Monday 24 April: MPs should back the Home Secretary’s plan to stop Channel migrants

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

485 thoughts on “Monday 24 April: MPs should back the Home Secretary’s plan to stop Channel migrants”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    What’s That Smell?

    A man and a woman are in a lift.

    The man asks the woman, “Excuse me, can I smell your pussy?”

    The woman was startled. “What did you just ask me?”

    “I said,” replies the man, “can I smell your pussy?”

    Extremely upset, the woman spits out her response, “No you most certainly cannot!”

    “Oh,” the man says. “Then it must be your feet!”

  5. MPs should back the Home Secretary’s plan to stop Channel migrants

    What and then get cancelled for bullying?

  8. To get a state that works, we must overhaul our creaking civil service. 24 April 2023.

    This would improve the retention of the best officials, and help to recruit more experts to serve for chunks of their career. Alignment between ministers and officials would mean better, swifter delivery. Increased Civil Service turnover at elections would widen the pool of government policy specialists, allow officials to spend spells in business and academia to deepen their knowledge, and improve opposition policy making.

    The old defences of the existing system no longer apply. For me, it does not recruit or retain the best people; it does not provide the right expertise; it does little to address Britain’s chronic short-termism; its use of patronage can be self-serving. If we want better government, we need a better state.

    Yes it all sounds wonderful but it’s not going to happen though is it? One of the least surprising things about the UK is that though it is collapsing around us there is absolutely no call for reform among the Elites. States are like Humpty Dumpty; once they fall they cannot be put back together.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/23/we-must-overhaul-our-creaking-civil-service/

  9. Farce

    Emergency Alert test descends into chaos as it fails to work on up to 10 million phones

    Customers on Three, one of Britain’s biggest mobile networks, didn’t receive the 10-second alert

    By Robert Mendick, CHIEF REPORTER and Amy Gibbons
    23 April 2023 • 9:40pm

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/23/emergency-alert-test-chaos-fails-10-million-phones/

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F3236f6be-e210-11ed-b3ca-360476523ce5.jpg?crop=2766%2C1844%2C567%2C177&resize=900

    1. Somebody a mite fed up with all this nonsense?
      After all, He did set up the original system.

  12. I’m not being paranoid but just wondering whether those that didn’t get the emergency message are on the culling list or is it the ones that got the message?
    Or maybe it’s the ones the turned ojf their messages.

    1. I think it’s magic. Or maybe a chum turning off my location tracker … or grandson doing something I don’t understand – or even care about.

      1. If Mr Putin launches his nuclear weapons, I think I’d rather not be warned that I only have 3 more minutes to live. In fact, I would rather that this government stopped taunting him by constantly sending treasure and arms to Mr Zelensky.

  13. ‘Morning, Peeps. Lovely sunny start but more heavy rain forecast with a miserly 10°C.

    Headline in the DT. Another day, another humiliation:

    “UK’s broken-down £3bn warship HMS Prince of Wales stripped for parts

    Items from aircraft carrier, whose proposed visit to US was cancelled last year after mechanical failure, used to repair sister vessel”

    2. We always took a one aircraft, known as a “Christmas Tree”, when we embarked on the old Ark Royal with out F4K Phantoms.

      1. We nearly always had a hulk of a Lightning in the corner of the hangar from which parts were nicked to get others serviceable

  15. Good morning, all. Watery looking sky. Just the ticket with extensive outside work to be done…{:¬((

  16. CPS includes ‘love-bombing’ in guidance on abusive partners prosecution. 24 April 2023.

    “Sometimes we see, particularly at the beginning of the relationship, a big showering of love and affection,” Kate Brown, national lead for domestic abuse at the CPS, said. Love-bombing behaviour, intermittently carrying out what appear to be loving acts, such as sending flowers, can constitute a manipulative step, designed to disrupt investigation and prosecution, the guidance reads. Manipulative steps can include altering behaviour when being watched or supervised.

    “We do not underestimate the impact of stalking or controlling or coercive behaviour on victims who can be forced to change their daily routines, left in fear of their life and totally consumed by this offending,” Brown said. “These controlling offences can quickly escalate and that is why we’re absolutely committed to prosecuting wherever our legal test is met.”

    Then again it could all be quite innocent and done with the best and most loving of intentions. What Solomon decides these things? According to this piece 1,816 people, mostly men (and mostly white men one suspects) have been gaoled for these behavioural crimes. What it must be like to be tried for your intentions and what defence you could possibly offer would strain the imagination of Kafka.

    https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/apr/24/cps-includes-love-bombing-in-guidance-on-abusive-partners-prosecution

    1. Cripes: I sent my Danish DIL a bunch of flowers to thank her for giving up her weekend to get my playroom organised.
      I hope she didn’t think I was manipulating her.
      “I need some more meat balls ….. are you doing anything this weekend other than nipping down to Lakeside?
      p.s. think of the will.”

    2. Yo Minty

      Thank goodness, the CPS has a National lead for domestic abuse

      They will be successful in the normal bureaucratic and abuse will disappear

      Now, if they had “National lead for the elimination of domestic abuse”

      I would be worried

  17. CPS includes ‘love-bombing’ in guidance on abusive partners prosecution. 24 April 2023.

    “Sometimes we see, particularly at the beginning of the relationship, a big showering of love and affection,” Kate Brown, national lead for domestic abuse at the CPS, said. Love-bombing behaviour, intermittently carrying out what appear to be loving acts, such as sending flowers, can constitute a manipulative step, designed to disrupt investigation and prosecution, the guidance reads. Manipulative steps can include altering behaviour when being watched or supervised.

    “We do not underestimate the impact of stalking or controlling or coercive behaviour on victims who can be forced to change their daily routines, left in fear of their life and totally consumed by this offending,” Brown said. “These controlling offences can quickly escalate and that is why we’re absolutely committed to prosecuting wherever our legal test is met.”

    Then again it could all be quite innocent and done with the best and most loving of intentions. What Solomon decides these things? According to this piece 1,816 people, mostly men (and mostly white men one suspects) have been gaoled for these behavioural crimes. What it must be like to be tried for your intentions and what defence you could possibly offer would strain the imagination of Kafka.

    https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/apr/24/cps-includes-love-bombing-in-guidance-on-abusive-partners-prosecution

  18. SIR – In these days of high prices, one way to save money is to stop using shower gel and use a bar of soap instead. It will last for months and is very environmentally friendly.

    Stan Kirby
    East Malling, Kent

    Another (life long) vote for soap here, Mr Kirby. Besides, our shower drain soon needs plunging when shower gel is used. (No names, no pack drill Mrs HJ…)

      1. Every time I take a squirt of gel onto a wet hand, it slides off onto the floor of the shower. Bar soap for me.

        1. Squirt it on your hair (if you have any) it’ll hold on to it and supply you with enough for the arm-pits and naughty bits.

      2. We never use shower gel. I like Dove soap, it is kinder on my skin, not so drying and poppiesdad uses Savon de Marseilles in the shower and we also put it in the soap dishes alongside the hand wash basins. The Savon de Marseilles lasts for ages and ages. The Dove soap is not nearly as long-lasting.

        1. I’m still using up my stock if Yves Rocher toiletries. I’ve still got another shower gel bottle to go.

    2. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, showers are the devil’s work plus they are a pain to clean. Baths and soap all the way for me

  19. 373832+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Dt
    Can the Tories ever be taken seriously in Scotland again?
    Tribal loyalties run deep in politics, but both the Tories and Labour should put

    in reality,

    Can the Tories ever be taken seriously in the United Kingdom again?
    Tribal loyalties run deep in politics, but both the Tories and Labour should put

    To make an honest comparison we must go back to 1973 or at least prior to Margaret Thatcher being Thomas Becketed via the new order.

    How can one judge these current “parties”that would be on par with judging the Mafia, and the rights and wrongs of Murder Incorporated,or was the Gestapo misjudged in many of its actions.

    To condone supporting / voting for these treacherous pretenders
    currently and papering over the cracks of lies & deceit is definitely OUT, thick reinforced concrete slabs are required,laid by dangerous idiots, they will hold until the truth is realised.

  20. Descendants of UK slave owners call on government to apologise. 24 April 2023.

    The descendants of some of Britain’s wealthiest slave owners have launched an activist movement, calling on the government both to apologise for slavery and begin a programme of reparative justice in recognition of the “ongoing consequences of this crime against humanity”.

