Friday 9 December: The Duchess of Sussex wasted an opportunity to be a force for change

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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569 thoughts on “Friday 9 December: The Duchess of Sussex wasted an opportunity to be a force for change”

    1. 368816+ up ticks,

      In no way shape or form was my morning greeting a slight in using lower case,my capital letter digit ( the nose picker ) was still akip.

  5. Oh, good.
    Cold weekend, no wind, and two Swedish reactors down at Ringhals + two at Oskarshamn (defect & maintenance respectively). High demand, little supply = high leccy prices. Better get some wood in!

  8. The Duchess of Sussex wasted an opportunity to be a force for change

    I am tuning out to any more of this, these two should come with a mental health warning.

    1. Review on the radio this morning ripped those two to shreds, including mocking voices with hard-done by tones, about how awful it is to have difficulty finding parking for the private jet (that was one of the kinder ones). Most disrespectful and urine-extracting!

    2. And she won’t even realise it, so immersed is she in her “victimhood” – egged on by so-called “elites” such as her “friend” Oprah.

          1. Sadly, this situation will probably not end well.
            Harry is genuinely fond of – and good with – children. He seems to have a natural bond with them.
            I’m afraid he will have his heart and mind broken.

      2. Folie à Deux.
        The weak minded partner is manipulated by the obsessive one into sharing the same beliefs.

  9. Cowardice and corruption are eviscerating an entire generation of Russians. 9 December 2022.

    Cowardice and corruption are eviscerating a generation of Russians. They are not alone.

    In Tehran, we’re seeing decades of theft and violence leading to protests and violence. While the people have suffered, the religious and military elites have enriched themselves. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military unit that runs the country, also owns it.

    Across the world, graft is costing millions of lives and billions of pounds and undermining the rule of law and democracy. That’s bad for us all, because borders don’t contain corruption. It seeps out to poison the whole world.

    What strikes you most reading this article is the Hypocrisy and Self-Delusion, or is it perhaps something more sinister? Russia and Iran (Tugendhat has added the latter to intensify the smear) may indeed be all these things; I don’t know absolutely; nothing that the West’s MSM tells you can be relied on. I do know about the UK with a Political Elite that is a byword for treachery, cowardice and corruption. Tugendhat himself is a member of an institution (Westminster) in which not one of them out of six hundred could be found to speak up on behalf of Batley Man. An innocent teacher who was simply doing his job. That passed a series of laws during the Covid Epidemic that would do credit to Communist China. That has written off a series of disastrous government loans that has profited its members. That has imported vast numbers of illegals against the wishes of the people and lied repeatedly to escape the consequences and also to maintain the flow. Free Speech, the rule of Law and Democracy; whatever their condition in Russia, are now extinct in the UK.

    I’m inclined to take the easy route and say, ”A plague on both their houses” but I have smidgen of a suspicion that Russia and Putin in particular; despite the War in Ukraine, is more for the people and their rights than the members of the political cess pool that is the UK, could ever be.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/08/cowardice-corruption-eviscerating-entire-generation-russians/

  10. ‘Morning All

    Modern Life………

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6bab81ab3461644151ab2280563cd8add5b50d6fbd748d5c89435e5e0d721f1b.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dd6181f744940b0c443a6aa1a1ce76dc6513a5927bc301c8bd870ba7833fd81e.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0d62f5e118f3d0e06a8a788e46a17a8d8fe443469b44078ac3f0ade6c1b4f84d.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1be640a1758aa4d6e2baae490c3068eb64bee93b23a7914a641531cd932eb2f6.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cbe29cdff635067f8f7c74d836a0fb804e76ff94d9e86a47e9eb02f9570fd48.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/063d0de139290319ea6874ae4822364c6108b6f235bca1831ac8a8b24d4203fd.jpg

    3. I’m just wondering if that filthy ambulance is just as grubby on the inside. As a carriage for ill people it doesn’t send out an encouraging message.

  12. I wrote yesterday about a picture in the Terriblegraph the day before of a man walking to work through barely 1/8” snow, and being described as “struggling” – and commented that I was only surprised the caption didn’t say he was “forced” to struggle to get to work.

    Well, my luck is in. Caption from picture on page 6: “Residents in Egton, North Yorks, were forced to get out their shovels to clear the roads to keep traffic moving yesterday as icy conditions spread across the country.”

    What’s wrong with “had to get their shovels out”? Or “were required to get their shovels out”? Why does everything have to be “forced”?

    2. 368816 + up ticks,

      Morning MIR,
      Acclimatising the single brain cell of the
      ( tis more comfortable to be stupid) brigade.

    3. “Forced” implies a reaction to a terrible and unprecedented situation. Just reporting on rhe weather doesn’t have the fear factor required.

  13. All the old clichés are coming out this morning, as they are about to announce, preferably whilst stupid normal folk are distracted by the football or by the Sussexes, that the measures put in to protect the economy after the Great Fraud of 2008, the bailouts for which we are still paying and not one culprit been held to justice, are to be reversed.

    From now on, banks are encouraged to hand over life savings to foreign oligarchs in order to “smarten up London”, “to play on our post-Brexit strengths” (anyone care to explain what these are?), “to make jobs” (in London and perhaps Edinburgh?) and to make a push for a great deal more incentive to borrow at a time there is no money to pay for nurses or farmers. There is to be no limit to the bonuses paid out to those canny enough to help themselves, and make the losers pay. American values welcome here, big time!

    I have had enough. If I weren’t already retired, I’d say – sod this and to h*ll with the lot of you, and strike if only to let someone out there know I’ve had enough of this Truss/Kwarteng idiocy that does not seem to have gone way when they left Downing Street. I’m sure there are plenty of working age who feel this way.

    2. There aren’t any “post-Brexit strengths” because we are not yet in a post-Brexit situation. We have BRINO.

  14. 368816+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,
    little wonder we have hotels full of foreign potential troops, terrorists, paedophile rapists, and veterans crashing out on pavements, people power neglected/ misused / abused.

    Along with shale gas we are a source of untapped power
    waiting for a party and LEADERship to unite and take us forward like ir or NOT Gerard Batten and his one year leadership of UKIP is a prime example of our needs.

    STOP taking note of this deflecting chaff tis of no earthly consequence and it’s oxygen supply should have been cut off long ago.

    Friday 9 December: The Duchess of Sussex wasted an opportunity to be a force for change

    Ps,

    At least she has that in common with people power.

    1. Another Davey I know – but isn’t the current leader of the Lib/Dems one of the most repulsive people in the HoC?

  17. Morning, all.
    Weather in N Essex this morning: overcast, misty, frost showing on my shed roof and neighbours’ palm fronds waving in a light breeze = very cold.
    Discussing the weather/climate, the Daily Sceptic put up a good piece yesterday. Using facts, I know that’s taboo, the article is about Cyclonic Storm Energy i.e. wind and stuff.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c134e0f3bf752306506c0fc3b2c6b2a183c41c7ae7688bed8826b3eec7c35689.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/983889ebd03640d7188afde9b61a1724c7788e8fb97fac570747a539958691f2.png

    Daily Sceptic – Massive Reduction in Cyclonic Storm Energy

    1. If you pay Scientists enough, they will detect exponentially increasing hurricane energy from the above graph…

  18. Street harassment will bring two years in prison under new offence backed by Government. 9 December 2022.

    Men who sexually harass women on the street or on public transport will face two years in jail under a new offence to be backed by the Government.

    The Home Office announced on Thursday night that it will support proposals to amend the 1986 Public Order Act to create a new offence of “public sexual harassment” following a public consultation.

    It would outlaw behaviours such as following someone, making an obscene or aggressive comment or gesture, “cornering” someone, driving a car slowly by someone walking in the street and potentially wolf whistling and catcalling.

    Even leaving aside the reality that there already exists enough laws on the books to tackle any conceivable problem they are still only effective as long as they are enforced. This is a legal system that cannot devote the time to investigate burglaries or to enforce the rule of the road; that cannot even police its own borders but it is now going to curtail the courting rituals of millennia? What prompts this interest in the minutiae of human sexual behaviour? What we actually see here is the desperation of the Political Elites trying to convince us and more probably themselves that they are actually in charge. That they serve some useful function. Neither is true. This is a call from the Dustbin of History. They have outlived their usefulness.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/08/street-harassment-will-bring-two-years-prison-new-offence-backed/

    1. Our prisons are full. Dress these criminals in bright pink overalls and put them out under supervision to clear such things as rubbish dumped in fields, cemeteries that need tidying up, Stop Oil protestor etc. A month at doing things like that would be better than filling up prisons.

    2. I can’t even argue with my satnav on a street near a touchy woman without risking a criminal record. Like the law on divorce, the burden of proof is entirely grounded on subjective hearsay and malice.

      What “public consultation”? Nobody asked me if I wanted this. Besides, I remember the “public consultation” on the legal redefinition of marriage that started “you are going to get this whether you like it or not…”.

  19. Mary Wiedman’s letter concerning the inaccuracies of the SAS Rogue Heroes on BBC TV echoes comments made on this site earlier.

  20. EDF are getting desperate now, offering a chance to win £ 2,500 if I book up to have a smart meter.

    1. I have a chance to win £2500 by buying a premium bond.

      My grandmother bought me £5 worth in 1972 for my birthday. I’ve not ever won anything with them, but I still have a chance to win.

    2. Years ago the French management wanted to re-brand Electricite de France in Britain as EDF UK.

    3. They keep sending me emails, and when, the other day I managed to speak to a human being, she mentioned the infernal things.
      TBF, she seem unsurprised when I declined.

  22. Good morning all. A distinctly cold -6°C start today with what looks like another clear sky.
    Will be having a run into Derby to see Stepson this morning.

    2. Clouded over a bit here but still frosty and perishing cold, even with heating on full blast.

      1. Good morning, Ndovu! Could you give me some advice please? I took Hector out to the garden for a wee about 10 last night. It was -5 and he barked at a very small hedgehog on the path. I got cat food for it and left it for a few minutes to eat, then thinking it wouldn’t survive the night given it’s size, I put it in a box with a towel and left it in the porch with food and water. It’s eaten the food, poohed a lot and found it’s way into a bag of cloths where I found it asleep this morning! Now what do I do please?

          1. Thanks Ndovu! Now to find it again! You’d think our porch was the size of a Tardis! What if it’s heavier than 500gms? Do I put it out again with a bed of straw etc?

          2. Over 500 and it should be able to hibernate. If too small it will lack the body fat to survive and will just not wake up. They will naturally make a hibernaculum of leaves etc but a sturdy box or a good nest will keep them safe.

          4. They don’t need to be kept warm but the hibernaculum will be frost free. They should survive on their body fat but not if they are too small and immature.

          5. They won’t hibernate if kept warm. Keep feeding them until they weigh at least 500gr.

            It would be better to take it to your local rescue centre who deal with many undersized hedgehogs every winter.

          6. We have about 100 autumn juveniles in at the moment. Often they are still found at this time of year.

          7. Many thanks Ndovu. Without rescue centres hedgehogs would just about be extinct in Britain.

      2. We tend not to put the radiator pump on until the woodburner’s been lit and the water’s been heated up, but I think the woodburner will be lit a bit early today!

    3. Clouded over a bit here but still frosty and perishing cold, even with heating on full blast.

  23. Film star, yoga enthusiast, ‘Merchant of Death’: the many faces of Viktor Bout. 9 December 2022.

    The rough story – as far as anybody knows – is as follows. A former Soviet military translator in Angola, Bout was one of Russia’s first generation of post-Communist entrepreneurs, who began by supplying cola, beer and other scarce consumer goods. At a time when old Soviet military bases were effectively a vast car boot sale for surplus weapons, he soon diversified into shipping arms – helped by his knowledge of Africa, his fluency in six languages, and at least five different passports.

