Tuesday 7 March: Shoddy pandemic decision-making has damaged trust in government

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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635 thoughts on “Tuesday 7 March: Shoddy pandemic decision-making has damaged trust in government”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    Crumpled Money

    With a very seductive voice the woman asked her husband, “Have you ever seen Twenty Dollars all crumpled up?”

    “No,” said her husband.

    She gave him a sexy little smile, unbuttoned the top 3 or 4 buttons of her blouse, and slowly reached down into the cleavage created by a soft, silky push-up bra, and pulled out a crumpled Twenty Dollar bill.

    He took the crumpled Twenty Dollar bill from her and smiled approvingly.

    She then asked him, “Have you ever seen Fifty Dollars all crumpled up?”

    “Uh… no, I haven’t,” he said, with an anxious tone in his voice.

    She gave him another sexy little smile, pulled up her skirt, and seductively reached into her tight, sheer panties… and pulled out a crumpled Fifty Dollar bill.

    He took the crumpled Fifty Dollar bill, and started breathing a little quicker with anticipation.

    “Now,” she said, “have you ever seen $50,000 Dollars all crumpled up?”

    “No way!” he said, while obviously becoming even more aroused and excited.

    “Well go look in the garage,” she said.

  3. Morning all 😉 😊
    And I was looking forward to some brighther days. I guess we’ll just have to wait…..again.

    It’s Shoddy politicians who have damage respect and trust in government.
    I don’t think the majority of these people should have ever been given the opportunity to sit on the green benches. They pay absolutely no attention whatsoever to public opinion. And have entirely and deliberately
    decrease the power of democracy.
    The whole set up has gone pear-shaped and a massive reform is needed.

    1. Yo WS

      Failure by Defra to maintain waterways in UK, by deciding that the lives of Toads etc are more important than that of people and their homes, has increased UK Flood damage.

      Check out the Somerset Levels

  5. Prisoner of war hailed a hero for declaring ‘glory to Ukraine’ moments before execution. 7 March 2023.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bd0c6501cc6c472f9be9413504f11e66aff3a3f2a2ef82fdc7f1c40e1604c149.png

    A Ukrainian prisoner of war gunned down in cold blood after saying “glory to Ukraine” in front of his Russian captors has been hailed as a martyr.

    In footage shared on social media, the lone man smokes a cigarette in a clearing in a forest while Russian guns are pointed at him.

    In his last moments, he defiantly says “slava Ukraini” – the Ukrainian war motto – before being shot to death in repeated bursts of gunfire.

    This is in all the papers so it’s pretty well unavoidable. The footage is not embedded in the article so I’ve added it with a Twitter address. It’s been put up by a Serhii Sternenko who is a far right (in this case a real far right) Ukrainian political activist who himself has a record of violence.

    The tweet is only twelve seconds long so you don’t get to glean much from it. There’s no leaf cover on the trees and the ground is dry. It looks more like early Autumn than Winter. There’s a shovel on the edge of the hole and what looks like a helmet in the foreground. The victim is an older guy wearing fatigues and the cameraman is flanked by the two shooters. He doesn’t appear to be particularly fazed by the situation which is surprising. I would have thought that being escorted into the woods to dig a hole would be somewhat alarming. Who knows? Perhaps he is a real hero? There are such men. The shooting itself is rather curious. The initial burst causes the forage cap he’s wearing to fly off his head. He then slumps into the hole and there are then multiple bursts from the two automatic weapons that don’t actually appear to achieve anything. Though the head is exposed and in the direct line of fire it receives no hits and there is no sign of them actually impacting the body nor of them striking the helmet in the foreground or the earth banking behind.

    Could it be faked? Well yes. You can see its like in any action movie on TV.

    Is it faked? Well I’ve mulled it over and I think it is. Aside from Ukraine’s record of deceit Its provenance and content are such as to invite it. Would the Russians send the opposition a snuff movie of their own making? But you looks at it and makes your own choice.

    https://twitter.com/sternenko/status/1632724928448417792

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/06/prisoner-war-hero-declaring-glory-ukraine-russian-execution/

    1. Blizzard and power cut here in Skåne. I’ll have to fire up the gas stove in the workshop for a pot of tea!🥶

        1. It was 0ºC when I got up and now it’s up to 3ºC, but it’s still snowing (although it is very wet stuff now).

      2. Power cut, Grizzly? Surely not another US Black Ops?!?!? (Good morning, btw.)

  9. Shoddy pandemic decision-making has damaged trust in government

    We had trust in government?

    1. Before, I used to spell it Government. Now it’s government. All trust is gone, that and for police, press, health services, you name it.

  10. Good morning all.
    A bit of a bugger getting online today, computer would not link to the internet.
    Dull and dry at the moment with a chilly -3°C outside.

    1. ‘Morning, BoB, I’ve had similar and the advice is, to disconnect all connections to the router and leave it for 10 seconds (I prefer at least 30 seconds or even a minute) before re-connecting. Wait for the router to fire up and shew that it’s ready.

      Then try to connect your laptop to the Internet.

      1. Morning, Tom.
        It’s a good moment to go & make tea/coffee, whilst the router is “resting”.

  18. Will Russia sanctions dethrone ‘King Dollar’? 6 March 2023.

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a wave of US-led financial sanctions against Moscow. The two most powerful among them have been the decision by Western governments to freeze nearly half ($300bn) of Russia’s foreign currency reserves and the removal of major Russian banks from SWIFT, an interbank messaging service that facilitates international payments.

    These sanctions, which some have called the “weaponisation” of the dollar, have predictably made Russia and China, the two biggest geopolitical rivals of the US, promote their alternative financial infrastructures.

    But it isn’t just Beijing and Moscow. From India to Argentina, Brazil to South Africa and the Middle East to Southeast Asia, nations and regions have accelerated efforts in recent months towards arrangements aimed at reducing their dependence on the dollar. At the heart of these de-dollarisation initiatives is the fear in many capitals that the US could someday use the power of its currency to target them the way it has sanctioned Russia, according to political economists and sanctions experts.

    I don’t think that anyone seriously expects the Dollar to collapse tomorrow but there is no doubting that weaponising it against Russia has caused much doubt about its domination. One suspects that the move away from it will be gradual. Instead of using it as a medium bilateral arrangements using home currencies will come into operation. It will probably take ten or twenty years but its decline looks inevitable.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/3/7/will-russia-sanctions-dethrone-king-dollar

    1. The dollar serves two related purposes internationally: as a settlement currency, and as a reserve currency. Any currency could be used for the first purpose, provided that it is acceptable to both parties. However, finding an alternative reserve currency is not so easy. The euro was meant to “rival the dollar”, yet is has not done so. In the hard-nosed world of finance, there must be a reason or reasons for that. And if the euro doesn’t cut the mustard, which currency can?

    1. I’m staggered anyone survived, let alone having lain undiscovered for many hours on a cold day and night.

    2. Good morning Bob and everyone.
      Can’t yet be certain who was driving, but one of the five was banned from driving last July. Drugs.
      I wonder if the Police were secretly hoping for a result, but of course those in the front have airbags.

    3. Looking at the individuals in it, and expecting one of the blokes was the driver and thinking he’d show off and the rules didn’t apply to him… rather a case of the Darwin awards.

    4. Given the scarring of vegetation, it is sobering to think that Plod is apparently too dim or blind to notice.
      Looking at the individuals concerned, this would appear to be an accident waiting to happen, but that still doesn’t stop it being a terrible tragedy. Imagine being stuck there for 2 days with no help. How many would have survived if more common sense was used – by everyone?

    5. I happened upon a crash at around 0300 hrs on a Sunday morning while on patrol. A car had collided with the parapet of a bridge over the Sheffield to Chesterfield Midland railway line on the A61 at Unstone. The driver was dead. One of his rear seat passengers had been hurled, on impact, over the head of the front seat passenger, through the windscreen and onto the bonnet. He survived (as did the other two passengers).

      A massively heavy cornerstone on the bridge, which took the direct collision, and measuring around 3 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet, was completely dislodged.

      A blood sample was taken from the dead driver and it registered over 5 times the permitted maximum alcohol level.

  22. 371871+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    They’re having a very sinister black macabre laugh ain’t they ?
    some action on behalf of peoples of decency in regards to these political overseeing reptiles is urgently called for, starters could be an outbreak of citizens arrests,

    A citizen’s arrest is an arrest by an individual who is not a police officer or other sworn law enforcement official. The law regarding citizen’s arrest is complicated and open to interpretation.

    If a citizen can be questioned on ” are you silently praying” then surely a political type can be questioned on
    Corporate Murder /serious life changing injuries.

    Pin stripe in brown will become a rapid in vogue item and a political must have.

