Wednesday 14 September: Grieving monarchists should still defend republicans’ right to voice their dissenting views

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687 thoughts on “Wednesday 14 September: Grieving monarchists should still defend republicans’ right to voice their dissenting views

  1. Grieving monarchists should still defend republicans’ right to voice their dissenting views

    Too true but not a good idea to protest at the funeral ceremonies of a great Queen or anyone else for that matter
    Why would anyone want to do that?

    There is a time and place for everything.

    1. There is a time and a place to demonstrate but this is not one of them. They should be stopped as it could cause a breach of the peace. If the man in Scotland had not been arrested he would have taken a beating from the crowd from what I saw.

      1. Exactly what I thought, JN!
        Good morning, all! The twins are going to the dentist for the first time today! Wish me luck!

      2. I’m sure police ‘protection’ is what these insipid clowns rely on. It would be a shame if those around them ‘protested’ back before plod could intervene.

  2. Grieving monarchists should still defend republicans’ right to voice their dissenting views

    Too true but not a good idea to protest at the funeral ceremonies of a great Queen or anyone else for that matter
    Why would anyone want to do that?

    There is a time and place for everything.

  3. It is interesting to note how all covid precautions have been put to rest along with the Queen for her funeral ceremony

    Hundreds of leaders and bigwigs jetting in from all over the world, some still with masks and tight restrictions in their own countries.

    Then they are jetting off to New York the day after for a UN conference.

    Just think a fit and healthy Djokovic wasn’t allowed into the USA a couple of weeks ago

  4. Hello Minty.

    As you may have heard in the news, the new prime minister has announced the Energy Price Guarantee. This means the average household cost of energy will be capped at £2,500 per year from the 1st October. And will be frozen at this rate for the next two years.

    What happens next.

    We’re working through what this latest announcement means for you, so keep an eye out for an email from us.

    At the moment, our customer service advisors don’t have any further information. So, the best thing to do is to wait for us to contact you or log in to your online account to find your latest tariff information.

    You can keep up-to-date with the latest information on the energy market by visiting our dedicated web page, energy market news.

    This is an email I received from British Gas yesterday. The first thing is that my annual gas bill is nothing like approaching £2500. So why mention it? Gas prices should rise in sympathy to the wholesale market. Is this a ploy to accustom the unwary to a massive and unwarranted leap in the domestic prices?

    1. There is no real immutable direct correspondence between wholesale prices and retail domestic prices. It costs the same to get gas from the North Sea this year as it did ten years ago. Private businesses own production, distribution and retail sales. Price manipulation is easy and profitable. We’ve seen that the government will do nothing about this other than increase the upward pressure on energy pricing by their overarching policies.

      1. I saw a headline this week saying that wholesale gas prices fell 40% in the EU.

        There is a US meme doing the rounds that says “Domestic oil is the new Ivermectin. They can’t let you have it, because it would solve the crisis that they need you to go through.”

          1. I saw a really witty advert yesterday, for the first time in years.
            It was an advert for cheap plane tickets to Munich, and it said

            “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
            What happens at the Wies’n (Oktoberfest), the whole of Upper Bavaria hears about”

            (Maybe you have to have lived there to get it, everything works on who you know and everyone knows someone who knows everyone else!)

    2. We don’t have gas here but our electricity bill is about £100 per month. We have oil fired heating. £2500 will be a huge rise for us.

  5. Good morning all.
    A bright start with a clear sky and a waning gibbous moon high in the sky. Dry with a mere 5°C on the yard thermometer outside.
    The backend is certainly with us!

    1. Autumn is only a week away; the Sun will ‘cross’ the Equator on Friday 23 Sep 22 at 02.03 BST.

  6. ‘Morning, Peeps.  A wet night, to be followed by a wet morning (and the weather is similar).

    Headline in the DT:

    “Shoppers get three choices in Tesco charity drive – and they’re all LGBT groups

    Former MP says he is ‘surprised’ that the supermarket’s branch in Cardiff is supporting three organisations with a similar theme”

    As you may expect, DT readers are less than impressed.  The leading BTL:

    Piggy Malone10 HRS AGO

    We have an annual Remembrance Day for people who served in wars and gave their lives, and we have an annual Pride MONTH for people who do what exactly? Why do people need charitable support based on their sexuality or gender identity? Last time I looked they had exactly equal rights to those of the rest of the population (except women, of course, whose rights are being appropriated by trans-identifying men).

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/13/former-mp-calls-tescos-support-lgbtq-charities/

        1. Tesco should support small local charities. Just as they should support small local food producers.

          1. Funnily enough, ALDI and LIDL do just that.
            And thinking back to when our sons were in food production, they were much more straight forward for suppliers than the other big supermarkets.

          2. Sainsbury’s at one time had an end of aisle spot for Foreign/exotic food. Truffles and such like. They could showcase local producers every month if they wanted to. Especially when there is a seasonal glut.

        2. Hedgehogs in your local Tesco? Wow, how green is that! It must be fun weaving the trolley around them.

          ‘Morning, N. Sorry, just couldn’t resist…blame my infantile sense of humour.

    1. …and we have an annual Pride MONTH for people who do what exactly?”

      Practice unnatural acts – they just bugger about, Hugh.

      1. We did. We chose the savoury option.
        Accompanied by a glass of rosé from Lavenham Brook vineyard which goes well with food and needs to be cool – not chilled.
        We could not believe the amount people eat; a nearby couple had two cake stands; one savoury and one sweet. They scoffed the lot apart from one small cake. And had an extra pot of tea.
        MB and I couldn’t manage one stand between us.

        1. Glad it went well, Annie.

          In some restaurants I too am amazed – at the state some people leave their tables in when they have finished. At a recent annual-breakfast-with-friends scoff we noticed that a table, the seats and the floor all looked as though the diners had participated in a gigantic and lengthy food fight! I really felt for the staff having to clear up such an appalling mess.

          1. That is sheer bad manners. It shows contempt for the staff.
            We – parents and grandparents – are currently training a messy granddaughter to understand that the cleaner is there to clean – not tidy up discarded underwear and smeared plates of food. None of us are impressed with teenage arrogance.

          2. Speaking of manners…we are trying to deter our two granddaughters from getting down from the table and running around before returning to continue with the meal. In my day (and probably yours) one had to ask to get down. Leaving the table at any other time meant that the meal was finished. This produces plenty of wailing, but it’s a case of “Our house, our rules”. This approach is having some success!

          3. Bill and I insist on everyone waiting until all are served.
            I think we have a slight culture clash with Danish DiL.

          4. Decent people treat servants with consideration and respect.

            There are, I am afraid to say, several ill-bred people teaching even in independent public schools. You could always tell the yobs by the rude and bossy way they treated the cleaners, the grounds workers and the kitchen staff.

          5. I’m sure you’re thinking of a certain PE teacher… who went on to become Headmaster of a comp in Wales. Can’t have been a happy place with him as their leader!

          6. When I had tea at Belvoir Castle, their scones were so crumbly they fell apart and made a terrible mess. I had to apologise to the waitress.

        2. They don’t do afternoon tea in France.

          However I have fond memories of being taken out to a teashop for tea and cakes by aunts and elder sisters when I was at boarding school. Now when we visit England we sometimes try to fit in a teashop tea.

        3. It’s a few moons since I was last in the Swan at Lavenham. I used to visit the Wildlife Artists’ exhibitions at the nearby gallery, and sometimes have tea in the twistiest tea room in the world.

    1. It’s been disgracefully mismanaged. People should have had a proper chance to pay their respects as the coffin travelled south.

      They are courageous to join the back of that queue!

    1. Yesterday, they said that after Her Majesty’s funeral, the firearms officers will be handing in their permits and no linger carrying guns as a result of this.

      1. With bugger all support from their woke bosses and race baiting grifting politician jumping on the bandwagon who would blame them??

      1. I wonder what the Mayor of London would think if every single police officer in London went on strike … just for a couple of days?
        How would he manage to cope with the wholesale looting, rioting and widespread carnage that would inevitably take place as a consequence … mostly by those of his own ilk!