    A second cousin of King Charles and a direct descendant of the Victorian prime minister William Gladstone have joined journalists, a publisher, a schoolteacher and a retired social worker, to create the Heirs of Slavery campaigning body, which will lobby the UK government to acknowledge and atone for its role in the transportation of 3.1 million enslaved African people across the Atlantic.

    Yes. Privatise the profits and Socialise the reparations Lol. If these people feel their guilt so profoundly it will be no problem for them to donate all their assets to this worthy cause! I’m not sending anything. We have never owned any slaves!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/24/descendants-of-uk-slave-owners-call-on-government-to-apologise

    1. They’ve reached their virtue-signal apogee. Perhaps they’ll whizz off into space. That would be nice.

    2. Get over it peeps. It was a long time ago and I’ll bet my house none have gone back to their ‘precious roots’. Because of how bad it is and looks.
      Oh and FFS, STOP ‘KING MOANING !

  21. Good morning all.
    A bright, dry start after last night’s rain with a broken overcast and a chilly 2°C.

  22. No letters about the latest cock-up by the Abbopotamus (‘I sent the wrong draft’ – yeah, right) but that hasn’t stopped these BTL posts being the most liked so far:

    Steve Jones
    5 HRS AGO
    The political world is full to overflowing with crushingly stupid and ignorant people – few though are as stupid or ignorant as Diane Abbott – well of course those who are stupid and ignorant enough to vote for her are on the same level.

    Peter Macdonald
    2 HRS AGO
    Did I read somewhere that Abbott was in line to receive a Nobel Prize for Creative Mathematics where accuracy is shunned in favour of creativity? The Nobel Prize has become yet another woke institution so nothing would surprise me.

    Steve Jones
    2 HRS AGO
    Good point Peter – they gave Obama one before he was even president and had done nothing at all to meet the criteria – they in fact altered the voting requirements and timing of the presentation of nominations so he could get the stupid thing.
    So giving one to this Abbott female simply confirms and continues their meaninglessness.

    1. That nobel was the work of the committee leader, Thorbjørn Jagland, failed Labour PM of Norway. He worships everything American so much, he likely greased his hole for Obama, too.

  24. Morning all – fairly sunny with thin cloud and mist rising from the valley. Rain coming later.

  25. G’day all,

    Sunny start at Casa McPhee this morning, wind still in the North, 5℃ with a forecast ‘high of 8℃. Rain from midday, heavy rain from 3pm so cold and wet.

    I was off bothering the trout on the river Avon yesterday. It was a reasonably good early season day despite the weather. The data from the nearest Met Office weather station to our abode shows the average daytime maximum in April to be 13.75℃ in the 30 years to 2020. It’s cold. Why are the BBC/ITN/Sky and DT/Times/Grauniad silent on this?

    From the letters:

    SIR – The root of the problem of small boat crossings is French failure to deal with organised crime. It beggars belief that, despite massive funding from Britain, the traffic of illegal migrants remains undiminished. At best, the departure of unseaworthy craft is put on hold for a day or so whenever a new tranche is announced. In contrast, the French authorities will delay a truckload of perishable goods if a document has a minor clerical error.

    The prevention of illegal migration is no less in France’s interest than ours. Worldwide, there are at least 100 million valid asylum claimants and Britain has not been slow to accept our share. Yet since such numbers would threaten the social fabric of the whole of Europe, a policy of establishing safe havens elsewhere is a worthy alternative. A European policy is urgently required, but on past form the EU offers scant hope of finding one.

    Chris Jones
    Croydon, Surrey

    Anybody else think El Salvador has shown us the way?

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8a7a82a0477ebb9ac88f7ebae08fb36f664272822d02713b52629b005ab2bd7f.jpg

    https://cf.eip.telegraph.co.uk/daily_production_videos/Es1comptrim.mp4

    2. I beg to differ that “the prevention of illegal migration is no less in France’s interest than ours”. France gets rid of undesirables, punishes the uppity Rosbifs and gets paid for it to boot!

  26. Ref Nigel Edwards letter about nhs funding.
    I can’t speak for Denmark, Sweden or Finland, but in Norway health care IS NOT free at the point of use. You have to pay, cash or card, based on the treatment. A visit to my GP costs £65 plus consumables. I’m in horsepickle just now for a EEG, that’ll cost me about £200.
    After one has spent £250 in a year, most services become “free”.
    Inpatient care is free at point of use.

  28. Nick Denton is an idiot (letters). The West has run out of ammunition already! Back to football rattles and shouts of “Bang!”

      1. As #1 in a bren gun group, I was a whizz with the pre-war football rattle! We never ran short of ammunition, either.

    4. My BTL comment:

      Nick Denton, that is one of the most crass letters about support for Ukraine.
      The US and the EU are trying to fight a proxy war with Russia when they and Zelensky have brought it all about.
      Check out 2014 and Zelensky’s Azov Brigade slaughtering 14,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas region.
      And check out the US backed overthrow of the democratically elected government in Ukraine and installing their puppet in its place.
      Now they want to put NATO on Russia’s doorstep.
      Think Cuban missiles in October 1962.

  30. 373832+ up ticks,

    Monday 24 April: MPs should back the Home Secretary’s plan to stop Channel migrants

    Has it been noticed that these “plans” never go beyond the rhetorical stage, there is NO genuine opposition to the orchestrated invasion campaign.

    Via the lab/lib/con mass controlled / uncontrolled immigration
    coalition and the peoples continuing input side effects will soon be witnessed, as in football fixtures will be cancelled to be replaced with islamic rallies, these will be more in evidence and boosted on a daily basis via Dover.

    Nuremberg rallies will be a very weak comparison to what the future holds for the United Kingdom.

    1. My thoughts exactly on the “plans” – just talking points to maintain the illusion of opposition and political tensions.
      They will stop when SERCO stop getting paid for housing them.
      That will stop when … what?

      When some other scam rears its head to fleece the taxpayer.

      1. 373832 + up ticks,

        Lim,
        “when … what?”
        I have the nasty feeling the mullahs will let us know in very short order.
        Can be no complaints from the herd much of our problems are self inflicted.

        1. I am less wary of them than you are.
          Yes, there are useless, dangerous people among them but we have many conservative allies among them and even the worst of them did not steal our sovereignty.
          They just picked up what our “elites” invited them to pick up.

    2. I get the impression that the plan to stop the rubber boats is to put in place an alternative means for them to cross the channel in safety.

      2. 373832+ up ticks,

        Morning Bob,
        We are witnessing currently the duly elected, via the peoples, (dangerous fools) government, successfully running their version of operation Sea lion in daily serial form.

        Hobsons choice is a NO NO.

    1. Sounds a bit like the MSM wanting to discredit the non-woke and more truthful media outlets.

  35. Good morning all

    Sunny morning but clouding over .

    The DT letters are rather flat and fatuous today, I must be on their no publish list , because I could have done better than the current crop .

          2. I’ve had to relight the Rayburn. A couple of nice, mild days and suddenly it’s back to shivering.

  37. Morning all 🙂😉
    A bright start no sun, rain later 0 degs could mean the white stuff.
    I will be informing my MP that I will only be able to support a member, or potential member of Parliament, who all live off the British taxpayers, that supports the banning of illegal immigrants and sends them all back to where ever they came from.
    It’s a shame we can’t control the amount of money they draw down, as it seems to be the main form of motivation for membership. It could of course make an enormous difference to the amount of attention to their public they seem to purvey during Parliamentary attendace debate and speeches.
    In short, fingers out or else.

      1. I’ll give her credit for being the ONLY politician who has had the guts to refer to the INVASION of the unwanted illegals.

        1. Seems like an act, to appear tough, talk tough, and appease the voters. I’ll change my mind once I see some actual action.

          1. True – but she did say “invasion” – which is what it is – and got a lot of flak from the woke folk.

        2. Words are easy. I know that one is supposed to differentiate between local and national politics where elections are involved, but I shall NOT be voting for my local councillors. this time. A line has to be demonstrably drawn…

          1. Well, as NO OTHER politician has ever mentioned “invasion” – that is clearly NOT an “easy word”.

      2. I wrote to my MP two years ago.
        He told me the UK has a proud record of protecting and welcoming people from around the world, who have basically suffered wrong doings.
        As far as I can see all they are suffering is entirerly self inflicted.