    The United Nations claimed he was a key quartermaster to Charles Taylor, the Liberian dictator whose arms-for-gems deals in Sierra Leone fuelled a civil war that cost some 150,000 lives. Yet at times, his planes – manned by tough ex-Soviet pilots who’d fly where others wouldn’t – also transported UN peacekeepers and much-needed aid supplies. Sometimes, his firms even supplied goods to US troops in Iraq. The only side he seemed on, really, was whoever paid him.

    Bout’s real crime of course was undercutting the CIA and selling weapons to people they didn’t like!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/how-dangerous-freed-russian-arms-dealer-viktor-bout/

      1. And Haiti. And are now shit-holes.

        Funny that. It is almost as though these uppity coons need a man with a whip…..

        1. In Zimbabwe they were given farms – and ruined them. Rwanda the tribalism set about a horrific genocide. They stab one another in London over drugs.

          If the problems were discussed and the causes examined – and it’s NOT poverty – then we could move forward into a civilised world.

        2. You can take the African out of Africa but you can never take Africa out of the African.

  26. 368816+ up ticks,

    May this post be the clasp closing the book on their odious actions., otherwise we are fueling a media bonfire of shite.

    tickshttps://twitter.com/FlowerP79667758/status/1600799498267041792?s=20&t=WAOkyhYAg1XuWF6ZduEyOA

  27. SIR – On the day that the Sussexes released their personal rendition of Poor Poor Pitiful Me, there came news that a truly great man had died, who is almost unknown to today’s youth.

    George Leonard “Johnny” Johnson, the last surviving original member of the “Dambusters” raid of 1943, died on Wednesday, and it is to him and his generation of heroes that we pay homage, not Netflix stars paid millions.

    Mark Peaker
    London W1

    Hear, hear!

    1. Yes, there were several comments btl on the Daily Mail lamenting that his departure was not the headline. Also, even the late Queen must have been embarrassed to offer him an MBE. (Nothing wrong with an MBE, but at 90+ they might as well have splurged out and presented Mr Johnson with a CBE.)

      Bomber Command lost 55,000 men, but there was never a campaign medal.

  29. Here is the obituary for a true hero:

    Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson, Lancaster bomb-aimer who was the last survivor of the Dambusters raid – obituary

    When he was appointed MBE, he insisted: ‘It is the squadron that is being honoured with this, not me’

    ByTelegraph Obituaries8 December 2022 • 12:31pm

    Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson, who has died aged 101, was the last survivor to fly on the Dambusters raid, which attacked the Ruhr Dams in May 1943.

    Johnson was the bomb-aimer in the crew of American Flight Lieutenant Joe McCarthy, DFC, who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force before the USA had entered the war. On May 16 1943, 19 crews of No 617 Squadron were briefed for Operation Chastise, a low-level attack to drop Barnes Wallis’s revolutionary “bouncing bomb” on three major dams in the Ruhr. McCarthy’s crew was one of five assigned to attack the Sorpe Dam.

    As the engines of their Lancaster were started, McCarthy’s crew discovered a technical fault and had to switch to the reserve aircraft. Taking off 35 minutes late from RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, they crossed the Dutch island of Vlieland at very low level just before midnight. One aircraft had been forced to return after hitting the sea and losing its bomb, and a second was damaged by German gunners and also had to return. Two more were shot down leaving the McCarthy crew as the only survivors tasked to attack the Sorpe.

    A thick mist in the nearby valleys made navigation at 100 feet difficult, but once the crew had found the target, McCarthy set up an attack along its length. Hills either side of the dam made the bombing run particularly difficult and McCarthy had to dive the heavy bomber to 60 feet and level out for a few seconds before climbing out to avoid hills on the other side of the valley. The responsibility for a successful attack then rested with Johnson, the bomb-aimer.

    The crew made repeated runs to get the speed and height correct and it was not until the 10th attempt that Johnson was satisfied; he released the bomb accurately alongside the dam. The explosion from the direct hit was insufficient to break the huge earth wall of the dam and McCarthy set heading for base. They retraced their steps across Germany and the Netherlands and landed back at base.

    The two primary targets, the Möhne and the Eder dams, were breached, but eight of the 19 Lancasters failed to return, with the loss of 53 aircrew.

    There were many gallantry awards for the crews, including the Victoria Cross for the leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, a DSO for McCarthy and the DFM for Johnson.

    Johnson was due to be married and was given four days’ leave for his wedding before heading for Scampton and six weeks of intense low-flying and bombing training. The pilots and navigators learnt of the target the day before the operation but it was not until early the following day that Johnson and the rest of the aircrew discovered they were to attack the Ruhr Dams.

    Following the raid, Johnson went on to fly another 19 bombing operations and was commissioned. McCarthy was promoted and became one of the key leaders under the new CO, Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, described by Johnson as “the best commander I ever served under”.

    No 617 was issued with a new bomb-sight in order to drop the 12,000 lb blast bomb. During the spring of 1944 the squadron attacked key industrial targets with the huge bomb, many of them in France during the build-up phase to D-Day. Johnson flew his 50th and final operation on April 10 before becoming a bombing instructor.

    Here is the obituary for a true hero:

    Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson, Lancaster bomb-aimer who was the last survivor of the Dambusters raid – obituary

    When he was appointed MBE, he insisted: ‘It is the squadron that is being honoured with this, not me’

    ByTelegraph Obituaries8 December 2022 • 12:31pm

    Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson, who has died aged 101, was the last survivor to fly on the Dambusters raid, which attacked the Ruhr Dams in May 1943.

    Johnson was the bomb-aimer in the crew of American Flight Lieutenant Joe McCarthy, DFC, who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force before the USA had entered the war. On May 16 1943, 19 crews of No 617 Squadron were briefed for Operation Chastise, a low-level attack to drop Barnes Wallis’s revolutionary “bouncing bomb” on three major dams in the Ruhr. McCarthy’s crew was one of five assigned to attack the Sorpe Dam.

    As the engines of their Lancaster were started, McCarthy’s crew discovered a technical fault and had to switch to the reserve aircraft. Taking off 35 minutes late from RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, they crossed the Dutch island of Vlieland at very low level just before midnight. One aircraft had been forced to return after hitting the sea and losing its bomb, and a second was damaged by German gunners and also had to return. Two more were shot down leaving the McCarthy crew as the only survivors tasked to attack the Sorpe.

    A thick mist in the nearby valleys made navigation at 100 feet difficult, but once the crew had found the target, McCarthy set up an attack along its length. Hills either side of the dam made the bombing run particularly difficult and McCarthy had to dive the heavy bomber to 60 feet and level out for a few seconds before climbing out to avoid hills on the other side of the valley. The responsibility for a successful attack then rested with Johnson, the bomb-aimer.

    The crew made repeated runs to get the speed and height correct and it was not until the 10th attempt that Johnson was satisfied; he released the bomb accurately alongside the dam. The explosion from the direct hit was insufficient to break the huge earth wall of the dam and McCarthy set heading for base. They retraced their steps across Germany and the Netherlands and landed back at base.

    The two primary targets, the Möhne and the Eder dams, were breached, but eight of the 19 Lancasters failed to return, with the loss of 53 aircrew.

    There were many gallantry awards for the crews, including the Victoria Cross for the leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, a DSO for McCarthy and the DFM for Johnson.

    Johnson was due to be married and was given four days’ leave for his wedding before heading for Scampton and six weeks of intense low-flying and bombing training. The pilots and navigators learnt of the target the day before the operation but it was not until early the following day that Johnson and the rest of the aircrew discovered they were to attack the Ruhr Dams.

    Following the raid, Johnson went on to fly another 19 bombing operations and was commissioned. McCarthy was promoted and became one of the key leaders under the new CO, Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, described by Johnson as “the best commander I ever served under”.

    No 617 was issued with a new bomb-sight in order to drop the 12,000 lb blast bomb. During the spring of 1944 the squadron attacked key industrial targets with the huge bomb, many of them in France during the build-up phase to D-Day. Johnson flew his 50th and final operation on April 10 before becoming a bombing instructor.

    After the war, he trained as a navigator and flew with Coastal Command’s No 120 Squadron flying the new Shackleton aircraft, a derivative of the Lancaster. In 1957 he left for Singapore to be an operations officer in a maritime air headquarters. After three years he returned to the UK to spend his final tour in the RAF on a Thor ballistic missile site in Lincolnshire. He decided to leave the RAF in 1962.

    Johnson then trained as a schoolteacher, and after gaining four years’ experience he moved to teach inmates at Rampton Hospital before spending 14 years teaching and counselling at a mental health institution. His work with people with psychiatric issues attracted widespread praise and was recognised, together with his other public service, by the award in 2017 of an honorary doctorate by the University of Lincoln, of which he was extremely proud.

    He retired in 1980 and moved to Torquay, where he was active in local politics and was elected as a councillor for Torbay. He was also the chairman of the local Conservative Association.

    After the death of his wife Johnson moved to Bristol. In 2008 he returned to the Ruhr Dams while a documentary film was being made. He recognised that the raid was exciting and valuable at the time, but in later life, once he became aware of the scale of losses on both sides, he questioned the need for the attack and regretted the heavy loss of life. He was very moved after meeting German locals and survivors. His performance and manner during the filming received wide acclaim.

    By the time of the 70th anniversary of the Dams raid in May 2013 there were few survivors left, and it marked the beginning of a period when the quiet and modest Johnson became a celebrity. He made many appearances including at the Royal Albert Hall and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and he had a 20-minute audience with the Queen. In May 2018 he flew in the Lancaster of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – occupying the bomb-aimer’s position.

    In the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was appointed MBE, “for services to Second World War remembrance and the community in Bristol”. When asked his feelings about his award, he replied: “It is the squadron that is being honoured with this, not me.” His pursuit of suitable recognition for the work of Bomber Command never flagged.

    Johnson was a great raconteur. He analysed the Dams Raid from the German and the British perspectives, criticised the revisionists – who, he pointed out, were not there – and he considered the moral aspects of having to kill civilians. He feared letting his crew down more than he feared the enemy. He also believed that today’s youth would prove themselves just as capable as his generation.

    Johnson remained a lifelong friend of Joe McCarthy and his family and he spoke highly of his pilot in his 2014 memoir The Last British Dambuster.

    Johnny Johnson married Gwyneth Morgan in May 1943; she died in August 2005. Their son and two daughters survive them.

    Johnny Johnson, born November 25 1921, died December 7 2022 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/82a985959534c8b6466cb83f7b6d8f6aac5afc53d87e96e845e121aaaedef2ec.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/31a03bb1ca64c79123b14ba9c2320edac7201987e604c3a6a36fa28aeefd4586.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f565bf08e1a873bc60fb64a0a115ebaae22fb7faed0b1edfeb963f1d89d64f73.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5abb398c17276d6bdce4bf62542c886dd97998a8baf9bb547984535d6a11b2c6.jpg

    Charlie Egerton19 HRS AGO

    Well – you get a wonderful selfless man like JJ, who puts his life on the line for all others and shows bravery beyond comprehension. Fast forward to 2022 and you get a pair of low lifers who stand up at a New York gala and accept a “bravery” award for exactly what, pray? I know where my absolute respect lies. Rest in Peace, sir!

    David Cornwall20 HRS AGO

    There is something tragic in the fact that this man’s death is overshadowed by the low IQ outpourings of Harry and the h@g.

    Mark Parnell16 HRS AGO

    I went to a talk given by Johnny, he was in his 90’s and he spoke with such eloquence for well over an hour without sitting down or showing any signs of fatigue. A truly remarkable man, he well and truly deserved his standing ovation that night.

    It makes me so annoyed that the passing of Johnny Johnson is only a foot note in this rag, whilst the banner headlines are 2 worthless characters.

    1. Apologies, I messed up the photo captions – in the first photo Johnson is on the far left.

      The last photo was taken in 1962, the year he left the RAF.

      The other two should be self-explanatory.

      1. One could say the same for William Wilberforce. Had he known the screaming petulance of the Left would he still have fought the black slavers? What would he say to the Left and their defence of uncontrolled muslim gimmigration while knowing they bought young African boys for sex from black slavers?

