. SIR – Every spring, as regular as the cuckoo, and just as the winter deluge of rain and flood water recedes, we are assailed by cries from the water companies to save their so-called precious resource. So scarce is it that they can afford to let three billion litres a day be lost through leaks, ask customers not to use it, and still make a handsome profit. I can’t think of any other business that annually asks its customers not to buy its product.

    Were it not for their stranglehold on supply, it would be a recipe for commercial suicide, but this farce continues every year when it is quite clear that there is no shortage of water in this country (one only has to travel north to see that this is true), but there is a regular shortage of water where it is most needed – in the South.

    The failure by successive governments to invest in a water grid, which would overcome this problem, is a major oversight that is never mentioned as part of our ever-growing list of green initiatives, or as part of the great levelling-up policy.

    Mike Bridgman
    Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

    By far the biggest profligate waste of water come from idiots in domestic situations. How many times do you see gormless fools keeping a tap running while brushing their teeth or doing the washing up? The colossal amount of clean, fresh, potable water that goes directly from to tap to drain in the average home is criminally insane.

    1. Blimey Grizz! I knew Derbyshire Constabulary was keen, but I never imagined that you policed the county’s bathroom habits.

      1. Blimey, Joe! have you never witnessed this yourself?

        People love to whine about water companies wasting water when they, themselves, are the worst culprits.

          1. You’ve never had a douche à deux? You don’t know what you’re missing.

            [It saves water too!]

          2. Akshirley, I have. I don;t waste water because I have a water meter.

    2. I’m one of the gormless fools who keeps the tap running while cleaning my teeth.. But then, I live in the North West and the water I use comes from the Brenig reservoir in Wales. This was of course built in the 60s to satisfy the enormous demands that the heavy industry anticipated in Harold Wilson’s area would require. But the industry never happened so we have this ENORMOUS water supply coming from the Welsh moors to use… It does rain quite a lot in North Wales and if we don’t use it, it flows on down the Dee to the sea.. I am so old that I remember driving along the local roads now submerged many feet beneath Brenig’s water level.

      1. What do you have the tap running for? I don’t turn it on till I’ve finished cleaning my teeth.

    3. I’m one of the gormless fools who keeps the tap running while cleaning my teeth.. But then, I live in the North West and the water I use comes from the Brenig reservoir in Wales. This was of course built in the 60s to satisfy the enormous demands that the heavy industry anticipated in Harold Wilson’s area would require. But the industry never happened so we have this ENORMOUS water supply coming from the Welsh moors to use… It does rain quite a lot in North Wales.

    4. It is the only business I know of whose product does not cost them any money.

      1. Other than the cost of collecting, piping, treatment to make it safe to drink and the maintenance of the infrastructure required to do so.
        Then there is the cost off collecting, piping and treating the waste effluient.

        1. Yes, yes, but apart from that. What have the water companies ever done for us

        2. I agree there is a cost but the product, water, falls from the sky.
          I do realise the other costs.

    5. DEFRA – and the water authorities – prevent new reservoirs being built. You see, the EU told us we couldn’t because water conservation was controlled by the EU. DEFRA is still – happily – slaved to those policies.

      The entire state is desperate to rejoin the EU so doesn’t want to change. Replacing the thousands of miles of pipework is impossibly expensive. They’re trying with robots and resins but it’s slow going.

      1. Expensive or not it needs doing, and they know it. The average water company loses about a quarter of the water they send out in transmission.

      2. Some of those pipes are still hollowed-out logs. Greener you cannot get.

    6. Correct, Grizz.

      If the water companies set out to repair all the leaks in the system en masse, large parts of the country would grind to a halt with the digging up of most urban roads. Most leaks (about 75%) are not those which break the surface and flood the streets but smaller ones much further below, often on domestic property between the street main and the house. They are the ‘dripping tap’ leaks, often hard to detect and expensive to fix. And wherever they are, the water simply goes back into the ground…

      1. Dwr Cymru put a flier through letterboxes in our road saying they would come out and fix leaky loos FOC. I thought it was a scam, but it wasn’t.

  20. 352563+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Monday 9 May: Economic illiteracy and incompetence cost the Tories Barnet Council.

    And a hell of a lot more, ( ogga1)

    Check out this chap, an important factor is he is a mathematician also a lord and an ex member of the genuine UKIP.

    It is a long listen but well worth listening to
    for truth seekers.

    https://youtu.be/xl9U8Te80yo

    1. The problem is he’s using evidence to argue against religion. The state is fanatical about green because it gets them taxes. The Left want green because it’s yet more tyranny. You cannot argue reason and logic with nutters. They don’t care about it and they don’t listen.

      You argue against it a club after smacking them round the face.

  21. I’d forgotten this joke.
    Snippet from the DM.

    “The claim by farmer and MP Neil Parish that he stumbled across porn after searching for a Dominator combine harvester reminds me of the old country courting joke: ‘Farmer’s son looking for a girl who owns a tractor. Please send picture of tractor.'”

  22. Good morning all. A bit late on parade as I decided to have an extra hour in bed!

    A lovely start to the day, dry with bright sunshine and a whole 7°C outside!

    1. That’s not “Mother Going Quiet”.
      A tactic guaranteed to reduce grown men to jelly,.

    2. Why does a white South African, mainly privately educated, adopt a Southern American plebeian patois?

    3. Why does a white South African, mainly privately educated, adopt a Southern American plebeian patois?

    1. Let’s nuke Finland. It would sort out the perverts, and give Russia a serious warning that we are not to be trifled with. Win/win. (Any Nottlers currently living in Finland should leave now – looking at you, whatsyourname.)

      Apologies, whatsyourname, I’ve forgotten it. But I’m mentally deteriorating, so I have an excuse.