  7. What’s behind the mystery of thousands of excess deaths this summer? 14 September 2022.

    The leading causes of death are within the typical range (the five-year average): heart and lung diseases, cancers, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Covid-19 deaths could account for half of the excess mortality, but the other half is puzzling, as there’s no one clear reason that jumps out.

    It’s likely to be a mix of factors: Covid is making us sicker and more vulnerable to other diseases (research suggests it may contribute to delayed heart attacks, strokes, and dementia); an ageing population; an extremely hot summer; and an overloaded health service meaning that people are dying from lack of timely medical care. This winter, the cost of living crisis and concerns about fuel poverty will add to these contributory factors, given the links between deprivation and ill health. So we may see these excess death numbers continue.

    The excess mortality puzzle has been weaponised by some to argue that this is a delayed consequence of lockdown. In essence, this is to say that mandatory restrictions on mixing and stay-at-home legal orders, as well as turning the NHS into a Covid health service during the first and second waves of infection, prevented people from being diagnosed or treated for other conditions such as cancer, heart disease, or even depression – and that those long-hidden conditions are now killing people.

    Well it beats me love. There have been some rumours that it has to do with the inoculations but I’m sure that is just a vicious Conspiracy Theory. Strange you didn’t mention them though!

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/13/whats-behind-the-mystery-of-thousands-of-excess-deaths-this-summer

    1. Compulsory tattoos for poor people, I expect. They cost so much – £100s – and they just can’t spend that on food, can they?

      No wonder they are dropping like flies.

    2. We went to see our notaire yesterday to sort out some legal business. He wore a mask and had just been off work for a week with Covid. He was, of course, triple jabbed.

      We had Covid a few months ago – neither of us jabbed and both had it very mildly. Strange that!

          1. I saw the report below but you haven’t told us what you had. I can’t be properly jealous unless i know.

            Dolly’s new playmate is on hold. It turns out that that particular dog is a Teacup. I’m not having a handbag dog. Too much of a trip hazard.

            There are other puppies coming along. Dolly was sitting on the sofa watching them being born.

          2. Very small chihuahuas; they are deliberately bred down to a smaller size. Lots of inbreeding problems.

          3. Two types of savoury scones; one herby and the other tomato and bacon.
            Sandwiches were the staples of ham (off the bone), egg, smoked salmon and cucumber.
            The top layer was mini yorkshire puds with rare beef, vol-au-vents with something nice and mustardy, herby sausage rolls and the one thing that neither of us really took to; seemed like wedges very solid quiche filling.
            Lots of tea and our Lavenham rose.

    1. This war and the Weapons of Mass Destruction was the beginning of my parting company with the Elites that run the West!

        1. Morning BB. Yes! It was so blatant! Saddam was not a nice man but it was obvious to anyone with a brain that he had nothing to do with 9/11. It was all done to distract attention from the Saudis! Libya was even worse.

          1. Prior to Saddam taking power Iraq was pretty much a shambles. He sorted that out. Also ensured improvements to education, particularly for women, health care and so forth. He crushed opposition. He kept the peace.
            The narrative never, ever, includes an overview of what went before.

          2. Yes, I am aware of that, but he was pretty ruthless too, and one of his sons was a nasty piece of work – as far as one can make out through the lens of western propaganda.

            I found the crocodile tears over the marsh Arabs in the British press particularly hypocritical, given that our own Fen people were driven off the land when it was drained in the eighteenth century and lost their unique language and culture.

          3. Yes, I am aware of that, but he was pretty ruthless too, and one of his sons was a nasty piece of work – as far as one can make out through the lens of western propaganda.

            I found the crocodile tears over the marsh Arabs in the British press particularly hypocritical, given that our own Fen people were driven off the land when it was drained in the eighteenth century and lost their unique language and culture.

      1. If you have been watching the Dimbleby three-parter on the BBC you will no doubt have joined me in shouting at the telly when that revolting ‘journalist’ Alistair Campbell flatly denied sexing up the dodgy dossier. What a low-life that creep is!

        Apart from that, I had expected Dimbers to be bigging-up his former employer, but in fact he does seem to break the habits of a lifetime and criticise it now and again…

        I think the 3rd and final part is this evening.

        1. Mad Alki Campbell’s scribblings comprised the only ‘intelligence’ dossier in history to be caveat-free.

      2. If you have been watching the Dimbleby three-parter on the BBC you will no doubt have joined me in shouting at the telly when that revolting ‘journalist’ Alistair Campbell denied sexing up the dodgy dossier. What a low-life that creep is!

        Apart from that, I had expected Dimbers to be bigging-up his former employer, but in fact he does seem to break the habits of a lifetime and criticise it now and again…

        I think the 3rd and final part is this evening.

  8. Leicester: multiculturalism turns violent. Spiked. 14 september 2022.

    The escalation of tensions between the two communities has clearly worried the authorities. On Tuesday last week, Leicester police were authorised to use dispersal and stop-and-search powers in an attempt to quell the unrest. On the same day, an emergency meeting was held between representives of Leicester’s Hindu and Muslim communities. Since then, police patrols have continued in the areas affected, but further disturbances are still being reported.

    These are deeply troubling developments that pose a direct challenge to community cohesion. It seems that religious and national conflicts emanating from the Indian subcontinent are now being played out on Britain’s streets. These disturbing developments cannot but raise serious questions about multiculturalism. After all, it is thanks to decades worth of multicultural policies that ethnic minorities have come to see themselves as fundamentally different from and, in some cases, opposed to other groups in British society.

    Well! Who would ever have guessed it?

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/09/13/leicester-multiculturalism-turns-violent/

    1. Oh come on, that’s nothing new. A man was beheaded in a similar conflict some years ago, if I remember rightly. Only one of the sides follows a religion that tells them explicitly not to befriend us though.

      1. Cultural norm.
        How dare nasty, white colonialists dare to even roll their eyes, let alone utter a breath of criticism.

      2. As witnessed through the ‘Arab’ Spring, that same religion has enough in-fighting to keep themselves busy. It’s time ‘we’ stood back and let them crack on.

      1. Morning Anne. One of my favourite films! It must send the anti-Colonialists and Cultural Marxists into frenzies! lol!

    2. The current strife appears to have been sparked by the India v Pakistan cricket matches in the Asian Cup.

      I once wrote to my MP – just another Nationalist Party drone – that whilst her chums in the Shortbread Senate were busy inventing laws to criminalise Glaswegian football fans singing their ‘tribal’ songs, the same clownish politicians were also intent in importing sectarian mobs that would make the Old Firm look like Tom and Jerry.

      I never did get a reply.

  9. 356015+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Wednesday 14 September: Grieving monarchists should still defend republicans’ right to voice their dissenting views

    I know,I know, I know, two wrongs do NOT make a right but personally I do believe they should kick the shite out of them.

    You cannot be nice & sociable in what is a society on a war footing, you will get peoples mutilated, knifed & even shot on a daily basis, guaranteed.

    Treating nauseating rhetoric / actions with kid gloves is a form of aiding & abetting along the lines of feeding the hydra heads in parliament you are encouraging their actions .

    It should be mandatory, as with any hydra heads, bring in the Tommy Robinson law if it works for the innocent then it would surely work for the morally guilty, feet elevated from pavement , court, Belmarsh, hearing in three months, charge being allegedly a “naked @rseholes in public view,”health & safety dictates even they must be protected for their own
    good.

    1. Possibly a middle way could be to point out that there is a time and a place for these discussions.
      Dare I mention the quaint notion of “good manners”?

      1. 356015+ up ticks,

        Morning Anne,
        Sad to say in the United Kingdom today to point out to someone their lack of good manners could put one in the knife extraction department of the local hospital.

      2. There is a time and a place.

        Which reminds me of Tony and Maria’s dream of there being a place for them in West Side Story and comically when Inspector Clouseau attacks his Chinese manservant, Cato.