  38. Am I right or am I wrong , isn’t the purpose of a British Embassy overseas there to protect the rights of of the British citizens working in a foreign country , isn’t that the first place one would turn to if there was a problem?

    1. No. The Embassy is there to create and maintain diplomatic (=political) and inter-country business relations. That they might care about their citizens is well down the list. Just look at your passport, its full of text about what they won’t do.
      British embassy doesn’t have a list of Brits resident in-country, either.

      1. Morning OB

        Seems to me that the British Embassy in Khartoum haven’t been on the ball then , too much tennis , swimming pool time and cocktail parties …. as usual .

        1. The Army will extract Embassy personnel, and any ordinary Brits who hear what’s going on. The rest, well…

    2. No. The Embassy is there to create and maintain diplomatic (=political) and inter-country business relations. That they might care about their citizens is well down the list. Just look at your passport, its full of text about what they won’t do.
      British embassy doesn’t have a list of Brits resident in-country, either.

  39. Good morning, I’m just passing through on my way to the gym! It may be a short session as I’ve wrenched my left calf last Monday playing walking football and my lower limb looks like a red boot, though thankfully it’s much less painful and merely feels like I’m wearing an imaginary support sock.

    I ducked out of football/gym on Thursday and will swerve the football this morning. I’ll seek advice from the PTI before commencing my programme, as I’d rather miss a week than aggravate the problem.

    All this off the back of virtually hibernating over the winter and trying to do better since late Feb/early March.

  40. What a ridiculous leading letter.

    The socialist government has NO plan to stop immigrants.
    For example, more financial treats for the lawyers:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005219/Migrants-right-claim-legal-aid-fund-battle-against-deportation.html
    ”
    Migrants will get the right to claim legal aid to fund their battle
    against being deported under new measures from Suella Braverman to
    pacify rebel Tories – as 497 reach Dover on a single day in a new high
    for the year
    “

  41. What a ridiculous leading letter.

    The socialist government has NO plan to stop immigrants.
    For example, more financial treats for the lawyers:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12005219/Migrants-right-claim-legal-aid-fund-battle-against-deportation.html
    ”
    Migrants will get the right to claim legal aid to fund their battle
    against being deported under new measures from Suella Braverman to
    pacify rebel Tories – as 497 reach Dover on a single day in a new high
    for the year
    “

  42. Russia attacking us

    If the Russians do invade UK, will the French let Brits cross the Channel to France, in reverse play of Dunkirk, or will their Navy stop us re-using the myriad of small boats, that have unhideredly carried ‘refugees’ to UK for years

    1. Russia is struggling with Ukraine, that should have been a pushover. The only attack on UK will be nuclear.

      3. In terms of population per km² Rwanda is more densely populated than England and far more than the UK.
        523, 434 and 281 respectively.

  43. IIRR, there’s a chapel in St Paul’s Cathedral dedicated to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Civil Service, 1896-1956.

  44. British citizens accuse Foreign Office of ‘abandoning’ them in Sudan
    UK nationals in Khartoum said they were told by the Government to shelter as a defence source warned lessons had not been learned from Kabul
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/23/french-diplomat-shot-during-sudan-evacuation-britain/

    I am on a black list at the DT so this BTL comment will probably have been taken down.

    My father was the governor of Northern Sudan and I was born there in 1946 and at that time the Sudan had been exceptionally well governed even during the extremely difficult world war years.

    At a time when it is obligatory to criticise British colonial rule it is worth remembering that under it the Sudan was rather happier than it has been ever since the British left in the 1950s because the Sudan has suffered from endless civil war, genocide, plague, famine, religious persecution, the collapse of its infrastructure and finally partition.

    Perhaps we should be more prepared to consider the undeniable fact that what replaced British rule was very much worse for the welfare and happiness of the ordinary people in the Sudan.

    2. Morning R

      I have written a Wheni letter to the DT about the Sudan , I doubt it will be printed because it is from me and rather whimsical .

    3. I think if I had been in a foreign country although claiming to be British, at the first sign of trouble I would have packed my bags and left by air, or even crossed the border.
      Did your father know Sir Richard Luyt ? (spl) He was Governor of Guyana. I met his daughter on my way to South Africa. Both sadly passed away now.

      1. During the Nigerian civil war, the students were rioting on campus. The army wanted to come in & shoot them. My Father faced down the General, and it didn’t happen. He then went & told the students to stop rioting, as he wouldn’t be able to stop the army again. Rioting stopped.
        Father ws the Deputy Vice Chancellor. The Nigerian Vice Chancellor and all senior Nigerians had run away.
        Sometimes you have to stay.

        1. The Nigerian Vice Chancellor and all senior Nigerians had run away.

          Sounds about Par for the course.

      2. During the Nigerian civil war, the students were rioting on campus. The army wanted to come in & shoot them. My Father faced down the General, and it didn’t happen. He then went & told the students to stop rioting, as he wouldn’t be able to stop the army again. Rioting stopped.
        Father ws the Deputy Vice Chancellor. The Nigerian Vice Chancellor and all senior Nigerians had run away.
        Sometimes you have to stay.

    1. Nicky Campbell has been discussing it this morning.
      I’m not a fan of any form of extreme religion. But I’ve known a few decent Jewish people. Especially Moshe Frie and his wife. Some of the nicest people I have ever met.

        1. Jealousy. They work hard. Have higher IQ’s. Unlike Muslims and blacks who are thick and bone idle.

          1. Oi, you! I have some extremely intelligent black friends, well integrated and pissed off with ‘affirmative action’. Not all, etc…

          3. It’s the bell curve. All races produce both intelligent and stupid but the percentages in each category and the average vary. I know some bright and successful black people too. I also know a Jewish woman who while very pleasant and extremely capable, is certainly no great intellect. In fact I’m sure there’ve been some members of my own family who could also be described thus.

          4. In the past the dimmest member of the family went into the church or became a schoolmaster!

        2. As I said, I personally find any extreme religious activity rather unnecessary, even statement hair cuts and facial hair and some of the extreme clothes worn can be annoying, but we all know the people who under the guise of religion deliberately causes problems across the whole of the world. Nodding at a wall with a strange hat on, harms no body.

      2. The normal Muslim people who stay in Muslim countries are very different from the radicalised ones who come to UK and and France.

        We met many Turkish people on our sailing adventures in the Eastern Med and many became good friends of ours.

        I once lived in the same house share as a Jewish friend and he loved both shellfish and bacon! His girlfriend converted to Judaism in order to be able to marry my housemate – not because he wanted her to do so but because his family would be happier if she did.

        1. My wife said why are they so good at running ?
          I replied. It’s because they have no public transport at home.

      1. They are not interested in integrating in any way. After the coronation look at the pictures of the crowds. Very few blacks and not a robe or burqa in sight.

        1. I asked our family and it seems only those with i phones had the signal, my wife and I have androids ( I know we can get ointment for it) and heard nothing.
          I suggested that it was another section of government FOAD as I think the older generations don’t use i phones as much. 😃😄😊

          1. If you really want to experience FOAD try the new “filing tax on line”. Amazing !

            Fortunately the courteous and helpful tax man is sending copies of SA100 to us.

          2. It’s bad enough trying to get medical help for known and long established health problems Janet.
            I did try on line for a disabled blue badge and was cut off almost immediately telling me I didn’t qualify for help.
            No idea what I did wrong.

      2. I’ve got an I-phone and didn’t receive it.

        MOH has got an I-pad and didn’t receive it either.

        1. Something went wrong then …..but it’s the old Tom Jones effect with our government.

        2. I’ve got an i-phone and I didn’t receive it, either. Mind you, I left the phone in airplane mode, which my service provider told me would stop me getting the alert.