    Tuesday 7 March: Shoddy pandemic decision-making has damaged trust in government

    1. 371871+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      Having trust these last three plus decades in governing bodies is on par with having trust in the Doctor harold Shipman ilk.

    2. I take exception to the damaged trust in government. I think if anyone trusts the government they’re a damned fool.

      1. 371871+ up ticks,

        Morning W,
        A small additive, those who do have trust are guaranteed to be eventually damaged.

    1. Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jökull of Snæfell, which the shadow of Scartaris touches before the Kalends of July, and you will attain the center of the earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm.

        1. I can speak from experience, Sue Mac is not in the least Snooty.

          BTW, Sue, I trust you had a fabulous Birthday Bash.

          3. Mongo could – and has – pulled Junior in his trolley but only when he was a toddler. Pulling a grown man would be wrong. The most he’s haled at once in logs is about 50 kilos – 20% over half his body weight.

        3. As in ‘snooty’, presumably! But I did find the other definition re photography!

          1. Morning Sue, a conical attachment for a studio flash.
            Have you recovered from your birthday ‘do’ ? 😘

          2. Yes thanks, pet! The house looked a bit like a battleground when they’d gone, but in the words of Enid Blyton, they all went home ‘tired, but happy!’ 😘

    1. One thing the UK used to do well is design properly. Our plugs, for example are far better than yankee ones. Same for our gas regulations. If the engineers were allowed to lead on properly managing hydrogen gas there would be no problem.

      However, all too often these days we’re lumbered with morons forcing ideological nonsense on us.

    2. In of our former diesel-electric P & O class submarines we were powered by 448 lead acid cells in two battery banks, all stowed beneath the decks of the accommodation spaces. When recharging (by diesel generator), if the cells exceeded a certain voltage they achieved a state of “Gassing”, that is producing hydrogen gas, which is lighter than air, therefore it congregated at the top of the pressure hull.

      Conventional thinking was that a 4% concentration was an explosive mix, therefore a danger to the boat and to the crew. In order to reduce that risk a spark-proof system of ventilation was employed to reduce the possibility of dangerous concentrations, they worked in tandem with catalytic converters strategically placed at high points along the pressure hull to convert that hydrogen build-up to water vapour.

      It rained on the crew but that was but a minor inconvenience which was infinitely more preferable to blowing our unworthy arses to Kingdom come eh what?

      1. You might answer a question for me.
        I seem to recall an approximate rule of thumb from several decades ago, that when charging a battery you had to put 2ah into it to get 1ah out.
        Is my memory correct and if so, how has the charging efficiency of batteries altered?

      2. Morning, Phil. Mrs D has just returned from walking the Springer. Both are soaking wet.It’s not cold enough here for snow.

    1. It happened some years ago here Tom. An ex-army chap in Burnt Oak near Edgware. Had been using upto 50 thousand pounds of his own savings to pay for care inorder to remain in the home he’d lived in with his family for decades. Brent (bastard) Council found out (look up the names there) and kicked him out shoved him into a ‘care home’. The house he’d lived in most of his married life had three bedrooms. Brent council shoved a family of no pay, live for free immigrants into it.

      1. In France there is a new law requiring every property owner to describe their homes and who occupies the property/properties to the tax authorities in far, far greater detail than ever before, including such things as who occupies it and whether rented short or long term.
        I can see this being used as a tool to identify suitable places to house refugees on compulsion.

        1. That’s dreadful. I can’t see the ‘free French’ going along with that.
          I’m sure something similar will happen here.
          Those idiots at the councils can’t seriously keep allowing thousands of new homes to be built.
          A friend in Bedfordshire told me they have had over 4 thousands new homes built around his once small village.
          And the only local GP practice had signed only one new practitioner.

        2. Good idea – you have plenty of space AND an empty cottage. I’ll drop a line to the Préfet…

          1. Quite, and there are loads like us.
            Rastus’s place will be particularly tempting for them.

          3. And English and Dutch, to prepare them so the French can dump them on their neighbours.
            Win win

        3. Folk keep telling themselves there’s laws against that but, in reality the state does whatever it wants to force its own way.

          2. See my email. In the good old days, the form came through the post. Yer French have this mania for doing everything online. Fortunately, we escaped before it became mandatory.

    3. The fundamental fact remains that the gimmigrants are economically useless. They have no value, no economic use, no skills, no training, all they are is freeloaders.

      Pack them up and get rid of them. At gunpoint, if necessary. Heck, use them for mine clearance in Ukraine. Dump them on the Russia steppe. They must never, ever be allowed in Western Europe. All they do is rape, kill and sell drugs.

  28. Good morning all,

    Grey morning at McPhee Towers, wind back in the North, 1℃ with some slight sleet.

    “SIR – The crucial moment of the Government’s response to Covid was Boris Johnson falling ill and nearly dying.

    Not only was it a vivid and very public example of no one being “safe” from catching the virus, leading to people being more willing to consent to the draconian lockdown rules, but it also blunted and probably altered Mr Johnson’s own political instincts, to the point where he accepted advice from those around him that he might otherwise have ignored.”

    Edmund Hughes
    New Forest, Hampshire

    Surely it must be occuring to him by now that Johnson’s reported closeness to death could have been a deception?

    Further down we read Judith Carter and Julie Edwards bemoaning the disgraceful situation regarding littering of the highways which I ranted about here on Sunday evening. Well done, Ladies, I can only say I can’t agree more.

  29. Good morning all,

    Grey morning at McPhee Towers, wind back in the North, 1℃ with some slight sleet.

    “SIR – The crucial moment of the Government’s response to Covid was Boris Johnson falling ill and nearly dying.

    Not only was it a vivid and very public example of no one being “safe” from catching the virus, leading to people being more willing to consent to the draconian lockdown rules, but it also blunted and probably altered Mr Johnson’s own political instincts, to the point where he accepted advice from those around him that he might otherwise have ignored.”

    Edmund Hughes
    New Forest, Hampshire

    Surely it must be occuring to him by now that Johnson’s reported closeness to death could have been a deception?

    Further down we read Judith Carter and Julie Edwards bemoaning the disgraceful situation regarding littering of the highways which I ranted about here on Sunday evening. Well done, Ladies, I can only say I can’t agree more.

  30. Never Forget

    Never Forgive

    Amazingly some of the worst offenders, no, the worst

    offender, the lockdown cheerleader-in-chief Piers Morgan, who berated

    the government for not having harsher measures while terrifying the

    public every single morning on breakfast TV, now says his hysteria was

    justified as he was just trying to hold the government to account.

    Morgan was demanding even more of the measures that have been hugely

    damaging to the economy, education and our way of life. It doesn’t

    surprise me that it has since emerged that the government were obsessed

    by Morgan, and were delighted when he lost his job (thanks Meghan). It

    was always clear that, along with the unelected scientists, the

    unelected Piers Morgan was wielding a lot more power than the cowardly

    Boris Johnson.

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/cruelty-was-the-point-for-the-lockdown-sadists/
    Morgan was possible the worst but never forget the rest of the MSM shills now pretending they were always part of the “resistance”
    Scum,all of them

    2. I still cannot understand how an attractive woman like Celia Walden was conned into marrying this odious slob.

  31. Good morning, my friends.

    Stanley Johnson is one of the most odious people alive. But I did enjoy reading in the DT Michael Deacon’s reasons why he should be given a knighthood.


    Opponents of Boris Johnson are up in arms over newspaper reports that, in his resignation honours list, the former prime minister has nominated his own father for a knighthood. They’re calling it a scandal. Breathtaking nepotism. A flagrant abuse of power.

    As usual, however, Mr Johnson’s foes have got completely the wrong end of the stick. On first glance, I concede, his proposal may seem a trifle unorthodox. If his critics would only calm down long enough to give it some proper thought, however, they would soon realise that it’s all perfectly fine and above board – for the following three reasons.

    First, it’s a simple matter of moral principle. If Mr Johnson’s critics care to consult the Bible, they will see that it tells us to “Honour thy father”. Like any good Christian, therefore, Mr Johnson is merely doing his best to follow God’s word to the letter.

    Some theologians, admittedly, may feel that Mr Johnson’s interpretation of this particular Commandment is a touch over-literal. Honouring thy father, they will argue, does not necessarily entail awarding him an actual honour.

    Personally, though, I hope the theologians will give the poor man some slack. In our grimly secular age, after all, isn’t it refreshing to see a politician take such painstaking care to live by the Bible’s teachings?

    The second reason is more practical. Before we know it, Father’s Day will be upon us. And, as most people will be all too well aware, finding suitable presents for older men is frustratingly difficult. By the time a man has reached Stanley Johnson’s age, he already possesses all the DIY tools, golf clubs and amusingly patterned ties he is ever likely to need.