        The hypocrisy of the Left and the damage they are doing is disgusting.

  31. Just poked my nose outside and the “heavy frost” I thought we’d had is actually a light splattering of snow!
    Still bloody cold though!!

    1. The “snow” here turned out to be hail – which is still lying. The noise in the night, which I took to be heavy rain, was a hailstorm…

    2. –9ºC last night, –1ºC right now. It is forecast to fluctuate between –9ºC and zero for the next ten days here. There was a dazzling full moon high in the North-West sky at 0900 hrs this morning.

    3. the windscreen de-icer is working better this morning, so we must be a degree or so warmer than yesterday.

      1. Big button marked with a grid thing does all that. Turns the mesh in the windscreen on and melts the ice.

    4. I am fully expecting the snow we were supposed to get yesterday (and didn’t) to arrive tonight. The temperature has risen to 3 degrees C.

  32. Army saves the day

    SIR – In March you published a letter in which I pointed out that, whether the challenge is foot and mouth disease or Covid hospital building, the Armed Forces (report, December 8) are often called upon to help.

    Now, in return for pay rises of between 3.5 and 3.75 per cent, the Armed Forces will be called on again, this time to cover for striking NHS staff seeking double-digit pay rises.

    John Clark
    Hereford

    Quite so, Mr Clark. Just a pity that the Letters Editor thinks it is only the Army being drafted in when the RN and the RAF will no doubt play their full part, along with voluntary services like the SJAB, Red Cross etc…

  33. Army saves the day

    SIR – In March you published a letter in which I pointed out that, whether the challenge is foot and mouth disease or Covid hospital building, the Armed Forces (report, December 8) are often called upon to help.

    Now, in return for pay rises of between 3.5 and 3.75 per cent, the Armed Forces will be called on again, this time to cover for striking NHS staff seeking double-digit pay rises.

    John Clark
    Hereford

    Quite so, Mr Clark. Just a pity that the Letters Editor thinks it is only the Army being drafted in when the RN and the RAF will no doubt play their full part, along with voluntary services like the SJAB, Red Cross etc…

        1. Sweet waffles, strawberries and maple syrup for the Warqueen today. Terrible comfort food. Makes me wonder what’s up with her, to be honest.

        2. My favourite soft fruit. Hallonmunk are a particular favourite.

          Hallonmunk: Doughnuts filled with seedless raspberry jam. Yum!

  35. BTL’s Martin Selves on good form today. He certainly speaks for me (and far more eloquently) and, I suspect, many Nottlrs:

    Martin Selves
    1 HR AGO
    Many here have described our leaders today without vision. I strongly disagree. Sturgeon is on a wave of Scottish economic destruction if she gets her way. Her vision is a stronger Country when it will lose its identity and wealth in the EU if she gets her way. Khan is extending his punishment on the motorist, and the delivery van to extraordinary heights. He is hurting the very London economy he leads, and the poorest people in the City will be hurt most. The NHS is in a state of collapse, not from any shortage of money, but from the lack of desire to change the system. And we must not forget the structure and management of the NHS is the responsibility of the NHS itself, and not HMG. We can blame the Government for not forcing change that is so obviously needed, and initially the idea layers and layers of management, often chosen by cronyism and not experience, has brought us to our current state. Add another layer of rampant WOKE, and the vision for our NHS is desperate today because of its leaders without glasses.
    It seems to me their is no lack of vision, but so many of our Leaders cannot see or think straight, and their vision is just plain nuts. It is everywhere you look. The vision of cheap fracked Gas is abandoned because the current vision is for wind and net zero. We import our Gas, millions of tonnes of wood chippings from around the World to reduce our carbon footprint when it is already the lowest in the World. Our air has never been cleaner.

    Martin Selves
    1 HR AGO
    Where is the simple truth that importing energy carry’s a higher carbon foot print than if we make it at home? Everywhere I see the wrong sort of vision, the vision based on HUBRIS, the knowledge for example by Khan that driving cars and vehicles off the roads in London will only bring good, when it will only generate anger and resentment at another crazy Leader who should not be leading. It will mean the least well off will be hurt the most. Because Khan has great vision, the problem is he is nuts.

    1. Ah – Khan doesn’t give a stuff about the London economy. He certainly doesn’t lead it. Like all socialists, his only goal is the theft of property to spend on himself. The more money he takes, the more he can waste. The more waste, the more he can proclaim how righteous he is.

      Of course, the odious worm should be kicked out of office, booted down the stairs and thrown, physically into the street to be hit by the vehicle tax payers are forced to pay for.

  36. BTL’s Martin Selves on good form today. He certainly speaks for me (and far more eloquently) and, I suspect, many Nottlrs:

    Martin Selves
    1 HR AGO
    Many here have described our leaders today without vision. I strongly disagree. Sturgeon is on a wave of Scottish economic destruction if she gets her way. Her vision is a stronger Country when it will lose its identity and wealth in the EU if she gets her way. Khan is extending his punishment on the motorist, and the delivery van to extraordinary heights. He is hurting the very London economy he leads, and the poorest people in the City will be hurt most. The NHS is in a state of collapse, not from any shortage of money, but from the lack of desire to change the system. And we must not forget the structure and management of the NHS is the responsibility of the NHS itself, and not HMG. We can blame the Government for not forcing change that is so obviously needed, and initially the idea layers and layers of management, often chosen by cronyism and not experience, has brought us to our current state. Add another layer of rampant WOKE, and the vision for our NHS is desperate today because of its leaders without glasses.
    It seems to me their is no lack of vision, but so many of our Leaders cannot see or think straight, and their vision is just plain nuts. It is everywhere you look. The vision of cheap fracked Gas is abandoned because the current vision is for wind and net zero. We import our Gas, millions of tonnes of wood chippings from around the World to reduce our carbon footprint when it is already the lowest in the World. Our air has never been cleaner.

    Martin Selves
    1 HR AGO
    Where is the simple truth that importing energy carry’s a higher carbon foot print than if we make it at home? Everywhere I see the wrong sort of vision, the vision based on HUBRIS, the knowledge for example by Khan that driving cars and vehicles off the roads in London will only bring good, when it will only generate anger and resentment at another crazy Leader who should not be leading. It will mean the least well off will be hurt the most. Because Khan has great vision, the problem is he is nuts.

  37. MAN FRIDAY Stephen Doig, ‘Features’ supplement, Daily Telegraph, 09/12/22.

    Gary Lineker, the new face of Next, has nailed uncomplicated, trendy-ish nice-guy style

    Gary Lineker embodies a certain kind of British man: inoffensive, straightforward and genial. A bit like vegetable soup. We might fancy a fragrant bouillabaisse or consommé aux quenelles once in a while, but we’ll always come back to that familiar, middle-of-the-road option.

    So it makes perfect sense that Lineker, 62, is the new face of Next, the ultimate everyman retailer. It’s a shop where you can find just-on-the-right-side-of stylish jeans, trendy-ish shirts and inoffensively priced suits that will see you through a first job interview.

    Inoffensive? What planet are you on? He’s the BBC’s Lefty standard-bearer.

        2. I hope the Wolfsons aren’t losing their retail flair. When I was a teenager, watching the company reports roll in to my Grandfather, I used to wonder why he had a large holding in GUS, at the time owners of most of the catalogue mail order stores. We never used them ourselves. Then I realised how profitable a business selling to the workers with small weekly payments was. I still have my share of his holdings, though the most profitable element is now Experian, which deals globally solely in information, but grew out of the customer information the catalogue companies harvested.

      3. Doesn’t (or didn’t) Cur Phil Slime-Green have one of his obnoxious greasy paws in that outfit?

        1. I think he was Top Shop/Arcadia, Grizz, but I may well be wrong! When I worked for Mothercare many moons ago he was definitely in charge of Burtons et al.

          1. Thirty years ago, when I was ‘between jobs’, I took a short-term appointment with a branch of a (then) national chain of shops, selling cheap tat, called What Everyone Wants (in Nottingham). This chain was part of a portfolio of a shady holding company called Amber Day Holdings which, in turn, was owned by — yes, you’ve guessed it — Cur Phil Slime-Green. I didn’t wish to stay there long and I very soon moved on to a better position with another company.

          2. Ooh! They were very popular! Known around here as ‘Whatevries’! Looked like an explosion at a jumble sale, but I did get a wonderful wool jacket therefor about £6!

      4. What’s Next? Is it a tailoring business?

        I used to have my suits made for me by a tailor in Bideford and the gent’s outfitters in the high street in those days were companies such as Burton’s, Austin Reed, Hepworth’s.

        My mother bought me an excellent long dark blue overcoat from Burtons when I was going to university which never wore out and I gave it to my first son when he went to university.

    4. …….inoffensive, straightforward and genial.

      Correction
      Offensive, bent and genital (he’s a pr1ck)

    6. Gary Lineker embodies a certain kind of British man…
      They got that right, but not the certain kind of British man I wish to be associated with.
      Next – “the ultimate everyman retailer” ……. Hmmmmm, not for me it isn’t!

  40. Labour would ‘fast-track’ asylum claims from safe countries like Albania. 9 December 2022.

    Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, called for a scheme similar to those operated in Germany and Sweden, where cases from a list of nations are prioritised to be dealt with within weeks.

    “They’re actually just not doing what they used to do, and other countries do this much more swiftly as well,” Ms Cooper told Good Morning Britain.

    “So where you have countries which are designated as safe – so Albania is one of those countries, there are other countries as well – for those countries actually you should be able to fast-track things and the UN Refugee Agency themselves have recommended doing this.”

    I might break the habit of a lifetime (assuming that I am still here) and vote in the coming election. I don’t know who, but it will be anyone but Labour or Conservative.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/12/09/rishi-sunak-news-strikes-tories-asylum-starmer-labour/

      1. Be fair, the Cooper-Balls were so busy flipping houses (at the taxpayers expense) that they couldn’t be sure where home was.

        1. Must have been so confusing for them, poor lambs. Strangely, they never had any trouble finding the public teat and sucking furiously from it.

          1. All the auditors had to ask was “Where do your children go to school?” and the ‘mystery of which property was ‘home’ would have been solved.

    2. Labour would turn the tsunami into a continual flood. They’d consider a target to be 5 to 10 million of the vermin.

    3. But if certain countries are “safe” surely there can’t be any refugees fleeing form such “safe” countries?????>??

    4. Why do they need asylum if they come from a ‘safe’ country? They are not refugees. They should apply for a visa and try and get in legally.

  41. Labour would ‘fast-track’ asylum claims from safe countries like Albania. 9 December 2022.

    Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, called for a scheme similar to those operated in Germany and Sweden, where cases from a list of nations are prioritised to be dealt with within weeks.

    “They’re actually just not doing what they used to do, and other countries do this much more swiftly as well,” Ms Cooper told Good Morning Britain.

    “So where you have countries which are designated as safe – so Albania is one of those countries, there are other countries as well – for those countries actually you should be able to fast-track things and the UN Refugee Agency themselves have recommended doing this.”

    I might break the habit of a lifetime (assuming that I am still here) and vote in the coming election. I don’t know who, but it will be anyone but Labour or Conservative.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/12/09/rishi-sunak-news-strikes-tories-asylum-starmer-labour/

  42. Good morning all
    Applied, on line, for new passport last Friday afternoon.
    New passport delivered today at 06.03 am.
    Impressive.

      1. Depends whether the Ascot is working properly – what with the lack of Russian gas…..

      2. Derby Day requires morning dress in the posh enclosures, just like Ascot. Her late Majesty always liked to visit Epsom. One year I couldn’t get to the parade ring to see my horse before the off because I was held up to let HM’s limo leave.

  44. Coren Mitchell apologises for Only Connect scar gaffe

    VICTORIA COREN MITCHELL has issued an apology after campaigners criticised Only Connect for linking scarring with shame.

    The presenter of the quiz show released a statement on Twitter after scarring charity Changing Faces said it was “disappointed” and “shocked” by how scars had been described as “marks of shame” on the show.

