Tuesday 10 May: The sad deterioration of a Civil Service that once prized efficiency

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

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

670 thoughts on “Tuesday 10 May: The sad deterioration of a Civil Service that once prized efficiency”

  2. Morning, Peeps.

    Today’s leading letter:

    SIR – Apart from five years in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, I worked from 1938 to 1982 in the Civil Service, first at the Inland Revenue and then in the old Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance, starting as a clerk and ending as a senior manager.

    In those days we had adequate procedures to ensure efficient working, to deal with cases of excessive sick leave and to dismiss unsatisfactory employees. During my time, we converted our huge system of paper records into a computer system, second in size only to the Pentagon’s, on time and as planned.

    The idea that a senior officer could work from home would have been laughable. I am proud of my contribution and sad that things have deteriorated so much.

    Keith Herdman
    London SE3

    You are wasting your breath, Mr Herdman.  Until members of the government are on the receiving end of the long delays to which the rest of us are currently subjected (DVLA, NHS, Passports, Revenue and Customs to name but a few) nothing is going to change. When Johnson ceases his childlike fascination with pointless (and demeaning) photo-ops and instead gets back to work with his ministers to sort out this mess, he may be able to rescue the party from political oblivion in 2024.  One thing is certain: it would take a miracle to hold on to the government’s substantial majority which, so far, he shows no sign of using.

    1. HJ, I admire your optimism, “When Johnson ceases his childlike…”

      IMHO Johnson acts the buffoon, with the emphasis on acts. Should he stop acting then the game will be up for him and his equally useless supporters in government. If the Tory party are either unwilling or incapable of ridding the Country of this PM then he will have another two and a half years to continue his ‘work’ without opposition. Looking to a Starmer led Labour party to provide effective opposition is also an optimistic position to hold. Johnson and Starmer, brothers in arms when it comes to ‘race to the bottom’ woke policies.

      1. I think he acts the buffoon because he is incapable of anything else. It was said that, as Foreign Secretary, he was utterly hopeless. I find that perfectly believable.

      1. And no doubt he will have been on a service related, index linked, final salary pension scheme for 40 years.
        I wonder how much that gross figure might be.

  4. SIR – Now that the score seems to be one-one – partygate for the Tories and beergate for Labour – can we all agree that it is a full-time draw, with no extra time?

    Perhaps then our politicians can get to grips with the serious issues confronting the country – the task for which they are employed.

    Alan Belk
    Leatherhead, Surrey

    Come along now, Alan Belk; political point-scoring is much easier than running (or ruining, more like?) the country.  Trying to change things for the better is well beyond most of them and requires qualities that most of the current lot simply do not possess.

  5. SIR – The last peer to be prime minister was the great Lord Salisbury, the fourth longest-serving in our history, who retired 120 years ago in 1902. It is often said that there will never be another. But there could be – sitting in the House of Commons.

    Hereditary peers who were thrown out of the Lords by Tony Blair in 1999 are eligible for seats in the Commons. Since 2014, serving members of the House of Lords, including all those appointed for life, have been able to retire from it permanently at any age. Those who depart remain peers; their titles cannot be relinquished. Like the expelled hereditaries, such peers can become members of the Commons.

    Lord Frost clearly hopes to be an MP, and probably more than a backbencher. A lord in No 10 again is far from inconceivable. The way is also open for the first baroness to become prime minister. Lord Salisbury would have been amazed.

    Lord Lexden (Con)
    London SW1

    “Lord Frost clearly hopes to be an MP…”  Yesterday’s excellent Talking Pints on GBN does appear to confirm this, although he expressed the opinion that it was too early to aim for the top job.  Nevertheless, listening to his views on various topics he does appear – to me at least – to be a worthy candidate and would almost certainly do a significantly better job than Johnson, as well as those who will no doubt push themselves forward when the vacancy arises.  Unfortunately I expect him to be viewed by the present wannabees as an outsider and therefore elbowed aside, but we could do a lot worse than David Frost, who appears to be a man of considerable skill and, moreover, a proper Conservative.

    1. Alec Douglas-Home was the last actually, for the first 4 days of his time as PM.

  6. SIR – Jane Hodgson’s letter (May 9) recalling her mother’s use of Lady Chatterley’s Lover for her sex education took me straight back to my childhood.

    When I asked my mother where babies came from, she was unable to reply, as such things weren’t discussed in the 1950s. Instead she obtained a pamphlet from the doctor to provide the answer.

    The information it contained was somewhat confusing to a nine-year-old. The description of “the deed” used banana flies as the example. As these small creatures perform the feat in mid-air I was indeed puzzled. Fortunately for my encounters in the future, I was given information closer to the facts by my friends at school.

    Susan Firth
    Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

    Our class had to suffer a sex education film called, I think, A Brother For Susan.  It provoked much sniggering at the back!  Our science teacher declined to enter into any discussion afterwards, having timed its ending to coincide with break-time.  Fortunately some of my more knowledgeable classmates were able to fill in the gaps.

      1. The magazine ‘The Family Doctor’ provided a booklet called ‘The Facts of Life’. “If there’s anything that isn’t clear, ask your father or me”. I found it fascinating, I never asked….

    3. A very funny BTL response:-

      Penny Heal
      1 HR AGO
      Susan Firth – yes the fifties and sixties were another country. In 1960 in my first year at the girls grammar school we had a science lesson explaining procreation in humans. I listened in amazement. When asked if there were any questions I put my hand up and asked the teacher in a flabbergasted tone if she had done it. EDITED

    4. We covered rabbit reproduction in our biology text book at the end of one term. We were given the next chapter (human reproduction) to read over the holidays and started the following chapter when we went back to school!

  7. 352581+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Tuesday 10 May: The sad deterioration of a Civil Service that once prized efficiency
    In keeping with the country as a hole.

    These Isles achieved the rating of odious hole due, in the main to the lab/lib/con mass uncontrolled immigration, ongoing, & paedophile paradise coalition and the continuing input of supporters / voters,voting
    for party name regardless of party’s past / current actions.

  8. First refugees to be told this week of their relocation to Rwanda. 10 May 2022.

    The first group of people will be informed this week of the government’s intention to send them to Rwanda under its controversial relocation scheme, the Home Office has said.

    Under plans announced last month, people arriving illegally in the UK via Channel crossings and other routes will be detained and sent to the east African nation to apply for asylum there.

    The government has said it expects tens of thousands of people to be relocated under the scheme, although the plans face legal challenges from charities and campaign groups.

    The Home Office has said that people who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel will be among the first group notified that it plans to send them to Rwanda. It added that it expects the first flights to take place in the coming months.

    The Human Rights lawyers are almost certainly camped out ready on the steps of the Home Office. Since backing down completely is a humiliation too far for even this Government what we will probably see is a very small, carefully selected group bribed and coerced to go to Rwanda with the promise of an early return. That tens of thousands will be going on a one way trip is a pipe dream.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/09/first-refugees-to-be-toldd-this-week-of-their-relocation-to-rwanda

    1. I doubt that any ‘refugees’ will be sent to Rwanda. On the plus side, it means we will save on plane fares.

      1. 352581+ up ticks,

        Morning A,
        Yes,we will keep them inhouse on welfare that’ll show them.

        ..

      1. How can these illegal, economic migrants claim asylum when they arrived here illegally from France, which is considered to be a ‘safe’ country?

        Kick the bastards out.

    3. Perhaps a bunch of Rwandans who have decided it was better where they came from.

      1. More likely a few settled Africans who fancy a cheap flight home for a brief holiday.

  9. SIR – Just when I thought it was impossible for the Government to show greater economic illiteracy, along comes a suggestion from Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, that hard-pressed commercial property investors (a backbone of conservatism outside the South East) should be forced to auction their empty properties – most of which have been made empty in the first place by Government policies.

    Ministers seem to believe that property owners on the high street and elsewhere don’t want to let their properties. In fact they have been crippled by the failure to adjust business rates to rental values, the Covid lockdowns, the disastrous business rates on empty properties, the subsidy of out-of-town competitors and the new taxes on their tenants, just as they were recovering from the collapse caused by the pandemic. High business rates have kept on rising as the high street has declined, with investors’ rents falling dramatically in order to attract retailers.

    This supposedly Conservative Government is now bent on punishing those who have suffered the most – landlords.

    Rodney Atkinson
    Stocksfield, Northumberland

    Rodders, this government’s thirst for our money is on a par width their political stupidity!

    1. Should we look upon this idea as a step on the road to, “You will own nothing and be happy.” Who has the money to bid for currently empty properties and will the bids reflect anything like the real value? I think we can all hazard a guess.

      1. Classic disaster capitalism.
        Create empty properties with lockdown laws, then buy them cheaply.

        1. A bit like the was big developers paid the rioters to wreak havoc on specific areas in the USA to destroy the businesses there and allow the sites to be bought up cheaply for redevelopment.

      1. ‘Morning, Nanners. And in their haste to ban everything they managed to include our prosperity.

    3. There is already incentive to rent out empty commercial properties. The business rates bill goes to the landlord.

  10. What a sad loss of a fine aviator in his prime.  These days ejection is routinely survivable, so I wonder why this happened…equipment failure perhaps?

    David Ashley, pilot who flew Harrier aircraft on missions over Iraq and Afghanistan – obituary

    He was one of the first Britons to enter Baghdad and later instructed fighter and civilian pilots, but he died in an air accident in Italy

    ByTelegraph Obituaries
    9 May 2022 • 2:24pm

    David Ashley, who has died aged 49 as the result of a flying accident, flew Harrier aircraft on operations over Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming a flying instructor on contract with British Aerospace.

    On March 16, Ashley and his Italian co-pilot were carrying out a post-production test flight on a Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft when they were forced to eject over Monte Legnone in the Italian Alps near the town of Lecco. The Italian pilot suffered minor injuries but Ashley did not survive. It was his first flight in the Italian aircraft.

    The son of a former RAF pilot, David Alexander Ashley was born on September 14 1972 at Leicester and was educated at Roundhay High School, Leeds. Aged 17, he was awarded a flying scholarship before joining the RAF in August 1992.

    After gaining his commission, he trained as a navigator and joined 43 Squadron based at Leuchars in Scotland where it operated the Tornado F 3 in the air defence role.

    Ashley began training as a pilot in August 1997, finishing top of his class on the Hawk advanced jet trainer before converting to the Harrier. He joined No 4 Squadron equipped with the Harrier GR 7 and based in Rutland.

    During his four years with the squadron, he saw operational service in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In February 2003 he deployed with his squadron to Al Jaber in Kuwait.

    Before the conflict broke out, he was detached as the British air liaison officer to a joint USAF/US Army tactical headquarters where he spent the next two months advising the commanders on the capabilities and tasking of the RAF’s Harrier force.

    After the defeat of Saddam Hussein, Ashley was one of the first Britons to enter Baghdad.

    After returning from Iraq, he flew in numerous international exercises in Alaska, Poland and Norway. He also qualified in September 2004 to fly from the aircraft carrier Invincible. He was a member of the squadron’s formation aerobatic team “Fours Four”.

    After training to be a weapons and air tactics instructor, Ashley was posted to No 3 Squadron, operating the upgraded Harrier GR 9. In July 2005 he deployed to Kandahar in Afghanistan where he flew operations in support of British ground forces in Helmand. He returned for a second deployment later in the year.

    He later recalled recognising his responsibility when he heard the urgency in the voice of the ground controller over his radio as he was being directed on to targets threatening the troops he was supporting.

    In 2008 he took up an exchange appointment with the Royal Canadian Air Force based at Cold Lake in Alberta. He joined No 410 Squadron to fly the CF-18 Hornet as an instructor in air-to-air, and air-to-ground weapons and in combat tactics. His operational experience was of great value and he was able to recommend new developments in tactical weapons training.