    A knighthood, therefore, represents an imaginative and thoughtful alternative. I have no doubt that Mr Johnson’s father will be most gratified by this touching filial gesture. So much more memorable than a boring old pair of socks.

    Finally, we come to the third and perhaps most important argument in Mr Johnson’s defence – which is that nominating his father for a knighthood is only fair. After all, the former PM has already given a peerage to Jo Johnson, one of his three younger siblings. For the sake of family harmony, therefore, he has little choice but to award honours to all his other immediate relatives, or they’ll feel horribly hurt and left out. Just imagine the rows over Christmas lunch.

    “Look here, Boris, old chap. Where’s my peerage?”

    “And what about my damehood?”

    “You didn’t give me so much as a measly CBE!”

    “I know what this is really about. You’ve held a grudge against me ever since I beat you at Cluedo when you were 12. Refusing to make me a Companion of Honour is just your spiteful little way of getting your own back, isn’t it?”

    When you think about it, then, nominating his own father for a knighthood is entirely to Mr Johnson’s credit. My only concern is that it risks making the rest of us look bad. Up and down the country, millions of fathers will be indignantly wondering why their own children haven’t nominated them for knighthoods, too.

    “After all I’ve done for you, you ungrateful little wretch. The sacrifices I’ve made. The money I’ve spent. And what do I get from you in return? Not even a sniff of an OBE. If I don’t see my name on the next honours list, I’m writing you out of my will.”

    1. ” isn’t it refreshing to see a politician take such painstaking care to live by the Bible’s teachings? ”

      You have got to be kidding. Multiple adultery being only one set of sins Boris has committed.

      1. Ah, but he was obeying another biblical instruction – “Go forth and multiply”. In this case, I prefer a more modern interpretation – he should be told to eff off.

      2. Good morning, Phizzee

        The whole point is that he is kidding. Come on, young man, you usually are aware of irony!

      3. Most unusual for you, Phil.
        I don’t expect you to have a “whoosh” moment.

  33. 371871+ up ticks,

    Lets face it, the voting majority are happy as shown via their continuing voting pattern, so lets stop the vote & whinge habit and knuckle down to paying.

    At least the over 60s will gain a feel good factor helping out the foreign needy, you will hear their collective roar of approval on the first day this is triggered.

    https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1632665773238894594?s=20

    1. I think government could easily fund free prescriptions if it closed the department for health. Everyone wins.

    2. Stop all free medication for the over 60s. Would save a fortune, even more effective than Pfizer-Zeneca.

  34. March brings typical March weather – rain, wind, snow, sunshine. So Wet Office continues Project Fear with deadly “warnings”

      1. I’ve never understood which May are they talking about, is it the month, the mayfly or the mayflower.

        We’ve already got rid of the Treason May.

          3. Hawthorn generally follows the blackthorn, in late March or April.

            Note where you see the first blossoms, that’ll be blackthorn and the same place you will find Sloes, in October for the Christmas Sloe Gin.

        5. Hi NTN. As someone born and bred in the depths of Somerset I can tell you that May refers to the Hawthorn blossom.

          1. ….and what happens when the hawthorn, following the blackthorn, blossoms in late March or April?

      1. I find it terrible and terrifying to think that this senile and stupid buffoon is two years younger than I am.

    3. He has PR people whose sole job it is to prevent this sort of gaff. Heck, folk lay his clothes out for him by event.

  36. I’ll try and get more information but apparently Grant Shapps is campaigning on TV today for a huge 32 hectares, its massive, solar panel farm.
    The plan is it’s supposed to power the now massively over development at Welwyn garden city Herts. The current farm land I believe is owned by a local lord and the Tennant farmer will be kicked off the land.
    My argument is if people really want to protect the green belt and agricultural environment from devastation. The people who want to use the solar power can install panels on their own properties.
    I’m sure even Mr Shapps will see how this will and can work to everyone’s satisfaction.

      1. The type of people who believe in net zero also believe food is grown in supermarkets.

    2. Like all such things, follow the money. Massive subsidy for the landlord from tax payers, no risk income. It doesn’t matter that the soil will never hold a crop again, doesn’t matter that solar is next to useless. It’s just about money.

      This is what Clarkson should say he’s doing. If Jeremy Clarkson said ‘fine, I won’t farm. I’ll sick solar panels on it the pathetic, petty planning council can do nothing about it as central government diktat overrides.

        1. To be fair, JN, we always have. It is just that, recently, the PTB have become much more obviously dictatorial.

    4. Solar farms are not about energy generation. They are about using up arable land. Once the solar farms are finished they will be able to build on it through change of use rules.

      1. Aye, and then from farm land to brown field and then into building houses on it and so the countryside disappears.

  37. Bloody hell it’s cold up the “garden”!
    The dull start has turned into a lovely bright sunny morning so I’ve just hung a load of washing on the line which is now in direct sunshine, but that sunshine has yet to warm the place up!

    Another mug of tea is called for!

    1. Wind has gone back to the north and its feeling colder. + 3 in Newhaven and +4 at home.

    2. Bob of Bonsal

      Tree surgeon
      Fire Tender
      Gardener
      Taxi Driver
      Local Deliveryman
      Cha Bosun
      Chef
      Carer
      Post Poster
      Wall Builder
      Logsmith
      Laundrysmith
      and about a dozen more man/smith/etc

    1. While my thoughts were not original, I have constantly made the comparison with the GDR.
      Sadly, all too many Britons would have thoroughly enjoyed life in that dystopia.

  39. I see that St David of Climate Change is all over the press and radio.

    Just because someone (luckily for him) lives a very long time, does not mean that he gains wisdom…

      1. Fortunately, three years ago (just before the plague was officially announced) I lost virtually all sense of smell. I suspect that I had had a quick burst of corvid. At the same time, the MR was very ill with “‘flu” for nearly a month. She, too, is convinced that she had the corvid then.

        2. I ended up in intensive care, supposedly with pneumonia. I was discharged to bed care at home because they were clearing the ICU beds for what was expected.
          As HG didn’t catch anything at the time they were probably correct.
          I’m not certain they had a definitive test for covid at that time, but the doctors were adamant it was neither ‘flu nor covid.

        3. Three years ago, MB had a cold and then a chest infection. Nothing unusual in that; what was unusual was the severity of the attack. He was stopping half way up the stairs to catch his breath.
          The cough was also severe and lingered longer than usual.
          I had a nasty cough, but fortunately not the other symptoms.

        4. My taste buds have been up the creek for ages.
          When you look up the likely causes, you’d spend days or even weeks trying track the causes.
          Pub tonight, new flavours might be a change from those I’ve been use to. 🤔🍺

          1. I knew my neighbour was unwell but we were not going to allow it to destroy our Christmas plans. I caught it from her on Christmas day. Gee thanks for the Christmas present ! Luckily no one at the boxing day bash came down with it. It took five weeks to shed the cough.

    3. Here is a link.

      BBC took charity money to fund David Attenborough documentary
      The decision to take the charities’ money prompted ‘much internal agonising’ at the BBC
      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/07/bbc-took-charity-money-fund-david-attenborough-documentary/

      And here is a BTL from Percival Wrattstrangler:

      “I wonder if Net Zero and the myth of man-made climate change will reduce the world’s overpopulated population more quickly and efficiently than toxic vaccines, euthanasia, eugenics, sterilisation, genocide, war, plague and famine?”

    4. …and the Bigoted Broadcasting Corpn is busily dreaming up ‘news’ items in order to plug its own programme featuring Saint David of Fantasy Land. Why, they have even taken money off two of the worst GW promoters – apart from itself, of course. Think I’ll put up some cash to make some progs – how about WLM and a full scale debunking of Not Zero for starters?

    5. Got some good ol’ Global Warming going on over here. Blizzard conditions all morning with a 3″ depth already.

      At last my power is back on … right now! What you got to say about that, you nonagenarian BBC woke mouthpiece?

  40. I see that the geographically challenged are trying to give Northumberland to the Scots again:-

    Peter Bowman
    1 HR AGO
    Re Ulster Border
    What would happen if Scotland became independent and rejoined the EU.
    Would we insist on a hard border? if we did Scotland would be in real difficulties. I bet it wouldn’t be long before the EU rediscovered their document on border technology which they buried so quickly in 2017.

    Hereward Woke
    1 HR AGO
    What would happen is we would have to deal with illegal immigrants crossing Hadrians Wall

    eric brown
    55 MIN AGO
    Harian’s wall is a bit late. Berwick is over 60 miles north of it.

    Hereward Woke
    53 MIN AGO
    Have you been to Berwick ? -)

    eric brown
    53 MIN AGO
    Met my wife there.