    The charity said that the episode, broadcast on Nov 28, had linked the word “scar” to three other words – blot, stain and stigma.

    A statement from the charity quoted one of its supporters, Alison, saying she had been “absolutely flabbergasted and completely shocked” by the “perpetuation of negative stereotypes”, pointing out that the BBC “promotes itself as a diverse and inclusive organisation”.

    “The terms and descriptions used on this Connecting Wall [round] are a stark reminder of the barriers and issues we negotiate every day,” she said.

    Heather Blake, the charity’s chief executive, said there was “nothing shameful about having a scar” but it was disgraceful that society still stigmatised those with visible differences.

    In her statement, Coren Mitchell said that in the question writer’s mind for Only Connect they would have been using the “figurative” meaning of the word scar to denote a mark on someone’s reputation, for instance.

    “However,” she added, “this opens the door to the ridiculous and awful idea that a literal, visual scar on the face or body of a person is [shameful].

    “I hope anyone who’s ever watched our programme would know that this is the very opposite of what we would think; an idea utterly alien to our little universe and our value system.

    “We stand proudly at odds with that kind of nonsense! We revel in the beautiful variety of the human condition.”

    Coren Mitchell said that Only Connect was supposed to be a standard bearer for “nuance and deep thinking” and that it should not have used language “lazily”, adding that she was personally “extremely embarrassed” that the show had laid itself open to such accusations.

    Charities with poor wimpish attitudes, like ‘Changing Faces‘, need to grow up, get a life and grow a pair. It is a game, for goodness’ sake, and words have various meanings and etymologies, so get used to it. I, for one, would NOT have apologised. This marks another set-back in the fight for Free Speech that the loony Left wish to encourage and perpetuate.

    1. These jackasses complain constantly and at every opportunity, otherwise they wouldn’t get the oxygen of publicity.

    2. Just as well she didn’t use “cripple” or “defective”. Then she would have been banned for life. No bad thing, in my view. She is yet another of these unfunny self-obsessed “writers”… Can’t stand her – or her woke brother.

          2. It became clear to me that when A Coren was on any “quiz” show he insisted that he won.

      2. Me too, Bill. She is the very personification of smugness. However, the woke CEO is in a different league of awfulness.

    4. There are always going to be people who take offence because they assume the extreme perspective rather than the rational one.

    5. Dear God, the New Puritans never know when to shut up! And some people are very easily “shocked”. What is shameful is that the CEO, obviously a graduate in Wokery, has time to sit around analysing* a throwaway remark from some quiz show host and then spend her time posting crap like this. Don’t apologise, it only encourages these saddos!

      * Note the first four letters of this word, purely coincidental…

    6. The standard bearer for nuance and deep thinking ? 🤔
      Pressing the off button doesn’t take a lot of working out.
      I use to enjoy OC, Mastermind and UC.
      But it seems virtue signalling and leftwing politics has become too much of their adgenda.

        2. Only Connect and University Challenge have been replaced by Mark Steyn on the Tastey idiot box.

      2. Since OH has been in hospital (three weeks) I have not used the On button. I really don’t miss it.

          1. No – but he will not be having a straightforward TA VI but full open heart surgery and a by pass. That was a bit of a bombshell to hear from the consultant on Tuesday. But no date yet.

          3. Yes. We’ve just had a chat and he seems to be happy with the food, if nothing else. It’s not being told anything that really gets to him. Today he’s begged the cardiology team to have a look at the surgeon’s schedule and give him some idea when he’s going to be done. Other people in the ward are having their TAVI and then going home the next day. Most of the beds are empty now but a young Portugese chap has just arrived with his mum – had chest pains.

    1. There’s been a ruckus in Stevenage over the short notice of a group of invaders being placed in a hotel almost on the A1.
      Probably that lot.
      If they can move them all around so quickly and desicivly they can ship them all back to Europe.

      1. 368816+ up ticks,

        Morning RE,

        Multi passenger carrying helicopters,
        lands end for breakfast John o Groats for lunch.

        The RnLi fleet air arm.

    2. A BTL

      PJS • an hour ago

      Doubtless some far right knuckle dragging EDL type who wanted to cause distress and disruption

      to the hotel’s current temporary residents.

      Anyone who does this sort of thing needs locking up.

      W Anchor

      1. 368816+ up ticks,

        Morning OLT,

        Even that could be looked at as attack being the best form of defence.

    3. Shrewsbury is a mediaeval town with Elizabethan and Georgian buildings. Charles Darwin lived at the Mount, the other side of town from the Lion. I’m surprised he didn’t mention Bear Steps and Butcher Row with the Prince Rupert Hotel.

  46. Organised for success:
    Proper preparation and planning prevents piss poor performance.

    Right royally ruined:
    Princely prejudice predicates poncey perverse peevishness in perpetuity

  47. Good morning all.
    Ginger and Whinge keep digging their hole. Maybe Charles and William are keeping quiet until there can be no return.
    (I pinched the 1st one this morning from farcebook but I think the 2nd may have come from another Nottler yesterday)
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/09170610276de5cd7cef0c5994489bfe21e6ef6e0764743822cb26f27dd77d93.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2ccb01880fa42f7ee520c63b3c7f790665d4f8df6b76647491888a48c007c6cd.jpg

    1. King Charles and his heir William have foolishly made themselves complicit in the accusations of racism constructed by the pantomime black woman, Ngozi Fullanus, when they sacked Lady Susan Hussey who had served the Royal Family loyally for over sixty years.

      King Charles will not be brought down by the likes of Migraine and Fullanus – he will be brought down by his own misjudgements and sheer doltish stupidity. The only defence I could make for him is that he cannot be expected to use the brain God didn’t give him!

      We are betrayed by what is false within.

      [George Meredith]

      1. Charles has long been known for his poor judgement and fondness for the ‘green’ nonsense, seemingly with little to no understanding of scientific facts.
        The only saving grace is that his mother lived so long that his reign is unlikely to last more than 2 decades.
        Time will tell on the merits of his older son as monarch – by which time I will be long gone.

          1. As far as we understand, there is no space for royalty in the WEF version of the New World Order.

            Goodbye Will.

          2. Even though he is a paid up member (as is the joke, woke “king”) – he is too stupid to understand that!!

          3. William has undergone years of education indoctrination/brainwashing into eco-lunacy and pc attitudes. Couple that with a steady drip of nonsense, hand-wringing do-goodery and lectures from his father, no wonder he isn’t looking to be a good prospect.

  48. Will it be more difficult for Harry to live with Migraine or to live with himself?

    1. It will be more difficult to live with himself – Migraine will divorce him in a couple of years but he will have to live with himself for the rest of his shameful, treacherous and useless life.

      1. Yes Rastus, and under the extradition agreement agreed by Tony Blair, every time that she demands an increase in alimony

        she can apply to have him extradited from UK to face claims in a US court.

        Good leverage, Eh?

  49. Morning all 😊.
    Old Jack’s been very busy again last night.
    But it’s lovely and sunny today.

  50. Our colleagues on the DT letters comments are going hammer and tongs over Reform party prospects. The Reform side are winning but getting a lot of hostile
    attacks. Nigel Farage is getting similar treatment. This argument has taken over the site.

    2. 368816+ up ticks,

      Morning CS,

      I have already voiced a warning they carry between them a lot of pro tory (ino) party baggage.

      The farage chap highly suss.

      My personal opinion tory (ino) party MK2.

  51. Welcome to the FSU’s weekly newsletter, our round-up of the free speech news of the week.

    Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill dealt severe blow in House of Lords vote

    Peers voted on Wednesday night to scrap Clause 4 of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which would have created a statutory tort to enable academics and students to sue universities and students’ unions for compensation if they’d breached their new duties to protect free speech on campus, as set out in the Bill (Telegraph, Times Higher).

    Two weeks ago, in a letter coordinated by the FSU and sent to the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, more than 50 academics urged the Government not to get rid of the tort in response to intense lobbying from the higher education sector (Telegraph). We think our letter helped to dissuade the Government from scrapping the tort altogether, although its subsequent defence of its own provision could hardly be described as Churchillian. In an attempt to strike a compromise with the Bill’s critics, the government tabled an amendment in the Lords that would require academics and students to only seek compensation in the courts as a last resort, after first pursuing complaints through the procedures of the relevant university and the higher education regulator (the amendment can be found here, close to the top of page 3). We were unhappy about that. Our position is that the new statutory tort is what gives the legislation’s new free speech duties teeth, and if that’s reduced to a weapon of last resort, the Bill is essentially a dead letter.

    However, the Government’s compromise was rejected by the Lords, which voted on Wednesday night to get rid of the tort by a margin of 213 votes to 172. According to the Telegraph, Lord Willetts, a former Conservative universities minister – and now Chancellor of the University of Leicester – argued that new powers to enable academics and students to sue for breaching their freedom of speech rights “would be overly burdensome for universities and were unnecessary for protecting free speech”.

    On the question of whether Clause 4 is necessary, Lord Moore had this to say during the Lords debate: “There are a great many people here who are very close to the top of universities. It is not very surprising that they all tend to think that universities are running themselves quite well and that it is all basically all right.” His point was that “there needs to be a little more power for the voice of the ordinary student and the ordinary, not-very-important academic who is having a rough time”. Baroness Fox felt much the same way. “Look at the Free Speech Union’s case files,” she said: “There are hundreds of examples of students and academics who’ve been suspended and gone through disciplinary procedures by university authorities for misspeaking, or saying the wrong thing.” Had these people been able to sue universities for breaching their right to free speech, she argued, they probably would have been treated a lot better.

    As to Lord Willett’s claim that Clause 4 is overly burdensome, it sounds no more impressive now than it did when the higher education lobby first came up with it. Writing in The Times three weeks ago, for instance, Dr Tim Bradshaw, head of the Russell Group of Universities, bemoaned the fact that “the bill will… create a new right to pursue civil legal claims without adding basic protections to reduce the likelihood of frivolous actions”.

    Criticisms of this kind seem oblivious to both the legal architecture proposed by the draft legislation, and, in addition, the considerable power courts have to manage cases and prevent vexatious or misconceived claims from proceeding.

    The first port of call under the Bill for anyone who believes their right to free speech has been infringed will be a specialist adjudicator (the new free speech champion at the Office for Students) who will deal solely with university free speech cases. This is intended as an informal, inexpensive, and less risky alternative to the court route, similar in many ways to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which deals with students’ complaints.

    It’s true that the Bill – as written – would also have provided an alternative remedy in the County Court, but because the Bill will forbid a complainant from running the same case simultaneously through the courts and the OfS it is likely that a judge would pressure any claimant to exhaust the OfS route before proceeding with a claim – and the claimant would risk significant adverse costs if he or she then proceeded with the case.

    What critics like Lord Willetts also seem not to understand is that the courts assign cases to various ‘tracks’ depending on the value of the claim. This aims to ensure the burden of litigation is proportionate to the interests at stake. A student who has missed a term of teaching due to an unlawful attempt to discipline him might be put on the County Court small-claims track. An academic dismissed from her well-paid professorship might well be assigned to the High Court.

    These really aren’t difficult points to grasp, even for those of us limping through life with only one brain at our disposal. (Lord Willetts’s nickname when a Tory minister was “Two brains”.) Yet they never seem to gain much traction. It’s almost as if universities don’t want students and academics to be able to sue universities if their speech rights are violated, because then they might have to put their house in order and start pushing back a little more effectively against the worst excesses of campus cancel culture.

    According to the Telegraph, Clause 4 is now “under threat”, although FSU General Secretary Toby Young says the situation represents a lobbying opportunity for those of us who want to restore the tort to its original form. Speaking to the paper, he said: “The Government amended the Bill to defang the statutory tort in the hope of winning round its critics in the Lords. Plainly, that hasn’t worked, so I very much hope the Government will restore the statutory tort in its original form when the Bill returns to the Commons.”