    He was often called upon to act in an ambassadorial role and was particularly honoured to join the Canadian Prime Minister’s representative and to deliver a brief appreciation at the funeral of the then oldest surviving First World War veteran.

    In 2010 he elected to leave the RAF and moved to British Aerospace as a fighter pilot instructor. He joined the company’s training programme in Saudi Arabia teaching pilots of the Royal Saudi Air Force. Based at King Faisal Air Base, he instructed on the British Aerospace Hawk advanced trainer.

    After five years in Saudi Arabia, Ashley decided to try his hand in the civilian aviation world in 2017, but a year as a second pilot with a UK airline was sufficient. He missed the action of military flying and he returned to the Middle East, this time to Qatar as a flying instructor with the Qatar Air Force.

    In July 2019 he and his student were forced to eject from a Pilatus PC-21 advanced trainer aircraft following a mid-air collision with a second PC-21. He suffered severe injuries to his back, legs and face and took many months to recover.

    His legendary fitness and determination overcame his immobility and he was able to resume his many outdoor pursuits, including daily sea swimming. In particular, he excelled at triathlon and during 2021 he achieved a number of notable successes in preparation for future Iron Man competitions. In a recent radio interview, he commented; “activity keeps me sane.”

    During his period of recuperation, he and his wife expanded their property development company, Ashley Property Group, based in Poole, with an increasing number of international clients.

    He trained as a civilian flying instructor and was intending to compete in aerobatic competitions. In late 2021 he accepted a contract from the Italian defence giant Leonardo to be an instructor on the company’s jet trainer.

    Ashley was considered by his colleagues to be a bold, enthusiastic and highly motivated leader and flying instructor. One said of him: “He was someone who epitomised the mantra of live your life to the maximum.”

    David Ashley married his wife Heather in 2004. She and their two sons survive him.

    David Ashley, born September 14 1972, died March 16 2022

    1. PS The obituary has failed to mention that, through his many outdoor activities, he and his company, Ashley Property Group, raised significant sums for a local charity in Ayrshire.

    2. Without seeing the accident report it’s possible he ejected outside the safe envelope whereas the pilot didn’t. I know of one instance where a Canberra on an assymetric approach rolled into the ground. One of the rear seaters ejected sideway and although injured lived but the other rear seater ejected into the ground 1/3 second later and died. I’ve looked on line and the accident is still under investigation and no details available .

    3. Very sadly, although they were highly experienced, both the test pilots were no longer young.
      Although the Italian was several years older, reaction speeds slow considerably after the age of 40.

      1. Agreed, but the counter argument to that is that a pilot like David Ashley will have accumulated huge experience, which may prevent a pilot from making the wrong call when trouble strikes.

  11. Good morning all. A bright start with scattered cloud, but dry after yesterday evening’s rain and a whopping 9°C outside!

    1. We had a drop of rain overnight – probably enough to lay the dust but not much more.

    3. It’s what I always think of as a jigsaw puzzle sky here. Bits of blue and bits of fluffy dark cloud to make the sky more difficult. Temp 13.1C.

    4. It’s what I always think of as a jigsaw puzzle sky here. Bits of blue and bits of fluffy dark cloud to make the sky more difficult. Temp 13.1C.

  12. Emmanuel Macron calls for ‘new European political community’ – and Britain could join. 10 may 2022.

    Britain could be offered a closer relationship with Brussels as part of a new EU-dominated organisation, Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, as he called for drastic reform of the bloc.

    The French President advocated a “new European political community” allowing countries such as the UK and Ukraine the chance to choose their level of integration with Brussels.

    The EU is dead! Long live the EU!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/09/emmanuel-macron-calls-new-european-political-community-britain/

    2. We have already bitten the painful bullet on increasing pensionable ages in line with increasing life spans. European countries have not had the courage to do so and are desperate for our pensions cash. NO we do not want to rejoin, thank you…

    3. We have already bitten the painful bullet on increasing pensionable ages in line with increasing life spans. European countries have not had the courage to do so and are desperate for our pensions cash. NO we do not want to rejoin, thank you…

    4. A “political community” eh?
      You’ve got to hand it to these Eurocrats, they are becoming ingenious in their ways to thwart Brexit.

      They set up this “new community.”
      UK Prime Minister says we will have a referendum on whether to join.
      Dominion Voting System ordered well in advance.
      Hey presto, Britain is back in the EU.

  13. And BBC Radio 3 has a Welsh Male Voice Choir and brass band singing in Welsh to the tune Hyfrydol.
    Gorgeous!

  14. ‘In the latest initiative by the UK Government intended to lecture the rest of the world in how to live their lives, it has announced that the production of Mars Bars will cease on April 1st, 2027. They will be replaced by a variety of crudités with a selection of dipping sauces. Residual stocks of Mars Bars on that date will be sold off at a cost of £40 per bar, excess profits going to the Treasury in the form of a windfall tax.

    “Crudites are a healthy and carbon neutral alternative to Mars Bars” says Boris Johnson, the current UK Prime Minister “and are very popular with those living in the Notting Hill bubble, where my wife and I spend most of our time. I’m sure the Great British public will seize this new opportunity to save the planet with enthusiasm and excitement”

    A UN spokesman said that the organisation welcomed the move and will be watching developments over the next few years with interest.

    A US Government spokesman said “We applaud Mr Johnson’s brave and courageous determination to demonstrate to other world leaders the breadth and depth of his virtue in this matter. We are sure that all UK citizens will grasp this opportunity with the relish that they have grasped previous net zero initiatives from the UK Government.

    “We do not, however, have any plans to discontinue production of Hershey Bars any time soon and it is, of course, open to US citizens, those with dual UK/US nationality and those UK citizens wishing to claim refugee status to relocate to the US if they feel they are not quite ready to go down this path. We would, however, caution all asylum seekers to avoid the use of rubber dinghies, which are much favoured as a means of transport by the UK Government for their carbon-neutral properties, and opt for the carbon-spewing jet aircraft option instead.

    “The Atlantic and the English Channel are hugely different bodies of water and, besides, our Aviation, Petrochemical and Tourism industries need the revenue, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

    ‘And don’t be put off by events in Saigon and Kabul. Heathrow isn’t in a Third World country, yet, and we’ll get it right this time, 3rd time lucky and all that.”

  17. Good morning, all. A grey day.

    82 years ago today, Winston replaced Chamberlain. WHERE OH WHERE is the Winston of today?

  19. The Queen to miss State Opening of Parliament for first time in nearly 60 years. 10 May 2022.

    The Queen will miss the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 60 years, as she continues to suffer with “episodic mobility problems”.

    The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on her behalf and at her request – the first time he has taken on such a major constitutional duty, Buckingham Palace announced.

    They are not telling us this but Her Maj is obviously in terminal decline. This is not good news. Not only for her but for us. Her passing will symbolise the end of an age and the ushering in of a new one. It will not be a better one. The Monarchy itself will be weaker and consequently the Elites more powerful still. All that we have known. All that we have believed will finally cease to be with her passing.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/05/09/queen-miss-state-opening-parliament/

    1. The bastards are clearly wanting her to die so that the dozens of pages they have had ready for 30 years can be produced in “special editions”.

    2. The bastards are clearly wanting her to die so that the dozens of pages they have had ready for 30 years can be produced in “special editions”.

    3. When it happens there will be so much bad news to be buried that the civil service will go into over-drive getting it published whilst the attention of the masses is focused elsewhere.

    4. She has not recovered from losing Prince Philip.
      And the behaviour of particular family members – step forward Twin Piques and Randy Andy – has hardly given her the chance to rest and recover from such a sad event.

    5. No, the Queen could be suffering from the combined after effects of the virus and all those vaccinations.
      Alternatively, HM may have suffered a couple of transient ischaemic attacks, or TIA.

    1. A perfect metaphor for the EU parliament.

      Lots of fancy movement achieving precisely nothing.

    2. Who are the Sillier Sausages – those dancing in the aisles or those watching and listening?

    3. Wonder how much that cost the Eurins who are still paying for it. But then we still are too thanks to the ‘Conservatives’ failure to get us out fully.

    4. Wonder how much that cost the Eurins who are still paying for it. But then we still are too thanks to the ‘Conservatives’ failure to get us out fully.

    6. Reminds me of “Music and Movement” with Wilfred Appleby c. 1946. BBC Schools. Radio.

    10. I’m sure European taxpayers are ecstatic about their money being used to entertain MEPs with interpretative dancing.

    11. Biggest load of bollocks and another identifier that the EU just wants to waste the taxpayers’ money.

  23. The snivel serpents who continue to shirk at home must be told to return to the office or be sacked (losing their padded pensions).

    When the rest go on strike, I doubt that we will notice any change.

  25. “It would be absurd for Starmer to resign over a curry”. – Charles Moore.
    Moore seems to have missed the point. It is not about curry but rather about hypocrisy and lies.

    1. …and Moore appears to have followed the DT on its massive shift to the left.

      1. Morning Nan. I have noticed since his peerage that he’s been singing the government tune!

    2. If we expect MPs to resign because they’re liars, the Commons would be about a third full.

        1. There are decent people inn the Commons trying to do the right thing for their constituents. Not many, but some. The problem is because they’re decent people trying to do the right thing, they never get within snatching distance of office to do genuine good.

          1. Of course. However they are all liars. It’s a prerequisite qualification to be a MP.

          2. The party system filters out any who can’t say with a straight face “I believe that Boris Johnson/Keir Starmer will make a tremendous Prime Minister.”

        1. If he thinks it would still be as much as a third full I suspect that would make him a pessimist.

    3. Once sensible reporters such as Moore have now become part of the problem.

  26. Motorist ploughs car into Johnson’s front garden wall.

    A CAR has crashed into the front garden of the Prime Minister’s £1.3million London townhouse.

    Police were called to the Camberwell property at 1.19am on Monday where they found a Vauxhall Astra that had ploughed through the front wall, damaging a hedge and a tree.

    Neighbours said the house had been “targeted by protesters” in recent weeks and several cars had stopped outside the three-storey building “playing Russian music” loudly with their windows down.

    The Metropolitan Police said no offences had been identified and the driver of the vehicle had suffered a “minor injury”.

    Neighbours told The Times that they were woken by a “loud bang” when the car crashed this morning.

    Residents said there had been issues in the area recently with speeding drivers using the quiet street as a rat run and there had been efforts to get speed bumps installed as a result.

    The Prime Minister purchased the four-bedroom semi-detached south London property with Carrie Symonds in July 2019 for £1.2million, according to Land Registry documents.

    Boris Johnson, who lives with his family at the four-bedroom flat above No 11 Downing Street, has reportedly not been seen at the house for at least two years.

    Mr Johnson’s 50 per cent share in the Camberwell property is included in the register of MPS’ interests, which notes that he has received rental income of at least £10,000 a year from 2019.

    A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers attended and found a car that had struck the exterior of a property causing minor damage. The driver of the car sustained a minor injury and was assessed by paramedics but did not require hospital treatment.”

    “No offences had been identified.” How about driving without due care and attention, as a bare minimum, you useless pillocks?

    1. Boris said he was broke. He regularly has a begging bowl out. He could sell the house if he is short of cash.
      Good morning.
      Veal Osso Buco in the slow cooker. I watched Spencer Metzger, Head Chef of the Ritz, on Great British Menu yesterday and i have pinched the sauce that he made. Madeira, Port and chicken stock to go with the veal.

      1. Broke to people like him doesn’t have the same meaning as it does to people like us. He might mean he’s down to his last couple of million.