    Steve Lee
    51 MIN AGO
    Hadrian’s Wall is NOT the border between Scotland and England. Unless you want to give the Scots Northumberland that is.

    Steve Lee
    50 MIN AGO
    What’s wrong with Berwick?
    Anyway it is the river Tweed which is the border.

    Hereward Woke
    45 MIN AGO
    OK.
    What we would have to contend with is small boats crossing the river Tweed.
    Better?

    And could someone please point out to Steve Lee that the Border departs from the Tweed at Paxton, several miles West of Berwick?

    1. If you care to read the EU’s own publicity, any nation that wishes to join, or rejoin, the EU must join the Euro.

      Thus Scotland would not be allowed to join the EU unless it had its own currency to be converted to Euros.

      Once the SNP demonstrate that they wish to run their own currency then I will believe their demands for independence

      to join the EU.

      Until then, it’s all empty twaddle.

      2. Strictly speaking, before an EU member joins the euro, it must have its own currency (Luxembourg had to create a central bank before joining the euro). Which leads us to the case of Montenegro: not in the EU, but eager to join, has no currency of its own, uses the euro unilaterally (that means that the ECB does not approve).

        So, will they have to introduce a currency of their own, doomed to be replaced by the euro in a few years? Or will the EU bend the rules? (Shocked cries if “Shirley knot!)

      3. According to Ash Regan she will introduce Scotland’s own currency within months if she’s first minister. Do these morons ever think before opening their mouths? er no!

    3. Forget Hadrian’s wall. In the event of Scotland seceding the new border should resurrect the Antonine wall, as it would leave some space for those Scots who want to remain in the Union.

  41. Just say no to digital ID. Spiked 7 March 2023.

    The report contains plenty of upbeat guff about science and technology. Then it gets to the section advocating digital ID. ‘Everything from vaccine status to aeroplane tickets and banking details are available on our personal devices’, claim Blair and Hague (ignoring the two million who cannot afford home- or mobile-internet use). They write that it’s ‘illogical’ that each citizen’s public records are not available on those devices, too. And so they want a single digital-ID system for all UK residents – a digital wallet that would allow citizens to prove ‘not only who they are, but also their right to live and work in the UK, their age and ownership of a driving licence [and] credentials issued by other authorities, such as educational or vocational qualifications’.

    I don’t have to actually know anything about digital-ID. That Blair and Hague are supporters of it is enough to put me off!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/03/07/just-say-no-to-digital-id/

    1. I find that seeing who is in favour of a government action is usually a good indicator of whether a measure is worth supporting.

    2. And they’ll still let in all the illegals who will not be required to have.
      On yer bloody bikes.

  42. Just say no to digital ID. Spiked 7 March 2023.

    The report contains plenty of upbeat guff about science and technology. Then it gets to the section advocating digital ID. ‘Everything from vaccine status to aeroplane tickets and banking details are available on our personal devices’, claim Blair and Hague (ignoring the two million who cannot afford home- or mobile-internet use). They write that it’s ‘illogical’ that each citizen’s public records are not available on those devices, too. And so they want a single digital-ID system for all UK residents – a digital wallet that would allow citizens to prove ‘not only who they are, but also their right to live and work in the UK, their age and ownership of a driving licence [and] credentials issued by other authorities, such as educational or vocational qualifications’.

    I don’t have to actually know anything about digital-ID. That Blair and Hague are supporters of it is enough to put me off!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/03/07/just-say-no-to-digital-id/

  43. “Shoddy pandemic decision-making has damaged trust in government”

    Has this person been asleep for the last decade or so? The good ship ‘trust in government’has been sailing the high seas for quite a while now and listing badly due to all the holes shot in its side.

    1. I’ve had no trust in government for a good 30 years.
      and before then, I was questioning various actions.

      3. Same here.
        When that well known AH Heseltine and his nasties decided to make permanent changes to our democracy.
        It was all planned for continued and deliberate destruction.

      4. I confess until Brexit I thought the balance of incompetent versus malign was weighted in favour of incompetence. The past six and a bit years have reversed that perception. I knew about the One World ideology back in the 1980s but never thought anyone would be mad enough to try and make it a reality. It so obviously isn’t workable.

        1. Unfortunately MOH still thinks it is incompetence. Whenever I try to show him things like what the WEF Plans are he just says “that isn’t what you said they are, they seem OK” and “where’s the proof”?

          When I showed him the “you will own nothing and you will be happy” effective translation of what the plan is, he just says “but they didn’t actually say that” which is technically correct because it was contained in an essay written by a Danish MP and not part of the official paperwork.

          I will never give up, but I get close sometimes!

          2. It’s not always easy to be married to one…well at least he eventually saw sense when it came to voting to leave the EU. I might yet get through…

    2. Yo JR

      May I fiddle please

      The good ship ‘trust in government’has been sailing the high seas for quite a while now and listing badly due to all the holes shot in it sides
      from the inside, by the crew. No need to await the enemy, let us just scuttle UK

          3. And this is one of the rudest verses!

            The cabin boy was Clipper
            An awful little nipper
            He stuffed his arse with broken glass
            And circumcised the skipper.

          4. The First Mate’s name was Andy.
            By God, he had a dandy.
            The Captain threw him overboard.
            For pissing in the brandy.

            The Second Mate’s name was Cropper.
            By God, he has a whopper.
            Twice round the deck, then down his neck,
            And up his arsehole a stopper.

          5. The cooks name was Hudden
            By God was he a goodun
            He tossed off twice
            in a bowl of rice
            and called it sago pudden

  44. Another funeral in the Grove this morning. The hearse and limo’s have trouble in the small turning circle. Not sure which neighbour it was yet. Several others came out to watch.

    As we were making small talk i said (like the idiot i am) that it is a regular occurrence around here. To the lady who buried her husband six months ago.

    What a schmuck !

    I’m the youngest of all my neighbours and i’m 59.

    1. When I was in my late teens, I went with my parents to a neighbour’s (a retired Admiral) flat for drinks. On leaving, I tripped over their doormat – the Admiral asked if I was OK. I replied that worse things happen at sea.

      About ten minutes later, I remembered that both his sons had been drowned while serving in submarines……………………………..

          1. I almost think we are programmed to say these things. I know i do it a lot which is why i believe i am mildly autistic. Can’t recognise faces very well either. Prosopagnosia.

          3. But can you put a name to the unrecognisable faces – I have no problem recognising faces but have immense problems with the names and if someone expects me to change after knowing someone as Mr or Mrs ….., to a Christian name, well that just isn’t going to happen with me.

          4. I’m terrible with names too. Some Nottlers who i have had lunch with….names forgotten. I rely on my email address book.

          5. I have problems introducing people to each other. Sometimes I’ve forgotten both of their names. I lamely have to say “please introduce yourselves” or some such.

            Sometimes I’ve said to someone, “sorry but what is your name, again?” and when they tell me their forename I say “no I meant your surname”…as if that gets me off the hook but it has done sometimes!

          6. I find it is less troublesome to just be honest and apologise. It happens so often, Helen.

          8. I have problems introducing people to each other. Sometimes I’ve forgotten both of their names. I lamely have to say “please introduce yourselves” or some such.

            Sometimes I’ve said to someone, “sorry but what is your name, again?” and when they tell me their forename I say “no I meant your surname”…as if that gets me off the hook but it has done sometimes!

          11. I have the same problem, particularly if I meet people out of context. I have found myself chatting to someone who obviously knows me, but I haven’t got a clue who he or she is!

    2. Not the same but talk about putting one’s foot in it….
      When I was a child my mother took me to tea with one of the old ladies from the church. She was sitting near the window and, as the sun moved round, it shone on her face.
      “Oh Mrs. Childs, ” I bleated,”How pretty your moustache looks in the sun.”
      I wasn’t taken there again, no idea why…

      2. I did the same with our charlady, by asking how often she shaved.

        She never appeared again..

        1. Women with facial hair avoid shaving as it comes back bushier. Depilation or laser if they can afford it.

  45. Well wordle went quickly today! Telepathy almost worked!

    Wordle 626 2/6

    🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. And a Birdie Three for me.

        Wordle 626 3/6
        ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
        ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Well done. I’m consistent if nothing else.

      Wordle 626 4/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
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      🟨⬜🟨🟨🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. It’s only my 12th 2 out 385 played. I assume that most people end up with a standard distribution curve of results with a peak at 4 guesses.