  10. A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the European energy companies needed 1.5 trillion euros to buy enough energy for their customers this winter.
    It seems that Germany has stumped up 68 billion to help the euro lose its purchasing power faster bail out energy companies.
    I guess that means there will be both an energy crisis AND more inflation.

    I feel that my primary school arithmetic did not adquately prepare me to live in the Weimar Republic. We didn’t do enough sums with billions, trillions and squillions.

    1. I’m reining in my pessimism until the funeral is over BB. I suspect that it is going to be worse than even I think!

      1. The hyper inflation in Weimar lasted about four months according the David Starkey in the video the Stephen posted yesterday.
        Of course, we know they will ride in on white chargers (I wonder how Truss will do the ‘cavalry coming over the hill’ speech) to ‘rescue’ us with CBDC food stamps.
        Might be a good idea to have four months supply of food and basics though.

      1. There was a story of someone leaving a wheelbarrow filled with bank notes outside a shop. When he came out, the wheelbarrow had been stolen but the notes had been left behind.

  11. Good morning. A cold morning here, but hopefully dry. It was warm and sunny yesterday. A lovely day.
    Meanwhile, an Oxford* group have produced a report that says how many £zillions will be saved by going ever so green. I haven’t got the energy to investigate but I do wonder who is funding this jolly little consortium and its members to produce this insanity ?

    *I cannot ever hear the word “Oxford” without croakily singing along with Mr Toad,” The clever men at Oxford know all there is to be knowed, but they none of them know one half as much as intelligent Mr Toad!”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62892013

    1. Probably been using Neil Ferguson’s magic modelling code (Motto: WEF-friendly results every time!) again.

      1. Funny, his name came to mind, but I banished it… He could model anything and get the results desired by those paying the bill!

        1. ONE TEN THOUSAND LINE FILE OF C CODE!!

          I still cannot get over the cheek of that charlatan charging customers for the use of such garbage.

          1. I had an insight into coding in the very early days on a Commodore with a 128k capacity. Interesting. It required ingenuity to keep the size of the program as small as possible in order for it to work at all. Subsequently programs became big and sprawly as machine capacity increased. Lazy programmers could get away with it.
            One thing that I do find clever is “pivot tables”. I can barely grasp them but I can see their value, and their neatness and elegance.

          2. I program on small, handheld devices (Android, iOS and Windows). Some of my colleagues write code as though the universe is infinite, but I am very mindful of memory limitations. We’ve got so little possibility to influence the memory allocation in any of these three operating systems that if we do run into problems we will be up sh* creek without a paddle.

          3. Commodore 128 eh? Luxury! I had a Commodore 64 with around 30k free RAM left after operating system loaded. Was capable of some nifty results though.

    2. Dear Oxford Don’s.
      I don’t know whether you might have condisider the current project on the government’s books. As in importing hundreds of thousands of people with once extreemly low carbon footprints and flooding the English countryside with new homes for them.
      Even in your wildest wokey disconnected from reality
      imaginations, this is NOT even in the slightest way carbon neutral in any shape or form.

      1. These people do not live in the real world Eddy, they can find a fatuous excuse justify anything.

    3. If people would save money in industry or privately by going green, they already would have and such publications wouldn’t be necessary.

      Therefore the facts are you *cannot* save money going green.

      1. Businesses work very hard to cut costs. I almost remember some scheme “Save a Quid a Day” whereby workers would receive prize if they could find a way to cut costs, or reduce expenses like labour, by doing things better.

    1. It was chucking it down all night here, but has abated, thankfully. I didn’t fancy hitching up and moving on in the pouring rain!

  12. As culture shocks go, the arrival of scores of refugees from some of the globe’s worst trouble-spots in a Devon holiday resort must be one of the biggest. Torbay Council had just a few days’ notice that the Home Office was taking over an 80-bed hotel at Paignton to house asylum seekers who had braved a dangerous journey of thousands of miles across Europe and then the English Channel.

    The new arrivals are now getting to know the town and seafront, mixing with the holidaymakers exploring the pier, sandy beaches and seafront green. The hotel where they are staying, once a regular destination for coach parties, was described as “ideally placed” for attractions such as Paignton Zoo and the Dartmouth Steam Railway. It boasted of the “quiet and comfort” of its lounge bar, and a live entertainment venue.

    A man in his late 20s, from Eritrea, an East African country devastated by years of civil war, stopped to talk to DevonLive as he was walking with a friend near the seafront. He complained about the food they had been given during their week-long stay, and claimed occupants were going hungry as no one had yet started receiving their £8 daily allowance. The Home Office is paying for full board, with 24-hour on-site support and security.

    The man, dressed in a grey tracksuit, said he was glad to be in England, but those staying at the hotel were short of clothing and food. He described the meals as one or two eggs for breakfast, a single sandwich for lunch, and chicken with rice or macaroni in a box for dinner. The menu was confirmed by another resident, who added that he was grateful for it and happy to be fed.

    The first man, who had reached England by boat from Calais, said that the residents had given the authorities a week to sort out the problems or they would hold a protest in the car park outside. Dressed in a tracksuit, he added: “We are trying to complain and get this problem to the immigration representative. We are trying to find a solution to help us. There is a shortage of food and clothes. If they don’t solve the problem, we will go outside and shout.”

    The refugees, who are barred from working or claiming benefits, are believed to be from countries including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. The man said they had little to do apart from waiting for meals and watching the small TVs in their rooms. Another resident, a man in his mid-30s who gave his name as Mohammed, was sheltering from the drizzle in a seafront shelter, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, dressed in what appeared to be matching pyjamas, a black jacket, and flip-flops.

    In between smiles, using the Google translation app on his phone, he described himself as “shy”. He spoke of his sadness at leaving behind his wife and young daughter in Sudan, and said he had fled the country after being arrested and threatened with death for taking part in an anti-government protest in the capital Khartoum. He said he had come to England for safety, because his life was at risk in his home country.

    Mohammed told how he left Sudan in December and travelled by car to Libya, then to Italy by boat. He crossed France on foot and by train, helped by refugee support organisations on the way. After living in woods near Calais, he crossed the Channel with a group of around 30 people in a small boat in July. They made it to UK waters and were met by the authorities who transported them to a bigger boat then brought them ashore at Dover.

    The father said the group had spent the last few months living in hotels in the London area before being brought to Devon. He said he was sad to have left his family behind, but hoped they would be able to join him. Mohammed said: “I don’t know how long I will be staying in Paignton. It is peaceful here. It is a nice area, the people are OK, they help you, they smile in your face. I am happy here.” Asked for his message to local people, he said: “Thank you very much, you are very nice people. I wish you peace in your country and good luck in your family, and for your children.”

    The hotel is part of a chain and has now been removed from its operator’s website. It is still listed on TripAdvisor with a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five, but attempts to book a room online are unsuccessful and phone calls go on permanent hold. People living nearby are unsettled by the sudden arrival of their new neighbours, who are from very different backgrounds to the guests who previously enjoyed the hotel’s sea views, a short walk from the beach.

    The hotel’s immediate neighbours say they had no notice before coaches arrived at the former holiday hotel to unload scores of bewildered mostly young men, estimated to number between 30 and 60. The day after they moved in, a letter was hand-delivered to nearby homes and businesses. It had the logo of Torbay Council and gave the address for replies as the Home Office in London. It said the decision to use the property “happened very quickly”. Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster, a former Home Office minister, is seeking more information about the use of the hotel.

    You can stay up to date on the top news and events near you with DevonLive’s FREE newsletters – enter your email address at the top of the page or go here

    Information provided by the council describes the use of the hotel as “temporary”. Local business owners say they have been told that the contract with the Home Office’s accommodation provider Ready Homes is for 12 months.