      2. He is ‘broke’, because his ex-wife Marina took him to the cleaners.
        By the end she was fed up.

        1. She had good cause to be. I don’t think his older children are too pleased with him, either.

    3. Good morning Grizzly and everyone.
      Unusually the Telegraph published the photograph of the black Vauxhall Astra with a registration plate visible.

      BTL comments state that the vehicle´s road tax expired at the end of March.

  29. OT – Talking of blood pressure – I have often bored you with my cardiac isshoos. Last week, the MR started giving me a glass of beetroot juice each evening (as a reward, I can have a glass of wine after). She said it is good at keeping BP down.

    To my great surprise (I always take “alternative remedies” with a wheelbarrow of salt) – it seems that she may be on to something. For the last 4 days, my BP has been markedly lower….

    And the juice doesn’t taste too bad, either…

    1. Is this home juiced beetroot juice? Asking for a friend… And how big a glass? Sherry glass size? White wine glass size?

        1. Thank you. My blood pressure is creeping up but I refuse to be pharma’d.

      2. I recall a work associate panicking over this phenomenon…He went to A&E…

    6. Was this from watching Dr Michael Moseley’s recent prog about beetroot?

        1. In which case you might like to watch it. I think it was either Ch4 or 5. I like Moseley’s programmes, he’s a Dr who doesn’t appear to pull the wool.

    7. A dear late friend, from Norwich, used to make a superb beetroot wine. It was far tastier than many a shop-bought plonk.

  31. Good morning all. Chilling thought for the day. A comment from Pete Smith from the Dr Mercola site.

    “With some many US bio-weapon labs around the world, it’s easy to create another pandemic, so this new WHO pandemic treaty creates a backdoor to Global Governance (NWO) by WEF. When Tedros steps down, Bill Gates can take his place and has then the power to declare emergency and rule the world. To declared emergency, is the same way how Hitler grabbed absolute power, because his party had only one third of the German votes, but by declaring emergency after the burning of the Reichtag (parliament buiding), he had all the power to get rid of any opposition.”

    1. I continually find it hypocritical that when Brown wanted his taxes he used the army to force the lorry blockades off the road and away from refineries.

      Now, astonishingly, because it suits the state agenda we can’t do anything about the demented green tyrants.

      1. Given how obvious the coming problems are, and how incredibly easy they would be to avoid, it makes you wonder why the state is throwing itself headlong into ensuring the problem comes about.

        Government causes 95% of all the chaos in this country. All we need is less government, lower taxes. It’s really not complicated.

          1. You might even be able to get a lift with VW and the Alf the Great en route if you are quick.

    3. Can’t see Gates taking over personally – he’s too controversial. They will install some person from a country where corruption is rife, who understands these things.

  32. ‘Morning All

    New laws again??

    “Crackdown on green zealots’ chaos: Eco-warriors will be BANNED from

    chaining themselves to buildings and blocking roads under tough new

    police powers to quash protests

    Police will soon be given powers to tackle disruptive action by protest groups

    Ministers have made the Public Order Bill a priority and will be announced today

    Government attempted to bring the measures in January, but they were blocked

    The measures come after Priti Patel visited a Met Police specialist training centre”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10799233/Legal-crackdown-green-zealots-chaos-Tough-new-police-powers-quash-disruptive-protests.html
    What abject bullshite we ALREADY have ample laws to deal with these people,we have all watched these zealots committing criminal damage right in front of police who all fail to act!!
    So who is this new act really aimed at?? The Geeniacs?? Or Joe Public that may want to protest the destruction of all our lives……..

    1. It simply creates yet more legislation for wily lawyers to go through and find loopholes to get the eco-freaks off.

      Makes me sick.

    2. Action Statations, Action Statation Action Statations

      Airborne Porcine Squadron incoming

    3. A judge has already agreed with the eco loons that breaking the law is fine as its for the ‘greater good’. Similar in the Colston statue case. So new laws will make no difference.

    4. A judge has already agreed with the eco loons that breaking the law is fine as its for the ‘greater good’. Similar in the Colston statue case. So new laws will make no difference.

    5. The government’s answer to the problems it causes is always more government. No doubt they’ll sneak in ever more intrusive surveillance laws as well. Eventually this law will morph into an ever more draconian and abusive one.

    6. “And a Gene-editing Bill will let scientists develop techniques to genetically alter livestock, making them resistant to diseases.”

      “Gene editing Bill”. Whose genes are we talking about here? And Which livestock would they be genetically altering, as if they haven’t already!

    7. Those new laws are to stop us from protesting. XR were never anything except a false flag to get unnecessary and draconian new laws passed.

  33. 352581+ up ticks,

    Do the electorate majority realise they are supporting political double dealing, devious,
    dodgy bastards quoting war time compulsory
    purchase material and this WILL come into play.

    Mortgage payers with the banks buying up properties that when the bank forecloses on lapsed payments CAN always rent from the new owner, the banks.
    The fact being you could find ind yourself
    sharing the pavement with a vet. for company and an illegal occupying & sitting in youf favourite armchair in a house that was nearly yours.

    The belated question is can the lab/lib/con coalition still count on your support / vote.

    1. If you’ve missed payments and the bank exercises it’s right to seize it’s property, then arguably it can do what it likes.

      I’d think the bank would do everything it could to keep you in there and paying though, even if you were paying less.

      1. Disaster capitalism is where they cause a crisis, and then reap the profits from it. I believe a lot of property changed hands during the last depression too.

      2. 352581+ up ticks,

        Afternoon W,

        You sure, say the banks are singing to a different song sheet, not Rule Britannia
        but ode to joy.
        Is there not talk of a multi country pro eu group building, reset is on the march
        forward no reverse on the reset ratchet.

  34. Some “Oi Laffed”

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/815bc4ccea19dc0942518f5046fcfeebf1f62ac672d55579aa1c8de8e9889fad.jpg

    (I note Pure Cremations has fallen)

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/91df8213d5e3fa5bcc2e722ac67b0ad31b4426fde52011ca96849f10f068c04a.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9f2e8abe544b53fe0bd278f5ec8ef14a400c77d2010ebe465aac645f06a09365.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4d5c4aa2b91a92b978afc2df252cf702903d1491a89046f2db5d261ecff8dca9.png

    1. Never understood what the flip it is to do with the state. It’s not their body, not their choice. it’s no one’s choice but the parents.

      1. And at what point does that choice stop?
        When the child is able to fend for itself or becomes an adult perhaps?

      2. It’s very much the business of the state because the state pays for it. Most abortions are done on welfare.

    2. To overturn Roe v Wade has nothing to do with politics but law. The reality is that it should never have been passed in the first place because there is no constitutional right to an abortion and no matter how convoluted the logic you use, the “right” just isn’t there. The issue isn’t whether women have a right to an abortion, the issue is does the constitution give them that right? The answer is a resounding NO.

      The abortion issue in the USA has gotten completely out of hand. In some states, New York, as an example, you can terminate the baby as it is being born. Not content with that sick attitude, blatant murder. The more radical feminists are now advocating, post birth abortion up to 9 months. The sickness of Marxism and the degradation of what it is to be human, dehumanization so that anything can be justified against the people, is all part and parcel of the war against the fundamental underpinnings of Western Civilization in favour of Marxism and its perverse view of the world.

      1. The problem is that the politics/politicians pass the laws, so ultimately it has everything to do with politics.

        1. Not quite. The Politicians pass laws, the Supreme Court uses and interprets the Constitution using a variety of factors and then decides if a law passed by the legislator is valid or not. In that sense the Supreme Court is above politics and can thus strike down political decisions that are put before it.
          Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
          https://courses.lumenlearning.com/amgovernment/chapter/judicial-decision-making-and-implementation-by-the-supreme-court/
          But, as I said. Roe v Wade has no foundation in the Constitution.

          1. You are wrong there.
            The mere fact that there are 20+ amendments to the constitution shows that the politicians can change such things if they have a sufficient number in favour.
            Also; To quote from your link:

            But the most significant check on the Supreme Court is executive and legislative leverage over the implementation and enforcement of its rulings. This process is called judicial implementation. While it is true that courts play a major role in policymaking, they have no mechanism to make their rulings a reality. Remember it was Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78 who remarked that the courts had “neither force nor will, but merely judgment.” And even years later, when the 1832 Supreme Court ruled the State of Georgia’s seizing of Native American lands unconstitutional,[5] President Andrew Jackson is reported to have said, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it,” and the Court’s ruling was basically ignored.[6] Abraham Lincoln, too, famously ignored Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s order finding unconstitutional Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus rights in 1861, early in the Civil War. Thus, court rulings matter only to the extent they are heeded and followed.

          2. I’m not wrong because the amendments are part and parcel of the Constitution and allowed by the Constitution.
            “Article V
            The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.”

            And: “A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.”
            Politicians may, therefore put forward an amendment but because of the constraints put on how an amendment comes to be it is not as simple as politicians deciding for an amendment. It is by no means that easy. As the below makes clear.

            “Approximately 11,770 proposals to amend the Constitution have been introduced in Congress since 1789 (as of January 3, 2019).[4][7] Collectively, members of the House and Senate typically propose around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.[8] Proposals have covered numerous topics, but none made in recent decades have become part of the Constitution. Historically, most died in the congressional committees to which they were assigned. Since 1999, only about 20 proposed amendments have received a vote by either the full House or Senate. The last time a proposal gained the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and the Senate for submission to the states was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978. Only 16 states had ratified it when the seven-year time limit expire.

          3. For goodness sake; if that isn’t political control what is?

            The politicians do it, the judges interpret it.

            Ultimately it really is that simple.

    3. I gave up on that one half way through – i really can’t understand the mindset of these people.

      1. He’s arguing that the Republicans are likely to be harmed by the Democrats being choosy about which bits they attack.

        The more “aggressive”, no exceptions, pro-life people will say their bit and the Democrats will focus on those parts, painting all pro-life people and hence Republicans as crazy extremists.

  37. Can anyone explain WHY these young women are upvoting some of us (apart from the fact that those upvoted are tremendously attractive and desirable, of course).

    1. It’s to promote some sort of sex thing.

      It isn’t working. It just gives me a false impression of the popularity of my ranty posts.

    2. There are no “young women” it is a bot that is doing the upticks.

      2. But the bot does wear a liberty bodice with rubber buttons – for Bill’s delectation.

    3. Better than the auto bot that removed votes – as long as one doesn’t follow any links provided in their profiles.

    4. You are supposed to click on the links to discover more of their attractions.

      If just one in a thousand are fooled and get sucked into their world, they probably win – whether the result is a virus infected PC or a few dollars from a visit their porn site.

        1. I get a two percent royalty on the proceeds of their nefarious schemes.

          .I wish

    6. They are waiting for our connections and then a deposit into their bank accounts.

    7. Yo Mr T

      SWMBO has just ordered me to get her some Beetroot Juice £4.95 from Holland & Barret. £2.65 from Tesco.
      We She will try it

      Thanx for info

  38. SIR – I read with dismay of my thoroughly eccentric cousin Pyotr Tolstoy’s diatribe [below] against Britain and support for Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

    I would be surprised were any other member of the family to share his views, and know of many who emphatically do not. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, did Lev Nikolayevich (Leo) Tolstoy ever kill any Englishmen during the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854.

    I believe a more characteristic family view of the British was that of my grandfather, Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky.
    In 1911 he travelled to marry my beautiful English grandmother, Eileen Hamshaw, at the Russian Embassy chapel in London. They first met playing tennis in the Crimea.

    My own wife, Georgina, is another English beauty, and I hope we will live to see Britain and Russia allies once again, as we were until the German-funded Bolshevik Revolution destroyed almost everything of value in Russia’s history.