  47. So far I’ve found one article about Shapps. And his solar power exploits. It would appear his e being enticed by an energy company.
    https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=179f8c83bb71eb10JmltdHM9MTY3ODE0NzIwMCZpZ3VpZD0yYTM3MmNkMS0wN2UyLTY3NmItMGJjMC0zZTE3MDY5YTY2ZTgmaW5zaWQ9NTE4Mw&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=2a372cd1-07e2-676b-0bc0-3e17069a66e8&psq=Grant+Shapps+on+Solar+farm+&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3VmZm9sa25ld3MuY28udWsvbmV3bWFya2V0L25ld3MvY291bmNpbC11cmdlcy1nb3Zlcm5tZW50LXRvLWF4ZS1tYWpvci1zb2xhci1mYXJtLTkyODMyNzQv&ntb=1

    Big grants to farmers to go solar
    https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=xH78x2wC&id=385CF24BD63B14A384B05A23DD2EBBF92C4E67B2&thid=OIP.xH78x2wCszPFxejewSI-igHaEK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmash.org.au%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2021%2f03%2fBig-solar-768×432.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.c47efcc76c02b333c5c5e8dec1223e8a%3frik%3dsmdOLPm7Lt0jWg%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=432&expw=768&q=grant+shapps+on+solar+farm&simid=608022496198007762&FORM=IRPRST&ck=DF135ABE90F54D718CB9861B02C88685&selectedIndex=27&qpvt=grant+shapps+on+solar+farm

    In this instance the farmer will get nothing he’s not the land owner.

  48. Good morning all.

    Have just listened to a clip of David Davis in HoC where he’d been trying to get HMG to publish results of a tax payer funded poll in early 2020 regarding the C19 (scam) outbreak about whether this had driven the subsequent actions.

    I looked up “U.K. early 2020 poll questions” on internet and this is an extract from the Conclusions:

    “ On 31 December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the WHO of an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, which was later classified as a new disease: COVID-19.1 Following identification of cases in countries outside China, on 30 January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern“.

    https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/1/e043577.

  50. Well……….I managed to speak to the Cardiology department just under an hour ago.
    I expressed all my concerns including that of my immediate family, for the lack of treatment and further communication I have not been having. And re-sent the email to the cardiologist which included a copy to my GP yesterday. I felt and it was confirmed after a few minutes the secretary could not cut me off quickly enough. But I had made my point and well I believe. For G sake, Do something, instead of stone walling and just sitting around passing the buck.

    3. I have one – a post box
      bus stop – 3 miles (one per day)
      pharmacy – 15 miles
      Surgery – 3 miles
      The rest – feckin’ miles
      The only good thing is we have a mobile bank that comes twice a week and parks 3 miles away

    4. Thinking about my “Where’s the pub?”, they won’t want places where people meet, talk and conspire.

    5. We have the post box. The bus stop is about a 15 minute walk down the hill and a bit longer going back up.

    6. You Gov knows the voting habits of the people polled, so they choose accordingly to get the answer they want.

  52. If anyone is so inclined, prayers or good energy for my goddaughter would be much appreciated. She was hospitalised yesterday with suspected meningitis or glandular fever, and I am worried that I have heard nothing from the family to reassure me today, despite it being midday in England.

    Thank you.

    1. I had glandular fever when I was 16/17. It was rough and I missed almost a month of school. Antibiotics did the trick though and I have been here to annoy people ever since.
      Will keep her in my thoughts. Keep us posted.

      1. I trust you’ve had your heart condition checked regularly, Ann.

        See me post to Katy earlier.

        1. I had an ECG towards end of last year and it was normal. Heart checks were never suggested after my recovery.

          1. You should still have an annual review.

            I had pounding in my ears and i could feel the pulse in my throat. The GP took an ECG and said i had had a heart attack. Many hours later the hospital said i hadn’t.

            I stopped taking one of my two blood pressure medications and the symptoms stopped.

          2. That’s interesting Phizzee about stopping one of your BP meds. I did the same thing about 5 weeks ago or so. Was taking Ramipril and then Amlodipine was added. It made me feel really awful so I stopped it and feel much much better, I was so lethargic and feeling down all the time. After a couple of weeks I took my BP at home and it was 135 over something. So I’m quite happy with a reading like that. What sort of symptoms were you having that now have disappeared if you don’t mind me asking?

            ETA: Off out now for food, after swimming, so if you answer I’ll pick it up later. Glad you feel better without whatever it was.

          3. I was taking lecanipidine and ramipril as prescribed. I had asked if i could stop one of them months ago.

            A general feeling of malaise and as i said a pounding in my ears. BP was way too high.
            The GP who i had never seen before asked me why i was taking my blood pressure readings.
            I told her that the consultant had told me to keep an eye on it as i have PAD.

            She didn’t bother firing up her computer so she had not seen my previous.
            What i also found strange was my previous GP when she first diagnosed me got straight through to the hospital and the consultant was paged immediately. He saw me the following morning. This was during covid and mask wearing.

            This one said it took her 30 minutes to get through and then she was cut off.
            Sitting in the waiting room on my own after being told erroneously that i had had a heart attack was not my best day.

            Then to hospital. Another ECG. No heart attack. Told to wait for the consultant in the acute ward. 8 hours later i walked out. He didn’t make an appearance in all that time. Haven’t heard from anyone since.

          4. Gawd Phizzee don’t know what to say re last para. BTW I didn’t ask if I could stop the Amlodipine I just did it as an experiment because of how bloody awful it made me feel where nothing else had changed. I’m so glad I did especially when the BP reading was so good. I do think we all have to think carefully about the meds prescribed for us not helped by GPs being paid extra to prescribe certain drugs (not sure if it’s all of them).

          5. Nobody checked my heart after 18 until I had my first heart attack 30 years later

      2. 6 weeks for me, and from thinking about possible national competition went to a poor also ran in sporting terms. Never really recovered from it in terms of fitness.

    2. I don’t wish to alarm you, Katy, but I too had glandular fever when I was about 18,

      It is now seen, as the reason why I am the only one in my family to suffer heart disease.

      I would advise your goddaughter’s parents to monitor her heart condition in the future.

      In the meantime, I shall keep her in my prayers.

    5. Prayer sent. On the hopeful side, I had meningococcal septicaemia at age 24 (Christmas 1979 – family gp made a home visit in the early hours of Boxing Day and called for an ambulance) and survived with no long term symptoms.

    6. Oh goodness, ashes, prayers duly on their way. Our grandson was hospitalised about 14 or so years ago, when he was about 4 I think, with suspected meningitis. He had a high fever and a rash but it wasn’t meningitis, thankfully. In fact it was never discovered what the cause was, just a very high fever I suppose.

      Fingers tightly crossed.

    7. So sorry to hear that, ashes. Prayers on their way and hope all is well. How old is your goddaughter?

        1. My youngest cousin was working as a nanny in the US when she contracted meningitis, aged 20. She was ill for 6 days and my aunt and uncle went out to be with her. She then recovered completely and has had no problems ever since. Thinking of you 💐

    10. Oh, man. Poor lass. And try to relax a bit too, Ashes. We’ll direct positive thoughts her way!

    11. Thank you all for your good wishes. She’s being kept in for tests, still.

      It makes a difference to know that so many of you are thinking of her.

      2. Only just caught up with you, sending love and loads of positive wishes to you both (I can imagine you need some too, dear) x

  53. You’ve got to almost shriek out loud when you read this line: “Thursday’s (IEA) report was described as disconcerting by climate scientists.”
    “Disconcerting”? That’s putting it lightly. We are the furthest thing from being climate change alarmists, but when you spend $100 billion of taxpayer money and achieve absolutely nothing, President Joe Biden and his green allies should be arrested for criminal fraud.
    Where did all the money go? Tens of billions of dollars have lined the pockets of left-wing environmental and social justice groups that have been emitting a lot of hot air but no results. Green energy companies have milked taxpayers of tens of billions more, even as wind and solar only produce about 12% of our energy.

    https://www.takimag.com/article/americas-100-billion-climate-change-flop/

  54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si3dBlNdifE Talking of Four Seasons In One Day, today’s weather is approaching that and is quite surreal.

    Started off with a heavy blizzard that moved, progressively, into: sleet, rain, now hail! It’s still windy and the 3″-or-so depth of (wet) snow remains, but I wonder what I’ll get next.

  57. It seems a scandal is brewing in Ireland over the misuse of funds that are supposed to be for the benefit of the victims of the Magdalene Laundries instead being directed by the country’s equality minister, Roderic O’Gorman, towards a transgender group that has already had funding Ireland’s health service cut due to repeated accounting problems.

    The money was just resting in their account
    The queering of the Irish pork barrel

    https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/the-money-was-just-resting-in-their

        1. I have that CD!!
          Saw him at Saltburn Folk Festival and Chesterfield Folk Club. He was brilliant and certainly without any PC pretentions.

    1. Never underestimate the malice of the state. Heck, if people still want a booster even after it being obvious that they don’t work, that’s up to them.