    Torbay Council says it was not consulted on the choice of the hotel, and is not receiving funding to support those staying there, but it is providing support. On the question of the length of the use and whether the residents will be permanently housed in Torbay, the council says: “At the moment we do not know how long the hotel will be used. People will be moved out as other accommodation in the asylum system is made available to them. This means that the people staying in the hotel will change over time.”

    https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/asylum-seekers-embrace-paignton-safe-7579280

    1. I don’t bloody care. I’m fresh out of sympathy.
      Hole the boats; you’d only need to do it once – twice for the real thickos.

      1. He and all the rest of the scrounging thieving scum should have stayed in France and tried snails frogs legs intestines and duck gizzards.
        Chuck ’em all out.

    2. Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
      Thou art not so unkind
      As man’s ingratitude;
      Thy tooth is not so keen,
      Because thou art not seen.

      Immigrant man’s ingratitude devours several packets of garibaldis.

    3. How can refugee organisations help them? They are not refugees. They’re criminal migrants. The law on refugees is simple. You stop in the first safe country.

      Simply put, move them on to a prison hulk, let them grow their own food and forget about them.

    4. People will be moved out as other accommodation in the asylum system is made available to them.

      Asylum sytem be buggered, it’s just a haven for illegal gimmegrunts.

  13. Morning all 🙂
    Of course it all depends on the manner so called ‘republicans’ adopt to make their points.
    They usually have other stretched variations of their points to make.
    I saw that horrible git Peter Haine on the Box yesterday. He could have stayed in the Republic of South Africa. But there are no benefits for people like him there. He’d have to find meaningful employment.

    1. The left can get away with sheer mindless abuse so why shouldn’t I?

      As faecal people go Peter Hain is excrementally shitty!

  14. Good morning folks.

    I don’t know the provenance of The Saker website. Some believe it is a sophisticated Russian propaganda exercise. However, this article posted by Pepe Escobar, again you need to form your own views on Pepe, posted on The Saker describes the on-going march to strengthen the economies and ties in the Asia Pacific region including of course pacific Russia. A shorter piece well worth a read, after which you may come to the conclusion that the Europe has just placed itself in a Cul de Sac with little room for manouver … C’est la Vie!

    https://thesaker.is/asias-future-takes-shape-in-vladivostok-the-russian-pacific/

    1. Morning Stephen. The World is splitting into two parts. It will not make much difference to an ordinary person which one they are in. Both will be totalitarian tyrannies.

      1. Araminta, if you read the Civil Service textbook “1984” you would know that is what is happening.

    1. Am I alone in noticing that the Duchess of Sussex is using new make up which makes her look considerably darker than she used to look?

      Just as some people like to claim that they are transgender and identify as having a sex other than the sex they were born with, other people shift their racial identity according to prevailing fashion. Fifty years ago mixed race people were far keener to be considered to be white but now they are far keener to identify as black.

    2. With plod not investigating up to £1000 worth of stolen goods, who can blame them?

      When these things will be stolen and sold to fund a drug habit it’s all part of the same problem.

      1. Not investigating my £3000 of stolen removals, either. Advised me to keep calling and asking where it is…

      1. To coin a John Snow phrase, it’s all rather hideously white.
        Well there’s a surprise.
        I expect the excuses are being stacked up for future reference.
        But our media have been going out of their way to attempt to slip some of them in through the side doors.
        Last week the bbc ‘treated’ its viewers, to a specifically interesting (not) occasion at a mosque in Bolton having previously mentioned that the Queen had a special interest there.
        Wadda loada bolero.

          1. The music from this is based upon the “Air on the G String” from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major.

  15. The Queen’s funeral guestlist: The people who have been invited and who hasn’t
    Up to 500 world leaders and dignitaries will be attending the sombre occasion

    The Royal Family
    The entire British Royal Family are going. Expect King Charles, his two boys Prince William and Prince Harry, and their wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.

    Kate is the new Princess of Wales, and will accompany her husband Wills. Meghan, the former Suits actress, will accompany the Duke of Sussex.

    Charles’ Queen Consort Camilla is also going. There’s room, too, for Peter and Zara Phillips, Beatrice and Eugenie and Louise and James. Question marks remain over Prince George’s attendance, as well as Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

    But Anne, Edward, Sophie Wessex and Prince Andrew are all going to be there.

    https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/queens-funeral-guestlist-people-who-25012560

    Hmmm , carbon footprint anyone , and the Woke King and his sons will be talking the usual drivel next month .

  16. https://twitter.com/bobfrost/status/1569981184326631430
    Active Patriot
    @ActivePatriotUK
    ·
    5m
    538 MIGRANTS in 11 small-boats were ESCORTED into ENGLAND yesterday

    bobfrost (nbLittleGem)
    @bobfrost
    Replying to
    @ActivePatriotUK
    And to think, William the Conqueror only landed at Hastings with fewer than 8000 men and took over the whole country!

    More than three times that number have arrived this year.
    10:27 AM · Sep 14, 2022
    from Deal, England·Twitter for Android

    1. We all must know by now that the politicians of all the main parties want illegal immigrants to arrive in hordes or they would do something to stop it.

      What is it that motivates these traitors: Is it sheer pig-ignorance? Is it twisted ideology? Is it fear? Is it inverted racism? Is it money? Is it ambition for preferment when the New World Order is established? Is it a safe passage to a safe place to live when it is here?

      I just cannot understand why the PTB want Britain to be destroyed but it is abundantly clear that this is precisely what they want.

        1. Yet the conspiracy theories, the Left wing ideology, the do the ountry in nonsense is long past being funny. There are hundreds of thousands of useless criminnals in this country now. Nonne of whom should ever have got here. Not one will ever be useful. There are paedophiles, rapists, murderers amongst them in huge numbers simply because of their culture. We’re paying incredible sums to keep them in conditions we’ll soon not be able to afford.

          They must go. All of them, and any coming forcibly rejected. If the state won’t remove the vermin, then we must – and then we must force the state to act in our interests for the protection of society.

          The waves of criminals must end. If they want to apply legally, by all means – from elsewhere. If lawyers complain, ship them off to where the immigrants are – by selling their property. The invasion has got to end. Post the bleeding heart Lefties out there as well.

    2. 356015+ up ticks,

      Morning TB,

      If only the indigenous peoples had a national beneficial campaign running as smoothly and successfully as the governing parties invasion campaign is running it would certainly be a tonic for the country.

      1. 356015+ up ticks,

        O2O,

        Would I be wrong in betting a big,big,very big hotel building program will be with us in the near future.

    3. This is an invasion. The lot of them need to be deported, permanently. What the hell are we supposed to do? Take the entirety of Albania?

      For goodness sake, get a bloody grip on the problem, get rid of those here and stop any more getting here. While you’re at it, remove the 70% ethnics on welfare, too.

    4. The lorry, when full of the illegals’ boats, will board a cross-Channel ferry to recycle them for more trips.

    1. Jean Claude Junker: ‘when it gets serious you have to lie’. The Left know no other way to behave.

  17. Just picked ye another 3 lb of raspberries. We do the same every third day. Neighbours hide when they see us approaching with a punnet….

    This year’s crop is quite extraordinary.

    1. My mother grew the most delicious raspberries. She had to construct a net over them to stop the birds getting at them

      Raspberries are very expensive in France and we often resort to deep frozen ones as they do freeze quite well whereas strawberries do not

      .

      1. Strawbs don’t freeze well but they do dehydrate nicely. Doing some when my tomatoes have finished drying.

  18. Where NK leads, Blighty follows.
    Might give SAGE new ideas.

    “North Korea is reportedly cracking down on singing and cracking jokes in the military after soldiers were caught hosting a talent show resembling a South Korean television show.

    The light-hearted performances, in stark contrast to the country’s staid, state-run TV, has triggered alarm bells in a regime known to be paranoid about the influence of South Korean culture.

    “During the show, some of them told jokes that resembled South Korean stand-up comedians, and others sang songs like South Korean singers,” a North Korean source told Radio Free Asia.

    “The Central Committee judged it to be a serious breach of discipline and ordered a thorough investigation and punishment of those involved.””

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/14/north-korea-punishes-troops-singing-telling-jokes/

    1. Folk jest, but the Left tried to ban memes because they mocked them. It’s not our fault Lefties have no sense of humour.