  49. Good morning everyone.
    A piece from Julie Dee, taken from Facebook.
    Yesterday at 07:44 ·

    “Emergencies.
    They’re just not what they used to be, are they? You know……..Urgent. Events the ambulances, cops and fire service attend. Matters of life and death. The problem is, when you over use language or use it inappropriately then said word or phrase loses impetus. It no longer wields the shock value it once had. And I feel this way about ‘emergency’ and ‘crisis’. Take for example the ‘climate emergency’. I’m still waking up every morning, y’know? If like me, you grew up with AIDS icebergs, ozone layer nightmares and threats of nuclear war, you’ll have rightly learned to trill “la la la la laaaa” loudly over the top. Because otherwise you’d have gone insane. This brings me to today’s “Emergency text” drill. If I trusted ‘them’ to only tell me of genuine imminent concerns, and not fuck up, I might have it. But it’s like trusting Frank Spencer to change your light bulb, isn’t it? You just know it ain’t gonna end well.

    In 2018, residents of Hawaii were alerted by such a service that there was an incoming ballistic missile and they should seek shelter. People said their final goodbyes to their loved ones. Upon hearing the news, one man had a heart attack.

    Except it wasn’t true. Thirty eight minutes later they were told this was an error. Just some dude pressing the wrong button.

    Shit happens, right? One minute you’re putting an extra sugar in Sharon’s coffee, next you’re telling the population of an entire state they’re probably gonna die…..

    Still, I’m sure ‘lessons have been learned’, hey?

    There’s also the massive potential for them to ‘over tell’ us stuff, because THEY ALREADY DO. We now live in a world where even a hot day has become newsworthy. In a scary way. Sunny weather used to be cause for celebration. These days you can’t turn your telly on without warnings to “Stay indoors”. Like I’m Larry the fucking Labrador.

    Your government wants to screw you. You may have worked this out already. But it’s not your pants it wants to get inside. It’s YOUR THOUGHTS, and your phone is the easiest way of achieving this. And once they’re in your phone, before you know it, you’ve inadvertently taken out a subscription to doom-monger’s daily. We know what it was like during Scamdemic, fending off texts about jabs left, right and centre.

    The good news is that many people have seen through this latest psy op for what it is. There are viral posts telling people to turn off the alert and many have already done so.

    Rishi and co, you’ve done this to yourselves. Perhaps you need reminding of the story of “The Boy who cried Wolf”. You’ve told us too many lies already. Frightened us too many times. You can’t be trusted. And we’ve come to realise that the REAL wolf at the door, the REAL ‘emergency’ on our hands is to get rid of corrupt politicians and antiquated systems.”

    1. More or less sums up how I feel too. And they’re expecting me to obediently have a smartphone on, waiting for their latest BS about some “emergency” fabricated by people I would cross the street to avoid. Forget it!

      1. I often don’t look at my phone for several days at a time. When I do, I frequently find that the battery has run down.

        1. It was recently admitted in the US that people get a higher credit score if they use a capital “I” for the pronoun, and charge their phones each night.
          That’s a measure of the information that people are leaking.
          Charging your phone each night is a recipe for shortening the battery life and a fire risk if you leave it plugged in overnight. Very poor habit.

  50. ‘Morning All

    Medley destroyed by computer FUBAR but here’s a few bits…….

    Love the spirit level

    https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1649904257724809233?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d2b932eb57b596ebab0119e1a19cdf4577d5f56e7a8b4690dbc62d422f03a725.jpg

    http://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b33d6ca6c06c05a8ebe856fac666b539808294e9bcb45214b15b9c56aa1657dd.jpg

    Epic rant

    https://twitter.com/ImMeme0/status/1649434753500688384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1649434753500688384%7Ctwgr%5E9a4d60cfe8f696bcbb762023357ba2788b9a7898%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefaultf%3Dgoingpostalcomt_i%3D8915620https3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F3Fp3D89156t_u%3Dhttps3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F20232F042Fclassic-album-review-alanis-morissette-jagged-little-pill2Ft_e%3DClassic20Album20Review3A20Alanis20Morissette20E2809320Jagged20Little20Pillt_d%3DClassic20Album20Review3A20Alanis20Morissette20E2809320Jagged20Little20Pillt_t%3DClassic20Album20Review3A20Alanis20Morissette20E2809320Jagged20Little20Pills_o%3Ddescversion%3D93621f724643ecd0f307feb8123718cb

  51. To get a state that works, we must overhaul our creaking civil service
    Halve the size, double the pay, and let officials move in and out of the private sector to get the very best
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/23/we-must-overhaul-our-creaking-civil-service/

    A couple of BTLs

    Percival Wrattstrangler

    You more you pay them more the more the grubby money grabbing sort of people will want to join the cs!
    That absurd woman, Shirley Williams, said that it was essential that we paid MPs more in order to attract better people. Now MPs are far too well paid, their expense accounts are too lavish and they have the most generous pensions of anyone in the UK.

    And now the quality of our MPs is lower than it has ever been.

    Cyril Knick

    And now that he is no longer the Speaker John Bercow is offering courses in bullying to teach aspiring bullies to be really mean and nasty!

    1. Our civil service are on strike at the moment, demanding exorbitant pay increases but we hardly see any difference in our daily lives.
      It is also leading to many calls for the size of the public service to be reduced.

      No they will not invoke the emergencies act, these demonstrators are Liberal voters.

    2. The dopey wokey idiots are trying to get the badges banned because they say there are connections to slavery.
      The only connections that need to be made are the wokey’s to the DC electricity outlets.

    3. A forthcoming FA cup final, played by two teams mainly containing descendants of slaves?

      1. Here’s the Guardian article:
        https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/19/abandon-ship-does-this-symbol-of-slavery-shame-manchester-and-its-football-clubs

        What is in the minds of people who spend their time obsessing about this? Are the ancestral white British, even the poorest of them whom the Guardianistas purportedly care for, supposed to give up all their possessions to people of African blood and then throw themselves into the surrounding seas in order to purge the land of its sin?

        1. If the truth be known, the great majority of all those blacks descended from slaves probably wouldn’t be alive today had their ancestors not been sold into slavery by their countrymen. They would either have been killed or died of starvation or disease in Africa.

          If anything they are the ones who should be paying white people for having their very existence.

      1. The once funny but now discredited Stuart Hall had his own names for the four great football grounds of NW England:
        Anfield – The Colosseum
        Goodison Park – The School of Science
        Old Trafford – The Theatre of Dreams
        Maine Road – The Theatre of Base Comedy

        I always had a soft spot for City…

          2. Well I loved Rodney Marsh, and Malcolm Allison! Did you happen to see the score at St. James’s Park yesterday? What a joy!

          3. I remember Joe Mercer, from 1968, and a team comprising: Ken Mulhearn; Tony Book (c); Glyn Pardoe; Mike Doyle; George Heslop; Alan Oakes; Francis Lee; Colin Bell; Mike Summerbee; Neil Young; Tony Coleman.
            I have a friend who is a dyed-in-the-wool Spurs supporter. She is not best pleased with her team yesterday!😬

          4. Not going to lie, I loved it! Harry Kanes face after he scored, was a picture! Eddie Howe has done wonders and worked magic on the likes of Joelinton, Lascelles and Willock and they’re a joy to watch! The whole city is living the dream and after so many dreadful years under Ashley and his terrible managers, particularly Steve Bruce, it’s a delight. HTL!

      2. Both are/were ports what is the problem. (The port of Manchester closed in 1982)

  53. 373832+ up ticks,

    UK to Introduce Age Checks for ‘Child’ Migrants as Alleged Teenager Revealed to Be a Bearded 42-Year-Old ISIS Fighter

    With some drawing an undeserved pension shortly one could say
    it was a tad late.

  55. Have I got this right? Some people ‘fled’ Sudan, arrived here by dinghy

    and claimed asylum, were granted residency and benefits, returned to

    Sudan on ‘holiday’, and now need to be rescued from the country they

    ‘fled’ at our expense.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/74ba5724698503c50df2374c6d066bfeba540f7d46a4d566d70c4abad5939713.jpg

    Meanwhile a farmer gets 12 months chokey for cutting down trees on his own land while vicious robbers get a suspended sentence……

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12006309/Taser-wielding-Flying-Squad-officers-arrest-watch-robbers.html
    Ain’t just my computer that’s FUBAR!!
    Edit ConWoman on the farmer travesty
    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/madness-of-jailing-a-farmer-for-saving-homes-from-flooding/

    1. What has happened to this country ???
      The way that farmer has been treated for cutting down trees is an absolute disgrace and fined 1.2 million that judge needs ‘sorting out’.