    Nikolai Tolstoy
    Southmoor, Berkshire

    Tolstoy’s great-great-grandson boasts of his ancestor ‘slaughtering’ British troops in Crimea

    Pyotr Tolstoy, a politician and descendant of the War and Peace novelist, praises the Ukraine war and repeats calls for ‘de-Nazification’

    By Nick Squires • ROME • 4 May 2022 • 3:24pm

    A Russian politician who is a descendant of the novelist Leo Tolstoy has boasted of how his great-great-grandfather “slaughtered” British and French troops in the Crimea in the 19th century, whilst insisting that Moscow will not end its war in Ukraine until it has reached the Polish border.

    Pyotr Tolstoy, who is the deputy chairman of the Duma, the Russian parliament, made the bellicose claim about occupying the whole of Ukraine despite the Russian army’s abject failure to take Kyiv in the first few days of the war, its logistical problems, its low morale and its difficulties in the eastern Donbas region. An MP from the United Russia party, a former television presenter and a propagandist for Vladimir Putin, he said: “Notwithstanding the help coming from Europe and the hysteria of Boris Johnson or Mario Draghi [Italy’s prime minister], we will finish the operation when we judge it to be opportune. I think we will stop when we reach the border with Poland.”

    He strenuously denied suggestions that by supporting the bloody Russian invasion of Ukraine, he was “dishonouring” the name of his famous ancestor, whose masterpiece War and Peace is set against the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Parts of it were inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s firsthand experience of war. At the age of 26, he fought in the Crimean War as a junior officer in an artillery brigade and was present at the Siege of Sevastopol. The city eventually fell to the British and French in 1855.

    “Leo Tolstoy was an officer in the Russian army. He slaughtered British and French soldiers in Crimea, in Russian Crimea. When your country’s destiny is at stake, your only concern is to stick with your country. I don’t see any contradiction [between Russia’s position today] and his legacy,” he told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

    In fact, the Crimean War pushed the fun-loving young count to give up his high-society life to focus on writing, human rights activism and promoting pacifism. “War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves,” Leo Tolstoy wrote.

    ‘De-Nazification of Ukraine is the aim’

    In an interview that offered an insight into the often delusional mentality of the Putin regime, Pyotr Tolstoy repeated claims that Ukraine was full of “Nazis”, claiming that “almost all” the soldiers captured from “nationalist Ukrainian battalions” fighting in Mariupol had swastika tattoos. The war will only end “when Ukraine is totally de-Nazified and demilitarised, so that it no longer represents a threat to the Russian Federation and there is no possibility of transforming it into an anti-Russian country, as the West has tried to do in the past 30 years”.

    The West’s efforts to wean itself off Russian gas and oil could lead to massive energy price rises and, ultimately, the collapse of the EU, he claimed. “The increase in gas prices will hit the middle classes, who are the electoral base for Western governments. The European Union could meet the same fate as the USSR.”

    He claimed that Russia, in contrast, would be able to withstand the loss of energy contracts, the withdrawal of multinational companies and the sanctions imposed by the West. He said: “Consumerism is not the main trait of the Russian man. When the survival of the country is as stake, for the average Russian, the rise in prices by a few roubles is not a tragedy. They won’t take to the streets.”

    Pyotr Tolstoy started his career in journalism at Agence-France Presse in Moscow in the Nineties, before emerging as one of the staunchest critics of Western liberalism on state TV. Known for openly anti-Semitic and homophobic statements, the 52-year-old has been a member of the Russian parliament since 2016.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/04/tolstoys-great-great-grandson-boasts-ancestor-slaughtering-troops/

    1. Good afternoon! There must be at least 80 million people in the UK by now?

      1. ‘Afternoon, Sue, and that is backed up by the supermarkets count, much more reliable than any government figures, as the supermarkets need to know for whom they are catering.

    2. Aw come on, that’s less than 500 million a year, not even a million a day. Just a mere rounding error!

      There must be a lot of new doctors being hired to care for that increase!

      1. 70,000,000/12 = 5,833,333.333333333 per month or / 365 = 19,1780.8219178082 per day – not unbelievable given the Border force and RNLI assistance.

      2. Sums.. Cost of keeping an immigrant is estimated at £10,000 per head. 7m x £10,000 = £70,000 million, that is £70 billion* per annum. Please check my figures. They squirrel around.

        * More than the entire annual budget of Greece.

          1. Oops, the squirrel says sorry as he has a sore head. Billions it is. Edit ahead.

    3. This is absolutely outrageous and i would stick my neck out by adding not one of them have paid in a single penny for the usage of the NHS.
      This is and are the true reasons that we are being ripped off by our government with rising costs. It is costing this countries tax payers and the rest of the retired population billions each year to support all these millions scroungers. Why has this nation been so stupidly submissive ?

          1. My slaves don’t get to speak. Just like they don’t in the modern world of Africa and the Arab States.

  41. I missed this on Sunday evening.

    NHS accused of favouring men changing gender over women with medical needs for breast surgery
    Report says NHS has ‘facilitated greater access’ to surgery for gender dysphoria patients whilst services are cut for women in pain

    By
    Hayley Dixon, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
    1 May 2022 • 9:00pm

    The NHS has been accused of looking more favourably on men wishing to change gender over women with medical conditions when funding breast surgery.

    As services across the country are cut for women suffering painful medical conditions, there has been an increase in the number of surgeries provided to those wishing to undergo gender reassignment.

    A report for the NHS in England noted that it is “striking” that it has “facilitated greater access to gender reassignment surgery for gender dysphoria” whilst women with medical needs are increasingly struggling to access the same procedures.

    One woman refused surgery, Natasha Gothard, 32, is in constant pain and was unable to breast feed her daughter after the NHS refused to replace implants that they had given her when she was 13 to treat congenital breast asymmetry.

    The implants, which had already been replaced when Ms Gothard was in her 20s, had caused capsular contracture, a build-up of scar tissue that contracts around the implant causing pain.

    The civil engineer told The Telegraph: “I have been in pain for nearly six years. When surgery was first proposed to me by my NHS doctor I was 13 and it was never suggested that it was a cosmetic procedure.

    “This is not something that I can control, it was the NHS’s idea to have this surgery and they have abandoned me without any follow up care.”

    In response to her surgeon’s application to replace the implant, the local NHS funding body said they would only remove it.

    Ms Gothard added: “I am left with the options of chronic pain or permanent disfigurement. I don’t expect those to be the choices from the health service.”

    Gender reassignment patients ‘excluded’ from funding ban
    When Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) sent Ms Gothard their policy, it said that those undergoing gender reassignment were excluded from the ban on funding along with those recovering from cancer.

    The CCG last night clarified that the policy, which has since been replaced, excluded trans people as this surgery is funded centrally by the NHS specialist services and is not the responsibility of local providers.

    Investigations by this newspaper have found that many local NHS funding groups will only pay for breast augmentation for cancer survivors unless there is an “exceptional” reason. As in Ms Gothard’s case, medics have to apply.

    Breast augmentation for gender reassignment is also not routinely funded by NHS England and an application has to be made.

    Draft Clinical Commissioning Policy guidance available online states that it should be given as a secondary service for trans women as “augmentation mammoplasty should not be confused with breast enhancement in natal women. It is a necessary and vital part of gender reassignment” for those who have not responded to hormones.

    A report into breast surgery for the NHS, published by a leading surgeon last year, found that over the last decade the number of admissions for gender reassignment in England had increased from 53 admissions to 355 admissions.

    In comparison, admissions for surgery for a congenital breast problem has dropped from 1,342 a year to 506, with authors noting “it is becoming harder for individuals to access aesthetic breast surgery despite having a recognised medical condition”.

    ‘Inconsistent and illogical’
    The report added: “It is striking to note how NHS Specialised Commissioning has facilitated greater access to gender reassignment surgery for gender dysphoria – even though some of the surgical procedures involved are the same as those used to treat e.g. congenital breast developmental issues.”

    “We see it as both inconsistent and illogical that a procedure can be deemed of limited clinical value for one group of patients or medical condition, but acceptable for another, where there is no substantial difference in the surgical outcomes.”

    Funding decisions on breast surgery for women are made by local NHS funding groups, but the same decisions for trans people are made centrally as part of specialised services.

    Ms Gothard, who is planning to pay for the surgery privately after the birth of her second daughter, said: “It adds insult to injury, people who wish to undergo gender reassignment are not in physical pain. The NHS should be funding breast care and not a breast wishlist.

    “Women’s breast care services should be afforded first and foremost to women. No service should be cut mid treatment.”

    An NHS spokesman said: “It is incorrect to suggest that the small number of patients undergoing gender reassignment surgery are in any way being prioritised over the tens of thousands of women undergoing breast surgery, including for cancer and other conditions, each year.’

    Paula Wilkins, the chief nurse at NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “We work to make sure all patients are treated fairly and have access to clinically effective care and procedures.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/01/nhs-accused-favouring-men-changing-gender-women-medical-needs/

    1. Paula Wilkins is talking out of her bottom.

      I need further surgery for a blockage in my leg diagnosed as Arterial Periphery Disease. I have been denied it. It means walking more than a few yards is painful for the rest of my life. The condition will only get worse.

      1. I didn’t realise it was still that bad. Have you been denied it permanently on cost grounds?

        1. After i had the Angio the surgeon said i still had a blockage which they couldn’t clear without me going under the knife. He said my Consultant would call me. A few days later a Consultant from another hospital phoned me and told me i had been mis-informed and they would only operate if i was in danger of losing the leg.

          The Angio was partly successful using the inflate balloon in arteries process but not completely.

          I can barely walk. I can’t run. And i can no longer dance let alone run for a bus.

          And to top all that i was turned down for Personal Independence Payment.

          I have still had no follow up from my GP.

          2. I have tried. Don’t hold out much hope. If the situation deteriorates i will go to Citizens Advice. They help with appeals. I’m being made to feel like a beggar.

          3. I’ve been given the run around (which is more than I can do now) about my SIJ problem. I feel they have thrown me on the scrap heap.

        1. If all else fails i will cough up and go private. Then sue the NHS for negligence.

    2. I have never thought that it was the job of the NHS to provide cosmetic or social services!

    3. Surely transgender surgery is of an elective nature, so should have a lesser priority than non-elective surgery?

    4. Le “me old mate” Chpper Harris sort the men out

      We could all play marbles afterwards, or make small sets stumps for table cricket to use with any balls left over, ie of the ilk of Herr Schiclgruber

  42. Sorry I’m late again, we’ve been busy visiting my Sister and BiL she has a large birthday on the 12th. Just as we left it chucked it down with a heavy shower.

    You simply could not make this up I received a letter this morning re an appointment, Conversation type about a pending long a awaited procedure in cardiology.
    It virtually coincides with another NHS appointment on the same day only 15 minutes before it, then I will be in the waiting room rolling my sleeve up for a blood test. I might place a huge bet on the time next month we are likely to be away for a week, and someone arranges the next (following) appointment and i will be sought to appear.

    1. I received a text a week ahead of my telephone appointment warning me that missed appointments cost £160. Quite how they work that out for a phone call, I have no idea.

      1. I looked into a private consultation to try and get things moving a bit and it was 250.00 just for a chat. It appears that many of the doctors and specialists who were once solely employed by the NHS have now taken to private practice. Even our GP seems to have set up some sort of private business with his wife. No wonder he’s never available as he was before the ‘pandemic’.
        I’ve just a few minutes ago had confirmation from the secretary that my pre assessment has been rescheduled.

  43. The Queen’s Speech sparks fury as people all spot same problem. James Rodger – 1h ago

    The Prime Minister will confirm no extra funds, or plans for a windfall tax on energy giants, to help hard-up households as prices rocket. The PM has opted to ignore pleas for fresh help for struggling, cash-starved British households.