  19. Where NK leads, Blighty follows.
    Might give SAGE new ideas.

    “North Korea is reportedly cracking down on singing and cracking jokes in the military after soldiers were caught hosting a talent show resembling a South Korean television show.

    The light-hearted performances, in stark contrast to the country’s staid, state-run TV, has triggered alarm bells in a regime known to be paranoid about the influence of South Korean culture.

    “During the show, some of them told jokes that resembled South Korean stand-up comedians, and others sang songs like South Korean singers,” a North Korean source told Radio Free Asia.

    “The Central Committee judged it to be a serious breach of discipline and ordered a thorough investigation and punishment of those involved.””

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/14/north-korea-punishes-troops-singing-telling-jokes/

  20. Platinum Jubilee coin i received from the Mint for free is now selling on Ebay for £11.99. There is one coin listed commemorating the PJ. Solid gold £50,000 ono.

  21. Here’s an odd little report, the headline of which is effectively ignored in the text. If the path was walkable 2,000 years ago, what conclusion can be drawn?

    Melting Swiss glaciers reveal ancient hiking path not seen for over 2,000 years
    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rocky-path-revealed-between-swiss-glaciers-extreme-melt-season-2022-09-11/

    Meanwhile, over at the the Institute for the End of Mankind…

    Health groups call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/14/fossil-fuel-non-proliferation-treaty-who-environmental-vandilism

    1. The North American tribes walked from Siberia. Their own origin stories claim that and modern research confirms that it’s plausible. Yet Climat Change is a new and urgent phenomenon caused by the Industrial Revolution and only now is the landscape changing. Yeah, right.

        1. Ah, that’s the same question as were my paternal grandparents Ukrainian because they came from Odessa even though Odessa only became part of the Ukraine 23 years after they left?

          1. I know. Mongolian is one of the five main racial stereotypes and it accounts for: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indo-Chinese, Mongolian, Inuit, and the Native American tribes.

    2. Let me think this one through.
      For there to be a hiking path, the area would need to be passable most, if not all, the year.
      This would mean not much snow – if any. Now what would keep Swiss mountains constantly clear of snow?
      Could someone please help me on this one?

  22. Here’s an odd little report, the headline of which is effectively ignored in the text. If the path was walkable 2,000 years ago, what conclusion can be drawn?

    Melting Swiss glaciers reveal ancient hiking path not seen for over 2,000 years
    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rocky-path-revealed-between-swiss-glaciers-extreme-melt-season-2022-09-11/

    Meanwhile, over at the the Institute for the End of Mankind…

    Health groups call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/14/fossil-fuel-non-proliferation-treaty-who-environmental-vandilism

  23. Here’s an odd little report, the headline of which is effectively ignored in the text. If the path was walkable 2,000 years ago, what conclusion can be drawn?

    Melting Swiss glaciers reveal ancient hiking path not seen for over 2,000 years
    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rocky-path-revealed-between-swiss-glaciers-extreme-melt-season-2022-09-11/

    Meanwhile, over at the the Institute for the End of Mankind…

    Health groups call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/14/fossil-fuel-non-proliferation-treaty-who-environmental-vandilism

  24. Morning all.

    Having though of “Elizabeth the Extraordinary”, I now give you “Charles the Churlish”, after his behaviour when signing documents. Short-tempered, tetchy, call it what you will, but not how our late Queen would have behaved.

    1. Indeed. He is known for his temper (as is Woke William). The Queen would have said “Oh dear.”

      1. The Queen would never have made such a fuss.

        I wasn’t aware he is known for his temper. Perhaps it’s the drink – he usually has the red spots on his cheeks.

        1. To be fair to the King, he has had one Hell of a lot of things to do in very short order, and avoidable blips should heave been just that, avoided.
          With H&W not to mention Andrew standing on their dignity and being difficult most people would be short tempered

        1. She’s a good influence on him, but he’s impatient.

          I remember an incident at Highgrove – we were doing the catering there when some people had had a tree-planting day. Diana was in the early stages of pregnancy with Prince William and the smell of our cooked canapes made her feel sick, so she had to rush off. Charles turned to the person next to him and told her not to worry as she was often like that. Totally dismissive.

    2. We were so lucky to have Elizabeth. She trained herself to an extraordinary level of self-control in order to do her job, and almost as a by-product of that, set an example of high standards to everyone who grew up during her reign. I never met her, but she had a profound influence on me.

      1. Do you really think he did that himself?

        I suspect it was probably done by someone deliberately, to cause as much embarrassment as they could.

        1. It is Employment Law that Statutory notice has to be given to employees when posts are likely to be made redundant. My understanding is that the Head honcho let the staff know out of courtesy that change was inevitable and due process according to the law would be followed. He expressed a hope that many staff would be able to be redeployed on other royal assignments.

          1. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t also some arcane royal household requirement that meant that on the death of the Sovereign staff must change, and the statutory requirements had therefore to be performed when they were.

    3. I wonder how healthy he is. There have been comments on here.
      On the long walk up from Holyrood to St Giles, King Charles’ right leg seemed to be shuffling a bit.

      1. Lady Jane Grey was the monarch for just 9 days. I doubt if this is a record that Charles is aiming to beat but if he is he had better get a move on as he has now been King for six days.

  25. Question. We do not refer to the French Prime Minister as “Le premier ministre”, or the Italian one as “primo ministo”.

    Why do we use the daft Oirish word “Teapot” (or similar) to describe the Irish PM?

        1. I think that Drop the dead donkey was a wonderful programme. Judging by the stuff on the BBC, they now use it as a training video.

    1. We have a danger of death, keep out in ours.

      The danger is my inability to find time to properly rack all our boxes. The other is my inability to find time to virtualise stuff so we can get rid of boxes. Ironically, it may come to electricity costing more than my hourly rate forcing the aggregation.

      1. Told off? I’d have torn your head off! One of our boxes is properly mission critical and has about £8k’s of hardware in it. If you’d tripped on one of the hanging bundles of Babylon and that’d fused our downtime would be weeks of work.

        And yes, as it’s so important we have a backup offsite, but it still means bringing it in, swapping over, changing configs.

        In fact, we should do a DR one weekend.

        1. There was a fire incident that put out one of the BBC servers a year or so ago and it did take months to rebuild shared drives from backed up copies. They restored everything but it was certainly a very long process. I saved stuff in my personal folders while it was being done.

          1. When I was a systems manager, I was concerned that we needed to be back in business within 24hours. Our offices were linked to the mainframe. The mainframe was not my concern. The 13 operational offices around the UK were. As well as asking for a set of machinery; modems, terminals, keyboards et al to be ready on standby to be sent a place with a problem such as having burned down, some of my other suggestions fell on deaf ears.
            I suggested that the Emergency Recovery Team should all wear pink jump suits for easy identification. No sense of humour, I found.

        1. The building was hermetically sealed. If i had set the smoke alarms off i would have had to learn how to breathe halon gas very quickly. :@)

    2. On the other hand I was working on a project with a large multinational (who had best remain unnamed). As a temp I was not allowed to be given the access code for the server room, a problem that the data centre manager solved by popping the lock off the door.

      On an earlier assignment with that same company the project lead just worked around the issue by swapping ID badges with me,

  26. Back from the dentist now! Laden down with toothpaste, toothbrushes and Peppa Pig stickers! The boys were good, and said “aaah” very well! Gran, unfortunately has an infection down the side of left wisdom tooth, has had an x ray and has been prescribed an antibiotic! Nasty expensive morning, but at least the scrip is free! Thanks Nikeliar!

      1. On Monday I wanted to stick my head in a gas oven, it was sooo painful! My dear old man said we couldn’t afford the BthU’s!

          1. Thanks Phizzee! I have eaten a lot of ibuprofen alternating with aspirin! The dentist was amazed that I hadn’t ‘phoned! I only went with the boys and she asked if I wanted to see her since I was there! Great service!