    MPs will consider the Lords’ amendments when the bill returns to the House of Commons next year.

    The FSU Christmas Special – a festive comedy extravaganza!

    There are still a few tickets left for our live Christmas Comedy Special on Monday 12th December at the Backyard Comedy Club in London’s Bethnal Green. This is going to be a great night of comedy, so if you haven’t already done so, please round up your friends and family and book your tickets today – the link is here. Comedy legend Bobby Davro will be our Master of Ceremonies, and he’ll be joined on stage by stand-up comedian and GB News presenter Leo Kearse, Comedy Unleashed favourite Mary Bourke, and comedian and Radio 4 ‘personality’ Simon Evans. We’ll also be selling our Bob Moran ‘Orwell surprised’ t-shirts on the night, and this really will be your last chance to snaffle one before stocks run out. Details of our other forthcoming events, including the Regional Speakeasies taking place in early 2023, can be found on our events page, which you see here.

    The FSU’s Christmas Review – register for the event here!

    If you can’t make it to London for the Comedy Special, not to worry – you can join us online on Tuesday 13th December for our annual Christmas Review. The Review is a great opportunity for FSU staff and members to vote for 2022’s free speech heroes and villains and to discuss the year’s free speech highs and lows. Please note that this event starts slightly earlier than usual, at 6pm, so as not to clash with the World Cup semi-final at 7pm which – you never know – England might be in. You can register for the event by clicking here.

    FSU Advisory Council member Professor Arif Ahmed appointed to the EHRC

    Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch has announced the appointment of FSU Advisory Council member and Cambridge University Professor Arif Ahmed to the board of the Government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (Times). According to one Government source, Professor Ahmed, a philosophy lecturer at Gonville and Caius College, was “exactly what the EHRC needs to defend free speech against those who seek to curb it” because he had “taken on vested interests and risked his career to champion free speech” (Telegraph).

    Absolutely right. Back in October, Arif faced a backlash not just from students, but also his own colleagues after inviting Dr Helen Joyce, the former Britain editor at the Economist, bestselling author, and gender-critical feminist, to speak at Gonville and Caius College (Mail, Telegraph). Prior to the event, Professor Pippa Rogerson, the College’s Master, wrote to students to denounce Dr Joyce’s views as “offensive, insulting and hateful”, dismiss her written work as “polemics” and declare that she herself would be boycotting the talk (Spectator). It was an extraordinary intervention, and one that, as we pointed out in our letter of complaint to Dr Anthony Freeling, Cambridge’s Acting Vice-Chancellor, may well have breached the Master’s duty under s.43 of the Education Act 1986 to uphold free speech on campus. The University’s head of sociology, Professor Manali Desai, then decided to fire off her own communiqué to students: “We are sorry for the distress caused to you by the circulation of an email promoting the Helen Joyce event,” the voice of the Party blared over the telescreen. “We have looked at our processes and realised we need an authorisation route for circulation of events to ensure that administrative staff do not inadvertently promote potentially harmful material, as happened in this case.” (Telegraph).

    The fact that Professor Ahmed is now joining the EHRC’s board, and will be among the experts charged with promoting and enforcing equalities legislation in the UK, is terrific news. In many ways, equalities legislation is the frontline in the ongoing battle to defend free speech in the workplace and the public sphere.

    That is why it was so significant earlier this year that Kemi Badenoch, in her first appearance at the despatch box as Rishi Sunak’s Equalities Minister, made clear that the Equality Act 2010 was a shield and not, as many on the woke left seem to believe, a sword.

    Perhaps the most rapier-like aspect to the legislation in recent years has been the ‘public sector equality duty’. As Toby Young points out, something that’s not widely known about the legal duty it imposes on public authorities to promote equality – between different groups in possession of protected characteristics, not social classes – is that it “isn’t particularly onerous” (Spectator). It has often been made to seem so, however, thanks to “the bureaucratic machinations of woke activists”, many of whom have a vested interest in exaggerating the compliance obligations, “either because they’re employed as equity, diversity and inclusion officers in the public sector or because they’re paid to deliver unconscious bias training to public-sector employees”.

    In the FSU’s experience, it’s this over-interpretation of the equality duty that so often contributes to the infringement of peoples’ lawful right to free speech. Nowhere is that more so than in the higher education sector, where, as Sir John Hayes put it in the House of Commons earlier this year, “universities continue to use the Equality Act 2010 to elevate disturbance or distress above free speech’s ability to inspire, enthral and to move the academic agenda forward”.

    Three years ago, for instance, Professor Jo Phoenix and Professor Rosa Freedman, both gender critical feminists – and both of whom the FSU stepped in at the time to defend (Telegraph) – were disinvited from two separate events at Essex University following protests from LGBTQ+ activists who claimed that allowing them to speak would be a breach of the University’s legal duty to protect minority students from being harassed or discriminated against under the Equality Act 2010.

    This double no-platforming provoked such widespread condemnation that the University – which, needless to say, is a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme – eventually commissioned the equalities barrister Akua Reindorf to review its policies. She concluded that the University was in breach of its statutory duty to ensure freedom of speech for visiting speakers. Reindorf pointedly said that the University’s policies that had been invoked to no-platform Professors Phoenix and Freedman interpreted the law “as Stonewall would prefer it to be, rather than the law as it is” (Spectator, Critic).

    Speaking earlier this year at an event hosted by the thinktank Politeia, FSU Chairman Professor Nigel Biggar decried the “rising tendency in universities not to argue with positions but to attack the persons who hold them, smearing them as racist or white supremacist, or transphobic, and clamouring that their research be shut down, and that they be disciplined or even dismissed” (Times Higher). What would help dampen this tendency, Professor Bigger argued, was “a revision of the Equality Act 2010, so that it cannot be argued, normally, that people holding a point of view you disagree with constitutes a form of harassment”.

    In July, Rishi Sunak told a group of Conservative party members at a leadership hustings in West Sussex that he would ‘review’ the Equality Act if he became Prime Minister (Telegraph). Until that review takes place, the next best thing is having free speech campaigners of Professor Ahmed’s calibre on the board of the statutory body tasked with influencing public policy, informing debates, and monitoring the effectiveness of equality legislation in this country.

    The ‘PayPal’ amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill – a turning point in the culture wars?

    If there was any good to come out of PayPal’s attempted demonetisation of the FSU (and other organisations like the Daily Sceptic, the UK Medical Freedom Alliance and UsforThem) this summer, it was that it exposed a gap in the UK’s free speech protection – a gap that can, and surely must now be closed by the Government.

    The recent digitalisation of financial transactions has placed a vast amount of power in the hands of financial services companies like payment processors, banks, online platforms and credit companies like Visa and Mastercard (Critic, Telegraph). Yet UK legislation has failed to keep pace with these rapid technological changes, leaving British citizens exposed to the risk of being punished by California-based Big Tech corporations simply for expressing legal, but dissenting, contrarian or sceptical views.

    Yesterday, however, the Financial Services and Markets Bill returned to the House of Commons, and, as Guido points out, the latest version of the draft legislation will surely “encourage those who value free and easy debate on controversial issues”.

    Specifically, New Clause 27, tabled by Sally-Ann Hart and Andrew Lewer, addressed “refusal to provide services for reasons connected with freedom of expression”, and stated that: “No payment service provider providing a relevant service may refuse to supply that service to any other person in the United Kingdom if the reason for the refusal is significantly related to the customer exercising his or her right to freedom of expression.”

    There were some strong contributions in support of this amendment in the Commons on Wednesday. “Britain has led the world for centuries on democracy and freedom of speech,” said Sally-Ann Hart (Con, Hastings and Rye), and “it must now do so again against the global tech companies that want to… stifle free speech”. Miriam Cates (Con, Penistone and Stocksbridge) made the point that PayPal’s attempted demonetisation of the FSU was “not a one-off”, and that it was “therefore hard to avoid interpreting PayPal’s actions as an orchestrated, politically motivated move to restrict certain views in the UK”. She added: “We must act to legally prevent payment providers from closing accounts on the basis of political beliefs, because if we don’t global firms will put their own interests – financial, reputational, political – before any moral duty to act fairly.” Danny Kruger (Con, Devizes) also rose in support of New Clause 27, namechecking the FSU and arguing that “it is vital we send the strongest regulatory, but also cultural and political signal to private payment platforms, that the opinions of their customers are none of their business”.

    We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our members who used our campaigning tool to email their MPs urging them to support the amendment because, thanks to your efforts, there was a good outcome. Andrew Griffith, the Financial Secretary of the Treasury and the Minister responsible for this Bill, said he “empathise[d] strongly with colleagues’ concerns on the principled issue and potential risks – of protecting customers’ freedom of expression – and whether or not it is possible for service providers with significant market positions to terminate customer relationships at will and at speed”. He also said he planned “to take evidence on this in the forthcoming statutory review of the Payment Services Regulations, due in January 2023, which will be a public consultation”. On the understanding that the Minister will include this issue in the terms of the reference in this forthcoming consultation, the amendment was withdrawn – but the battle is far from over. Next month, we will publish details of how our members can most appropriately engage with the consultation and make it clear to the Government that we want to see this creeping trend towards Big Tech platforms financially censoring customers who express dissenting views checked before it becomes institutionally normalised. We need to stop the emergence of a Chinese-style social credit system dead in its tracks.

    Mr Griffith’s remarks had an encouraging pay-off too: “Should the evidence [i.e., from the public consultation] point to the need for legislative change, I can confirm to Parliament that this could be delivered quickly via the powers being taken in the Bill in relation to modifying EU law (in this case, payment services law). Colleagues can be assured, therefore, that if legislative change is required, it could be brought about swiftly, without future primary legislative change.”

    Improving free speech protections in the arts

    The FSU had one other triumph this week (it’s been a busy week). On Sunday, we helped a whistleblower who works for Arts Council England (ACE) to publicise her concerns about the discrimination within the Council against the LGB Alliance and other organisations that challenge gender identity ideology. The LGB Alliance had been awarded a grant by a body funded by ACE, but that grant was withdrawn after an extraordinary meeting in which ACE employees took turns to condemn the charity as a “cultural parasite” and “glorified hate group” (Telegraph). Yesterday, the CEO of ACE, Dr Darren Henley, appeared as a witness at a DCMS select committee hearing and was asked about this episode by Damian Green MP (Con, Ashford). Dr Henley gave a very encouraging response, emphasising how much he believes in free speech: “We have looked at that and reminded those people involved of the processes that we need to go through. We absolutely protect everybody’s right to freedom of expression and all protected characteristics are recognised and observed fully right the way through the Arts Council, and I believe very strongly in that.” (Telegraph.)

    Give someone the gift of FSU membership for Christmas

    If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift, look no further! We’ve created a gift voucher that grants the recipient one year’s membership of the Free Speech Union. You can find it here.

    Not only will the receiver get invitations to Speakeasies, discounted tickets to our events, access to valuable resources, and our vital support if they’re unlucky enough to be targeted for cancellation, but your generosity will also be contributing to the greater cause of protecting free speech for all.

    Once you’ve landed on the relevant page, just select the tier of membership you’d like to buy – Gold or Full – enter the recipient’s email address, your name, and a personalised message, before completing the purchase, not forgetting to say what time you’d like them to receive it. It can be Christmas morning if you like.

    To redeem the voucher, all the information the receiver will need is included in the gift email. They will be directed to the normal joining page, where they will select the tier corresponding to the gift, enter the code, put in their payment details – although they won’t be charged for a year – and hey presto! They won’t stop thanking you.

    Perfect for politically correct children and grandchildren who imagine they’ll never be cancelled in a million years, only for their friends and colleagues to turn on them in one of those all-too-familiar, kill-the-heretic feeding frenzies that characterises the woke ‘community’.

    Sharing the newsletter

    As with all our work, this newsletter depends on the support of our members and donors, so if you’re not already a paying member please sign up today or encourage a friend to join, and help us turn the tide against cancel culture. You can share our newsletters on social media with the buttons below. If someone has shared this newsletter with you and you’d like to join the FSU, you can find our website here.