    “After two years of Covid-19, I know that the last thing people need are further challenges. I know people are struggling with their bills, and that they are anxious about the future,” Mr Johnson said. “But we will get the country through it just as we got through Covid-19, with every ounce of ingenuity and compassion and hard work.

    “No country is immune and no government can realistically shield everyone from the impact,” Mr Johnson said. “It is right that we continue doing whatever we can to ease the burdens people are grappling with now, supporting the hardest-hit with £22 billion of help to address the cost of living and cutting hundreds of pounds off household bills.

    “But we must also remember that for every pound of taxpayers’ money we spend on reducing bills now, it is a pound we are not investing in bringing down bills and prices over the longer term. And that if anything, this moment makes clear our best remedy lies in urgently delivering on our mission to turbo-charge the economy, create jobs and spread opportunity across the country.”

    We’re screwed!

    The Queen’s Speech sparks fury as people all spot same problem (msn.com)

    1. I hope the fat bastard has a fatal heart attack while he’s bonking Carrie. And she can’t shift him off and suffocates.

      I’m definitely feeling unChristian today.

          2. Thank you.
            I did see it late last night after we’d been out all day. M is playing bowls this afternoon and we’ll sort it out this evening. Is there anyone we need to pick up on the way?

          5. Excellent. D might be coming. Herts and hubby are arriving Saturday. As is Jill.

    2. More bare faced lies from that DH Johnson. I also read that Sunak is going to be digging around in peoples savings accounts and their pension pots soon as well.

      1. …our best remedy lies in urgently delivering on our mission to turbo-charge the economy, create jobs and spread opportunity across the country.

        It’s enough to make you weep but as OGGY points out they keep voting for it!

      2. …our best remedy lies in urgently delivering on our mission to turbo-charge the economy, create jobs and spread opportunity across the country.

        It’s enough to make you weep but as OGGY points out they keep voting for it!

      1. Afternoon BB. Only that he and his buddies in Westminster created this situation!

    4. It’s the confusion in the speech that bothers. We will create jobs. No, you can’t. Only private enterprise can do that and you can’t do it while you keep taxes high.

      You aren’t ‘easing the burden’ because you are the burden. You’re not utting hundreds off bills, you’re adding them.

      You haven’t done anything to reduce the real costs because your long term plan is higher taxes and less energy. It’s easy to find the money – close the department for climate change and spend it on gas power stations.

      You cannot ‘turbo charge the economy’ because you’re taxing it into poverty. You’re removing what people could spend through your taxes and as for opportnuity, that comes from business creating jobs. Forcing someone to pay for someone else to have something is socialism, and that doesn’t work.

      It’s simply a pack of lies. A tiresome, boring, word salad pack of lies.

      1. The whole speech was a ClicheFest.
        You could hear “Yeah, right” running through Chuck’s mind as he mouthed the words.

          1. In fairness, yes he does. Sadly, he overthinks stuff. He doesn’t appear to have the ‘sod it’ factor.

    5. Well the Queen’s Speech is a cue for amateur comedy time. The MP doing stand-up at this moment has come out with “funny” after “funny”.
      Oh Yuss! Highest road full prices ever, highest electricity costs ever, highest gas prices ever, NHS shut, GP surgeries shut, 7 million immigrants on welfare, food shortages predicted, and war with Russia apparently imminent. Very funny. As funny as a serious case of leprosy.
      (Did the government not carefully vet any replies? No, that would be interfering with free speech.)

    6. Unless he thinks COVID or some other convenient crisis will keep coming back, why doesn’t he do what we did in WWII and take 80+ years to pay off the debt?

    7. If they would only cut the green taxes it would help long-suffering householders pay their bills because they’d actually have money in their pockets. Duh!

    8. Seems to me Minty that your three word observation would have been the perfect and only necessary response from HM Leader of the Opposition!

    1. The Left really are vile, disgusting scum. As for ‘far Right’, would that be a party opposed to massive uncontrolled immigration?

      1. Probably! They say that a Conservative is a Socialist who has been mugged by reality, but this fool was too stupid to change even when he was mugged.

        1. It’s just struck me – to stop being beaten up he’s got to shout ‘stop! I’m one of you!’

    2. Channel Four – the Far-Right wing of the BBC. That puts it about four communist sections to the left of Karl Marx.

    2. Spend all your money with us and we will make you look like a tramp. In fact you will be one because you have spent all your money on over priced rubbish with us.

      1. There was us thinking that we would have to go to the dump to get rid of the stuff at the back of the barn.

        All we need to do is advertise it.

          4. Go on! I’ll bite ‘cos you’re a fun guy – I use it for (drumroll!) darning!

          6. Garters, suspenders, and of course your pin-up Mathilde. You’re just a dirty old man really, Bill, admit it! :o)

            If my husband had gone online drooling over Mathilde pictures I would have been rather unimpressed – but no doubt MR never got to see or hear of it. I’m glad my husband and I don’t have anything to hide from each other…

          8. I have one of those, too, but darning heels is a bit past me now (arthritic hands, you see).

      4. I’ve got a jumper like that, only it’s olive green and muddy brown. I was going to throw it away, but now I’ll wear it and say it’s designer distressed 🙂

    4. I don’t get it. Are those shoes $675?

      The warqueen spends twice that on one of her suits, and she’s got wardrobes full of those – really, there are two big Pax ones (cos I built them) full of her stuff and a little one for mine.

      2. Erm, why do you up with that kind of primadonna behaviour from your spouse?

        Or maybe you are rolling in money in which case I apologise, as one of the ordinary plebs.

    5. And there’ll be someone with more money than sense who will buy them. Hmm, I wonder how much my old gardening socks would fetch?

    6. I’ve a cleaner pair like that in the car boot. Spartie refuses to be seen with me if I suggest wearing them. He has no taste.

    1. Shirley if the human species originated in Africa, Eve would shirley have been a niggra woman!

  49. Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe portrait sells for record $195m. 10 May 2022.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f73e429ba16cc692e754bc4bd17ec9c427482e0a641cafbb061052697dba6294.png

    Pop artist Andy Warhol’s image of Marilyn Monroe, one of his best known portraits, has smashed records after selling for $195m in New York in less than four minutes of bidding.

    Warhol’s 1964 silk-screen image of Marilyn Monroe, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, created after the film star’s death two years earlier, has become the most expensive piece of 20th-century art ever sold following its auction on Monday for $170m plus fees, taking the final price to $195m.

    I wouldn’t give you 10 quid for it but that’s because I couldn’t even imagine having it hanging on the wall, even the toilet wall.

    There’s an interesting story about Warhol. After his murder his New York apartment was sealed due to problems with who inherited what and it remained so for some considerable time leading to huge speculation about what unseen personal treasures it might contain. When it was finally opened there was nothing of his own but a large collection of traditional “Chocolate Box” paintings.

    https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/may/09/andy-warhol-marilyn-monroe-portrait-auction

    1. It is *the* iconic piece of twentieth century art. The money is silly, but fiat money is very unevenly distributed in the world today.

  50. I was so amazed to see the Crown and other bits and pieces wending their way in separate Rollers .. all on view .. I mean, Rolex watch snatchers are everywhere , but a lonely Crown of the realm sitting proudly on a velvet cushion being transported back to wherever it lives must have been the stuff of novels ..

    You could imagine David Niven and Michael Caine, heads together , plotting !

    1. I strongly suspect it’s not the real thing but a replica. I was told at the Tower that the Crown Jewels on display are all replicas…..the real stuff is in a strong room and only comes out for a Coronation.

    2. Plod surround the HoP. Besides, you don’t get that sort in that area without significant scrutiny.

          2. Think about it: a dozen young demonstrators spring right in front of the regalia car, car slows down or halts. A snatch takes place, along with some distraction. Masked scooter kids grab the mace and drive off along the pavement, where they are escorted by other bikes etc. Who would the policemen aim at? There is a general taboo against shooting unarmed ethnic minorities in the back or at close range, unless they are Brazilian electricians.
            With a DeWalt Flexvolt 125mm angle grinder that sceptre could have been chopped into pieces in seconds, and hidden immediately.

          3. Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out – expect a knock on the door

          4. No, just watched too many crime capers such as ‘The Jokers’, starring Michael Crawford and Ollie Reed.

          6. Think about it: a dozen young demonstrators spring right in front of the regalia car, car slows down or halts. A snatch takes place, along with some distraction. Masked scooter kids grab the mace and drive off along the pavement, where they are escorted by other bikes etc. Who would the policemen aim at? There is a general taboo against shooting unarmed ethnic minorities in the back or at close range, unless they are Brazilian electricians.
            With a DeWalt Flexvolt 125mm angle grinder that sceptre could have been chopped into pieces in seconds, and hidden immediately.

  51. Thirteen teenage boys have been arrested and accused of harassing two women tourists at the Giza Pyramids near the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

    The boys remain in custody pending an investigation, Egypt’s public prosecutor said.

    The arrests came after a video surfaced on social media showing a crowd of boys swarming around two young women at the famous archaeological site, one of Egypt’s top tourist attractions.

    The problem of sexual harassment in Egypt gained worldwide attention during and after the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, when women were harassed, groped – and in some cases, beaten and sexually assaulted – during mass anti-government protests.

    In recent years, women inspired by the #MeToo movement have spoken out on social media about the problem.

    Authorities have increased penalties for sexual harassment, which is now punishable with up to five years in prison.

    They have also intensified efforts to combat harassment and aggressive touts at tourist sites.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10800675/Egypt-arrests-13-teenage-boys-video-harassing-two-female-tourists-Giza-Pyramids.html

    Oh dear , hang on a second , so them and that ilk make their way to the UK on inflatable boats to inflict huge harm and distress on girls and women in the UK.

    Surely some one needs a good kick up the backside for endangering young female lives , and in some cases , male lives as well.

    1. There have always been aggressive touts at these places – but fortunately, although I was kidnapped by a donkey man, at least I wasn’t groped.

    2. Just playing Devil’s Advocate: in the Mail Online article one of the young females is displaying her cleavage and the other is dressed in short trousers, aka hot pants. To put it politely, they must be either ignorant or ‘good time girls’ if they believe that is a prudent or appropriate style of dress in any muslim majority country. And frankly, what young heterosexual male would turn down such an opportunity to show off their plumage?

      1. To offer something in their defence, they are undoubtedly ignorant of the true nature of islam – they will have been brainwashed into thinking all cultures are the same and it’s the “religion of peace”. Plus it’s probably standard attire for them abroad.

    3. People are also unaware of the diseases and pestilence they bring with them – not least a more virulent strain of TB that streptomycin cannot touch.

      If they are such wonderful ‘boat people’ then ship them behind barbed wire and highwalls on a remote, uninhabited island and let them sit there with NO mobile phones, until their asylum status is made clear.

      None should be granted asylum as they’ve come here, illegally from a ‘safe’ country.

      1. Quite apart from the fact that many of them have already been refused asylum/accommodation/whatever, in other EU countries. So they have no right whatsoever to come here.

        Edit: so we get the absolute dregs and criminals and dross that the EU won’t have – which is of course why our “friend” France is providing safe transport for them a long way into our waters. The French goverrnments stink and have reeked since before WWII.

        1. Boris should commandeer the P&O ferries and order them all aboard at gunpoint. Empty all the hotels and stop paying them £5 million a day. That would guarantee the next government is a Conservative one.
          The trickle becomes a flood as we have seen with Frontex.
          Next year it will be 200,000+ crossing the channel.