          2. Don’t let it get bad. Teeth cause all sorts of problems throughout the body. Not least of all, I will refuse to snog you !!!

    1. Shouldn’t that be, “thanks England and the Barnett Formula”? We, unlike the Scots and Welsh can’t afford free prescriptions!

    1. Oh, goody. It was doomed by it’s own unwanted products – no market for the tripe (excuse the pun).

        1. I can smell it to this day! My grandmother used to cook it in milk with onions for my grandfather!! It was disgusting!

          1. Mine too, with white pepper and vinegar (and the obligatory slices of buttered bread).
            Mum couldn’t eat fish and chips without bread and butter!

    2. There are now vegan Magnums. They have green wrappers, so I had to really rummage around to find a mint one for MB.

    3. Update: I see that the account that posted this has vanished from Twit.
      Mocking veganism is against Twit rules apparently.

  27. Righty, I am orf to take Ozzie and Mongo to the fluffers. And yes, I know what one was from times gone by.

    In this case it’s a wash and claw clipping. Mongo loves it and Rich, the bloke who does it. Maybe he has a hoover fetish. Ozzie I think will panic at the noises and odd environment, so I’ll stay with him throughout. Mongo just pulls off the lead and leaps on the table.

  28. Wordle 452 4/6

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

    Quordle problems today 🙁

    Daily Quordle 233
    7️⃣8️⃣
    🟥4️⃣
    quordle.com
    🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
    🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩
    🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨
    🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    1. Similar wordle pattern today. Par 4.

      Wordle 452 4/6

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

    2. Wordle 452 4/6

      ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩
      🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩
      🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Daily Quordle 233

      5️⃣7️⃣
      🟥9️⃣

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
      🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟨🟨🟨🟨
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
      ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
      🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟨🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Meant to say #metoo.

    3. Wordle 452 4/6

      ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩
      🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩
      🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Daily Quordle 233

      5️⃣7️⃣
      🟥9️⃣

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
      🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟨🟨🟨🟨
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
      ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
      🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟨🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Meant to say #metoo.

    1. For the next 200 years, BB2. At the very least. Yer Chinese have always repressed people they don’t like.

      1. I guess you’re right. Don’t they ever learn?
        You need freedom inside a hierarchical society to produce innovation.

        1. Yer Chinks would tell you that their repressive systems (over the last several thousand years) have produced a great deal of innovation….

          1. Yeah, Reg, don’t forget the gunpowder ….
            And paper ….
            And … and …. er …. um …. Bat Clap.

    1. Apart from the bill going against everything Republicans stand for, why else would they vote against it.

      Needless to say, my joke of a PM is promising new handouts as a way of combating inflation.

      1. Stupid people will smilingly accept the handouts from Turdeau and then wonder why their shopping has become so expensive. They will probably blame the supermarkets or the farmers.

    2. Good-paying jobs? Is this a tweet from Trump? Is he trolling us? Or does it tell is something about the state of Kamala’s intellect?

      1. There is some footage out there on the internet of Peter Doocy (journalist) asking Biden’s press secretary who is going to pay for the Inflation Act, and she comically avoids giving an answer.

      1. It was the sight of Mrs Murrell!!

        Seriously, I know what you mean. The faces of the troops as they waited and waited. The very few words of command. That bloody great plane.

  29. The end of the Canadian green party saga is in sight.

    After a leadership candidate had a hissy fit because she was called she, the party president has resigned and the Green Party MPs (all two of them) have said that they will sit as independents

    The party lost its purpose when Trudeau assumed the role of climate change fairy and have been wallowing around in woke rubbish, looking for a new purpose.

    Ah well.

  30. Just roasted a large chicken in my Pressure King Pro. It took 25 minutes and energy cost was 12 pence. Just saying.

    1. But but you’re causing the end of the world because you eat meat but energy guzzling wind turbines are green becasue…well, because.

    2. But it’s not really roasted is it. It’s been high pressure steamed. Does it have a nice, crunchy, roasted skin?

      1. You can brown it but you don’t get the crispy skin. Tomorrow i will
        take off the legs and freeze them. Wings go into a separate freezer bag
        for either buffalo sticky wings or more stock. The breasts will make 6
        full dinners. Prolly curry and stir fry. Then there is the carcass.
        Boil that up and then repick the meat. Enough to feed Dolly for 3 days.

        I could take the skin off and crisp it separately but i can’t be bothered.

          1. My way is significantly cheaper. I put carrots, onions and celery in too so there is potential for other soups and stews reheated in the micro.

    3. I did a lamb hotpot yesterday in the slow cooker.
      Sliced a large onion to put on the bottom, then laid the lamb chops on top and added turnip, carrot & parsnip with a layer of sliced potato on top.
      Rinsed out several nearly empty assorted pickle, sauce & mushroom jars and added the water from them to the mix.
      And very nice it was too.

      Had a 2nd helping this afternoon and there’s still two helpings in the fridge.

      1. When the Rayburn is lit (not before 1st October) doing slow roasts, bakes and casseroles will be no problem and inexpensive as the cooker will be running the central heating and providing hot water as well. The only electricity required will be to run the pump.

        1. We’ll be igniting the Rayburn about the same time, but on less cold days will probably turn it off when the log burner is going and providing hot water.

          1. I don’t have a log burner, just oil central heating for the “some days warm, some days cold” period. Once the Rayburn is lit, that’s it until March at least.

  31. Watching Her Majesty’s last journey down the Mall, I’ve realised the last televised procession I saw was a mere three months ago with everybody doing their thing for the Platinum Jubilee.
    Think we’ve just spotted elder son in the crowds.
    edit: No it wasn’t; they are standing outside the old Shell building. Don’t say there are TWO of them!

  32. 356015+ up ticks,

    UK Prepares for Largest Security Operation in History as World Descends on London for Queen’s Funeral

    All well and good clear the nasty wordies off the internet, will it make any difference to the daily stabbing rate ?

  33. The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna (1817)
    Charles Wolfe

    Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
    As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
    Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
    O’er the grave where our hero we buried.

    We buried him darkly at dead of night,
    The sods with our bayonets turning;
    By the struggling moonbeam’s misty light
    And the lantern dimly burning.

    No useless coffin enclosed his breast,
    Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him,
    But he lay like a warrior taking his rest
    With his martial cloak around him.

    Few and short were the prayers we said,
    And we spoke not a word of sorrow;
    But we steadfastly gazed on the face that was dead,
    And we bitterly thought of the morrow.

    We thought, as we hollowed his narrow bed
    And smoothed down his lonely pillow,
    That the foe and the stranger would tread o’er his head,
    And we far away on the billow!

    Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone
    And o’er his cold ashes upbraid him,
    But little he’ll reck, if they let him sleep on
    In the grave where a Briton has laid him.

    But half of our heavy task was done
    When the clock struck the hour for retiring;
    And we heard the distant and random gun
    That the foe was sullenly firing.

    Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
    From the field of his fame fresh and gory;
    We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,
    But left him alone with his glory.

    1. One of the greatest heroes in British military history.
      Somewhere there is a commentary explaining that General Sir John Moore’s burial was not quite as described in the poem, but it matters not.
      He was the genius whose horrific fighting retreat laid the foundations for Sir Arthur Wellesley to defeat the French forces in the Peninsular.

  34. Visited Horsham last week (as you do) and strolled through the town centre park which has a magnificent avenue of evergreen oak trees. Not your spreading oaks but naturally shaped like poplars. I picked up a couple of acorns which I’m about to sow to see if I can germinate some useful saplings.

    1. Everyone remembers John Betjeman’s friendly bombs but I always liked to think of the other nearby town he mentions in his poem about Slough :

      It’s not their fault they do not know.
      The birdsong from the radio,
      It’s not their fault they often go.
      To Maidenhead.

      Whether or not there is a Slough of Despond as one progresses pilgrimlike through Maidenhead I cannot say – but I always thought that the most sexlessly plain, unattractive and virgin MP and former PM is very appropriately the MP for Maidenhead!