        1. Of course, Harry of the Secret Service. I could not remember his name. All I could say is that old age is approaching. I could but I will not. My memory has always been variable, even absent minded. I blame the spiders as they are very definitely getting old. On the other hand my ability to remember to recognise faces is undiminished, but the spiders mislay so many index card, that, where was I…?

        2. Harry is still posting humorous youyous on his fatebook account, so presumably he’s just busy with sailing or spying.

    2. I’m sorry? Where your culture permits it? What are they doing in Finland then? That has just ruled that Muslims can rape children and there’s no penalty for it. Dear freakin’ life. If Junior was so much as touched by one of them I’d cut the rapists limbs off, tongue out and let him bleed to death.

  25. The High Horse has SUDDENLY become a Bucking Bronco:

    Keir Starmer cancels speech amid claims he’ll be forced to RESIGN if he’s fined over beergate… as new photo shows he made a point of dining outside for photo-op the day before curry
    Keir Starmer is facing fresh questions as Beergate scandal continues to develop
    Aides cancelled major speech where questions would be asked by journalists
    Sir Keir is under intense pressure to say whether he would resign if he was fined

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10795283/Keir-Starmer-cancels-speech-amid-claims-hell-forced-RESIGN-hes-fined-beergate.html

    And that uncomfortable mount is also shared by the many Labour activists who jumped on the Partygate Bandwagon …

    1. I’m wondering if he’s fed up with the job and is looking for a way out.
      If he resigns over Beergate, he will ostensibly look ‘honourable’ and simultaneously put pressure on Johnson to do the same thing.

          1. Piece in the paper this morning says the Milipede Sistas have reconciled. Is one them the chosen globalist rescuer?

    3. I honestly don’t care. Politicians lied. Whoopie flippin’ doo. They all do. With rare exceptions the lot of them are cretins who think the law doesn’t apply. More likely is that Starmer just didn’t think, nor did Boris. I don’t care.

      I do care about their combined forcing of socialism. Of the high tax, big state, Left wing agenda. Of the massive taxes on energy. Of the intentional lack of energy supply. I care that I am £200 worse off a month on the housekeeping (and yes, it’s me who does the bills and shopping from our joint account).

      That means £200 less goes into the real economy, it’s £200 less of discretional spending. What about those families who haven’t got £200? I go back to my friends who work as a book keeper for a garage and a bin man. Where do they suddenly find another £200 – more for them as they’re trapped on a pre-pay meter due to the accommodation.

      The enforced socialism of the Left- of this government in cahoots with the ‘opposition’ is making people poorer, making work pay less, rewarding waste, profiting the already rich – not the working high earner, the landowning trougher and expanding the state too new levels of incompetent inefficiency.

      It’s flipping wrong. Everything is back to front.

    1. I like Marvel films but I’ve never thought they were real. The problem with religious people is they *do* think the bible is real. I think it’s a codified tribal survival guide – when to sow crops, what to do in famine, flood and fires. Where not to poo.

      Some scumbag realised by blocking access to the oldest man in the village that they could get out of the hunt. Lo, was religion born.

    1. There are some deaths that really take you aback.
      That is one of them.

      2. Alan Rickman was one that distressed me greatly. Great actor and went far too young.

      3. And after reading the long obituary in the Mail on line there is no mention of what he may have been suffering from. Surely not just being retired 74 and living Spain ?

          2. We know. There is nothing like omission for telling one the truth of the matter.

    2. Yo all

      To thnk, lots of “‘he’s” on here used to look as young as Dennis does in the piccie

  29. Old Mother Allan has noticed that the oak is out well before the ash.
    Stand by for ever more doom filled predictions.

    1. Behind the folklore: oak and ash: Can trees predict the weather?
      Oak before ash, in for a splash
      Ash before oak, in for a soak

      One lesson that this column frequently hammers home is that animals, birds, plants and medieval saints tend to be as unreliable in predicting long term weather patterns as the writers of those hyperbolic, dodgily-sourced tabloid articles that warned us last November of an impending Arctic white-out.

      We can, therefore, deal quite rapidly with the old rhyme that suggests that if oak trees leaf before ash trees, we’re in for light rain in the summer, while if the pattern is the other way round we’re in for a wet summer. (It’s worth noting that no combination is suggested that indicates an entirely dry summer, so at least this particular piece of folklore isn’t entirely ridiculous.) The fact that a similarly themed German proverb suggests the polar opposite highlights quite nicely that there’s no real evidence to support this conjecture.

      That said, the timing of the respective leafings of these two stalwarts of the British forest does tell us some extremely pertinent things about our weather and our woodlands. Both tree species come into leaf around the same time of year””ó¢between late March and May””ó¢but the precise timing of an oak tree’s leafing is mainly determined by temperature, while ash trees are more heavily influenced by the number of hours of daylight. If spring arrives early, with high temperatures in February and March, oak trees are likely to leaf first; if cold conditions persist into April, ash is likely to have the advantage.

      As our climate changes, Britain is experiencing increasingly warm spring months, and this is having a marked affect on our woodlands. Oak trees have recently been leafing around two weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago, while ash trees are leafing just 7-10 days earlier. While historic data suggests that ash used to leaf before oak at least 30% of the time, recent studies in Surrey suggest ash won the race on only three occasions in 39 years, and in Northumberland on only three occasions in 28 years. Last year, a Woodland Trust survey showed the first observation of oak leafing was recorded on 21st March 2011 in Essex, while the first ash leafing wasn’t recorded until 4th April in Cardiff.
      So why does this matter? The problem is that ash and oak often compete for resources. Whichever trees leaf first tend to win the battle for canopy space, and ash trees are increasingly losing out. This will have a big impact on the biodiversity of our woodlands.

      Looking on the bright side though, if by some miracle the old rhyme does turn out to be true, at least we’ll never again have a rainy summer. Book that Cornish holiday now.