  56. A woman knocked on the door, and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool. So I gave her a glass of water.
    I love supporting the local community!

  58. Did anyone see the Aurora Borealis last night? I missed it. Seeing pictures posted locally on Facebook I got in the car and drove up the hill and walked to the trig point to get a clear view of the northern horizon. The sky was cloudless but no Aurora. After standing there in the pitch black for a few minutes I was startled by what sounded like a rifle crack at very close range. I looked around but there was no sign of anyone else nearby. After a minute there was another crack so I thought it about time I retreated to safety. I had a small torch with me and was wondering should I stumble on trying to follow the path back to the car or switch it on to give my location away. Rather than get completely lost in the darkness I chose the latter, got back to the car and returned home.

    1. I wonder at what time the Aurora starts being visible and if it can be seen from The Borders in Scotland.

      2. Dunipace. I lived in Polmont when I was young. Not the borstal, you understand.

          2. 1963 -72 when I left home. My mother, who was widowed, moved away to Northumberland to be near her brother in1983. It was Brightons actually, just up from Polmont station. I used to take the train to school in Edinburgh 1963-69.

          3. My parents moved the other way! Newcastle to Brightons/Wallacestone! I worked in Edinburgh and got the train or bus from Polmont, depending on whether I had a car, or not!
            Where were you at school? (Just being nosey?)

          4. George Heriot’s. After school I went to Aberdeen University then joined the RAF. That took me away but I didn’t mean to stay away. Life happened!

  59. RSPB – Hypocrisy central

    RSPB employing people to kill foxes and crows ‘away from public view’

    Telegraph reveals the charity wants contractors to ‘appropriately dispose’ of predators and dogs may be used ‘in exceptional circumstances’

    By Hayley Dixon, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
    23 April 2023 • 6:06pm

    The RSPB is employing people to kill birds and foxes and hide it from the public, The Telegraph can reveal.

    The charity has been seeking contractors to shoot foxes and catch crows using controversial traps which use live birds as bait and instructing that it must be done “away from public view”.

    The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has even said that in “exceptional circumstances” it will allow wounded foxes to be hunted using dogs.

    Lord Botham has said that methods used by the “eco-left charity, which constantly chastises countryside folk for what they do” shows the need to “move away from the Disney view of the countryside in which we pretend that tough choices on controlling predators can be avoided”.

    The RSPB has regularly clashed with shooting and countryside organisations over the management of predators and has been accused of unfairly accusing gamekeepers of wrongdoing.

    The instructions have emerged as part of a tender for “an appropriately qualified and experienced contractor to undertake the lethal control of foxes and crows” in order to protect curlews, which are ground-nesting birds.

    The documents, seen by The Telegraph, say that the contractor is expected to “provide and to run Larsen traps, away from public view, to remove territorial crows that have learned behaviours to target curlew eggs and chicks”.

    Documents seen by The Telegraph, say contractors are expected to ‘remove territorial crows that have learned behaviours to target curlew eggs and chicks’

    It says that the traps should be “baited with a territorial call bird” and emphasises that they should “be positioned in an area which is hidden from public view”.

    Potential employees are told that they should shoot foxes and then “move out of view from the public and to appropriately dispose” of the dead animals.

    The tender adds: “In exceptional circumstances, dogs may be used to track a wounded fox, only with prior agreement from the RSPB.”

    The charity includes strict monitoring and reporting rules for the contractor.

    The tender is for a contract worth up to £92,320 which runs for four years from March 2021 to July next year at Upper Lough Erne near Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.

    Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where hunting with dogs is still allowed. There are various exceptions to the ban in Scotland, England and Wales, where professionals are allowed to use two dogs to stalk or flush foxes.

    The contract is part of an EU-funded project across the UK to protect curlews, the population of which the RSPB notes has declined by 48 per cent since the mid-1990s.

    “The UK holds around a quarter of the global breeding population,” the tender states. “Due to their rapid decline, the global importance of the UK breeding population and their globally near threatened status on the IUCN red list, curlew are probably one of the most urgent bird conservation priorities in the UK.”

    ‘Humane, competent and safe’
    Louisa Cheape, a vet who sits on the committee of The Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management, said that whilst shooting foxes was “very effective” there are concerns over it as a conservation practice and about how humane it is.

    The RSPB specification says that all shots “must be carried out in a humane, competent and safe manner” and can be taken at less than 200 metres.

    During the badger cull, as a comparison, marksmen were only allowed to take a shot from a maximum of 70m.

    “Two hundred metres is an enormous range for an animal of that size at night,” Mrs Cheape said.

    “It would be very difficult to know whether you had killed or wounded that animal.”

    A study has shown that even for a skilled marksman shooting a fox with a rifle at night the kill rate is below 50 per cent and drops the further away they are from the animal.

    Mrs Cheape said that it would be difficult to find, especially at night, and the “suffering of the animal is directly related to the time that it spends wounded”.

    ‘Difficult and emotive subject’
    Writing in today’s Telegraph, Lord Botham said that it was unclear what the most humane method is of killing a fox as “despite Parliament having spent hundreds of hours debating foxhunting, Tony Blair’s government never commissioned any science”.

    Lord Botham called for “a debate about the acceptable way to kill a fox” and for “proper science” to inform the discussion.

    The RSPB, which says Larsen traps are the most effective way of controlling crowns, sets out rules for their use including that they are checked twice a day and live bait birds are provided with food and shelter.

    While these will mitigate any suffering “it is absolutely not without its welfare implications” because of the size of the cage the birds are kept in and the distress at being trapped, Mrs Cheape said.

    An RSPB spokesman said “The decision to introduce any form of animal control is something we never take lightly and is always a last resort.

    “The RSPB is open and transparent about why it is sometimes necessary as we try and protect and restore some of the UK’s most threatened wildlife and habitats, but we appreciate that this is a really difficult and emotive subject for many people.”

    We need to debate acceptable ways to kill a fox
    By Ian Botham

    Today The Telegraph reports an astonishing document revealing practices that the RSPB desperately wanted to keep private. It shows this eco-Left charity, which constantly chastises countryside folk for what they do, approving the use of dogs to track down foxes which its marksmen have wounded.

    Now many will think we no longer allow dogs to pursue foxes. After all, foxhunting with dogs was banned in 2004. But the law still allows two dogs to be used. For the RSPB that is vital when it shoots foxes because the wounding rates are catastrophically high.

    The charity allows its contractors to shoot foxes at up to 200 metres. Data shows that, at this range, around half of the foxes will be wounded. As the shooting takes place at night, it is very difficult for a marksman to be sure if a fox is wounded – or to pursue it through miles of thick undergrowth. So the RSPB has a choice. Allow the traumatised fox to bleed out. Or pursue it with dogs.

    Now what do you think happens when two dogs find that fox? A bloody battle. The need for a quick kill was why foxhunts used packs of dogs. The official Burns Report said that with packs “in the vast majority of cases the time to insensibility and death is no more than a few seconds”.

    Given that packs are illegal, what should the RSPB do? It could use snares. They are allowed. But trapping a wild animal in a snare for days is not something which the charity would want to be seen to do.

    Another alternative would be to ignore foxes. But then the RSPB would have even fewer ground-nesting birds on its reserves. Farmers and gamekeepers have a constant battle against foxes because they are such brutal predators.

    Fox control is a genuine dilemma. And I cannot tell you whether shooting, snaring or using packs of dogs is the most humane way to kill a fox. That is because Tony Blair’s government never commissioned scientific research on this before it banned foxhunting. That proves that Labour was never interested in fox welfare. Just the politics of class hatred.

    So the first thing needed is science. And Defra boss Therese Coffey should get some published before the next election.

    The second thing is for the RSPB to be more upfront about the tough choices of controlling predators. The charity’s marketing presents a Disney version of the countryside – it wants to keep its one million fee-paying members happy. The RSPB knows that many of its members will get the vapours when they learn that £92,000 of their donations is being spent on contractors for killing foxes in Northern Ireland.

    This explains why secrecy seems to be a top priority at RSPB headquarters. The document insists that its contractors use noise suppression when shooting foxes and dispose of the carcasses away “out of view from the public”. It urges that its Larsen Traps – in which a trapped crow is used to lure other crows – are also hidden.