    Best wishes,

  52. 368816+ up ticks,

    Straiten up and fly right, these pair of tripe sellers are, along with the political anti United kingdom brigade only surviving due to oxygen supplied via misguided
    peoples & the odious MsM.

    Dt,
    Prince Harry and Meghan’s Netflix show ‘deeply offensive’ to Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy
    Series lands ‘direct hit’ on monarch’s decades of work, describing the Commonwealth as ‘Empire 2.0’

    1. I’ll never watch that. And it will eventually blow up in their faces.
      If he can’t understand what she is doing to him, he’s more of a fool than it first seemed.

      1. She is 16 – lives in Chiswick. She wants to do something in “science”. Art is – believe it or not – just a hobby…..

        2. There are many scientific disciplines where a good eye and steady had at drawing are useful, if not essential.

  54. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6a3b6736df5f4258ea66f04c8b48eb31405fbbcb86eb696b8848fa9ef3286df.png Rat-catcher mayor fined for his own infestation

    THE mayor of New York, who has made fighting the city’s rat problem a priority, has been fined for an infestation at one of his Brooklyn properties.

    Eric Adams appeared virtually in a court hearing this week to contest a $300 (£245) fine issued by his own administration over health code violation stemming from a rodent infestation at the property in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

    After Mr Adams failed to respond to the initial rat summons, he was found in violation by default.

    Mr Adams argued in his defence that he had spent nearly $7,000 on trying to rid the brownstone of the pests.

    The hearing officer said he would return a verdict within 30 days.

    During his run for mayor, Mr Adams, 62, told The New York Post his childhood home was so overrun by rats that he and his siblings decided to keep one as a pet.

    Mr Adams and Jessica Tisch, his new sanitation commissioner, announced in October they were limiting the number of hours rubbish can sit on the street before being picked up to prevent what they depicted as an “all-night, all-youcan-eat rat buffet”.

    More recently, City Hall said it was recruiting a new “director of rodent mitigation”.

    The advert said the city is looking for a “rat czar” who is “highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty”, with a “swashbuckling attitude, crafty humour and general aura of bad—ery”.

    Eric Leroy Adams (ex-Transit Police and NYPD Captain) has been NYC Mayor since January 1, 2022. Up to 1997 he was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat (natch) but then ‘crossed the floor’ for a four-year period to join the Republican Party. This was short-lived, however, since he never lost his Lefty credentials and rejoined the Democrats in 2001, where he still remains.

    Funny how all of the inner-city areas in the US of A, that are rat-infested and have turd-strewn sidewalks … are run by Democrats.

    3. Similarly with crime, Grizz.
      Just saw the video below. Apparently, armed crime in Philadelphia is now so bad that a petrol station owner has hired armed guards to protect staff, customers and business.
      https://youtu.be/6us2GjSYA9c

      1. More evidence, if ever it were needed, that America is a terminally sick society that is declining by the second.

        “Where America leads, the rest of the world follows”. And in that short sentence you have the very reason why the entire human world is moribund.

    4. The cat in ‘Shrek’ fits that description. Perhaps he can be persuaded to move from Hollyweird to NYC?

    5. Not really, the Left believe that diversity is strength and positively welcome the diverse people who create such environments.

      1. But they are the most uniform types around! No diversity at all, they are all the same!

    6. At least fighting rat infestations is a worthwhile goal, rather than laundering money via Ukraine or race-baiting, as Presidents seem likely to do these days.

  55. 368816+ up ticks,

    FACT,

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    1h
    As I’ve said from the start, it will be the actuaries & the insurance companies who reveal the real excess death figures.

    The job of the politicians & MSM is to lie about it.
    TommyRobinson1
    @TommyRobinson1
    ·
    22h
    Ed Dowd: “The excess mortality has shifted so much that it’s pretty phenomenal’

    Whole roundtable discussion:

    https://gettr.com/post/p216xci8864

    1. I wonder if life assurance premiums will be more or less loaded if you have had all the recommended Covid jabs?

      At one time insurance companies loaded premiums if you were tested for AIDS – their rationality being that drug users and homosexuals would be interested in having an AIDS test so if you had been tested your life style and life choices made you a greater risk. This apparently led to plenty of people who should have been tested not being tested.

    1. I’ve never been able to understand this claim of ‘racism’ towards her. If I didn’t know her, I would take her for a Southern Mediterranean type e.g. Greek or southern Italian. Funny how people of mixed-race always seem to play up their black heritage rather than their white one.

      1. Playing the ‘white card’ is ineffective, whereas the other type gets an instant response, and moreover allows the holder to claim a bucketful of victimhood.

      2. That’s exactly what I first thought. I was quite surprised when the truth emerged. Did I read that her mother is also not 100% black?
        How is markle going to portray her children as ‘black’; they are even paler than she is with hints of ginger in their hair. Most inconvenient for her but I’m sure in due course she’ll find a way to claim they are also victims of racism.

        1. To use a word that causes conniptions amongst the perpetually offended: MeGain is a quadroon.

    2. Ah, my hairdresser has insisted since Meghan was first thrust in our faces that she can tell the hair is straigtened. I confess it looks natural to me but my hairdresser says no way and well, clearly she’s right.

    3. Don’t tell me she has had “work” done on her face? That would be a “truth” too far…!!

      1. A “far right activist” stood outside with a placard that read, “we are being invaded”?

    3. Yo Fizz

      See ogga’s post trom 3 hours ago,

      Says a lot about hotrel
      News is in short supply, as towhat happened

    4. Hotel spokesman “We are working with the Government to welcome people who desperately
      need a roof over their head – often people who have escaped war-torn
      countries,       and are seeking a safe place to stay while they wait for a
      more permanent home” Utter BS – this has to do with making a quick profit from a stupid government!

    5. I haven’t been to Shrewsbury since before lockdown. I shan’t be rushing to go again, either.

  63. Joe Biden did a prisoner swap between a Russian Arms Dealer, for a BLM
    activist Female Basketball Player and left behind another prisoner, who
    is American Marine Corps.

    Anyone beginning to see a pattern?.

    1. Somebody is going to have to sell all those arms the yanks left in Afghanistan and those being sent to Ukraine, the Democrats need the money and Hunter’s life style is expensive.

    2. She is a 6ft 9in, violent lesbian drug addict, who beat up her first wife, who refuses to sing US national anthem and campaigned to have it banned at sporting events. You can see what a great asset she will be to the Democratic Party at the next election. What’s a mere Marine compared to a national icon such as her?

      1. The MSM do not mention the part of the deal, negotiated with Russia by the Arab Sheikh whose crimes have been conveniently forgotten with the dropping of a lawsuit against him.

        Typically Obama/Biden behaviour. Expect more of the same.

  64. From the DT Editorial today:
    https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fopinion%2F2022%2F12%2F08%2Fsussexes-documentary-californian-exercise-grievance%2F
    Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was welcomed to Britain, by Britons, with open arms. Her wedding to Prince Harry, as he was then styled, was one of the most splendid ceremonies of recent years, in which the nation rejoiced and echoed the couple’s happiness. “The Duchess has rapidly won the affection of the nation and the world,” The Sunday Telegraph noted the morning after the wedding. “Twenty, even 10 years ago, it would have been inconceivable for a mixed-race, divorced American actress to marry the son of a future king. That she has done so, to such public acclaim, reflects not just how much the country has changed for the better, but also the personal qualities of the Duchess herself.”

    Those words did not mask some grim intention to hound and harass, as the Duke and Duchess now seem to imagine. Rather they reflected a genuine outpouring of affection for a woman whose love for her prince united us all as a symbol of modern, diverse Britain, even if Ms Markle herself was not a member of Britain’s numerous ethnic minority diasporas. The country’s welcoming generosity continued into the Duchess’s first months of official engagements, with large crowds awaiting her every visit.

    How sadly, and how swiftly, has that affection foundered on what has turned out to be a fundamental misunderstanding by the Sussexes. In their self-indulgent introspections, the couple appear confused about, or perhaps resentful of, the unique dual role performed by the monarchy, at once both family and institution, which means that, however unusual it is, hierarchy permeates and animates it. This naturally meant that the Duke’s elder brother, William, directly in line to the throne, a future head of state, would be treated differently to him.

    Here was no personal slight, but a simple recognition of the institutional facts, which have safeguarded the monarchy, and the stability of the British constitution, for centuries. It is sad that the Sussexes found this difference of treatment upsetting, but it should not have come as a surprise. And, directed by protocol, it was certainly not motivated by race.

    Race is, in the Duke’s mind, the defining difference to the scrutiny that he and his wife have been submitted to, compared to that attracted by other royals. While its claims are vague, the Sussexes’ documentary appears to suggest that racism permeates British history – and perhaps that Britain itself is a racist country. This idea is pernicious, wrong and offensive. Of course, discrimination exists, as it does in every country, but here it is challenged. The Royal family in particular has led efforts to unite not just Britain’s ethnic minority communities through their charitable service, but the Commonwealth beyond.

    A more accurate interpretation of the Sussexes’ gripes may be that they are nothing more than the occasional bruised ego, wounded sensitivity, or sheer miscommunication that characterises countless ordinary relationships within families. When they concern active members of the Royal family or loyal servants who cannot publicly respond, however, it is sad to see these gripes being aired in public. Moreover, the couple appear to display a childish lack of respect for British customs and culture: acting out how the Duchess was made to curtsey before the late Queen, for instance, might well be seen as making a mockery.

    The monarchy’s continued service – quiet, dignified, often in the name of communities truly on the margins, in poverty, with far greater reason to feel aggrieved than well-heeled residents of America’s West Coast – will outlast the five minutes of hype derived from a Netflix show. It is the best response to attention seeking. Certainly, there should be no attempt to indulge the politics of racial division that is constantly being forced upon British society from across the pond. That way lies problems, as we have seen with the resignation of Lady Susan Hussey, a loyal servant of the late Queen, following a media campaign spearheaded by a race-obsessed activist. Leave that to the cineastes, the content curators of California.

    The late Queen knew that continuity was paramount. Wiser, then, for the Windsors to let their actions speak for themselves, to continue with the unselfish dedication that they have shown for so long, and which has earned the enduring admiration of the British people

      1. Sorry. Never shared the ‘affection’. Thought he was a rebellious, spiteful fool then. Still do. Thanks for sharing, it’s a reminder why I’ve stopped my Telegraph sub.

      1. Quelle élégance!

        I think her little nod after landing on her bottom indicates that she was in on the joke.

    3. We don’t dislike you because you’re black, Meagain; we dislike you because you aren’t a nice person!

    1. 20% near enough unemployment in Blackpool. Why the hell is the state paying 10 million a day to house scroungers who shouldn’t ever have been allowed to set foot on this island?

      When they squawk for help, go out. If black, in a dinghy, tell them to sod off. If they don’t, shoot them. Problem solved.

    2. 368816+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      I believe hoteliers must apply to the local council for a “change of use”then be termed as being a hostel.

      Or in my personal opinion a barracks.

    1. This is an awful case, especially in the light of research showing that the mRNA can still be found in people’s bodies months after injections.
      This child has potentially been given the mRNA by force.
      And still people can’t see that Ardern is running a totalitarian government.

        1. It’s a very controversial case, and the state took over the legal guardianship of this child from his parents, in order to force him to have the operation with vaccinated blood.
          His parents wanted him to have the operation, but they wanted to be able to use unvaccinated blood.
          Morally, the government has not a leg to stand on. They have gone far into the territory of tyrants.

  68. Kwasi Kwarteng says he and Liz Truss ‘blew it’
    ‘People got carried away, myself included’, the former chancellor said
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/12/09/kwasi-kwarteng-liz-truss-government-economic-reforms/

    An exchange of BTLs

    John Henson

    We, the common people, were stuffed by KK and Truss. They will never be forgiven.