      “

      1. Oak before ash, in for a splash
        Ash before oak, in for a soak

        Whatever…….. you’re going to get wet…!

      2. “…historic data suggests…” Please substantiate. What data?

        As every big ancient building, built BC, is acclaimed by archaeologists as a temple, I have little faith in these people and their interpretations.

    2. “Oh the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree
      They flourish at home in my own country…..”

    1. You’d think the obvious solution isn’t to get more horses at greater cost, but to put something under the wheels to unblock the wagon.

        1. Or planks of wood – which are already on the wagon. The NHS has the solutions to the problems, it just makes life hard for us.

    3. Bonio – should be given to the dogs then the result bagged and dumped in landfill.

  33. Was that story the other day about the Executive Vice-President of Pfizer being arrested true?

      2. Isn’t Snopes connected to Pfizer in some way? Everything is knobbled somehow.

    2. An ancestor of the Krankie woman. I’ve often wondered what created her.

    4. If you look closely the alien gargoyle is in a different stone to the mediaeval masonry and sits uncomfortably beneath the original corbel. In addition it is comparatively unweathered and the face of the adjacent stones have a fine mason’s draft surface.

      The gargoyle is modern and likely a replacement for an earlier weathered gargoyle. I expect the mason was given license to be inventive just as the mediaeval mason will have been.

      1. Afternoon Corri ,

        Your experienced eye picked up on something I missed .

        Masons of long ago must have had amazing imaginations to have crafted such frightening images .

        1. Not only the masons but the wood-carvers of the miserichords in the choir stalls. Gloucester Cathedral has some fine examples.

  35. Just off, hope all those waiting for med treatment etc get treated and all goes well. Back in a week. My last Wordle until then too.
    Wordle 324 5/6

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

    1. Have lots of fun Mola and catch plenty of fishes.
      We’re off soon for our first “adventure” of the week.

      1. Me too. Unusual.

        Wordle 324 3/6

        ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
        ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. A nice eagle two today.
      Wordle 324 2/6

      ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    5. A Frequent Four for me, today.
      Wordle 324 4/6

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

  36. A quick good morning to you all as we’re off to deepest South Downs National Park in t’Tin Tent dreckly. As a birthday treat for SWMBO yesterday we went to a matinee performance of the music of Zimmer v Williams with The London Concert Orchestra , wow absolutely magic and herself was reduced to tears by their rendition of the Schindler’s List theme, as an aside I noticed in the packed Hippodrome in an audience of 2000ish I saw one mask, which was nice.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjUcUIb4Vk

  37. It appears that Scottish Power have told Sunak that bills will rise when the cap rises to £2900 in October.

    No point in warning Sunak – that’s peanuts to him – still the government don’t take VAT and green tax off our bills (despite promising that the EU VAT would go when we left the EU). Just a repayable “loan” of £200 that many don’t want. I wonder whether the repayments will also have VAT and green tax levvied on them? Sunak is a twit of the first order.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1607299/energy-bills-soar-end-year-scottish-power-rishi-sunak-warning-keith-anderson?utm_source=daily_express_newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking_money_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid=2ee9f558-38a2-4a7d-8d5d-1cc446bd1603

    1. Shirley socialism works by bleeding the productive dry and when everyone is dependent, there’s no way to pay the bennie bill. Good innit?

    2. I expect to some extent his hands are tied. Hiwever, the Climate Change Act should be rescinded. that is what’s sending our energy bills rocketing – it is the government’s fault (i am excluding external circumstances). There are too many taxes taken and subsidies given. TPTB cannot blame it on the Ukraine war although they try.

    3. Golly, so that’s what Scottish Power meant in their letter of 3rd March when they said, “…your prices aren’t planned to change again until at least 1st October 2022.”
      They invoiced me for the month of March the last month prior to the recent huge increase. March was the first month of my 3-monthly payment cycle which should be March/April/May, invoiced at the beginning of June.
      I wrote to my MSP complaining that this was “breach of contract” and I was not in a position to take on a business with a £6bn turnover. My MSP has written to them, and I await a response.

  38. Have fun everyone. Off soon for dressing change etc and a visit to the pub in between appointments. Weather is lovely so we’ll sit outside.
    Be good while I’m away….yeah right 😉

        1. Here’s one for you…
          Despite having short legs, how come the floor is so far away? SWMBO has the same problem…

  39. Morning All.
    If i had gone to a University and that kind of person was teaching me i’d walk out. That’s not teaching….it’s pushing your warped views on to people.

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1522810153523093505

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1522810153523093505

    “We have put together, i think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organisation
    in the history of American Politics”.     Joe Biden.

    Strange the link vanished, I put another one in it’s place and the first one came back ???????

    1. I am SOOOO glad that I did not go to “uni” (appalling word) …

        1. I know – it was an ironic comment.

          In fact, as I have said many times before hereabouts, I left school with 8 O Levels, was articled for five years, learned my trade and had 50 very enjoyable years in practice without setting foot in any higher education establishment.

          And during my articles, I came across several law graduates who were thick as shyte and, more significantly, thought that the leg work that articled clerks were expected to do “beneath them”.

      2. It was hard enough to go to a Church of England school and be bashed with the bible every day.
        Some one should have wacked that devotee of brainwashing over the head with a handy seat.

      4. There is no one in our entire family of around 30 who went to UNI except for our youngest son. He was ‘studying’ surveying until he had an horrendous car crash and after which he found he couldn’t focus or concentrate so he had to give it up. But as all three of them have he’s a got a decent career now and he’s happy. Which is the main aim in life.

    2. The Left generally don’t like individuals. They far and away prefer to label everyone. if you can reduce people to just a label then you can do what you like with them. They stop being human. The Left don’t like humans. They much prefer labels.