    Now the truth is out. And the RSPB will attempt damage limitation. No doubt it will claim that it does not actually use dogs. Yet the evidence in the tender document is in black and white. Just like the evidence of the RSPB manual on electric fences which I wrote about two years ago in this paper.

    In that, the RSPB told its staff to soak cotton wool in honey and place it around the live wire to lure badgers. For foxes, the manual said staff should try using “dripping… from the Sunday roast or wrapping strips of bacon around the wires… at the height of a fox’s nose”.

    That was merely delivering an unpleasant shock. Today is much more serious. We need to debate acceptable ways to kill a fox.

    ********************************************************

    Hugo McEwen
    54 MIN AGO
    Ground-nesting birds include pipits, larks, partridge, greenshank, redshank, snipe, woodcock, curlew, golden plover, lapwing, short eared owl, marsh harrier, her harrier, ptarmigan, red grouse, peregrine, pheasant.

    Most predators take live, adult prey. Crows and foxes take nests, either with eggs, or hatchlings. Therefore, let the foxes and crows live and you have no ground-nesting birds.

    Many years ago, the Buccleuch estate at Langholm in Dumfriesshire took all the gamekeepers and sheep off the moor for a decade, to see what would happen. What happened was that after ten years, there was nothing left on the moor but foxes and crows. The RSPB, who were partners in the experiment, rubbished it when they realised that the result of ‘letting it be’ was devastation of the bird population.

    The RSPB are very aware of the realities of managing predators, but they dare not admit it because the BBC, the Guardian and other urban activists will make such a fuss that RSPB donations will drop.

    So they lie.

    AS Lilley
    18 HRS AGO
    I am glad that they now recognise the impact of foxes and corvids have on birds. When we moved to our house the field behind us had dozens of lapwings nesting every year now there aren’t any. The farmer has not changed the way he manages the land , the only difference we see is more foxes and magpies. I am fed up with farmers getting blamed for the drop in bird numbers.

    DAVID DAVIES
    19 HRS AGO
    Like anything, it’s OK when a left wing charity does it. apparently.

    Seed House
    17 HRS AGO
    Shame the class war was ever allowed to disturb the management of the countryside by those who understand the dynamics. Here in Hampshire we are seriously overrun with deer and yet I rarely see venison on the menu despite it being abundant, cheap, tasty and healthy.

    1. Want to help the avian population? Abandon windmills. Just get rid of them completely.

    2. Obviously time to repeal the fox-hunting ban.

      It has shewn up how ignorant the townies and organisations like RSPB an RSPCA are of country ways.

    4. People are incredibly naive if they think “science” will settle this question. Have they learned nothing?
      Just shoot the foxes! Surely hunters with modern technology are smart enough to figure out a way to do that and maximise the kill rate. It’s not true that foxes only come out at night, they are always out during the day.

      1. Still not easy to shoot, especially if you are taking care that the shot/bullet goes in a safe direction.

    5. Hunting wounded animals with dogs is an efficient way of finding them. Pity the class warriors meddled in the age-old fox control methods.

  60. The end of days for Russia’s church in Ukraine. 24 April 2023.

    The Ukrainian authorities are considering banning the church — and draft legislation has already been prepared by opposition parties to do just that. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to make an announcement soon about the future of the church, whether there will be an outright ban or an option for the church to form a new one shorn of any ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, a vociferous supporter of the invasion.

    But even without the ban the UOC is in rapid decline, with more priests and worshippers poised to defect to the rival, independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Since the invasion more than 200 parishes have switched allegiance; many others are planning to defect but are facing obstacles from UOC authorities, which are trying to block them, including at the Church of Archangel Michael in the village of Zadubrivka in southwest Ukraine.

    This is an outright cover story of the suppression of the Russian Orthodox Church and the forced conversion of its members by the Ukraine Government. If Vlad tried this they would be screaming blue bloody murder on the BBC!

    https://www.politico.eu/article/end-days-russia-orthodox-church-ukraine/

  62. Anybody else getting fed up with the number of times they have to log out and then log back in in order to make a comment?

      1. It happens from time to time when I press ‘comment’ – red bar and “you need to confirm identity” which can only be done by logging out the logging back in

        2. I don’t think I’ve ever had that message. Sometimes get the red bar, but usually when the internet drops out.

        3. Just guessing, but rather than being logged out the cookie might have expired and thus caused a blip.

    3. It happens to me but not frequently. Darned annoying though when I never actually log out!

    8. My biggest worry is the Canadian internet. c3nsorship sorry, trusted information law that is pending approval.

      I don’t see the emporer approving of many comments on here.

        1. I agree, Lim, as I suspect the MSM are trying to blacken any news outlet that isn’t part of the gagged MSM.

    1. They don’t need places like that. They need zoos with cages. So we can all go and laugh and throw shit at them Animals belong in cages..

        1. They need to be marched at gun point on to ferries and deposited back in France. If the frogs don’t like it. Bof !

          1. Not even allowed to set foot in the UK. Towed back to France, and the boat sunk. Let the French tidy up the mess.

          2. Given how many boats have been used over the years i expect a British Company is supplying them.

    2. How can Kent Barracks be deemed suitable for our soldiers but not for enenmy ones?

  65. Modern life is so complicated…
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b67b7997b0b216f17166d506d5a860db74bc997376c87232822dfcd2258b2c8c.jpg

    Serious stuff #1: Sudan
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4ceb51dd4fea66bc18b2bf0eed0ccb0f0f35410fee782401fc6362ac6572b9fd.jpg

    Serious stuff #2: Zimbabwe is planning a gold-backed CBDC. I did wonder if they would foist this on us, to make us accept the CBDC. Looks like Zim gets to try it out – lucky them!
    https://twitter.com/silverguru22/status/1650494229897170945

      1. Didn’t go down too well in Nigeria, I’m told – they currently have a fiat CBDC and apparently everyone is avoiding it as much as possible. Smells like a government scam in any language!

        1. Thank you, BB2, that reminds me to go and draw another £300 in cash from the Bank of Scotland’s ATM – the only ATM in Moffat.

          1. Ha, after 240 paces each way, the damned ATM wouldn’t take the card. For this poor old cripple that’s a marathon I could have done without.

      1. Good evening Tom

        The number of times I am about to post something and then notice you have beaten me to it and already posted it.

        By the way I posted another Tom Lehrer song earlier today with reference to the Abbopotamus race or species story.

          2. Bugger that, Paul, it’s my memories that keep me going, as you’ll know from my books.

          4. I’m not sure. Wait a mo whilst I look at the label in the back of my underpants…
            Ah, yes. Apparently, I’m called “Ladybird” – nice name, doncha think?

  68. Todays perpetually offended saga:

    In a recent press release, the provincial NDP government made reference to B.C. United, the party formerly known as the B.C. Liberals. The statement referred to the party by the abbreviation “BCUP,” for “B.C. United Party.”
    But according to at least one BC United MLA, the statement was a “gendered” attack on “women’s bodies.” Why? The allegation by Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield is that the NDP intentionally chose the acronym as a reference to “b-cups,” as in the bra size.

    Yes seriously!

    1. How about coming round to my place this evening for a threesome with Jeremy Corbyn?

    1. Reminds me of the joke about the Pole who went to the opticians. When asked if he could read the bottom line, he said, “read it? I know him!”

  71. Do you all agree with me that Britain is a failing country, we must be the laughing stock of the world .

    We were successful and strong once , and admired , I feel ashamed that our Britain has sunk so low .

    We were respected weren’t we . Not any more .. What a shambolic state of affairs .

    The Sudan fiasco is an appalling story , the embassador and his deputy were on holiday, no one was minding the ship , but the Captain and his staff abandoned ship first …

    We have no get up and do amongst diplomats and politicians .

    The list is endless.

    Some one has shoved some asphalt into a huge hole in the road , they bought it from B+Q, not us , but there has been a run on road repair stuff .

    A friend and I chewed the cud this morning , we were both feeling very negative , it was a fine sunny morning . Moh was on the driving range , then practising his putting .

    I rang him up and he said that there had been cloud burst , hail storm , very heavy just 3 miles from here .. We were due to have a down pour here , huge clouds , no rain though.

    The countryside is looking glorious , blossoms in the hedgerows and masses of buttercups , dandelions and bluebells .