          2. I succumbed to a flu jab in 2020, but no more. Had the two AZ covid jabs so they would let me into Kenya last year. No more.

        2. Trudeaus mob have contacted two more jabs per person in Canada.

          There is a lot of fear and panic coming our way. Either that or his bank balance needs help.

    1. The majority of those already here will mysteriously vanish into the black, ho ho, economy.

  60. Pakistanis are leaving our country in droves due to inflation and job losses – who can blame them? 7 March 2023.

    Last year, more than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country in search of better economic prospects abroad. With rocketing inflation and the rupee devaluing by 30% during 2022, millions of urban middle-class people have been pushed to the brink of poverty. Cataclysmic floods have ravaged the rural poor. With only enough foreign reserves to pay for less than a month of imports, the state is on its knees.

    Pakistan has always spent far more on imports than it has earned in exports. It is a big exporter of labour but the remittances Pakistanis working abroad send home are frittered away on consumption. They are not invested in industry. Though it is a cotton-producing country, the textile sector remains underdeveloped. Promising IT activity has not blossomed into a tech boom, unlike in neighbouring India. With a third of its 230 million-strong population under the age of 14, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of population growth in the world, and job creation cannot keep pace.

    Guess where they are headed?

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/07/pakistanis-leaving-country-inflation-job-losses-crisis

    1. I thought – for one glorious second – that the Paki slammers were leaving ENGLAND…

      How disappointed I very soon became….

      1. The headline of the article is misleading. The “Our Country” he refers to is Pakistan its self and guess where they will be heading to?

    1. The trouble with the police is that they are too cowardly to interfere with Muslims but are happy to persecute Christians.

    2. She should have got a prayer-mat out, spread it on the pavement, knelt down with bum in the air and started chanting. That way, the police would never have dared arrest her.

          6. No arrests there, or on the steps of the Albert Hall during the ending of their insignificant weeks of celebrations.

    3. She was arrested by six officers after silently praying outside the clinic. Dickhead of the Yard and his rainbow warriors. How brave of them, only six? Promotions and medals all round.

  63. British ambassador is followed down the street and heckled by Putin propagandists shouting ‘you’re not welcome here’. 7 March 2023.

    Britain’s ambassador to Moscow today demanded Vladimir Putin end his war against Ukraine as she was heckled by onlookers amid her arrival in far east Russia.

    Envoy Dame Deborah Bronnert ran a gauntlet of loud-mouthed propagandists who followed her down the street as she arrived for a visit to the Kremlin’s Pacific capital Vladivostok.

    One told her repeatedly: ‘You are not welcome here,’ while another loudly declared: ‘Britain is a sponsor of terrorism.’

    There are two guys with placards in Russian!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11829681/British-ambassador-Russia-followed-heckled-Putin-propagandists-calling-peace.html

      1. Especially as: China Threatens US With “Conflict And Confrontation” As Xi Issues “Unusually Blunt” Rebuke Of US Policy:
        “If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?”

    2. There are currently 162.55 Japanese Yen to One Pound Sterling. When we buy archive footage from NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, their national broadcaster) at work, the fees look astronomical but are actually quite modest.

      1. The article implies that pretty soon each Yen’s value will be less than one half (New)penny…..!

  65. 371871+ up ticks,

    They, the politico’s, really are power mad, not power for cooking a joint,or to the elbow for drinking a pint, but ego boosting power
    that corrupts and kills, others.

    This kitting out the Country with foreign fit young men many with a military background surely has a purpose behind it I would like to believe that the current regular forces would NOT cross the line on a rogue politico’s / parties orders,

    Search on GETTR
    ogga1
    ogga1
    What’s new?

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    15m
    According to an Italian newspaper, Ursula Von Der Leyen will apply for NATO Secretary General.

    The other candidates are Boris Johnson and Kaja Kallas, the Estonian PM. Maybe this is why they’re so anti-Russia and pro-Ukraine. Risking nuclear war so that their CV looks better for a job application.

    Imagine these clowns heading u NATO – especially Boris. World War III here we come!

    https://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2023/03/07/news/nato_von_der_leyen_possibile_successore_stoltenberg-390822687/

    1. Von der Leyen was a catastrophe as German defence minister, if I remember rightly.

    2. I could take a bet on your starter word. You live there?

      Same old same old for me but that’s OK.

      Wordle 626 4/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
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  67. Ambrose Evans-Prattchard having orgasms about revolutionary battery technology.

    “The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero. Argonne National Laboratory in the US has essentially cracked the battery technology for electric vehicles, discovering a way to raise the future driving range of standard EVs to a thousand miles or more. It promises to do so cheaply without exhausting the global supply of critical minerals in the process. The joint project with the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has achieved a radical jump in the energy density of battery cells. The typical lithium-ion battery used in the car industry today stores about 200 watt-hours per kilo (Wh/kg). Their lab experiment has already reached 675 Wh/kg with a lithium-air variant.
    This is a high enough density to power trucks, trains, and arguably mid-haul aircraft, long thought to be beyond the reach of electrification. The team believes it can reach 1,200 Wh/kg. If so, almost all global transport can be decarbonised more easily than we thought, and probably at a negative net cost compared to continuation of the hydrocarbon status quo. ”

    Note: Energy density of petrol is 13 KWh/kg and diesel 12.7 KWh/kg

    What is conveniently overlooked is how these superbatteries will be charged, where will the electricity be generated, and how long they will take to charge. The eco loons pushing this electro guff need to do a bit of system engineering on the totality of how the end to end system of transport energy works.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/03/07/coming-ev-batteries-will-sweep-away-fossil-fuel-transport-without/

  68. Is there no end to this?

    “Since last summer, different versions of the Omicron variant of Covid have been spreading the most – the latest being Omicron BQ.1.
    Children under 12 years of age will be offered a children’s formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine’.

    1. Pfizer is currently being sued for 3Trillion dollars over vaccine harms anyone advocating its use for children who at no real risk should be put up against a wall and shot
      When will this madness end??

      1. Do you have a link Rik to the Law suit? – It would be helpful to let parents of grandchildren know…

          1. Thank you. I suspect this one is a lawyer angling for publicity. It would be a very different Kettle of Fish if it was a State’s AG…..

          2. I share your scepticism. No mention of such a lawsuit anywhere on the interwebby thing.

      2. It will only end when we, the people, force them to acknowledge that they serve us, not the other way round.

        1. Yea, bring back back and understand Common Law as identified in 1215 before any Parliament,

  70. Residents out, migrants in. TCW. 7 March 2023.

    So is this what it comes down to in Britain now? Do protected characteristics and pseudo-political virtue-signalling take precedence over the urgent welfare concerns of the indigenous UK population? All of it bankrolled by the long-suffering taxpayer, and lavishly handed out at the whim of self-seeking politicians? Oh, the irony of it, that those Ukrainians who flee from the battle at home should arrive here and we give them everything they need, while our own soldiers, who have done their duty and served their country, are hived off to charity.

    Don’t read this article if you have problems with your blood pressure!

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/residents-out-migrants-in/

  71. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fc36c1aea-bce7-11ed-b039-425ba6c60d6d.jpg?crop=1175%2C661%2C421%2C72&resize=1500
    Sarus the crane has been a constant companion to Arif Murjar ever since he nursed the bird back to health

    Amrit Dhillon, Delhi
    Tuesday March 07 2023, 3.50pm, The Times

    A year ago Arif Murjar found a sarus crane lying injured and bleeding in the fields of his farm in Mandka village, Uttar Pradesh. He told The Times how he brought it home where his wife, two children and parents helped him to nurse the bird back to health.

    With no vet in the area, they tried various home remedies. The one that worked was mixing mustard oil and turmeric into a paste, applying it to the wound and bandaging it. “In that time, he walked very, very slowly. After a month, we removed the bandage and found that he could stand on his feet,” Murjar, 30, said.

    Murjar expected the bird to fly away as soon as he was better, and did not bother giving him a name — calling him simply Sarus. Instead, Sarus has become a fast friend, not leaving his side for the past year and continuing the habit which he started while convalescing of dining with Murjar off the same plate.

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1628100669025701888

    The sarus crane, the tallest flying bird in the world at about 5ft (1.6m) or more, is known in some parts of India to be unafraid of humans but this kind of friendship is rare. Wherever Murjar goes, the bird goes with him. When Murjar goes out on his scooter, the crane flies beside him, low and close enough to be companionable but not so close that its massive wings — spanning 8ft — get in Murjar’s way.

    “On some days he flies away but always returns by sunset,” Murjar said. “Friendship thrives on freedom. He roams around freely and we never constrain him.”

    Murjar keeps cows and goats on his farm but has no experience of birds. “All I was doing when I saw him lying in my fields injured was my duty as a human being. But now I can’t imagine life without him.”