  40. NHS Rant….
    I had good reason to cancel my Doctor’s app. today.

    Phoned at 8am, robot told me to phone at 8.15…Duly did as I was told and received the same message.
    I tried again right away and was told by the robot to ring again
    later as there were no apps. today….!
    I phoned again and tried to leave a message with robot, human or anyone …….impossible.
    Finally got through, left a message with …..the cleaning lady? ….F knows..

    I can see why patients don’t turn up for apps. when it’s almost impossible to cancel.
    The NHS is in serious need of HELP!

    1. Conversely as mentioned above, at long ‘king last it seems i’m getting somewhere.

    3. Plum get in touch with your local Pals Patient Advice and Liaison Service. They’ll sort it out for you.

  41. Am I alone in finding all this “support” for the Ukraine a bit phoney?

    1. You are not alone. Our little village church even flies the Ukrainian flag for goodness sake. No VE flag yesterday. Apparently there were ceremonies in Germany, of all places, but I didn’t hear about any in U.K. were there any?! We have no ties to Ukraine, no special links, it’s just a convenient distraction from all that’s really wrong with this country.

      1. Well, yer Germans would have been celebrating THEIR victory in 1945….. Look who runs Europe today…. {:¬(((

        2. I’ve always said, Bill, “We may have won the war but we lost the peace“.

          And that in a large part, is due to the US handing out money to the Germans, while demanding that we repay everything we bought from them in order to win the war. We also had to get rid of the Empire.

          Now the US has the Empire and makes sure no battles are fought on its soil

      2. There was a Ukrainian flag outside the church (not my church) when I went into Shrewsbury today. Mind you, we did have some genuine Ukrainians in my church yesterday (a couple with two children). None, as far as I’m aware, spoke English, but they are Protestants.

    3. Absolutely not, Bill. Every time I go past a Ukrainian flag or bunting, my lip curls and I snarl, “virtue-signalling idiot”. Good job I’m usually alone in my car 🙂

    4. Not at all. Too many lies, too much cheating and deception. Too much posturing.

  42. What a lovely day we had yesterday, two of our grandchildren were christened in their local village church it was packed because it corresponded with another family christening and the Sunday morning service. I think the collection pouches were bulging. Sun shining as we all walked back the house and the garden for drinks and canapes and canopies, because the the full on sunshine. Both sides of the families from far and wide were there, it was lovely to see them all and hear of their latest’s experiences and family happenings. Two of the young ladies are now at secondary school both parents are teachers. On the other hand it was sad to see how the aging process effects others, me i guess included in that.
    But I had a phone call this morning to tell me of a forthcoming ‘action packed’ appointment with a cardiologist possibly as soon as next month.

  43. Humble Fry was a shoe-in to be president of the MCC
    The next move will be to make Ginge King. so Cringe can be Queen
    Wokist UK 2022

    1. Good morning OLT

      My goodness, you could be right ..

      We must fear the balcony collapsing .. plots are part of Royal life .. it is in their genes.

      PS,

      Humble word has been hijacked by the luvvies.

      1. Utter scum,instant deportation!! (Yeah right)
        The cartoon is spot on too…….

        1. Shoot the dinghies before they hit the shore. Saves a lot of bullets.
          (Cheapskate option.)

      3. The last one nicked for Ar5ebook but it’ll be pushed way down the page.

        Ar5ebook is one that doesn’t want the truth to be seen.

      4. I think that next time don’t tell the police. Just kil them. No victim as they don’t exist. Hang them publicly. The only way we’re going to stop the vermin coming here is by killing them.

  45. Moh off to play in a pukka golf match , with a meal afterwards .

    My antibiotics are working at last… very strong capsule , one a day .. doxycycline .. but have had some side effects .

    Still no energy , cannot taste nor smell anything .. for nearly 2 months .. so my cooking skills are now hit and miss.

    1. Glad you’re feeling better at last.

      My cough from a couple of weeks ago has subsided considerably, but still contrives to make its presence felt!

    2. I take doxy as an anti malarial when I go to Kenya – but presumably not such high strength. I hope they do the trick.

      1. I have high strength Doxycycline J, I went out over an hour ago, had a coughing fit when I was driving the car , I thought my time was up , home now and I feel dreadful and scared becase I am on my own .

        I have a meeting tonight .. I have missed 2 already .. honestly feel wretched .

        Coughing really made me feel faint .. and my head is thumping ..

        This virus whatever it is / was / is an absolute b#####d.

        1. Not feeling quite as bad as you obviously are, but, whilst my cough has subsided considerably, and attempt to do some work lasts for an hours or so before it begins again.

        2. Sounds as though you need to miss this evening’s meeting as well. I hope the Doxy does its bit for you soon – don’t want to lecture you but are you taking vitamins?
          High strength D3 and C have kept both of us well for the last couple of years – the cold or whatever it was last month was really nothing and was gone in two days. I think we both had covid in January 2020 (before it was a thing) as the cough then lasted several weeks.

          I think they’ve also reduced any aches & pains we might have had, too – I remember having achey joints when I was only in my 40s – I have nothing like that now.

  46. Good morning all, after a quiet start to the day I’d better get searching for my passport and english banknotes as I’m heading south of the border tomorrow on an early morning flight from Glasgow to Gatwick.

    Spending a few days meeting up with a couple of former RAF buddies I haven’t seen since 1982; they both made it to Squadron Leader and naturally need the wisdom of a Warrant Officer to help them as they struggle through retirement.

    Apparently. Michael Aspel’s brother will be dragging us down to a local watering hole for a pint or three…not that we’ll need much dragging. It should be fun and I won’t miss the foul weather forecast for the Costa Clyde this week.