    1. Not fair, Belle. Captain Smith of the Titanic went down with the ship. The crew didn’t run away, either.

      1. My apologies I will retract that statement .

        Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood’s Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event in the story is the abandonment of a passenger ship in distress by its crew, including a young British seaman named Jim.

        I read that book and it was a difficult read , but excellent .

      2. 15 July 2022

        A decommissioning ceremony has been held for a Plymouth-based submarine.

        The service marked the end of the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar Class submarine HMS Turbulent’s service after nearly 30 years.

        The Tomahawk-equipped submarine returned to its Devonport base in December after a 284-day deployment – 190 of which were spent submerged.

        During the deployment HMS Turbulent fired its missiles to provide cover during Nato operations in Libya.

        The Royal Navy said the submarine – the second oldest of its class – had had a distinguished service, but had come to the end of its natural operational life.

        Titanic connection
        Since being commissioned in 1984, HMS Turbulent has been deployed on patrols in the North Atlantic, the Far East and the Adriatic, where she saw service during the Balkans conflict.

        Guest of honour at the decommissioning ceremony on Saturday was HMS Turbulent’s first commanding officer, Capt Tim Lightoller (retired) – whose grandfather Charles Lightoller was the most senior officer to survive the sinking of the Titanic after it hit an iceberg 100 years ago on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

        Capt Tim Lightoller RN (retired) is a friend who lives nearby, Maggie.

    2. Do you all agree with me that Britain is a failing country, we must be the laughing stock of the world .

      Afternoon Belle. It’s over. We on this blog are among the last of our kind. If it’s any consolation we have lived through the best of times and now it’s ending. It’s not our fault. You must look to Westminster for that! Best to relax and enjoy what’s left!

      2. If the Donald and Tucker Carlson can not win, we are indeed doomed to exist in a socialist swamp.

  72. I can remember when I took the train to London , got out at Waterloo , then caught the tube , and Oh my, it smelt like and African market , I had quite forgotten that sweaty dark smell .

    Similar to day, farmers are dressing their ploughed fields , the acrid pong of pee stuff on the fields is eye waterering , yet drive on a mile or so , and the sweet smell of the golden oil seed rape is like another world .

    Discussion , what smells apart from the usual are pleasant or unwelcome ?

    1. Went back to Africa (Tunisia) in about 1993, having been away since 1976. The heat, humidity and smell on disembarking the aircraft was the same, and the smell of my childhood in Nigeria. Utterly wonderful!

          1. Tribal differences and interference from Russia because they want a Red sea port and a gateway to the Suez Canal where they will punish the world by strangling our trade routes .

            I hate the heat .. always have .

            I am too fair skinned to enjoy it .

          2. Firstborn & SWMBO are the same, Belle.
            Me, I can take properly hot with little effect, as can Second Son. Hottest so far was working in Kuwait, up by the Iraq border, doing oilfield equipment condition assessment – at 55C. That was fine for me, colleagues weren’t so keen.

          3. Moh can take properly hot OB.

            He becomes so brown in the summer , I am snobby enough to worry that people might think I married a darkie .

          4. I go a muck yellow in the sun. Not attractive.
            Think 1980s tube train ceiling…

          6. I go a muck yellow in the sun. Not attractive.
            Think 1980s tube train ceiling…

          7. Also fair-skinned, Maggie, but i love the warmth. Many times in Singapore and I lived for 5 years in Southern Spain.

            You just keep out of the sun and move in the shade.

    2. My great uncle had a large hardware shop in Gateshead, and the smell of paraffin, nails and screws, timber and everything else under the sun, reminds me of my childhood! He also sold Silver Cross prams, and cots etc!

      1. Hard ware shops smell lovely , there is a real old fashioned one in Wareham called Ponds , it is an amazing dark chamber of man things .. proper rope , twine , wood and ironmongery, old stuff .

    3. The smell of the OLD Woolworths – the oiled floor – which made a funny noise as you walked on it.

      My kitchen when I take a newly baked loaf from the AGA.

      Being on a beach with a gentle onshore breeze bringing the smell of warm salty sea…..

    4. The scent of bog myrtle drifting on an offshore breeze when sailing around the Ardnamurchan peninsula.

  74. A welcome wee Birdie Three today.

    Wordle 674 3/6
    ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟩
    🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. I thought the aim was to fill every square today.

      Wordle 674 6/6

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

    2. Par here.
      Wordle 674 4/6

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

    3. A little par 4 here

      Wordle 674 4/6

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

  75. Dazed kangaroos turn up at schools and hardware shops
    Scientists stumped as to what is causing animals’ unusual behaviour in Australia with suspicion climate change may be causing sight problems
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/24/dazed-kangaroos-schools-hardware-shop-australia-queensland/

    BTL

    Roger Smith

    At least they are blaming Climate change – I’m expecting some “expert” to blame Brexit !

    Percival Wrattstrangler (Reply to Roger Smith) :

    Carbon Dioxide may well be a contributing factor but it is still far too early to rule out Brexit at this stage.

  76. I see the BBC has managed to find a British Sudanese doctor who needs evacuation along with her children.

          3. Queen Anne had 17 pregnancies and the only one who survived until he was 9 was William. All the rest came to naught- poor lady.

    2. There are 71 NHS Drs over there according to the … society of Sudanese doctors (NHS branch)

        1. Ramadama dingdong. Nice of us to poach their medical staff, spose we will have to send aid to provide the locals with, er, medical staff.

  77. Lockdown’s cancer bomb may soon be worse than Covid itself. 24 April 2023.

    In my 40 years working in the NHS I have never before seen it in nearly as bad a state.

    The hands of NHS cancer staff – who are among the best in the world – are being tied behind their backs and criticism is not encouraged. NHS management should be hauled in front of Parliament tomorrow to explain these figures. For when I read statements from various politicians and NHS England sources, I’m appalled by the spin and sheer refusal to accept how dire the situation is. Meaningless word salad, created by highly paid PR managers, is spouted out at the taxpayer’s expense simply to protect reputations rather than benefit patients.

    Yes we know Mr Sikora. The PTB cannot admit to these things because they are responsible and denial is the only thing they have left!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/24/lockdowns-cancer-bomb-may-soon-be-worse-than-covid-itself/

    1. “The idea of a pandemic treaty is to share information…”

      Why is a treaty necessary? Who would police/enforce it? Would all the signatories be honest? Why are you such an ar$e?

    2. Hopefully Midazolam Matt coming out in support of the WHO pandemic treaty might wake a few people up!

    1. In fact Tucker’s final words are, “we’ll be back on Monday.”

      It’s not uncommon to be escorted off the premises immediately you are made redundant. It’s happened to me twice. It’s to make sure you don’t leave any unpleasant surprises behind!

        1. I feel sure the world has not heard the last of Tucker. He has a profile and a following. He’ll have his own studio and podcast up and running toute-de-suite.

        1. Are Dominion the same people with the voting poll machines ability to deliver the required Demonrat outcome?

    1. Why are you stunned? That’s management for you. After 17 years, it can’t have been a surprise that they treat you like shyte.

  81. Well, I am impressed. The chaps arrived a 9 am. Left at 4 pm. In between, they dug a hole 10 ft by 7 ft. Laid a four inch concrete slab. Dug at 30 yard trench. Inserted two plastic (hush my mouth) tubes. Inserted copper tubing into the larger tubes. Filled in the trench. Cleaned up the drive and left the garden in as fair a state as is reasonable. Took all the rubble away (half a lorry load).

    They’ll be back next Wednesday to install the tank, do the internal pipework. Empty the old oil tank. Refill the new tank. Cut up the old tank and remove.

    Jolly hard-working chaps. I am impressed – and that’s rare!

      2. It was filled the first time, post manupersonfacture to make sure that it did not leak….

    2. Just to amuse you, I’ve arranged for a visit from “Just Stop Oil” they are bringing an “Extinction Rebellion” crew in support. I’ve told them you have an adequate supply of ladder-rage!

    3. O’il be dammed, I expect that they have gone off to get tanked up after such a busy day..

  82. That’s me gone – this very cold (and from time to time, damp) day. More of the same tomorrow plus a very cold night – then a bit of warmth nearer the weekend.

    Have a spiffing evening.

    A demain.

      1. Ditto. We have everything except snow today- some places got thunder though we didn’t.

        1. It is so cold here this evening, it has been raining and the air is damp and cold, the sort of temperatures and conditions that are reminiscent of snow in the offing.