          1. Boris should, Boris sh*t.

            He won’t – he is a hopeless, overblown, not as clever as he thinks he is, twit. He couldn’t care less about how many come across because he couldn’t care less about this country or its indigenous people. After all, he is not one himself, and he will simpy jet off to pastures new to live, if things get tough here. Like his disreputable father.

          2. Government want them in the UK. God knows why, but the stopping of them is easy, so they don’t… because they want them.

          3. Look at the demographic composition of the cabinet, and of several immigration and benefit-related departments. Of course they want more Khans. Singhs. Shahs, Patels , Akuas, Lammys and of course those deciptively British-sounding names like Abbots …THEN they can really get down to taking out their almost chronic hatred on us.

          4. Boris should, Boris sh*t.

            He won’t – he is a hopeless, overblown, not as clever as he thinks he is, twit. He couldn’t care less about how many come across because he couldn’t care less about this country or its indigenous people. After all, he is not one himself, and he will simpy jet off to pastures new to live, if things get tough here. Like his disreputable father.

        2. French don’t need to transport them into UK waters – the Border Farce and RNLI go to France to collect them!

      2. Quite apart from the fact that many of them have already been refused asylum/accommodation/whatever, in other EU countries. So they have no right whatsoever to come here.

        1. British nationality comes free in a cornflakes packet nowadays. Go and look at the people working in the passport office, or most National Insurance office – they are all – shall we say, not of long-standing here.

          1. And probably illegals. I’ve seen sieves with fewer holes than our immigration system sic.

          2. And Border Farce. They all take the piss out of white, native born English people…by asking unnecessary and intrusive questions.

          3. Too true, Bill. We are subjected to the kind of questions that people who don’t appear to come from these Isles should be being asked – but aren’t.

        2. British nationality comes free in a cornflakes packet nowadays. Go and look at the people working in the passport office, or most National Insurance office – they are all – shall we say, not of long-standing here.

  52. I scraped through, today, with a bogie five; however, I didn’t deserve it.
    My third word actually contained two ‘grey’ letters that I’d previously used in my second word. D’oh!
    What a clown. 🤡
    Wordle 325 5/6

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

    1. I had a Sh!tty Six; I made three bad choices of words ending with that letter …
      Wordle 325 6/6

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

          1. But then she is one hot chick – although there may be hotter ones who are even more chilly!

        2. Pretty looking lass.
          I wonder if she knows her picture’s been stolen for a scam?

      1. Pity Gazza didn’t play for Newcastle…{:¬))

        (I think that’s quite good for someone to whom Wendyball is a closed book…)

        1. I expect I have told this here many times but it’s good and shows how funny kids can be.
          Final teaching practice and was in a school that backed onto a farm. One afternoon the cows, Friesians, broke through the fence and were grazing on the soccer field. One little lad looked out the window and said, “Ah, must be Newcastle, they play in black and white.”

        4. I think you must have been triggered by the word ‘Ladra’……sounds like……..

    1. Much less boring than my Sh!tty Sixth, sweetie … x
      Wordle 325 6/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
      🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
      Three bad choices ending with that bloody letter ….

    2. For the life of me, I have NEVER understood what was clever or artistic about Warhol’s kindergarten productions.

        1. Escolzia used a tincture in a glass of water. You will need to look up side effects regarding any meds you are already on. It contains 10% California poppy as an active ingredient. Which is non-hallucenogenic.

          You could also try a Camomile infusion and Twinings Valerian & orange blossom. Both the last two sold by Sainsbury’s.

          1. Thanks Phizz, hoping for a good night’s sleep and establish my routine. I think you need more sleep as you get older …not less!

          2. California poppy is also sold on Amazon. It can help reset your sleep pattern. I’m not talking about drugging yourself senseless but you might want to set the fire alarm louder !

          1. Evening little Bro’- hope all is well with you.
            Bundle of fun here as always…. Chez Lake I mean.

  59. That’s me for this slightly chilly day. Still, potted on 40 tomatoes and the second sowing of trombetti are looking good. Fingers crossed.

    Just had my beetroot juice and, as a reward, now have a glass of wine.

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain.

      1. Dost thou think that because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?

        Toby Belch in Twelfth Night.

      2. 352581+ up ticks,

        Evening B3,
        Not quite all, some are of the mind these many odious issues are going to end in tears of bitterness.

  61. Evening, all. To think we once ran an Empire on which the sun never set with only a handful of (mainly young) civil servants. Now this shower couldn’t even run a bath.

  62. It’s that time of evening…

    Firedog.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e59c56488d63a674b096315e1598ea9c0ebefb9c47e3943374638b993ada0915.jpg


    Another firedog.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e4da1a0afd67fb31023dbf23bb3ad98d960742c5bf03a0c1fcf667925838e93.jpg

    Dexter the forensic firedog is retiring from the Derbyshire Fire Service. The things folk make them do…


    https://twitter.com/BBCDerby/status/1522456122736717830


    This is local TV for you…

  63. Mark Stein is shouting as usual.

    Some one should tell him that the company is AstraZeneca;
    for the second night he refers to Astro Zeneca without correction.

    I guess he never did Latin – nor flew with the RAF …

    2. I don’t care how he says it- he’s right to highlight the problems after the AZ jabs. I don’t know if you saw my post yesterday but I went to get my facial dressing changed, hopefully for the last time.
      I showed the nurse the red marks on my arms which began after AZ jab 2. She visibly backed off- they don’t want to know or hear about it. There is a huge conspiracy in place and this government is complicit in pressuring people to have experimental vaccines with all sorts of horrible results.
      Guess I am very lucky if all I have is red spots and a swollen foot. Many people have suffered far worse.
      Oh and my son in NC has had the vaccines and the booster, he emailed me yesterday to say he’s tested positive for covid.
      What a lot of lies and BS we have all, world wide, been fed.

      1. There was never a pandemic in the conventional sense of the word. The WHO redefined the use of the word ‘pandemic’ in order to declare an imminent worldwide danger to health and to permit the use of untested experimental ‘vaccines’ under emergency use orders.

        The PCR tests were both contrived and fraudulent and intended to generate ‘cases’ in order to pretend to a pandemic as redefined by WHO.

        The people running the UN, WHO, WEF and just about very western government (Merkel, Johnson, Macron, Trudeau, Ardern and the rest) are in on the act, the single largest and most evil deception known to mankind. This assortment of sociopaths, psychopaths and Eugenicists are now household names. There will be no escape for them as more and more folk understand the sordid nature of their threat to humanity.

  64. That’s me for today – an early night beckons. Good night and God bless.

  65. Sweden’s WHO figures must radically change the terms of the Covid inquiry

    Unlike the UK where elites told people what was good for them, Sweden explained its public health thinking and invited people to cooperate

    ROBERT DINGWALL • 7 May 2022 • 8:00pm

    “Judge me in a year” said Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s State Epidemiologist, in July 2020, when his country was being attacked for sticking to its pandemic plan rather than adopting the novel intervention of lockdown. The latest World Health Organisation figures add to the evidence that has been accumulating since summer 2021. Sweden managed the pandemic more successfully than most, with much less disruption of everyday life and economic activity.

    The WHO has published estimates of excess deaths globally for 2020 and 2021. This approach covers all deaths from Covid, whether formally diagnosed or not, together with collateral damage in deaths from other conditions that went untreated. Looking at Europe, where official data are usually robust, Sweden had half the excess death rate of the UK, Germany or Spain – and a quarter of that of many Eastern European nations.

    In turn, the UK tends to be mid-table, in line with other large Western European countries, while Eastern European countries have had much worse experiences. There is a widely-circulated view that the UK has had a uniquely bad pandemic. The data simply do not support this.

    Nor do they support the view that the outcomes have much to do with the restrictions adopted by different governments, how soon they began, or the stringency of enforcement. The question, then, is how governments came to adopt highly restrictive policies in the first place. This must be the starting point for any national inquiry. Why was the experience of emergency planners, and two decades of pandemic preparation, abandoned everywhere except Sweden?

    Sweden never ‘let it rip’. There were restrictions on large gatherings, and on restaurants and some other places of entertainment. Secondary schools and universities switched to remote learning at some points. Masks were never thought to be of benefit but social distancing was encouraged. The approach was based on the minimum intervention necessary to manage the highest risk environments.

    Mistakes were made and acknowledged. In the first wave of the pandemic, Sweden had a problem with Covid deaths in care homes, which tend to be larger than in the UK. Once the virus got into a home, it could circulate around a larger number of people than would be possible in UK homes. When additional infection controls were introduced, residents were as well shielded as anywhere. Unlike the UK where elites assumed that people should be told what was good for them, and then compelled or frightened into doing it, Sweden explained its public health thinking and invited citizens to cooperate.

    Many UK problems can be traced to its top-down approach. No-one asked the academics who know about laws and rules whether they would work in this situation. Officials and politicians made those decisions on the basis of their own, often simplistic, beliefs. But rules are inflexible tools, which invite confrontation and dispute. How can anyone comply with a law that cannot differentiate between a party and a work-related gathering? The Swedish approach allowed citizens to think about applying broad public health messages to the circumstances of their own lives.

    Sweden shows that there was another path not taken, that could have brought this country through the pandemic in far better shape, socially and economically. The inquiry must not be diverted into the minutiae of arguments about whether we should have locked down a week or two weeks earlier. It must be free to examine the whole strategy – in particular, why robust social science evidence on managing emergencies, and its contribution to pandemic planning since the early 2000s, was abandoned so precipitately.

    Robert Dingwall is Professor of Sociology at Nottingham Trent University

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/07/swedens-figures-must-radically-change-terms-covid-inquiry/

  67. Just finished watching The Post about the Washington Post printed the story about the US government knowing the Vietnam war was lost but continued to send troops to their deaths.
    When newspapers didn’t follow government diktat. How we could do with a newspaper like that now.

  68. Off topic – I’ve several cockchafers / maybugs hurling themselves at the window tonight. Has anyone else encountered these? I never saw one till I moved to Surrey.

    2. “Cockchafer” is a word that Jim Dixon in Lucky Jim uses as part of an insult. One of those lovely words.
      edit: ” Look here you old cockchafer- what makes you think you can run a history department, even at a place like this, you old cockchafer? “

    3. The MP later claimed that he was reading ‘Not the Telegraph Letters’ on his mobile phone in the chamber, when intrigued by a story he decided to look up the term ‘Cockchafer’ and that’s how he came to be viewing a web porn site….

  70. Goodnight Y’all- off to bed. Another early start tomorrow. Sigh….oh for normal life.
    Be good and behave….laughter.

    1. Good morning, Geoff. Something wrong with your link? When I click on it I can’t get to the Wednesday site to post.

        2. Ditto.
          I gather TCW is having problems with some mobile phone phone providers.

          1. Either that, or he’s still chomping his way through an extra larger brekker….

    3. Morning, Geoff.
      Page doesn’t show if you try to go directly there, and using the link only shows the introduction about tolerance and rudeness – no Disqus field.
      Erk! I need the Nottl fix! Coffee is no longer enough!

    5. ‘Morning, Geoff. I can get the Wed page up but it isn’t doing anything. It is me or is Disgust fighting back?

      Edit: Oops, should gave read down first…

      1. Well, the good news is that I am not alone in this. I was beginning to think it was just me and my constant problems with technology. So I’ll post here my usual “Good morning (Wednesday) everyone” and return later in the day after painting two fence panels. Toodle pip!

          3. Cool and light breeze, with rain forecast for 3 pm. So I managed to do the painting and there was enough time for the paint to dry (only a few seconds here and there of the lightest spots of rain), but still a good three hours to the forecast heavy rain so the paint will not run off when the rain starts properly, BoB.