      1. Thankfully, I’m exempt from face nappies…or at least that’s what the downloaded NHS/HMG screensaver on my phone informs people. ;D

      1. No, staying with one of my old buddies. It’s only for a couple of nights as I fly back on Thursday evening.

    3. Just remember it’s about 5 quid a pint now………. 🍻🍺 Have a good one.

  47. Re earlier NHS rant

    Doctor phoned re cancelled app.
    Discussed blood tests, pressure etc, and medical stuff all foreign to me…

    I asked if he did dentistry….?

  48. Rhodo time:
    Lady Alice Fitzwilliam:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b5ffe0fdb0db9bccadfe288d3ab5b4b0efd410e279479b2a2d783c21281e6a74.jpg
    A yellow I’ve lost the name of:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1b90042335f71a083cdc4ce7130d6340d3e784ecbf0fb2578352171d53649f02.jpg

    Cynthia:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8bb52e5069cb7154f5455a4c8d36158c84beaa25207b030d4859b0dd97ba7e04.jpg
    Michael’s Pride:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/633c6ed0a9a574aafb77fed5840ea20af0bcea420e64b8f4b0f7cf820c96f9cd.jpg

    1. Charming. Our rhododendrons and azeleas are always a bit disappointing. Our national collection of hydrangeas, on the other hand……..{:¬))

      1. I seem to have actually lost one of my faves this year, the blue Rhodo Augustinii. It’s been too dry and I’ve only just started watering. I have a couple of seedlings coming on, but I’ll be gone before they flower and developers will raze the garden…

      2. Now look here Bill, that’s jolly unfair, pinching all the hydrangeas from the country.

      2. I remember being on an electric vehicle forum and they’re convinced that the vehicles are entirely green. That magic and rainbows create the metal and that the magnets arrive by pegasus. As for the energy, that comes from windmills, and wind mills are all amazing – and don’t have 400 tons of concrete poured in the ground, don’t kill avian life and are 100% efficient all the time – ignoring the hedgerows and ground destroyed for the cables.

        It’s the utter desperation that bothers me. By all means, lie to yourself but don’t pretend it is anything BUT a lie.

        1. people don’t think. don’t investigate, have no clue were even food, let alone other things come from, know little/no history.
          but mostly don’t think 🙁
          and some of this could work, in some ways, properly applied, like windmills in the olden days. or water mills, my family had one. but this + people do not really think about being careful with energy.

        1. You mean pay for an fake suicide, escape get a face change and live happily ever after in the back of beyond.

    2. The embryo would have grown into a lovely boy, whom everyone liked.
      We were all surprised when he blew himself up

    3. The embryo would have grown into a lovely boy, whom everyone liked.
      We were all surprised when he blew himself up

  52. Putin may have high ratings – but Russians are terrified too. 9 May 2022.

    So far, the signs are mixed. Just as in 2014, there has been a rise in the approval rating of the operation and its commander in chief. Once again, Putin is polling at above 80%, 12 points higher than in February. The government and prime minister are also polling well. Even the state Duma, which normally languishes in negative territory, is basking in positive ratings.

    Mixed!? I wonder what they would look like if they were decided!

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/09/putin-may-have-high-ratings-but-russians-are-terrified-too

      1. Can’t access it Bill. the freedom loving UK government has blocked it!

      1. TS is intelligent and Johnson avoids competition; look at his Cabinet. They weren’t chosen to provide any thought or challenge.

      2. Professor Sowell has a higher IQ than the entirety of cabinet, all the spads and most of the mandarins combined.

  54. Just spent 2 hours trying to renew my railcard – it wouldn’t renew via my phone as it kept telling me my log on details were wrong! I tried from the computer and got almost to the payment stage – and this is what I got …
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/752983c2d6f8fc83cff73e78bd9f2d4a8e21ddf1c41128e9373af8c793d30642.png

    Tried again, then again using a different browser, then again – same story every time – do these cretins not want my money? I tried contacting them and got a message back welcoming me to my new railcard and giving me a download code – although I hadn’t paid I did try it and was told it was time expired!

    I have now bought a new railcard from Trainline – no problems, straight through! Still no reply from the other lot!

    1. They’re probably working from home since there were no trains to get them to work.

    2. The National Rail website is a bit of stinker. I often use the journey planner to work out reductions on splits with a railcard and after a few combinations, it gets utterly confused, making it necessary to clear cookies every half-dozen attempts.

    3. I paid £60 last September to renew both our railcards – we wanted physical cards as OH doesn’t use a mobile. When they didn’t arrive I used the ‘contact us ‘ form on the website to register a complaint. Still no cards…… I made another complaint. Nothing happened and as we weren’t going anywhere (the autumn trip was cancelled) I let it ride, then I tried again a couple of weeks ago. No reply again.

      Then I noticed they were on Twitter! The two lads there couldn’t have been more helpful – they replied very quickly to all my messages – and last week the new railcards arrived, with an expiry date for May next year. I asked them to follow up on the non-replies to the contact form on the website as it is obviously no use at all. They said they would, so we’ll see if I hear any more. At least I’ve got the cards now.

  56. G7 pledges to help nations at risk of food crisis (headline in RT).

    you can just see how that’s going to play out, can’t you. Food rationing in the West, being told that it’s so that food can be equitably shared with Africa. Meanwhile in Africa, things carry on as normal.

    1. Yes, here’s 64 bags of flour Mr Bongo: one for each of your grandchildren.

    2. This is the article but there isn’t acutally much substance.

      The G7 leaders held a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, promising to do more to help poor nations at risk of food crisis due to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

      Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has been “causing global economic disruptions, impacting the security of global energy supply, fertilizer and food provision, and the functioning of global supply chains in general,” the heads of the US, EU, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan said in a joint statement after the talks.

      “The most vulnerable countries are affected most severely,” they said, adding that the G7 was stepping up efforts to counter the “adverse and harmful” effects.