    Richard Tracey

    Reply to John Henson

    If we were stuffed by KK and Truss then Hunt and Sunak have not just kicked that stuffing out of us – they have taken a machete and hacked it out.

  69. Harry and Migraine have totally misjudged.

    Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitungh, Spain’s La Vanguardia, France’s Le Monde, The BBC, The DT are all turning against them. Suck it up Duchess !

      2. Rishi has just announced new legislation reforms to promote risky entrepreneurial whinge banking!

    4. Surprised at the BBC. It’s always hated the monarchy. It would prefer a communist dictatorship, of course.

      1. Well they have a dilemma, don’t they? Seems their love of “People of Colour” trumps their hatred of the monarchy.

    1. It’s impossible to overstate the hatred and contempt the Political Elites have for the British People. It’s almost psychopathic in its intensity. They would prefer anyone, no matter their origins or beliefs, over the natives of these islands.

      1. I suppose they think ‘Ageing population, falling gdp, need workers to raise gdp, these are workers, gdp will rise.

        Yet… they’re criminals. They’ve no skill, no value, most are illiterate. They are a net drain on society. They will never, ever provide a return. May as well burn the money.

      2. 368816+ up ticks,

        Afternoon AS,
        It must be something in the water, a fools mindset is, the torys (ino) wouldn’t dare raise the membership fee £25/£39 if they were in the wrong, surely, that very mindset tells one it would prove successful.

    2. And Serco will probably employ illegal immigrants as security staff as well as cooks etc.
      This Parliament and MSM are worse than scum.

      2. Will probably?
        There are a number of videos about where, apparently, they have done exactly that for their security staff.

    1. I went aboard RMS Queen Mary back in 1980 at Long Beach. On a tour of the ship I was delighted to see a plaque explaining that the ship’s internal steam pipe network had been fabricated at Staveley Works (part of Stanton & Staveley Ltd) near my home town.

  73. Back from Derby. Stepson is ok, but still not moved into his flat which is causing some problems and going to cause more.

    After spending hours getting the place ready for him to move back into, I’ve told those dealing with him that I’m washing my hands of the place.

      1. Apparently, they have to arrange a Social Worker and Support Worker to join the Community Psychiatric Nurse he already has.
        The problem is, because he’s been away from the flat for over a year his housing benefit and Council Tax relief have both been stopped so he’s running up a large amount of rent arrears.
        I’m throwing it back to the CPN for him to pass on or sort out as necessary.

        1. Oh, lordy. Two bureaucracies who don’t give a shit about anything other than their own prestige.
          I hope it sorts out quickly. I’ll keep me fingers croxed.

  74. Police have confirmed that an incident at Lincoln Cathedral was a “concern for safety”.

    A cordon was in place as firefighters, paramedics and police officers attended on late Friday morning, December 9.

    BBC Radio Lincolnshire reported that the cathedralhad been evacutated.

    https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/lincoln-news/police-statement-following-incident-lincoln-7912840

    My mate Singh Sung, who is the only one of his ‘sort’ who has not been a TV Ad, said that it was not him

    1. Serco aren’t interested. They just pocket the cash. The gimmigrants don’t care, so they destroy everything.

      Both groups should be burned alive.

      1. Things are never what they seem, are they? I think that SERCO will renege on their promise to return those premises which they have taken over to their former state at the end of the tenure, or it will be interpreted in a manner that the owner isn’t expecting.

      1. No but I sent it to him – he’s home today and can’t leave the house for 6 weeks
        I’ve got a photo of his foot – post op but I don’t think anyone would like to see it 😘

  77. Right, thought I’d do SOME work today, so that’s several bags of soil and 8 concrete blocks carried up the “garden”.
    Then had to clean my wellies as I’d stood in a load of cat shit!

    Being at the bottom of the valley means the sun at this time of year dips below the horizon, actually the top rim of the valley side, about 13:00hrs and, when it does so on days like we’re having at the moment the temperature plummets! It’s -3½°C at the moment.

  80. The frost hasn’t cleared from our garden , it is wintry and cold . We have a line of large trees going up next doors drive way, and we are surrounded by our own hedge . It feels so bleak here in the countryside, compared to sunny azure sea and sunshine , but cold Weymouth .

    1. The frost is lingering here, too; my outdoor Christmas trees have a frosty sparkle on the tinsel.

  82. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/09/lockdowns-put-us-mercy-disease/

    “Lockdowns put us at the mercy of disease

    We are experiencing a predictable perturbation in our ecological relationship with the organisms that are capable of causing serious disease

    9 December 2022 • 7:00am

    Fans of Little Women will know that Beth March died of the lingering complications of scarlet fever, but who would have thought that this bacterial disease would be in the headlines in 2022? Is this because we have left children who were born during, or just ahead of, the Covid pandemic with an “immunity debt”?

    It is now widely acknowledged that lockdowns caused harm to our already stretched health service, with many of the direct consequences such as increased cancer and cardiovascular deaths being reported regularly. Most of these harms were entirely predictable. Less obvious was how some of the more indirect consequences of lockdown might play out, such as the effect on our relationship with other pathogens circulating within our communities.

    I am used to viewing infectious disease from an ecological perspective. Therefore, it did not come as much of a surprise to me that some non-Covid seasonal respiratory diseases almost immediately started to take a knock on the head during lockdown. Many took this to be an indication that lockdowns were working to stop the spread of disease, forgetting that the impact of lockdowns on already established or “endemic” diseases is completely different to the impact on a new disease in its “epidemic” phase.

    It is worth explaining this. For an individual, “immunity debt” can be interpreted as a gap in the level of protection that you might be expected to have from previous exposure to the disease in question. The same principle also applies to a whole population. This is because there is a threshold of immunity in the population at which rates of new infections start to decline — known as the herd immunity threshold. If we are below this threshold, we are in immunity debt; if we are above it, we are in credit — at least for a while.

    With endemic diseases, we go into immunity debt as winter sets in and the herd immunity threshold (which is determined by the transmissibility of the pathogen) rises. This causes a seasonal increase in infection and leaves us in credit for the rest of the season. Over the summer, the numbers immune fall, leaving us again with an “immunity debt” in the winter. Any small change to the transmissibility of the pathogen will disrupt the rhythm and can cause these pathogens to disappear by reducing the Herd Immunity Threshold and so transiently cancelling their normal “immunity debt”.

    A pathogen entering an immunologically naïve population will start off with a massive “immunity debt”, leading to infections growing very rapidly at this ‘epidemic’ stage. This is why lockdowns hardly make a dent in the progress of an epidemic, but can have such a significant effect on endemic diseases.

    Such effects are, however, transient. Endemic diseases will soon re-establish themselves, and – as we have seen – can return more aggressively than usual on account of the “immunity debt” they have amassed in the interim.

    This can cause all sorts of problems. Naturally, health care systems will have to be prepared for higher than usual hospitalisations during this period of re-adjustment. It is a particularly troublesome task for the NHS, which continues to struggle with capacity problems.

    Furthermore, the synchronised rise in these suppressed infections enhances the possibility of coinfection; this has been recognised as a potential cause of a spate of adenovirus infection related deaths earlier this year. And if the likelihood of clinical complications increases with age, there will be obvious perverse consequences of delaying infection.

    It is hard to say which of these potential mechanisms is the key contributor to the very unfortunate re-emergence of scarlet fever as a cause of severe disease and death in young children in the UK. Group A Streptococcus, its causative agent, exists within a complex network of other bacterial species which also may have suffered changes in composition as result of Covid lockdowns. Disturbing this order can have a profound impact on an individual’s ability to resist disease.

    More than anything, it is clear that we are experiencing an entirely predictable perturbation in our finely balanced ecological relationship with the organisms which are capable of causing serious disease.

    Eventually that balance will return. The “immunity debt” that we have incurred will be gruesomely paid off and scarlet fever will once again become a storybook word. Sadly, the same cannot be said of the enormous financial debt we have taken on board to pay for these fruitless lockdowns. Our children will be shouldering this debt for years to come.”

    Sunetra Gupta is professor of theoretical epidemiology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford

    1. My cynical approach is .. Do you think that many non English speaking mothers are reluctant to have their youngsters innoculated against childhood diseases?

      1. I don’t think there is one for a bacterial disease like scarlet fever. But now that so many people have had bad reactions to the covid jabs I think a lot more people will be reluctant to have the normal ones.

    1. Mindless agents for big Pharma, who got top marks in a feminised, marxist education system balloted over strike action.

      Does not lend much confidence in junior doctors.

  84. Mark
    @MarkGRGJ
    ·
    3h
    Replying to
    @nickelsgb
    and
    @Martin50143757
    Just turn the tele on, watch the adverts,, and youll see creepiing brainwashing liberalism at work ,, the country is beyond repair

    1. The present Bisto ad seems to be the most gross display of woke lesbian black-washing I have ever seen. No happy families with mum and dad here, oh no. Seems like all families now all comprise black and whilte mums with the appropriate black and white kids. ‘Pass the sauce’ will have quite a different meaning in those households. I thought I spotted a dark chap in the background in one shot, maybe robbing the presents..

      1. I just find it all so unsettling , arrogant and threatening .

        We know that many children of mixed marriages can be problematic . We only have to look Markle .
        Harry must be one hell of a confused lump to know that his mother was promiscuous with men of colour , and other men .. One wonders what goes on in his mind?

        1. Come on, no one has any idea about Princess Diana’s love life. Apart from that soldier, there is no evidence as to any so-called ‘promiscuity’. As for Dodi, I suspect he was a cover for someone else.

          1. How about Dr. Hasnat Khan?

            She attended his operations in theatre – and called him “Mr. Wonderful.”

      2. Every time I see a black and white couple in the ads I mutter, “disgusting” to counter the brainwashing.

        1. I just assume I am not their demographic, and that their product is of no interest to me whatever, so I certainly won’t buy it. Nor pay attention to their ad.

  86. OK Croatia, now do a very long, “rub their noses in it” dance.
    Just like Brazil did to South Korea.

  87. That’s me for this cold day. The hailstones remained all day. With the bright sun it looked lovely though one needed to wrap up. Same sort of weather tomorrow – when there is a village fête….. No damned mail delivery – though our excellent postman WAS out delivering parcels. He told us that with a wife and two children and a mortgage he simply cannot afford to strike.

    The hail was very local – half a mile away all is green and normal!

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain – I expect. The MR is at the fête so I may be required to go down and wave a £20 note….

    1. MB and I were discussing the financial implications of these strikes. Do the unions give the strikers any money to tide them over?

        1. Unions should be forced to pay the salaries of the strikers – and the costs to the business in lost revenue.

          Let’s wipe that smile off Mick Lynch’s face as ‘da bruvvas’ find themselves crippled.

          1. Whilst I agree with the principle, the problem is that most of the big union quarrels are all within the public sector, so it will be the taxpayer who ultimately picks up the tab.
            Small businesses will still go under.

    1. Popcorn time, as a couple of flavours play dog eat dog.

      The bad news is that now both sides will be granted asylum status in Britain and Europe, so they can carry on here.

    2. “While I would never approve massacres of any human beings.”

      The biggest danger to human beings is human beings. This has always been the case and it will forever continue to be the case.

      And, if that is not enough, things can only get worse.

      1. Not if the right ones kill each other!

        Things can only get better, Islamists killing Islamists is a win win.
        Fewer to breed and more dying.

        1. I have to admit that is my view.
          Like the homicidal ethnics in our big cities; as long as they stick to … er … sticking it to each other, then they can get on with it.

        2. Agreed, but that doesn’t answer the fundamental human condition. Humans, in common with all other animals, are intrinsically pugilistic, territorial and jealous of others of their species. If there is nothing obvious to fight over they will create something for that very purpose.

          The only disadvantage humans have over other animal species is that they have lost the instinct to manage their numbers. They erroneously conflate their cleverness with intelligence. Plus they have concocted the twin evils of politics and religion in order to control minds and therefore exert control.