    1. I suspect the 2022 photo was taken at Chester zoo – the tattoos are a giveaway. The couple were probably the skinniest the photographer could find there.

    2. I don’t particularly like either image, but the people responsible for the one on the right are unbelievably out of touch with reality.

      1. I dunno – try wandering around any medium sized town these days. The MR and I are shocked each time we risk it.

        1. It may be reality but it’s not going to sell things, is it!! Very few woman actually WANT to look like that, and have a timorous man in a bra cowering behind them either!

          1. “Very few woman actually WANT to look like that”

            If that is true – WHY are there so many of them? Everywhere one looks

          2. Will power, poor education, eating processed food, eating veg oils/glucose-fructose syrup, not enough exercise, not enough sleep, constant snacking to get through the day….take your pick?

          3. I know that. I just cannot imagine what they think when they look in a mirror – or try to take a bath….

      2. If you had visited Chester Zoo recently as I did you would have to recognise that for many folk this is the new reality….!

    3. Never found Kate Moss remotely attractive. She has no shape whatsoever. She’s also not especially attractive. Always reminds me of a female Skeletor.

        1. Elle?

          It’s difficult as the wife is (I’m told) lucky that when she gains weight, it goes to her boobs. As they’ve made her money she’s had a constant battle with her weight. We don’t talk about it as honestly I don’t care, but it’s important to her how she looks and the way her clothes sit. She’s quite tall so her usual dress suits look ok but too big and she has to get the jackets tailored so they pull in under her bust else she looks tubby when she isn’t.

          This Sophie Dahl?

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2c6829fbb453951cb4477752ca04b8fd5d99421c2c79da5b6d8eca76654df82b.jpg

    4. Good Lord. If I scoff all 4 almond croissants I’ve just bought, I have future on modelling over-priced knickers.

  35. Her Majesty would have approved this afternoon’s events.

    I was very worried that I would be unable to cope; fortunately ITV had a Grief Psychotherapist – so that was alright…{:¬))

        1. Straight out of acting school, I thought. Kate looked very uptight, as though she was expecting M to tip her hat or something (sitting directly behind her).

          1. I can understand that, but Kate looks very hostile when M is around. Might be better to cultivate a neutral expression. Easy to criticise though, when one isn’t in that situation oneself!

          2. I think it’s more noticeable because normally Kate looks friendly to all, even if she’s not actually smiling.

        2. As I was watching on catch up I was moved too – to fast forward past her.
          Must admit Charlie looked haggard, mind you an ordinary funeral is bad enough but when you have to do all that he’s done in the last week and with nearly a week of pomp etc to survive yet, it’s no wonder. I know he can be a knob at times but I feel sorry for him at the moment – and Princess Ann

          1. It really hit home this morning when the BCP leaflet had “Elizabeth the Queen” struck out and “Charles the King” written in.

  36. HELP

    My list tells me that we have more Nottler birthdays coming up.

    Are Very Old Man and veryveryveryoldfella one and the same? And which one will soon have yet another mile notched up on the clock?

      1. Thank you – I am very sorry if we have missed your birthday it must be VVVOF tomorrow.

        Please would you let us know your Date of Birth so that we can get you on the list and try not to omit wishing you a joyful day the next time it come around.

  37. Mongo weighed in at 81kg and some grams. Ozzie at 50, which is just above his expected weight for 7 months. Bit of a yelp at the claw trimming but otherwise did ok. Didn’t get the harness lark but was happy to be brushed. His coat is absurdly glossy (mostly because unlike the great beast he doens’t plunge into every puddle, mud or try to eat trees).

    The short trip to the vets had him growing properly with no hip dysplasia or jaw problems. He had a good teeth clean and was better behaved than Mongo, who brings his paw up on the wrist of the vet. It’s the one time he’s not very happy.

    After a walletectomy and having a stubborn Mongo refuse to get out of the Volvo – I should check if he’s still there – all are happy.

    And yes, he is still sat there.

      1. He’s hopeless on car journeys. We get his harness isofixed and he can’t keep still. If he’s in the front, we wants to go in the back. If in the back, he tries to get in the front.

      1. He’s a big fluffy bear. He’s heavier than the Warqueen! Although Bill, Mongo pulls tree trunks at the weekend.

    1. I wouldn’t have liked to have done any of that (except possibly the weighing) to Oscar. We’d have no fingers left – and he’s a lot lighter than Mongo.

  38. The most appalling thing I’ve seen today is in the Mail, a group of Irish layabouts dancing their silly, effeminate Irish dancing to the tune of another one bites the dust, in front of Buckingham palace.. I won’t give a link because it only encourages these, beneath contempt, yobs.

    1. Best to ignore them, as the unimportant bunch of cretins they are. In the same story, I see that 4000 ‘scholars’ in the USA have signed a petition in favour of the ‘professor’ who wished a painful death on the Queen. They may well find themselves in a position in the future where their words come back to haunt them.

        1. I know that photo has been ‘touched up’ but Charles had that florid complexion, even then! Oh, and I had several cardies like that! The beige is a classic!

  39. Now with the Lying-in-State taking place, any chance we could have a bit of Government for the next couple of days?

      1. I know what you mean. However, with hundreds and hundreds of illegals rushing across the Channel – it would be a welcome sight to see the Home Secretary doing something.

          1. It should certainly be possible for the French and British forces to combine and sink the boats off the French coast and deport them to some suitable French dependency, Devil’s Island for example.

        1. You want her to go down to Dover with a “Refugees Welcome” sign?
          She won’t be allowed to do anything else!

  40. BFMTV (France) still broadcasting live from Westminster Hall. Complimenting the British on the amazing precision and organisation….

    1. That’s nothing new (although maybe surprising in this day and age); when I visited Le Petit Trianon in the sixties with my school party, the guide was so impressed how discipline’s (take that as an accent aigu) we were that he lifted the rope and took us into the room so we could admire the trompe l’oeil paintings.

    1. Congratulations. We already knew how splendiforous your family is..(previous pics).

      My claim to fame was walking to a wedding at St Martin in-the-fields as Sky TV filmed me. All Tuxed up. I was the short one. :@(

  41. I talked to a German today, who expressed great sadness at the Queen’s death, and said that they also felt her presence as a role model and a figure of stability in Europe.

          1. I wasn’t.

            Merkel is an old-fashioned, unreconstructed Soviet sleeper.

            Of course there is no comparison. It was simply your use of the phrase: role model and a figure of stability in Europe.

            I’ll go ad have a lie down…

          2. Me too! And the remarkable ease with which she slid into the heart of West German politics – right into the alleged Conservative party!

          3. And (following Soviet instructions) single-handedly started the destruction of white, Christian Western Europe by demanding the entry of millions of blacks, slammers, and otherwise totally useless people who – with their ever-growing families – will be an enormous drain on the resources of the indigenous folk.

          4. There are some photos of her at a naturist camp in the DDR days and she was rather pretty in those days.

      1. The Germans must by now be regretting their adoration of Mutti.

        Their country, like our own, is overrun with violent thugs imported from Africa, Asia, closer European shitholes and God knows where.

        They are prone to seeing their population freezing this winter as a result of stupid Green Agenda policies and observing obsequience to the corpse Biden, withering head of the Evil Empire.

  42. That’s me gone for today. My jokes are wearing thin…! What a splendid spectacle in London this afternoon.

    Stand by for some very important CAT news tomorrow! Queues are already forming as far away as Dereham (look at the map!!!)

    Have a pleasant evening. I intend to watch the docu about Mr Gorbachev.

    A demain

    1. “Stand by for some very important CAT news tomorrow!”

      Keep ’em away from them Puritans, my boy!

  43. Crumbs, they have done well; just seen Sonny Boy and co. descending the steps in Westminster Hall.

      1. Watching the crowd management, the pace is good. I think lessons were learnt from the Queen Mother’s lying in state.
        There is no way we were moving at that rate – continuously – in 2001.
        Just seen the family actually standing beside the catafalque on ITV news.
        I think they started queuing about lunchtime.