      The leaders said “the causes and consequences of the global food crisis” will be addressed through the group’s Global Alliance for Food Security.The G7 will also work with other international bodies and organizations “with the aim of transforming political commitments into concrete actions” in Africa, the Mediterranean, and elsewhere, the statement reads.

      Germany warns of global famine
      Read more Germany warns of global famine
      They called upon Russia to “end its blockade and all other activities that further impede Ukrainian food production and exports,” warning that Moscow’s reluctance to do so “will be seen as an attack on feeding the world.”

      Ukraine will also receive help in maintaining food production and exporting in view of the next harvest season, the G7 pledged.

      As for the conflict, the leaders reiterated that “President Putin must not win his war against Ukraine,” and promised to further tighten the sanctions on Moscow.
      They claimed, however, that the restrictions are being “carefully targeted” to not hamper deliveries of food and humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable groups.

      Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of food to the international market, accounting for around 30% of global wheat exports, among other things.

      The disruption of supply chains caused by the conflict between the neighbors has already led to food prices around the world growing by a third and reaching “record levels,” Germany Economy Minister Svenja Schulze said on Sunday.

      World food prices hit new high – UN
      “The situation is highly dramatic,” Schulze told Bild, warning that the world could be heading for famine not seen since World War II due to the events in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.

      Russia attacked Ukraine following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

      The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join NATO. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

    4. Y bb2

      The natives being taken from Africa to the likes of Saudi must not be emaciated before they go into slavery!

      1. Honour killing. Sex with small children. Disrespect to women. Murder of homosexuals. Lying. Yeah, right, you poisonout witch.

  57. Putin is living in the past by trying to reenact the Soviet battles of WWII against the Nazi regime.
    Russian patriotism is maintained by the belief that their military is undefeatable – a concept that can only be sustained by suppressing independent journalism and showing that the army is alive and well by parading it on a victory day.

    America has always fought its wars by battling its enemies anywhere other than its own soil. The ensuing casualities eventually led to it to reject the idea of boots on the ground in favour of bombs from the air.

    We have now reached the stage where analysts have concluded that both Mutually Assured Destructiin (MAD) and conventional warfare using planes, tanks and ships have outlived their usefulness in maintaining the peace.
    Instead we are in an information war where noone believes anything they see in the media and The Third Revolution in Warfare has arrived:

    The Third Revolution in Warfare
    https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/09/i-weapons-are-third-revolution-warfare/620013/

    Many analysts now believe that the Afghan war hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union by undermining Soviet citizens’ faith in one of the cornerstones of Soviet patriotism: the army.

    https://www.rferl.org/a/1090558.html

  58. I’m rather worried that people think energy is expensive because energy companies are profiteering.

    Are people that dumb? Do they not realise that energy is expensive because of government policy? Because of a lack of supply (deliberately run down) and high taxes?

    2. You have NO idea how stupid some people are, wibbles. A conversation with the average voter (particularly LD or Labour) can have you tearing your hair out.

      1. Yet it is so obvious what the problem is. One chap on the Wail postulated that windmills were providing loads of energy so why can’t we use that to reduce bills.

        It’s worrying that these people are allowed to vote.

        1. It’s obvious to the likes of us, wibbles, because we’ve had a decent education and have been taught to question and think. The present generation, not so much (ta, Blair!).

    2. Wordle 324 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
      ⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    5. Much hangs of course on how lucky you get with the first word.

      Wordle 324 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    6. Well done, sweetie … x
      I got another Frequent Four
      Wordle 324 4/6

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

  61. Home again- jiggity-jog.
    Sitting in the waiting room at the doc’s and the dressing on my mush fell off. Just like that. Have a new one on which I can take off on Thursday. Then after a bevy at the pub we went to my husband’s 4th swab…..what a bloody joke it all is. Pointless and a total waste of our time and ££.
    MH has tried to call and speak to his consultant and no chance….he has a procedure and surgery this week but the appointment he has with her is next week AFTER these procedures! No discussion up front and no info…..
    Just how fed up and pissed off can you get? I think we are there.

      1. No, I held it in my hand and took it in to show the nurse; she was pleased and said it was a good sign. See above but my stuff seems to be coming to an end….MH still has some way to go.
        Gawd, age is not for the faint of heart ;-(

  62. I have been thinking. During the Normandy Campaign (after D-Day) between 15,000 and 20,000 civilians were killed by the Allies.

    Was that a “war crime”? Just asking.

    1. The NATO allies killed more than 20,000 when they bombed Yugoslavia but it’s never a war crime when the right people do the killing. In fact they attacked on a false pretext and then accused the Serbs of war crimes. A pattern they’ve since repeated in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

      1. Spot on, Our Susan. Bit like history – always written by the victors.

      1. Correct.
        Think of the Curry Connection and the relative positions in the party.

  64. I have finished listening to “The Traitor King” – a new book about Edward VIII.

    There are remarkable parallels between Mrs Simpson and Trash.

    Both were hugely ambitious. Greedy. Fortune seekers. Publicity mad. Foul to employees. Obsequious to those who might “help” them but would turn on them when their usefulness was over. Bullied their husbands whose initial weakness was exploited till they were mere pawns. .

    Funny old thing, life.

    1. Shortly after the marriage I suggested that Harry should be sent to become governor of the Bahamas. Unfortunately the wife is too tawdry, even for that.

          1. Quite. As an actress, her professional profile declared her to be caucasian. She would doubtless claim that it was the only way to get jobs in a prejudiced world.

  65. Cur Ikea “vows to resign if fined”.

    Well, he won’t be. Durham police do not covid fine people months/years after the event. Cur Ikea knows that – so he can make all these fatuous claims with complete impunity.

    God, I hate politicians.