          Politics and religion beget manic, power-crazed leaders who formulate more and more hideous methods of exerting more and more control. It’s a vicious pathway that can only end horrifically.

    3. They are terrifying , mobs , with pangas , old guns , fierce faces , noise, shouting , hordes of them ..

      When we were little children we had to hide under the string wooden beds in our bedroom and tuck ourselves out of the way, parents used to tell us to be as silent as a mouse . That was in the Sudan , and then later Egypt before we were evacuated ..

      Later on at another time when my parents were in Nigeria , I was 12/13 at school in England , they asked me to to put sprouts , Paxo stufffing and a Christmas pudding and Birds custard powder in my suitcase when I flew to Lagos for my Christmas school holidays. All fine , and they were happy ..
      except on Christmas eve .. their houseboy who was a Hausa, and the garden boy who came from another tribe had a fight , the kitchen was a mess, sprouts everywhere, and a panga had decimated the turkey …and they were injured . Dad said the had been drinking .

      It was very frightening .

      Then a month later travelling back to the UK, , the school special, BOAC Brittania had been diverted to somewhere in the Congo where there were massacres of priests and nuns and other Belgian whites , and those who were hurt mildly, bandaged etc , were on our flight , they had their little dogs on board with them , all the expat school children including me were asked to keep quiet and keep the noise down . The plane stopped at Rome Ithink , ( I will have to check my BOAC Junior Jet club book ) and I sort of remember the adults getting off there probably to fly somewhere else .

      I just get twitchy about large groups of people of colour .. and other types of crowds .

      1. And the only ones who got any sort of control on the situation in the Congo were the much maligned Mercenaries who went in to rescue the Nuns after the UN refused to do the job.

          1. Crater?
            Apparently the disbandment of the Argyles was Whitehall’s revenger for him making them look stupid.
            As if they hadn’t already made themselves look stupid!

      2. Hate crowds. Scary, they develop their own “mind”.
        Had to instruct a colleague a while ago. She was travelling to Khartoum, had never been in Africa before, and I warned her about crowds, and to KEEP WELL AWAY!
        She’s a lovely wee lass, and she said “Oh, I’ll be all right, I’m Irish!” as if a rampaging mob would ask for her passport before cutting her into bite-sized pieces!
        Sat in Nigeria Airways VC10 at Lagos, fully fuelled for the flight to London, whilst the Nigerian Army armoured cars chased and fought with the rebels over by the runway. Slightly nreve-racking – a stray shell could have proved exciting!

        1. The Shell Compound in PH where we lived , in the late seventies .. was technically secure , bungalows , golf course , clubhouse etc , our bungalow and several others had bullet holes , scars from the Biafran war.

      3. I don’t like crowds (it’s why I don’t go to the Cheltenham Festival despite the quality of the racing). When they are made up of ethnics, I am downright scared and not ashamed to admit it.

        1. Aside from the Aga Khan, attendances at the Cheltenham Festival are likely to be 55/45 Irish and British, Conners . . .

          1. I didn’t mean to imply that the Cheltenham crowds were full of ethnics (even ITV can barely manage to find more than one or two, search as they might). Crowds of ethnics anywhere I find particularly disturbing and intimidating.

      4. Do you recall, Maggie:

        In the Siege of Jadotville [ʒa.do.vil] in September 1961, a small contingent of the Irish Army’s 35th Battalion, designated “A” Company, serving as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, ONUC) were besieged in the mining town of Jadotville (modern-day Likasi) by Katangese forces loyal to the secessionist State of Katanga. The siege took place during the seven-day escalation of a stand-off between ONUC and Katangese forces during Operation Morthor. Although the contingent of 155 Irish soldiers repelled attacks by a 3,000-man Katangese force for five days while an undersized relief force of Irish, Indian and Swedish troops attempted to reach them, they were eventually forced to surrender having run out of ammunition and water. “A” Company was subsequently held as prisoners of war for approximately one month. Despite inflicting approximately 1,300 casualties (including up to 300 killed) on the attacking force, with no deaths amongst “A” Company, and surrendering only after running out of ammunition, it would be more than half a century before Ireland acknowledged the bravery and achievements of the vastly outnumbered Irish soldiers at the Siege of Jadotville.

      5. In around 1988 I travelled to Lagos and then to PH to take over the lab while the resident manager took his annual 7 or 8 week leave ( my first time). Getting off the PH flight that I was about to board was a related company yank who informed me that my staff were currently at war, Biafran vs Ibo (or whatever). He also told me the bloke I was relieving had left 2 days before, so no handover. They were bringing bows, pangas and spears into work as if that was normal. I got ’em all together and told them that if they didn’t pack it in straight away I was getting a flight back next morning (which would have been totally impossible), and their jobs would be non-existent. They came around ok, but I still get stressed when recollecting my African time, and that was before I went to sea, and worse things happen at sea.

    1. PS for extra lashings of idiocracy, don’t forget that Ben Bernanke (the chap on the right) got a Nobel Prize for that….

        1. The final solution to the Nobel Institute may be accomplished elegantly with a few sticks of Dynamite . . .

    2. Tell a Leftie that pouring money into the economy doesn’t cause inflation and you can almost see the steam coming out as the cognitive dissonance they cling to is forced to face reality.

      1. Tell a Leftie that pouring money into the economy doesn’t cause inflation

        Are you sure that that is what you meant to say?

      2. Cancel culture……you can’t really tell a leftie anything they don’t already know.

  90. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/britain-might-strike-us-wont-even-notice/

    I don’t think we’re not affected by strikes but rather we have become used to such appalling public services, at such great cost, for so little that we’re now inured to it and no longer care. Why bother when it doens’t matter if the workers are there or not if the service is appalling?

    The private sector the market – routes around the failures and improves and the state ratchets up taxes to make that ever harder, while doing nothing to improve the things that stolen money is spaffed on.

    1. I think you are right.
      Service in this country has been carp for so long that we merely shrug.
      There are other ways of travelling, communicating and even, to a certain extent, providing health care.
      As ever, it is the poor who suffer.

      1. I met a friend on the way to town this morning when I went to pay a bill. He said he’d just had an op (a hernia repair). I said that was speedy treatment. “£3k well spent”, he replied. Those who can are going private.

      2. It’s the same the whole world over
        It’s the poor what gets the blame
        It’s the rich what gets the pleasure
        Isn’t it a blooming shame?

  91. Evening, all. Have been at a bit of a loose end today; I was geared up to go to Bangor races to watch my horse run, but it was abandoned due to frozen ground (just like here). I paid a bill, had coffee with a friend, decorated the small outside trees and wrapped the last of the presents and am now nottling. How long I shall stay awake I have no idea; I’ve had several early mornings in a row and that does me no good at all:(

      1. Choccies.
        Fuzzy socks.
        Bespoke jigsaw puzzles with photo of your choice.
        Amazon is full of these sort of things.

        1. The son of someone I know gave her a jigsaw made up of a collage of pictures of her garden. It was very impressive.

      2. I bought an apple peeler/corer gizmo for a friend who does a lot of baking. I have plenty of apples to hand over when the orchard in is full production. Then there was a gardening set (secateurs, dibber, line, name tags and a pencil, etc) for a gardening fanatic and one of my friends got a calendar. I try to fit whatever I buy to the interests of the recipient.

        2. I should also add that I buy presents throughout the year when I see something suitable. It saves a last-minute panic.

  92. Well, that’s done it.
    England won’t get to the Wendyball final.
    The local church has shifted the time of their carol service so that the congregation can get home in time to watch the final.

      1. Some years back, working on the Track Recording Unit in the run-up to Christmas and lodging in Hamilton, I found a bloody excellent album of Norman Rockwell illustrations, largely his Saturday Evening Post paintings in a charity shop for a fiver.
        Next shift, on the train, I showed it to the lad I was working with and, after being initially impressed, he asked how much it cost me.
        When I responded, “Five quid from a charity shop,” his shock was palpable!
        “WHAT?? YOU BOUGHT YOUR WIFE’S CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM A CHARITY SHOP??
        EEWWW!

        4. I found the most fantastic, expensive, unique book in a second hand booksale for 2.50 for my dearly beloved’s Christmas present one year! He loved it 🙂

          1. I found the most wonderful wife in the common room of a small public school in the West of England and I wasn’t even looking for one at the time!

    2. Very nice. You can pick up some real bargains sometimes. I have a limited edition print of a Mick Cawston drawing I bought for £4.99 and a Lionel Edwards print for about the same.

        1. Trouble is, neither Oscar nor Kadi can read 🙂 That wire haired fox terrier looks nothing like Oscar (thank goodness!).

      1. Jules, I thought you might to know that the little hedgehog weighed in at 380grm so I phoned the SSPCA wildlife place at Fishcross and they were brilliant! I said I’d take the little thing up to them but the inspector was on his way there, and stopped off to pick it up! The guy was absolutely charming and so grateful. It was going to join a bunch of others at the centre.
        Thanks for your advice!🌹

        1. I like to have a martini,
          Two at the very most.
          After three I’m under the table-
          After four I’m under the host.

          Dorothy Parker.

        2. I like to have a martini,
          Two at the very most.
          After three I’m under the table-
          After four I’m under the host.

          Dorothy Parker.

    1. I’ve got one Maggie for early season bowls matches. When your hands are cold the bowl is like a large orange pip.

    3. I hear there are now jackets available to buy with plug in built in heaters.
      With costs rising, I think by the end of winter it might have been cheaper to have flown to Perth or Melbourne and stayed with our friends.
      Having said that, I never enjoyed our Christmases in Oz. I just didn’t feel like Christmas.

      1. We spent one Christmas in Dubai with daughter and family. SIL was a professional chef and daughter is an excellent cook too. But expats don’t have ovens big enough to cook the traditional British roast. So we all went to a very posh restaurant where there was an amazing choice of what to eat but no freshly cooked veggies like home. Plus it was hot. All very nice. Just not right!

        1. One year our defrosted turkey went a bit smelly. I tried to Bury it in the garden but the ground was rock hard.
          We had lasagne instead.

  98. And with the outside temperature still hovering at -3½°C, I’m off to bed.
    Tomorrow I plan getting the rest of the soil up the “garden” and perhaps another dozen of the 44 concrete blocks still to be shifted.

    Over the coming weeks?
    One woodstack to refill
    A bit of digging out for wall footings
    Perhaps get a start on re-remodelling the steps I made a bit of snafu with.

    Goodnight all and sleep well.

    2. Good luck with the garden, BoB. I spent 2 hours on Thursday and 1.5 hours yesterday clearing all the front garden of weeds. Later today (Saturday) I shall use my dibber to plant the masses of tulips which were delivered to my door on Wednesday. They should look great in the Spring. Sleep well.

  99. Goodnight, everyone. I’ve stoked the Rayburn and now I’m about to fill a couple of hot water bottles and snuggle down in bed.

  100. Well done the Argies. In the end the better more professional team won.
    So it’s good night from me. 😴

    1. Does anyone know how many (and who) are left in the Wendyball? I know England play France at some point. Who will Argentina play? And who are the others? Have the final 16 been whittled down to 8 yet? When will we know who are the final four? I am hanging in suspenders. Lol.

  102. Anyone wordle today?
    Wordle 538 3/6

    🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
    🟨🟩🟩🟩⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    ETA. Night night all. Sad news. Grandson split up with girl friend. Still friends. But shame coz she was a lovely girl. I think his studies took up too much of his time. Anyway they’re still friends so that’s good.

    2. Wordle 538 4/6

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

  103. Went bloody shopping today… we both hate it but mission accomplished. We walked by some stuffed animals and MH liked a panda as he had a panda when he was a small boy. I saw a teddy bear which I liked so we bought them- our pressies to each other. The Panda has been named Peter and my new bear is Berlioz.
    Check out the book Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett, about an orchestra of bears. Teddy and Berlioz are sitting together and looking very happy.
    And now I am going to bed to sleep and, I hope, no weird dreams.
    Goodnight Y’all.

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