          1. Tragically snuffed out in the prime of life. According to the MSM at the time.

            Here in the Surrey Hills, a surprising number of funerals are for centenarians. Or, at least, they were, before Covid. Now? Not so much…

          2. Born 1901. The last time we saw her in public was in the back of the car, on her way to Princess Margaret’s funeral. I remember thinking then that it would finish her off. My aunt outlived both her children – I hope I don’t.

        1. HG arrived, was escorted through the crowds, taken to a side entrance and then gave her obsequies and was escorted out.
          Edit: I would guess ten minutes from arrival to departure

          1. Perhaps I shoud dig out the wheelchair, and leave the legs at home? Ironically my local station, four minutes’ walk from home, has, on Platform 1 (London bound) a poster with a QR code for those needing assistance. Unfortunately, accessing this platform involves 28 steps up, and 28 steps down.

  44. Evening, all. I thought dissenting voices (climate change, only two sexes, marriage is between a man and a woman …) were unwelcome, if not actually banned. Why are the republicans complaining? [This is not to be taken seriously, in case anyone misunderstands – I believe in debate.]

  45. After weeding, raking, spreading topsoil and re-seeding part of our front verge. Roping it off because I’ve put chicken wire on top of the seeded areas because we are often inundated by fat greedy wood pigeons. The sun had dried most of the lawn in the back garden. My word it was hard work with the electric lawn mower. Clog up after Clog up. Sweating buckets on top of it all. I feel an early night looming.
    Will have to record Doc Martin. A new and last series.

      1. We love it Sue, its underlying tongue in cheek humour and mystery is brilliant.
        The Doc’s become a horologist…..who knew ??🕰😉🙂

  46. An email from my dear friend in GA USA. She and her husband are vacationing in France and are now in Nice. There is a memorial to HM The Queen and my friend is going to place flowers.

          1. An Emporor is the ruler of an empire, a King is the ruler of a kindom and you are just rhe current ruler of a country. What does that make you? Four letters from country supplies the answer. Take you time you senile old C***.

          2. When you look at the trappings & ceremony that surround the US Presidency, it’s apparent that the country is, effectively, and Elective Kingdom.

          3. Apres elle, le deluge. My oldest (in the sense I’ve known her longest – she’s only a few months older than I am) French friend is more of a monarchist than I am. She asked me to buy her a copy of a book on HM to bring her when I last visited. I had to sit through the Brash and Trash spectacle because I was in Aix at the time (I had hoped to escape as I had for the Charles and Di spectacular when I was in the Camargue).

  47. It’s probably down to my colour recognition and the angle of the pictures, but if asked I would have said The Princess of Wales was darker hued than the half-caste.

  48. I’m just about ready for bed, but listening to the Rachmaninov on R3 before I head upstairs.
    A bit of a disturbed night followed by moving Student Son back into Uni, involving a lot of humping of heavy bits up two narrow flights of stairs.

    Hope I have a better night tonight.

    1. Hope so, BoB, still esperiencing a lot of heavy humpin up many stairs and also disturbed nights. I sympathise,

  49. Received this email from Tesco.

    “We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family as we mourn the loss of our longest-serving British monarch.

    On the morning of the funeral on Monday 19 September our stores across the UK will remain closed to allow our colleagues to pay their respects.

    Our Superstores and Tesco Extras will stay closed all day, while our Express stores will re-open from 5pm to help serve our customers and communities during the evening.

    A small number of our London stores will be open along the route of the funeral procession. You can check the opening hours of your local Tesco store by typing your postcode into our store locator.

    We’re sorry for the inconvenience and hope you understand the reasons behind our decision.”

    No need for British, otherwise it was fine until the last sentence, which completely undermined the intent.

  50. That’s Rachmaninov’s 3 Symphonic dances finished so that’s me for bed.
    A new but very enjoyable piece on me.

    Good night all.

    1. Finzi’s music is always beautiful. He has been much neglected over the years. About twenty plus years ago Judith Weir featured his works at the Spitalfields Festival.

      I recall this because at that time I was responsible for the drawings and specification for the restoration of the interior of the Hawksmoor church.

  51. Goodnight, all. I have to go for a blood test tomorrow or they won’t give me an appointment for a medication review (about four years overdue!). One of the phlebotomists is fantastic and you don’t feel a thing. The other, on the other bruised arm …

    1. When on Warfarin I attended our local surgery for regular blood tests. There were two nurses, one leaving a mere pin prick in my arm, the other always leaving me with extensive bruising.

      I recently had a repeat Angiogram at Addenbrookes. They inserted a canula, in order to insert dye into the blood circulation, which on removal I noticed was about two inches in length. This understandably left bruising especially since they could not immediately stop the flow of blood after its removal without applying sustained pressure.

      As you say, in the case of blood tests, it all depends on the technique of the person extracting the blood. Putting dye into the bloodstream via a canula is an altogether more delicate operation.

    2. When on Warfarin I attended our local surgery for regular blood tests. There were two nurses, one leaving a mere pin prick in my arm, the other always leaving me with extensive bruising.

      I recently had a repeat Angiogram at Addenbrookes. They inserted a canula, in order to insert dye into the blood circulation, which on removal I noticed was about two inches in length. This understandably left bruising especially since they could not immediately stop the flow of blood after its removal without applying sustained pressure.

      As you say, in the case of blood tests, it all depends on the technique of the person extracting the blood. Putting dye into the bloodstream via a canula is an altogether more delicate operation.

    3. When on Warfarin I attended our local surgery for regular blood tests. There were two nurses, one leaving a mere pin prick in my arm, the other always leaving me with extensive bruising.

      I recently had a repeat Angiogram at Addenbrookes. They inserted a canula, in order to insert dye into the blood circulation, which on removal I noticed was about two inches in length. This understandably left bruising especially since they could not immediately stop the flow of blood after its removal without applying sustained pressure.

      As you say, in the case of blood tests, it all depends on the technique of the person extracting the blood. Putting dye into the bloodstream via a canula is an altogether more delicate operation.

  52. Fine BTL comment:

    “Nearly as funny as watching wee Jimmy Krankie (Oor Nicola of the Sturgeon) singing the National Anthem and Hailing God Save The King. All the time chewing a wasp!”

    1. If you are having difficult sleeping you could try Bach’s Night Rescue. It works for me, but sometimes nothing works and one just has to go with it.

    1. Oh dear. The BBC is doing some on the spot reporting. The Ukrainians have retaken a house that was used as a base by Russian troops. An exercise machine used by the Russian soldiers was left behind. Russian troops go into battle with exercise bikes and rowing machines?
      Are we supposed to believe this? Even if reported by Ms Guerlin?

    2. Hard to know what’s really happening. I had the impression that Putin wanted to go softly on the military campaign and beat the West with economic forces.

  53. Biden keeps promising countless billions of US dollars to Ukraine. I doubt much of this goes directly to Zelensky, just a hundred million or so to enable the Ukrainian shit to purchase yet more property in the US, Italy and elsewhere, based upon present reports.

    The billions actually go directly to US arms contractors who cream off billions and supply ‘advanced’ weaponry to a bunch of Ukrainian farmers who could not fire a potato and hit the target. We must assume that Biden has placed more competent troops in the Ukraine in order to utilise the weaponry left over after Biden and his accomplices have creamed off a billion or so from the top for their personal use.

    There is no other explanation for this repulsive set up.

    When Biden announces some massive Federal funding operation you may be assured that the bulk of the promised money will come back to Biden and the Democrats.

  54. Here’s a quote that is allegedly from “FDR My exploited father-in-law” by Curtis Dell (son-in-law of FDR)

    “The depression was the calculated “shearing” of the public by the World Money powers, triggered by the planned sudden shortage of supply of call money in the New York money market…The One World Government leaders and their ever close bankers have now acquired full control of the money and credit machinery of the US via the creation of the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank”

    I would have to read the book to verify it, but there are an astonishing number of references to the one world government movement intending to enslave the population from the fifties onwards.

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