    1. As a former Director of Public Prosecutions, Cur Ikea is knowingly exploiting the constitution – and pressurising the Durham Police – for Party-Political ends.

      A head-chop at the Tower would be appropriate …

      1. It’s a win win for Labour.
        He resigns and Johnson is under pressure to do so too.
        Labour then re-elect him, because he’s an “honourable man”, and Johnson is likely to be gone.

    3. From “Secret York”, “Swinegate was known in Viking and medieval times as Swinegail, meaning the lane where swine were kept”.

        1. Or the Shambles – I worked as a barman in the Punchbowl in Stone Street at age 18 when all round calculations required you tot up the total in £Sd. Heaven help you if you made in different when the next round was “Same again.”

          Seems I was good enough for the manager to offer me a permanent job. I had to decline, as I was contracted to the RAF until 1974.

          1. I lived in Imphal Barracks for two years in the mid – 80s. What a great city on my doorstep.

          2. Yes, I love York – it is, after all where my eldest daughter was concieved!

            173, Burtonstone Lane, if my my memory serves.

          3. Two postings later, I was posted to Maastricht in the Netherlands which is like a carbon copy of York, only with better opening hours and the splendid continental street café culture. What luck.

          4. I wasn’t so far away, across the border at RAF Laarbruch. Sunday morning was our great outing, when my daughter, Sylvia, would accompany me across the border at Straelen to buy the English papers and partake in a beer for each of us – hers was in a tiny pot with a handle and she loved drinking with dad.

            Our return to the border would inevitably have many German cars overtake us and form a queue at the border post, for them only to be pissed off , as I sailed through ahead of them all, because the car had BFG (British Forces Germany) plates and was just waved through. Loved it and laughed my head off, every time.

    3. Feckin Muslims – this level of disrespect is bedyond the pale – time to remove them ALL.

  68. Eco-Loons at it again

    “The report warns, however, that easier methods, such as planting

    trees, will not be enough to counterbalance aviation emissions.

    The network of academics also calls for a ban on eating beef and

    lamb, as well as for people to turn down their heating at home and wear

    more clothes to be warm instead.

    Although pleasures like flying abroad on vacation and driving large

    automobiles will be sacrificed, scientists believe that life will be

    just as rich as it is now”

    .https://savebritain.org/government-paper-close-all-airports-by-2050-to-reach-climate-goal/
    Re-arrange these words into a well known phrase or saying..
    Right Off Fluck!!

    1. Sod it all. I will not pay one iota of attention to any of this BS. I have had enough. From now on I am going to do as I wish and bugger anyone who tries to stop me. MH feels the same.
      Life has become ludicrous.

    2. If the Elite won’t even give up partying during lockdown, what makes anyone think that they’ll be willing to give up foreign holidays

      and central heating in 2050?

      1. Well they tried – with the travel bans and forced quarantine if you dared to arrive here unjabbed with covid gunk.

    1. Adagio for Strings is wonderful… I do like his music. Will save that for later. Thanks.

  70. That’s me for this quite sultry day. The sun went away after lunch – which made planting out the Cobra* climbing beans very pleasant. Warm but not boiling.

    More work tomorrow preparing the greenhouse for this year’s tomatoes.

    Have a jolly evening planning your resignation speech.

    A demain.

    * COBRA – see how red hot politically we are!!!

  71. I note that Putin is being decried for stating that he is fighting for Russia’s survival.

    What are the West’s sanctions for, if not to destroy Russia?

    1. Re the Initial towel post. As a student I spent 3 weeks retrieving used and installing clean towels in hundreds of establishments throughout Cornwall. It’s no wonder that as I approach 70 I’m not on any meds!!!

      1. We had roller towels on those wooden rollers when I was at school.
        No wonder bugs just looked at us and decided to go elsewhere.

    2. Spartie does that. Grabs towels and drying up cloths from the cooker rail and drags them into the snug.
      He dashes past, hoping we won’t notice.
      “Here comes the bride” is our reaction.

      1. Charlie used to take a towel off the bathroom towel rail and make a bed with it.

        1. Our Dobbie does that! We have underfloor heating in the bathroom and very raggedy towels!

  73. Evening, all. Missed yesterday because I was simply too tired and went to bed!

      1. How are you, Plum? Any news on the doggy front? I was thinking of you earlier on.

          1. I hope one will find you soon. It’s good to have some companionship to go with the schooners.

          3. I know. Although I’ve got Oscar, I really miss Charlie. He was a companion and friend in the way that Oscar isn’t – yet. Still, Oscar does make me laugh sometimes.

          11. I think and hope my stuff may be at an end although face is tender again. MH starting on Weds has a whole few days of it.
            What you just said was Litotes – which is understatement.
            English teachers never give up ;-))

          12. Litotes – is that what’s troubling your face? 🙂
            Doesn’t pay to be too optimistic…

          13. Now pay attention- litotes in Lit is understatement. Which you used in your first comment- Not so bad etc.
            How are you mate, not too bad mate. When you are in pain etc. Understatement.

          15. Listen to the teacher, otherwise you will be sent to the back of the class;-))

          17. The one thing we British are good at, Litotes = understatement.

            e.g., the American Policies are crap.

          18. Do the Weegies have a ‘mustn’t grumble’ attitude?
            And is it confined to older generations?

          19. Sort of. Younger folk moan a lot – those who put up their flag for Frigjøringsdag (VE day) don’t grumble so much. After all, life under the Nazi occupation was no picnic.

          20. We used to operate from Bardufoss which had a rock hangar. Built under german guidance, I understand.

          21. Oh Plum, I am so sad for you. I miss all my doggies and am happy to see Toby when he comes out for his constitutionals every day.

          22. We still miss Magnificat. Died about 5 years ago now. Even though we have two great bruisers of cats, they are different.