  74. Well, in the absence of a working version of today’s page, Good morning all and a dull, damp one it is too.
    Raining with 7½°C on the yard thermometer and the rain forecast to continue to early evening.

    1. ‘Morning, JN. Ditto. Rain forecast for pm. I’ll believe it when I see it!

      2. Morning, HJ.
        There it is, heading SWish to NEish. Looks as if BT in Norfolk is receiving some.
        Senior moment, forgot to add picture!

          3. Lots of wind here. It’d be nice to get some rain. The field where I walk Mongo is hard as bone.

      3. Morning, HJ.
        There it is, heading SWish to NEish. Looks as if BT in Norfolk is receiving some.
        Senior moment, forgot to add picture!

  77. Latest Cost of Living Breaking Announcement – The cost of all you lot living is far too high on the planet, please proceed to local vaxx centre for your final dose.

  78. A good BTL Comment I see:- (My emphasis)

    Party Pauper
    1 HR AGO
    At the risk of being boring – “Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools” – Douglas Bader.
    I didn’t follow the rules to the letter, and neither, I think, did anybody I know.
    I don’t give a monkey’s about wine, beer, or cake. Why don’t you direct your anger where it truly belongs – at the mad scientists and civil servants that drafted the rules. They are the true culprits who seem to have walked away from the debacle unscathed.

  79. I see the DT Letters page has a new Troll:-

    Martin Selves
    38 MIN AGO
    The Queens Speech emphasised Net Zero. That was enough for me. Greta must have shouted “yes” when the Country shouted “no”. Boris is not listening. He is going to hold back Liz Truss and her wish to redact the NI Protocol will once again be kicked down the road. Rwanda is going to get its first visitors later this week. Lets see, I would be amazed if any are flown away. Miles of EU Regulation will be swept away. Maybe, but it will be minor stuff and the heavy stuff will continue. Our work at home Mandarins will see to that.
    I do not believe Boris anymore. We will see delay, bluster, posturing but nothing much will change.
    With Starmer in control of Labour, Boris feels safe. The bigger Jury is the Country and I feel he will in the end hear our anger.

    EG Euan Gobha
    31 MIN AGO
    When Martin Selves says “the Country shouted no” what he means, of course, is that he personally shouted “no”.
    When he refers to “our anger” what he means is his own personal anger.

    1. I’m with Selves, and ‘Gobber’ can sling his hook!

      ‘Morning, BoB.

    2. Morning Bob,

      I wonder whether that is troll known by many aliases, was the one who got me banned from commenting on th DT?

          1. Good morning Bob , a proper greeting this time .

            I do hope your cough has improved , my doctor phoned me up a day ago and prescribed me a drug called Carbacisteine which is meant to help with my sinusitis and bunged up lungs . I thought I was going to choke after a coughing fit, I was driving into Wareham at the time . ( never experienced congestion like that for years) Today is my last dose of antibiotic.. I just feel so lacking in physical and mental energy , quite forgetful and not engaged .

            Doctor hinted Long Covid can take a while to recover from , my sense off smell and taste have not recovered.. in the garden is a lovely scented yellow azalea, years old and every spring the scent just overwhelms me, sadly not so this year.

            Coughing is horrible …

            It’s not the cough that carries you off

            Its the coffin the carry you off in .

          2. I had this cough and the relentless fatigue before they even knew what it was, but was spared the loss of taste and smell until another bout two months ago, but that only lasted ten days.

            Others may disagree with me over this, but what I found reset my system enough to function was the Astro-Zeneca vaccine that I had in February 2021. It was as though up until then my immune system was scrabbling around trying to figure out what it was, but the vaccine gave it at last something identifiable to grasp onto and deal with. Every morning since I cough up a small amount of phlegm, but better that than having it sit in my lungs.

            I read somewhere that scent training is a good thing to try. Gather up as many different heavily scented items you can find, breathe in well and imagine how they should be smelling. It might take a while, but nothing ventured…

          3. Good morning J

            Interesting comment .. Hmmm

            Two out of three of my jabs gave me an allergic reaction .

            I have decided not to have my Spring booster … Moh and I had a phonecall last week to invite us for the fourth jab.. I have declined mine .

            I feel as if my body has been invaded .. as if I don’t take enough pills for blood pressure etc.

            It as if I am a sitting NHS target .. but Moh and sons are fit as fiddles , cross fingers , and Moh will be 76 in a couple of days, plays golf 3 days aweek and runs in the 5 K Park run on Saturday mornings .. I feel as if all life is sliding away from me …

            I was so active and organised and positive , now a bit slower.

          4. Everyone reacts differently to substances, whether it be to a vindaloo or a vaccine.

    3. 77 Brigade seems to have divided its efforts. One half still troll genuine posters but the rest have been transferred to posting efforts lauding the Elites tyranny!

    4. 77 Brigade seems to have divided its efforts. One half still troll genuine posters but the rest have been transfered to posting efforts lauding the Elites tyranny!

    5. No Gobha, if you’re so ardently pro high tax, why don’t you offer to pay our bills for us?

      Oh! I see. You’re screaming yes, but you’re just a bitter little hypocritical tyrant. Here’s some sewage. Drink up.

  80. Good morning, all. Grey day. Woken early by USAF flying round the village.

    1. Good morning, Bill! Up with the lark… except that’s it’s ten past ten here in Turkey!

        1. Misery… Steering doesn’t work, fridge doesn’t work, knobs fall apart when we touch them, Caroline is in meltdown…
          The restaurant no longer has paper menus; you have to order over you phone.
          We met up with a very dear friend of ours aged 86 who came over to sell her boat last year and actually had a buyer, but she cannot bring herself to do it.
          The boat is full of wonderful memories of 20 years; she has kept us safe in so many storms. Selling a boat is a much more emotional affair than selling a house!

          1. Oh bugger.
            Are you planning to sell or are you wanting to go sailing?

          2. Good morning Richard

            How dreadful for you and what a shame , the safe treasured nest that gave you all so much pleasure and freedom can be fixed and sorted quickly I hope .

            Once you take stock of everything and settle down . I hope you will both be able to relax.

    2. Yo Bill
      All the USAF.?
      We often have all the RAF overhead, that of course includes the Spitfires

      1. My husband’s son and family visited us a couple of weeks ago; we hadn’t seen them since we moved. We were delighted with how well behaved and normal the grand monsters were. They were polite and sweet and we had a nice time with them. Their parents are very down to earth and I reckon their school must be a sensible one because there were no signs of nervousness or fear.
        Sadly, I reckon there are many kids not as fortunate who are scared of their own shadows now.
        The world should hang its head in shame for all the cruelties etc inflicted upon children.

        1. What is so sad is that you are no longer involved in educating children .

          Modern teachers appear to be skewing young minds .. and I do remember some of the dribble that spewed forth in the classroom when I was a school governor for eight years, a long time ago.

          1. Sadly, there have always been people in education who shouldn’t have been or anywhere near kids either – I have worked with a few.
            Most of my colleagues were dedicated teachers who wanted the best for the children.

          2. The teachers have been brainwashed with rubbish for so long that they know no different. They are not like the people who taught us.

          3. My brief incursion to the Chalk Face told me all I never wanted to know about modern education.

    3. If you keep people afraid for long enough, you can make them do whatever you want.

      Ironically they are not NOT to fear the very thing they should be afraid of – the state.

  83. Yo all and Good Morning

    Johnson thanks the Goddesss Carrie every day for the Troubles in Ukraine.

    They take a lot of of the pressure off him, for the havoc he is wreaking in UK”

    Wokism

    Nett Zero

    Convid

    Failing NHS

    Police pandering to demonstrators and street dancing

    Northern Ireland Protocol

    etc

    I will stop there, just in case any Nottlers decide to print this post::there would be a shortage of printer paper

    1. Black men are the most likely to abandon children, the least likely to pay child support, the most likely to leave (children out of wedlock).

      That pairing is also the least likely to function without domestic violence as well.

      If the intent is to force some sort of perverse ‘this is your future’ then it’s one of broken homes, welfare dependency, abuse, poverty and social degradation.

  87. Sad day today folks – 1 year ago I lost my lovely wife Barbara. They say time is a great healer – they lied

    1. You never forget, and the pain never really goes away. You learn, over time, to live with it.

      Judge me not by my medals, but by my scars.

    2. There is no timetable for grief, Spikey. Will keep you in my thoughts today.

    3. So sorry FA – time just goes quicker as you get older but the pain of loss is always there.

    7. FA..Good morning ..

      Don’t get me wrong , but many of us will feel deeply the pain you are suffering .

      Will this help?

      DON’T CRY FOR ME
      Don’t cry for me now I have died, for I’m still here I’m by your side,
      My body’s gone but my soul is here, please don’t shed another tear,
      I am still here I’m all around, only my body lies in the ground.
      I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,
      I am the frost, that nips your toes.
      I am the sun, bringing you light,
      I am the star, shining so bright.
      I am the rain, refreshing the earth,
      I am the laughter, I am the mirth.
      I am the bird, up in the sky,
      I am the cloud, that’s drifting by.
      I am the thoughts, inside your head,
      While I’m still there, I can’t be dead.
      Anon

      2. I do think the ‘afterlife’ of the departed is in the hearts and minds of those who are left.

    8. Sorrow is never healed – it can just be temporarily dulled, then to flare out again on occasion. My heartfelt sympathy to you, I think most, if not all of us here have experienced great loss, and so can empathise with yours.

    9. My sympathy, Spikey. I have an inkling of what you feel.

      As a very wise NoTTLer said to me six years ago – you don’t “get over it,” you just learn to live with it.

  88. Have all run out of topics? The Wednesday page doesn’t work but we don’t seem to have much to discuss.
    Our swift friend was on local radio this morning for about two minutes. We now have two swifts back home.

        1. You are very welcome.

          I don’t put them all up as there are usually some (in my humble opinion) not worth the effort.

  89. Mass grave of British soldiers who fought the French 200 years ago gives up its secrets. 11 May 2022.

    More than 80 British soldiers who were buried in a mass grave in the Netherlands 200 years ago died of disease rather than during combat, archaeologists have revealed.

    The mass grave, which contains 82 skeletons, was found by chance in the town of Vianen in November 2020.

    The soldiers buried there are believed to have died during the Flanders Campaign of 1793-1795, in which the British fought the French.

    A Mass Grave! Horror of horrors! Is it a War Crime? Is it an Atrocity? Is it Genocide? Sadly no folks. It’s just normal battlefield and campaign procedure since time immemorial to present day Ukraine!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/10/disease-not-combat-killed-british-soldiers-buried-mass-grave/

    1. Morning all.

      Are you sure the French don’t owe us reparation – for something? Anything?

    2. During the American civil war, more soldiers’ lives were lost to disease than to enemy action.
      Dysentery wiped out far more combatants than any weapons during the Middle Ages; particularly during sieges.

        1. My Gt uncle died of pneumonia shortly before the end of the WW1. H e was 32 and had served throughout the war.

  90. Here are some I prepared earlier:

    Today’s leading letter, and rightly so:

    SIR – After all this time, it is perhaps too much to expect Boris Johnson’s administration to adhere to conservative principles.

    It has become rudderless, notwithstanding its correct stance on Ukraine. But even here, more is required than strong prime-ministerial rhetoric (from an incumbent who has no difficulty with words) and the expenditure (this time justified) of more public money by way of aid.

    Many of our ministers appear to be controlled by the departments they purport to lead. Rather than decision-making in the national interest, we have been given a succession of eye-catching and costly initiatives, largely devoid of detail.

    Meanwhile, our “Rolls-Royce” Civil Service continues to work from home, producing complex rules and regulations aimed apparently at achieving some woke Nirvana.