    He is confident that Sarus will never fly away for good. “I know 100 per cent he will not leave me. If he does, I will feel pain. But I know he won’t.”

          8. Chest your cards. (The earliest “rule” of bridge I learned in 1953 – from my dear Mother!)

          10. From the age of 12, I played very regularly and was quite good as an “instinctive” player. As a young man, I played with “county” players who forced me to pay close attention to the game. Most enjoyable. Then I moved and lost touch and played rarely. I tried in my 70s but the ability to remember had gone. So I have blown up my Bridge.

          13. Coming up to my 70th birthday I’ve just started playing again after a gap of three years. So far so good . Today partner and I finished 3rd out of 20 pairs in the match points tally.

      1. Don’t worry Tom. It’s merely a long-winded way of saying “Up your Khyber.”

        1. Not that I’m worrying, CV1, if I don’t understand, I don’t get the message.

      1. See Saw Murjar, he dour
        Sarus shall have a new master.
        He shall have a pecking each day
        Because he can’t fly any faster…

    2. A little boy shouted down the tube train in London,

      “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands. ”

      Not a single clap for the little boy, but to be fair he shouted it in English so they may have not understood him.

  76. Hope to be more active tomorrow, having problems today, damp, cold etc is not good for Emphysema.

    I thought this interesting given the fact that the Welby has been given the boot by some Anglican groups. I was also surprised by the progress of the Orthodox Church in England which I should have been aware of but wasn’t.

    The End of the Church of England
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me_wTLmr3bQ

      1. I know churches are often damp but think of the costs of suppling one to over 12,500 churches!

        1. For his Emphysema, silly.
          It’s what saw my Dad off. Still, lived with it reasonably well for 30 years.

      2. Hi Pip. Yes, I have one. But my lungs are such a mess that doesn’t work very well. I seem, ideally, to require an atmosphere rather like early summer, a Goldilocks Zone, as it were.

    2. It’s been cold but sunny and clear here today, rather than damp. I hope you feel better tomorrow JR.

  77. Shapps is on the Martin Lewis money programme tonight at 20:00 ITV.
    I’m out, but I’ve set up to record.
    I’ll be interested to see what Nottlers have to say.
    Hopefully the whole story will be discussed.
    But as an old septic. I very much doubt it.

      2. Later ….. at this moment in time it’s the only way to find out what all these Piles of Dung are upto.
        Usually when we realise, it’s too late.

  78. Of course it was the CIA, you dummies, the ultimate ‘Pro-Ukrainian group’ acting on Biden’s orders because of his family’s involvement in Ukraine.

    Quod Erat Demonstrandum

    Ukraine-Russia war: Pro-Ukrainian group blew up Nord Stream pipeline, new intelligence suggests

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2023/03/07/TELEMMGLPICT000327505953_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBxQQ6WuIQQgwO_lxG6Qi9hzTGCWC9PvaVmCC6nXpnsE.jpeg?imwidth=680

    New intelligence reviewed by US officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

    There was no evidence that President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top lieutenants in Ukraine were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials, the newspaper reported, citing US officials.

    The attacks on the pipelines fuelled speculation on both sides of the Atlantic over who was responsible, with Russian officials in particular accusing a host of Western powers of being behind the incident.

    It came as the battle for Bakhmut continued on Tuesday, with both sides reportedly suffering heavy losses in the fight to control the eastern salt-mining town.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/07/ukraine-russia-war-latest-news-bakhmut-zelensky-putin/

    1. Hope the Russians win. I will happily buy their salt rather than that Paki himalayan crap which they have probably pissed on.

    2. It is profoundly depressing that there are so many sheep who will believe that, just because it was on the flippin news.

  79. Seeing as i am now classed as a privileged gammon racist…..

    New golf course opens, very big, very posh. All the rich white folk are
    there, suddenly in walks a black man.
    Walks upto the reception desk and says “Me want to join de golf course”,
    the receptionist looks horrified “Im sorry we are a new respectable
    club, if you go out of the main gate, turn right and 5 minutes down the
    road is the old golf course, they take anyone”.

    “No you not understand me, I want to join dis ‘ere golf course” said the
    black guy. “And you’re not understanding me!” said the receptionist
    angrily; ‘Out the main gate, turn right and 5 minutes down the road is
    the old golf course, they take anyone!”.

    “You no understand, I is Usain Bolt, worlds fastest man, I’m wanting to
    join dis ‘ere club!” said the black man.
    The receptionist looks shocked and says “Im sorry Mr Bolt I never
    recognised you, how silly of me; IT’S 2 MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD !

  82. Evening, all. Been wonderfully sunny here, but the wind was biting; what they call a “lazy wind” – instead of going round you, it goes straight through. As for the headline, the deliberate pandemic treatment (it was only shoddy because they’re shoddy themselves) is only one among many things that has damaged trust in government. There’s the running down of our armed forces, failure to repeal the hate laws, failure to police impartially, failure to secure our borders and deport foreign criminals, failure to address the client state, failure to cut taxes and manage the economy properly, failure to stand up for our culture and history, but above all, failure to do what they were elected to do; deliver a proper Brexit.

      2. Good question, Bill. If enough of us get nasty they will have to sit up and take notice. All we of “mature years” can do is try to make lots of people have a Road to Damascus revelation and then get angry.

  83. Just as when Dolly was a puppy she had a fetish for shoes and socks. Now Harry has too and i have had to move all my shoes to a place he can’t reach them. I felt a little guilty about that so he is now on one old sock a day. A bit like Dobby from Harry Potter.

    They are only ankle sport socks of which i have hundreds. He gets the old worn out ones.

    1. My Golden, Fred, used to steal my son’s socks and take them out into the yard and bury them. Gawd only knows what the people who bought that house thought if they did any yard work.

      1. One of my brothers has a golden lab called Jasper who likes to steal shoes from their utility room. (There’s a strict shoes off as you enter regime in that household.) Jasper knows who they belong to. He always gives them to the right person but you only ever get one shoe!

  84. That’s me gone. A strange day. The much heralded six feet of snow (I exaggerate slightly) never materialised. Sunshine all day – and relatively mild. Frost expected overnight (the sky is clear) and grey and cold tomorrow. Though the Wet Office refers to snow on the hourly forecast for here, their “Snow and Ice Warnings” map indicates none within miles. Yet another touch of Project Fear, I suspect.

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain

    1. Snow in the North of England an Scotland in Winter. How Bizarre !

      Have a pleasant evening Uncle Bill. And for all those horrible things i said to you i only meant most of them. :@)

        2. The Met office are no longer independent and they follow project fear. They did get into trouble a while ago saying the weekend would be rainy in Bournemouth and everyone stayed away costing the town about a million in lost profits.

    2. We still have no snow and 1°C here in Moffat so yah-boo sucks to Bill’s wet office.

    1. Worse than Harold Wilson. Utterly shameless. Will encourage bullies everywhere.

      1. Baroness Table-ender…sorry, Falkender? One thing in her favour. She spilled the beans for Yes Minister/Prime Minister!

    2. Of course; you can’t have people sitting with their back to the artist, can you?

  89. Hello people ..

    An expensive visit to get our eyes tested ..Yikes alive .

    We both have small cataracts in each eye .. We were told many people have them ..

    It was raining .. gently, not very cold , and we both sat in the car on the harbourside afterwards, wondering why everything was misty and wet, but of course , so it was .

    The different variety of sea birds provided lots of entertainment .. busy things aren’t they, and of course move quickly foraging amongst the stones and weed on the receding tide .

    2. Yo T_B

      Get them done.

      My problem is that I keep wanting to put my specs on, as I needed to wear them since 1964

      (not the same pair)

      1. They said they will review me in a year .. and also gave me a chart to pin on the fridge door .. if the lines on the chart go wiggly , I must contact them asap.

        Serves me right for reading at night under the bedcovers when I was a little girl .

    1. Or, more correctly: Eddy Izzard has announced his new name that he’s wanted to adopt since he was little.

      I used to think i would #be kind to these disturbed people and use their damned pronouns. But they have pushed too far and now I refuse to consider the idea. And I don’t care how “#being unkind” that makes me.

    1. This is the most bizarre story imaginable. Haven’t they heard of Archimedes?

      2. If 25 fat people all jump into a swimming pool at the same time, why does it not overflow?

        If they then all leave at the same time, why are the remainers not waterless.?

        This and other ‘posers’will be answered in the next edition of “Nottlers, the Guide to Everything”

  93. Ha ha ha ha hahahahahaha….!
    How many mugs will fall for this?
    https://twitter.com/GoldTelegraph_/status/1633154763092295683

    “Janet Yellen is now warning climate change may trigger asset value losses in the United States
    Your stock portfolio is now going down because of climate change but not due to monetary policy”
    They got away with blaming the last one on the lockdowns that they put into place, so I guess they know the public is gullible.