        2. Anyone new to this Website could be wondering if it is a chat forum for MPs….!

    2. I know the feeling of late.
      When it gets to 7 or 8ish I totally go “SLUMP” and just want to go to bed.

        1. #MeToo, Elsie, Otherwise I cannot operate – I take a couple of whisky tinctures to ensure that that happens.

  74. I’m going to sit and watch Tinker Tailor
    Soldier Spy ( if my bottle of Shiraz lasts that long) . I can’t belive it was 1979 when I first watched this on the ‘BBC’ how the mighty have fallen.
    They don’t make series like this anymore, it means concentration and an understanding of ‘cold war’ history’.

    https://youtu.be/okLVbx3uxKk

  75. Spent the last five days on the River Wey. Spring cleaning the boat and repainting the cabin ceiling. And then a couple of short cruises. The first to Dapdune Wharf. Two years ago the land opposite was a massive spoil heap of hardcore and construction workers. Today it it has become a modern debtors’ prison, where young folk enter the splendid new University of Surrey student accommodation for 3 or 4 years and then spend the rest of their lives trying to clear the student loan at sky high interest rates of RPI + 3% (See Richard for details and apoplexy!)

    A day or two later I took a local and his family for a short cruise. They live in a C16th Century farmhouse (5 beds all with inglenook fireplaces). I’m told it was once a residence of HenryVII’s mother….

    Part of Dapdune Wharf

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4efcbd6d88ae0d523621b78bea4ed111cb95a04401b3b23e61aeed0af5104a47.jpg :

    Debtors’ Prison:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d360ee17dc123a919e2e111685c444a07a80004089fbe629cd28d053192b656e.jpg

  77. Very impressed by Lord Frost on GB News’ ‘Farage’ just now. Sensible and reasonable fellow with conservative views.

    1. Yesterday was “Good Shepherd Sunday”, Plum (from the parable of the same).

  80. Mark Steyn;

    Please tell him its ‘Astra Zeneca’ – not Astro Zeneca – he’s mentioned it numerous times. I’m surprised that editorial staff haven’t corrected him …

    1. You assume that they know the correct nomenclature – not necessarily a given.

  81. I know you will howl with sadness but I am signing off. Up at 6 am which is totally odd for me. And our outings today- and more to come.
    Please be well, all of you as we really must take care of ourselves. No-one else will.
    Oh and by the way, when I pointed out all those horrid red spots on my arm to the nurse and said that they only occurred after the 2nd AZ jab she visibly backed off. They do not want to know. They have been told to not respond.

    1. They have indeed, and about all vaccine injuries. There is (mostly) no help from the nhs. ‘Baffled’; ‘puzzling’; ‘mystery’ are the words used in terms of a diagnosis.

    3. Only doctors are able to diagnose a condition or illness.
      I developed small red spots which I identified as petechiae but my doctor dropped me as his patient when I told him about my symptoms following his treatment of me.
      Here’s the low down on these red spots which may be linked in some way to COVID-19.
      Unfortunately the mechanism of COVID-19 on blood clotting at the cellular level is still a matter of ongoing research so it’s most unlikely that any medical professional would be qualified to diagnose that a vaccination would have been the cause of such symptoms.

      It’s really up to the patient to use a process of elimination before considering if its worth persuing a diagnosis.
      There could be some clues here to eliminate the possibility of petechiae.

      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320597

    4. When the compo lawyers sniff money, there will be free cash for all. Oh, apart from us who didnt take the poison! I often respond to the PPI calls, that unfortunately I sussed that PPI was a scam and so I didnt buy..
      Perhaps I should rush to the vax centre before they close.

    5. When the compo lawyers sniff money, there will be free cash for all. Oh, apart from us who didnt take the poison! I often respond to the PPI calls, that unfortunately I sussed that PPI was a scam and so I didnt buy..
      Perhaps I should rush to the vax centre before they close.

    6. A friend has suffered from the intermittent appearance of red spots on her arms/back of her hands following the AZ serum: none for a while. Also, fatigue and pains in her feet, diagnosed as gout, continue to plague her. Their get-out statement is that correlation is not causation, even when the numbers affected are huge and growing. Now the bastards want to give away our bodily autonomy to the useless WHO: an unelected body backed by the likes of the Gates Foundation.

    2. “That’s my daughter in the water
      Everything she knows, I taught her
      Everything she knows”
      © Loudon Wainwright III

  83. Goodnight, all. I’m off before I just disappear (Firefox has been playing up of late).

  86. Good night, everyone. Today the Wrinklies Monday Film Club went to the cinema to watch Benedict Cumberbatch in DR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS.Don’t bother! There were just 3 of us and we voted as follows: one So-So and two Thumbs Down.

    1. ‘Evening Elsie, it begs the question, “Are modern day Films Worth Watching?” I think not.

      1. Hang on , Tom. There are some quality films still being made. This year there were BELFAST, THE DUKE, PHANTOM OF THE OPEN, OPERATION MINCEMEAT and DOWNTON ABBEY – A New Era, to name just five in the first five months of the year. And next month we have ELIVIS to look forward to. This equates to one decent film per month which is roughly was has always been to case since the start of the talkies; remember that there have always been dozens of films – mostly now forgotten – released each month for every GONE WITH THE WIND or THE THIRD MAN.

        1. We watched BELFAST on TV – as for the rest, I wouldn’t waste money on cinema seats but wait for it to appear on TV, if I even wanted to see them.

          1. Yes, Tom, but your post asked if there were any modern films worth watching? I gave some examples, to which your reply was that you wouldn’t waste money on cinema seats, but instead wait until they came on TV. So your choice is to save money and not see a good film until later, which is a different issue. I save money by not paying for the TV licence – as a former cinema manager I can watch films for free as a member of the Cinema and Television Veterans.

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