    Andrew Newcombe QC
    Combe Down, Somerset

    Furthermore, this pitiful excuse for a Conservative government produces a Queen’s Speech containing no fewer than 38 measures, all with deliberately vague wording and where there isn’t a hope in hell of achieving more than a small fraction of their ‘aspirations’.

    1. The correct stance on the Ukraine was to ignore it as far as possible. Instead we poured in money and weapons to one side, thereby discarding the neutrality we should have maintained, imposed the double-edged sword of multi-layered sanctions, and have threatened nuclear war against Russia. Moreover, we have thereby caused this country and its citizens, who were not consulted, more direct distress than they have suffered at any time since food rationing ended. Russia is a country that has always seemed to be a bête noire for no reason despite having done us less harm than has the United States of America.

  91. Here are the rest of the letters on the subject of Johnson and his deluded government:

    SIR – The choking hold of Covid has finally weakened, and the advantages of Brexit can be achieved at long last.

    What the country needs is mature behaviour from those at Westminster. Stop focusing on trivial things and start to accelerate away from the EU.

    Mick Ferrie
    Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

    SIR – If the Government sweeps away every scrap of EU red tape, it will have only cut the tip of the iceberg.

    Below that, seemingly untouched, is the unnecessary regulation generated by Whitehall – especially the Home Office and Department of Health.

    Dave Alsop
    Churchdown, Gloucestershire

    SIR – There has been much talk of the cost-of-living crisis.

    The NHS Test and Trace scheme was allocated £37 billion. This is equivalent to more than £500 for every man, woman and child in Britain, a sum that could have helped to alleviate the pain.

    Martin Baker
    Tadworth, Surrey

    SIR – Isn’t this the most top-down government since Tony Blair’s, while also being the least effective of all time?

    Pamela Booker
    Clipston, Northamptonshire

    SIR – Boris Johnson has no principles in either his private life or his political life.

    The only way the Conservatives will win the next general election is if he is replaced – preferably by Lord Frost.

    Sandy Pratt
    Storrington, West Sussex

    Full marks to Martin Baker and Sandy Pratt in particular – I still find it quite impossible to understand how it was possible to squander the utterly staggering sum of £37bn on a phone app, and one which didn’t work properly and which, at times, caused absences that were unjustified.  If it had cost just £37m, and worked properly, I might have believed that it was a reasonable use of (borrowed) money. 

    Sandy Pratt’s simple letter says it all!

    1. I’m pretty certain it was used to set up the framework for digital ID.

    2. Sadly, all of the letter writers above do not appear to have realised that Johnson et al have another agenda; one dictated from outside of the UK. E.g. the WHO’s attempt to grab control of nation states’ health policies, especially during another ‘pandemic. Ceding this authority to a non-elected body – EU anyone? – that derives some of its income from supposed philanthropic sources will be a disaster for mankind. If the covid “vaccination” programme hasn’t been sufficient warning then it’s doubtful many more people will wake up in time.

  92. SIR – You report (Business, May 9) that the Ministry of Defence has awarded defence contracts to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce to build four Dreadnought- class submarines. Given the emergence of multiple nuclear threats, however, surely Britain needs at least five to ensure a credible independent deterrent up to the 2060s.

    Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons; China is rapidly increasing its nuclear forces; North Korea now has nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles; and Iran could build a nuclear weapon at short notice.

    The Royal Navy has maintained continuous at-sea deterrence for more than 50 years, a posture that deters pre-emptive strikes. But the refit, maintenance, training and operational cycle requires four submarines to maintain one on continuous patrol. Building a fifth would enable a second submarine to be deployed in times of crisis, when it is possible we could be facing concurrent nuclear threats.

    In the final analysis, it is nuclear deterrence, not conventional force levels, that will shape the thinking and constrain the actions of these totalitarian and dangerous nuclear-weapon states.

    Rear Admiral Philip Mathias (retd)
    Director of Nuclear Policy, 2005-2008
    Southsea, Hampshire

    Strewth…if we cannot keep more than one nuclear-armed sub out of four permanently on patrol then surely there is something seriously wrong with their design and maintenance?  What is keeping the other three tied up at the same time and therefore preventing at least one additional boat from going out on patrol if there is the real risk of attack?  Coulport and Faslane will certainly be on the list of strategic targets and both will be obliterated, along with any boats not at sea.

    2. What is keeping the other three tied up at the same time and therefore preventing at least one additional boat from going out on patrol if there is the real risk of attack?

      Morning Hugh. Almost certainly the real reason is cost!

    3. That has been the case since the Trident/Polaris programme began. What is not being considered is that our hunter-killer submarines of the Astute class can carry cruise missiles that could be armed with nuclear warheads. They would have to sneak into the Baltic to launch against St Petersburg and Moscow as the cruise missiles have a range of about 800 miles.

    4. I think it is SUCH a brilliant idea for former military people to tell our potential enemies the state of our forces.

  93. SIR – For once I must disagree with Charles Moore (Comment, May 10), who says that Sir Keir Starmer shouldn’t have to resign over what was, essentially, a curry.

    Leaving aside the ocean-going hypocrisy Sir Keir has displayed in his condemnation of Boris Johnson, what is totally unacceptable is the series of obfuscations he employed to protect himself and his deputy, all encased in a halo of self- righteousness.

    The public’s confidence in his honesty and integrity has been shattered so badly that it cannot be  restored.

    Colin Drury
    Dinas Powys, Glamorgan

    Yes, I do think Charles Moore has gone a bit soft since his elevation!

  94. SIR – Sir Keir Starmer’s promise to resign if fined by the police (report, May 10) is a political move.

    The police must now decide whether or not he stays as leader of the Labour Party. During “partygate”, that decision was left to the Conservatives. I think Boris Johnson’s approach was the right one.

    David Hadden
    Ardingly, West Sussex

    Of course it is, Mr Hadden.  Sir Kneel is being advised by Falconer, and it was he who advised   Blair that he would have to resign if the police interviewed him under caution in the cash-for-honours scandal.  The same tactic is being employed again, and will no doubt have put the the wind up the poor sod in the Met who will have to decide whether the imposition of a fine is worth the loss of his/her career…

  95. SIR – I have just rung the Office of the Public Guardian, which is staffed by civil servants.

    A two-minute recorded message told me that there would be a delay of 20 weeks replying to my query because, “due to Covid, people are working from home”.

    Why should Covid still delay things? Most people are now back at work. If home working is not as efficient as going to the office, why are companies – and especially the Civil Service – still maintaining the practice? Surely, Covid is no longer a proper excuse.

    Helen Bessemer-Clark
    St Ives, Huntingdonshire

    You may well ask, Helen Double-Barrelled!  And don’t expect a sensible answer – or any answer at all – from the relevant minister because the government is running scared of a Snivel Service over which they now seem to have no control at all.

    2. “there would be a delay of 20 weeks replying to my query”

      If there was a 20 week delay in paying the WFH snivel serpents they would all be back in their offices tomorrow.

  96. SIR – Somerset is not the only NHS “dental desert” (report, May 9).

    A few months ago, my dentist retired and the clinic closed. A month ago, I rang 15 dentists listed on Google as being in my town. About half are private-practice only – and, among the other half, none is taking NHS patients. Those with waiting lists are not accepting any additions to those lists.

    I am a pensioner and have paid National Insurance all my working life. This situation is totally unacceptable and another example of the NHS being unfit for purpose.

    Tom Dubec
    Tunbridge Wells, Kent

    How can this be, Mr Dubec, when that nice Mr Blair, aka the Grinning Chimp, promised us ‘an NHS dentist on every High Street’?  Don’t tell me he was fibbing??

    1. It’s impossible to imagine Blair telling lies.
      (Ooops …. time for my medication.)

    1. Their news said last night that there will be a 1.5 % increase in carbon emissions within five years. A massive step up from the thirty year Net-Zero prognostications!

    2. That idiot presenter waves his arms around like windmills. Perhaps he’s trying to generate his own electricity.

    3. To the BBC the ends justify the means. The reality of what the bloke said is almost the opposite, but they’ve clung on to one element of his speech in desperation of making their point. If they were not biased and presented both sides of the argument, the article would read more like ‘climate scientist in the pay of big government concludes that there has been far less than 1.5% warming and that his models were grossly over exaggerated.

      https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/05/10/bbc-climate-editor-made-false-claims-on-global-warming-mail/

      Turns out his sister is also one of the eco terrorists: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/05/10/bbc-climate-editor-made-false-claims-on-global-warming-mail/

        1. Great Scott! I’m genuinely surprised the BBC has been honest about this sort of thing. Climate change is an invention to soak tax and the BBC is heavily invested in it pension wise, so presenting this sort of truth is staggering.

  98. Russia’s monstrous ideology must be defeated. 11 may 2022.

    Putin’s “Russkiy Mir” ideology is the equivalent of 20th-century communism and Nazism. It is an ideology through which Russia justifies invented rights and privileges for its country. It is also the grounds for the story of “the special historical mission” of the Russian people. In the name of this ideology Mariupol and dozens of Ukrainian cities were razed as it sent Russian soldiers to war, convinced them of their superiority, and encouraged them to commit inhuman war crimes – the murder, rape and torture of innocent civilians. We also know that this ideology is spurring the forcible displacement of Ukrainians deep into Russian territory.

    There is no Russian let alone Putin ideology, monstrous or otherwise. Russkiy Mir simply means “Russian World or Community”. Much as one might have said without shame or self-consciousness, England, Land of Hope and Glory or Deutchland Uber Alles only twenty years ago. It is an appeal to patriotism. To love of country. Words and sentiments that no politician in the West dare say or even hint at!

    It is certainly not the equivalent of 20th century Communism or Nazism. That is the prerogative of the West with its Globalist Agenda of Cultural Marxism designed to enslave the masses.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/05/10/russias-monstrous-ideology-must-defeated/

    2. It already didn’t go down well in Germany that Kiev tried to get more aid out of them by Nazi-shaming Berlin. Extorting more out of Germany via withholding oil deliveries would open a few more eyes – if they get to know about it, and if that’s what it is.

  100. Nicked comment……

    “The biggest threat to our environment is immigration. People need homes,
    roads, schools, workplaces, hospitals and transport, heating and other
    services. A country has finite space available and therefore there is a
    ceiling to the number of people it can sustain without discomfort being
    inflicted upon those who have always lived here. Furthermore, the
    ‘environment’ is not simply a matter of land, trees, flieds and flowers;
    it is also a matter of community. When people cannot converse, when
    their customs differ, when there are parallel and concentric groups
    vying for limited space and services, this creates an environment
    of suspicion, nervousness and potential hostility. Therefore, with
    regard to ‘environment’ when looked at through the prism of immigration,
    I am the greenest of the green.”
    It’s truly weird,a venn diagram of Eco-Loons and Open Borders nutters would just be a circle they seem incapable of joined up thinking!!

    1. “The biggest threat to our environment is immigration.

      ….. we knew that 30 years ago and still they come.

    2. Morning Rik! The Eco-Loons and Open Borders nutters largely exist in all white enclaves amongst their own, while inflicting their ideology on others. Do as you would be done by is an alien concept to them and that applies to many within the church.

  103. As I have just said on the new today’s page….is there some SIMPLE way of cutting and pasting all today’s comments from here onto Wednesday’s page?

  104. Shows how little notice I take of “The News” these days. I hadn’t realised that the vid of Sir Keir partying through the window was shot by Ivo Delingpole, son of James.

    1. I did wonder who had been sneaking around outside filming through windows! IIRC, Ivo Delingpole is a student at Durham…exciting student politics, eh!

    1. I can see why his missus left him. Imagine that at the breakfast table….

Comments are closed.