      2. How dull
        🙁
        I’ve never seen it in colour, just green. The BBc site shows some utterly wonderful colours!

  86. Who has this sort of money?

    It will be the first time the has UK hosted the annual competition in 25 years.

    About 6,000 fans will be inside the arena for each of the shows. Prices ranged from £90 to £290 for the live semi-finals and from £160 to £380 for the live grand final.

    Preview shows ranged from £30 to £280.

    A preview show is a full run-through of the TV broadcast that doubles up as a production rehearsal, with all the acts performing live in the arena.

    There are six preview shows and three live shows. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65347373

    2. The same sort of people who are striking for more pay because of the cost of living crisis?

    3. Oh, they simply put it on their credit card, Belle. If they were handing over hard cash from their pockets the reality would probably sink in. Cash makes you think

        1. I really find it hard to believe that people pay that much – or anything at all, really! to attend that!

    5. Forgive my ignorance, Maggie, but what are we talking about, Horse of the Year Show?

          1. Yup. I’d rather push pineapples up my rectum than have anything to do with it.

    6. To me it’s not who has that sort of money Maggie, it’s who is braindead enough to watch the crap.
      No offence intended to any Nottler

      1. For decades now, it hasn’t been a song contest, more like a dance routine contest. And we only get to the final by paying loads of money, which also earns us the right to be downvoted by by other nations in concert because they resent the British, who saved their bacon during WWII.

    7. Those sort of shows used to be free, or nearly free – I remember going on a works outing many years ago to a rehearsal or recording of an episode of Alf Garnett. “Till death us do part”.

      1. Dianne Abbott is no longer up to the job of being an MP, if indeed she was ever up to the job in the first place and she ought to have retired at least 3 or four General Elections ago.
        Unfortunately, such is the kudos Labour hold to her being the first black woman MP in Parliament, she has been kept in place for far too long.

      2. I’ve not forgotten the two left shoes when she went to vote. My first thought then was “dementia.”.

        1. It would certainly seem that the nerves in her feet weren’t conveying the correct message.
          Which does suggest something is interfering with her body’s ‘telegraph’ system.

      3. I’m inclined to agree. I’ve been known to put shoes on the wrong (prosthetic) feet, but I’ve immediately spotted the problem, even if they don’t feel uncomfortable. And DA may well have advanced diabetic neuropathy, But – on the odd occasion I’ve briefly mixed up the shoes – at least they matched.🙄

  88. A tale of two brave soldiers….
    We made a plan for today ; had library books to return after renewing them online a few times because of our mobility issues.
    So the plan was; bus to the stop behind the library, return the books, pick up another bus and head on to our mate Ashish’s shop and then to the pub for a pint.
    All accomplished and mailed two important letters, had said pint although I went and poured the horse piss masquerading as wine into a flower pot outside and poured myself a glass from one of the bottles I had prudently purchased in Ashish’s. Life is too short to drink crap wine.
    Then the bus home and we managed to dodge all the rain too.
    We are tired but feel as though we have really done something and we had nice bus drivers who saw us tottering towards their buses and waited for us- how about that!
    What a pair of crocks we have become. Gotta laugh though or you’d cry.
    If you hear snoring later on it will be us.

      1. It was good. OH is knackered but feels he’s really achieved something. Three buses no less! He’s already zonked out on the sofa after a big dinner.
        Slowly but surely we will get there.

    3. I can’t help but admire your stamina – the both of you – I found it really difficult to walk down to the ATM, only to find it wouldn’t take a card and trundle back again, unrequited.

      I know the exhausted feeling.

      1. If we don’t keep going Tom, what else is there? We have to try even if we don’t feel like it. Supermarket for me tomorrow, husband can have a day of rest as I think he’s earned it.

        1. I too must make the effort to go shopping – involving a 30 minute + of driving to Lockerbie and Tesco s. Not looking forward to it.

          Sadly I have no OH to leave behind or look forward to being re-united with.

          1. Thing is that we are only 69 and hope we have some more years ahead. We are determined to overcome the NHS obstacles and everything else and enjoy what time may be left to us. Whether that happens is anyone’s guess but we will KBO.

    4. I can’t help but admire your stamina – the both of you – I found it really difficult to walk down to the ATM, find it wouldn’t take a card and trundle back again, unrequited.

      I know the exhausted feeling.

    5. Wasn’t going to teh pub just a dream a few weeks ago?

      Lots of progress. but a shame about the wine.

      1. Yes, it was his goal. And yes, the wine was appalling but it’s pub wine. As I said, we went into the corner shop/post office and I bought a couple of bottles of Kanga so was able to have a glass of that.
        He really is doing well but it is very tiring. From walking frames and being housebound to one crutch and a three bus outing- priceless.
        And he really enjoyed his Guinness.

  89. That’s the van loaded with all my scrap metal ready for weighing it in. The scrap metal that is, not the van.
    A crap load of wriggly tin, some more substantial ferrous bits, a tub each of copper, brass & light alloy with a lot of lead piping & sheeting from Dr. Daughter’s place which her & her boyfriend are doing up.

  92. A young girl from Donegal leaves home to find work in the bright lights of London. She comes home 6 months later and steps out of a taxi wearing a full-length mink coat. ‘Begorrah, Colleen,’ says her mother. ‘Tis a lovely soft coat yer wearin’ an’ it looks so expensive. Where did ye get that?’ Colleen replies, ‘Sure now, I won it at the bingo. Don’t they have wonderful prizes in London?’ When the weekend’s over, Colleen returns to the bright lights, but she’s back to visit her mum a few months later. This time, when she steps out of the taxi, she’s wearing a beautiful gold wristwatch and a large diamond ring. Same exchange with Mum…same ‘Won it at bingo!’ Colleen returns to the bright lights again. A few months later, she’s back. This time she’s sporting a beautiful emerald and diamond necklace with matching bracelet and earrings. She hands her mother 1,000 pounds and explains that she won it all in bingo. Then she asks Mum to run her a bath as she needs to freshen up. When Colleen gets to the bathroom, there’s only a quarter inch of hot water in the bath. Colleen, a wee bit peeved at her Mum being so cheap with the hot water after being handed £1,000 pounds, calls downstairs ‘Mum! sure now, didn’t I ask you to run me a bath? There’s only a quarter inch of water in the tub!’ ‘Indeed there is, me darlin,’ replies her Mum. ‘But we don’t want ye gettin’ yer bingo card wet now, do we!!..

  93. I’ve just watched the Delingpod with Neil Oliver, that was recorded live in London. A contender for the best Delingpod ever!
    Neil Oliver’s really interesting and it was a great conversation.

  94. Evening, all. I don’t think any of the inhabitants of the Palace of Westminster have the slightest interest in stopping the invasion of illegals.

  96. Good night, chums. A busy and productive day, rather like Ann’s and her other half’s. Off to bed now.

    1. ‘Night Elsie. I shan’t be too late tonight either. Husband has gone up already and I can hear the snores from down here. Gonna be a noisy night;-))

          1. Morning Anne.
            I’ve had two phone calls. One from my GP practice that at last he has written to the cardiology department telling them that I want to be transferred to a hospital that will probably provide better and more urgent treatment for my condition.
            And yesterday another where I could air my concerns at the lack of urgency displayed by the cardiologists in question. Such as to point out that a phone call next January is not the answer to the treatment I require now.
            Hopefully these messages will be useful and seen by the senior level and something will happen at last. Fingers crossed 🤞

  99. Goodnight and God bless, Gentlefolk, until fleeting time brings the morning’s light.

  100. I’m off, a bit late for me, but I’ve been watching Jaws. It was such a well made and well directed film. And we once went across and back from Falmouth to Martha’s Vineyard on the ferry Island Queen as used in the film.
    I could have moved in to New England. Its certainly a better place to be now than old England. And the sharks would have kept the rubber boats away.

    2. I lived in CT for 22 years and it’s the state I would return to- sensible, good people but harsh winters.

      1. One of my nieces still lives in Somerset West.
        With my two friends we drove from CT to Durban along the coast. And back to JHB. Memorable even today.

  102. Good morrow, Gentlefolk.

    Quite light here in The Borders, a clear sky, hence -4°C. Brrr

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