    1. Tel a lie, the bigger the better. Keep telling it. The more they tell the lie, the more people will believe it.

      One day, the whole thing will be exposed as a con. People will realise government is stocked with greedy, lazy, incompetent, vicious morons with no talent or ability but to waste your money. Climate change will be abandoned as the con trick it is and then the whole system of government will change for the better – with capable, motivated and intelligent net contributors (past and present) the only ones allowed to vote.

      Cripple the scum. Cut off their cash and government cannot make our lives the misery it wants to.

      2. Disgustingly they are employing these perverts in mainstream education in all schools

    2. It’s a shame that someone didn’t kick that creature between the pockets. Then ask the children how impressive he sounded.

  95. Some Nottlers may recall my failed attempts to upgrade my BT mobile phone via their offer to transfer me to EE. Sadly EE’s online process failed and despite me having provided numerous proofs of my address they asked me to ring them. Some frustrating time later they confirmed that “computer says no” and suggested I went to one of their shops with bits of paper to provide the proof – as “they are easier”. I complained to the CEO of EE, whose minion apologised but said there was nothing he could do – he also suggested going to an EE shop as the process is less rigorous.

    Today I went to the shop, where a very impressive employee tried his best to help. The first shock was that the shop are unable to match the online offer despite confirming my BT account details. He was able to suggest ways to streamline my BT account so that including the new phone would only be marginally more expensive that the online offer. I agreed to go ahead – guess what, the process failed again in the shop! Apparently “computer says no” is the final point there too. I have wasted another 40 minutes of my valuable time, and EE have wasted 40 minutes of one of their employees time too. I suggest that anyone thinking of going to this company, whose software seems to have either been written by an idiot, or more likely written to a specification produced by someone who doesn’t use the system, goes elsewhere!

    1. I’d suggest buying a sim free phone and look at Martin Lewis’ guide for a suitable sim card for your usage. Maybe I have missed the issue though! I use Lebara which is on the Vodaphone net and seems good value with no contract.

      1. I have a giffgaff SIM in my “smart” phone, but my unsmart phone is EE (originally 121 then T-mobile).

      2. Didn’t see yours before I said the same. Very efficient and if you call them you speak to a human in a matter of minutes.

      3. Smarty is worth considering (it uses Three’s network). The 4G router I bought from Mr Bezos, to facilitate card payments at one of our churches, came with a Smarty SIM. I had intended to get a Vodafone one, since that church struggles to get a signal from any of the mobile providers, but Vodafone theoretically have the strongest signal there. So I gave it a try. Added an external antenna, mounted in the highest part of the bell tower, and it works absolutely fine. £5 a month.

        Meanwhile, Vodafone – who provide my landline and broadband – have once again invited me to upgrade to full fibre, despite the fact that Openreach have no current plans to introduce that service to my backwater. And they’re going to increase my tariff by 13.5% for a service which they used to give me a discount on, since it has never met the minimum promised speed.

        So I’ve asked Virgin Media for a quote. There is ‘cable’ on the estate. The cost will probably be prohibitive, in which case I’ll go the 4G route (despite a poor signal, alleviated by an external antenna – hopefully, I won’t emulate Rod Hull*) and ditch the landline and broadband.

        *That was an unintentional pun…

    2. I’d suggest buying a sim free phone and look at Martin Lewis’ guide for a suitable sim card for your usage. Maybe I have missed the issue though! I use Lebara which is on the Vodaphone net and seems good value with no contract.

  96. The BBC’s evening news programmes on Radio 4 spent some time discussing the government’s idiotic migrant bill. Much was made of the ‘breaking of international law’. No one in the media ever seems to question this idea. Who is accountable for it? What will happen if a country decides to withdraw from international conventions on human rights in general and refugees in particular? One presenter, editorialising enthusiastically, told us that detaining ‘asylum seekers’ for assessment could be considered false imprisonment.

    The ECHR and the HRA in the UK have effectively become criminals charters. We have heard enough stories of foreign criminals avoiding deportation for crimes against the person on the grounds that they would be maltreated in their country of origin (the UK is becoming a jailhouse to the world). Now we have the prospect of another kind of foreign criminal, aided by the mad ‘liberals’ of the refugee movement, overwhelming due process by entering illegally in huge numbers. With the collapse of the process of law comes the collapse of society.

    The opening clause of the HRA might as well read “This Act repeals all Acts passed and those yet to be passed.”

    2. “International law” is increasingly stuff dreamed up by the likes of Rothschilds and Rockefellers to further their own ends.

    3. Used to do the track testing runs to Fort William and Malaig before I retired.
      I bloody well miss it now.

      1. Perhaps you should have an invite to one of our NoTTLe luncheons in or around Moffat.

        Would you attend?

        Allow HertsLass to send me your e-mail address and we can start arranging the next one.

        And you, Spikey if you feel like dragging yourself this far south.

    8. I remember P.G.Wodehouse saying that the lyricist was pushing it a bit when he tried to rhyme Loch Lomond with Afore ye.

  98. Old, stilted, black & white and brilliant, I’ve just watched “The Browning Version” superb.

    1. We’ve just watched episode 6, the final one, of Edge of Darkness on BBC iPlayer. As good as it was 1st time around.

      1. It’s my favourite TV drama from the golden age of TV dramas, the 1980s. I shall watch it again before iPlayer wipes it. Troy Kennedy Martin (who cut his teeth on Z-Cars) was a scriptwriter of distinction.

      1. I have a box set of Rattigan’s Plays.

        I enjoyed the television production of The Browning Version with Ian Holm and Michael Kitchen and Judi Dench.

      2. Also excellent, but it’s many, many years since I saw it. If it is shown I will look out for it.

  99. The fire is going out and I don’t want to put more wood on it, so I’m off to bed. G’night all.

  100. Does anyone believe a single word Fishy says, or indeed any of this useless government?
    I am going to bed very soon. A long day and now my husband has two pairs of extra tall crutches….not quite sure why two pairs. The other ones we sent back and we are hopeful that soon he will be able to accompany me to the shop or even to the pub for a pint. When I say the shop- he can sit with a coffee while I do the grunt but at least it will be a change of scenery.
    There has been a very slight dusting of white stuff here on the south coast. Don’t think I will need the snow shovel.

  102. Parents meeting to discuss trans ideology in schools must pay £600 security bill

    The group says it is being denied freedom of expression as activists plan protest outside the public library venue

    So, if I the trans world people are having a meeting and I organise a protest about it, the trans people have to pay for security to protect themselves.

    Airborne Porcine Squadron Incoming

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/07/parents-meeting-discuss-trans-ideology-schools-must-pay-600/

    1. Isn’t it the role of plod to keep the peace and prevent the Lefty wasters from causing disruption? I continually fail to see why the state forces decent people to pay the economic and social costs are anti social wasters.

      When the Left haters arrive, smack them around the head a dozen times and send them away.

    2. Have the police ever sent security bills to any other current event organisers or non-party political demonstrations or meetings? Do they send security bills to Antifa for their “counter protests”?

      1. 371895+ up ticks,

        Morning R,
        When it comes down to it many of us have fair weather friends within the electorate majority.

    2. According to Robert Kennedy Jr, this tactic has also been used among scientists. It’s career death even to associate with someone who openly opposes the US medical establishment.

      2. Good morning Geoff and Merry Christmas to you. What, we’ve missed it? Well, Very Happy Birthday 🥳 instead from Alf and me and many thanks for Nottl. Wouldn’t be without it.

        Have a lovely warm day xxx

  106. The story has been silenced by the Hancock fiasco but when are we going to hear what the European Research Group and the DUP are going to do about Sunak’s Surrender Sell Out to the EU?

  107. Fast approaching 00:30, so I shall say, Goodnight and God bless, Gentlefolk.

    I may be late on parade dans le matin.

  108. A belated post to wish you all Good Night, and to wish Geoff a very Happy Birthday for Wednesday.

  109. 🎶Happy birthday to you🎶 Geoff I hope you have a lovely day, many thanks for all your fantastic organising (scus the pun) of this site. 😀 🤩 you’re a star. 🥂🍾🍻cheers.

  110. Morning All.

    Snow, White! and the Seven words: Geoff Graham Happy Birthday to you Sir!

        1. Woken during the night by the moon shining in my face like a burglar with a torch!

    3. Thanks Geoff, and a very Happy Birthday to you! I hope you have a wonderful day and many more! Take care! 🎂🍾😘

    5. Yo, Good Moaning and Fanx Boss

      and of course

      Happy Birthday and even Happier 365 Unbirthdays ’til your next one

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