Friday 14 July: The case of Huw Edwards raises fresh questions over the BBC’s culture

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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610 thoughts on “Friday 14 July: The case of Huw Edwards raises fresh questions over the BBC’s culture”

  2. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    Mispronunciation

    When Charles de Gaulle decided to retire from public life, the British ambassador and his wife threw a gala dinner party in his honour. At the dinner table the Ambassador’s wife was talking with Madame de Gaulle.

    “Your husband has been such a prominent public figure, such a presence on the French and International scene for so many years! How quiet retirement will seem in comparison. What are you most looking forward to in these retirement years?”

    “A penis,” replied Madame de Gaulle.

    A huge hush fell over the table. Everyone heard her answer… and no one knew what to say next.

    Le Grand Charles leaned over to his wife and said, “Ma Cherie, I believe ze English pronounce zat word, ‘appiness!'”

  3. Good morning Geoff and everyone.
    I have been been here so early!
    Won’t be able to ‘persuade’ MH to cut the grass after all. Very wet forecast, drizzle for now.

    1. Good morrow, Mum2, A good effort to get here so early. Just enjoy the story and pass it on to your grass-cutter OH.

      Have a laugh, even if in the early morn!

      1. If I wasn’t still under orders to not bend or lift, I would have been mowing yesterday. Not much to cut, just tufts and seed heads from the coarse grasses that will, if left to run free, swamp the decent grasses.
        Ah well, nothing I can do about it.

          1. Thank you. It certainly feels somewhat less bruised today and I think it even looks a bit less like I’ve done 10 rounds in the ring.

    1. I think I should change the wording to ‘refuses to distinguish between ….’

          1. Given the headline, Bob, it might be an idea if you did:-

            It’s because I was a 9-year-old refugee that I have such contempt for those unelected buffoons in the Lords trying to sabotage the Bill to stop small boats, writes PROFESSOR FRANK FUREDI

    3. ‘Twas a long time ago, Professor Furedi, and I too remember the panic in Eastern Europe following the USSR coup and crush on Hungary but today we , and Hungary, live in better times. And none of it is due to the EU.

      We, in Britain have given aid to many refugees from oppressors but the current influx of dinghy ‘asylum’ seekers is as nothing to what you sought..

      They are nothing more nor less, than immigrants, seeking an easy life in the UK.and we, fools that we are, a happily, supplying that easy life.

      Do NOT confuse the two.

      Yes we would happily give you refuge but the rest, no way.

      We the British public will welcome refugees but illegal gimmegrunts – no way.

    4. The longer this dinghy fiasco goes on, the more people in the UK are turning against support for genuine refugees.

      1. It is highly likely that in recent years these invaders significantly outnumber genuine refugees.

    1. Good morning BoB,
      In contrast to the current forecast, it is surprisingly still here … for now.

  6. The case of Huw Edwards raises fresh questions over the BBC’s culture

    The organisation dedicated to exposing sleaze and wrong doing in anyone or any organisation that is to the right of Stalin appears to be rotten to the core itself.

    1. Get yourself a decent Microsoft product, Elsie and you troubles may be over.

      If you want WIN 7 Professional, I can send you the disk.

        1. WIN 7 Professional is my OS and I’ve never had a problem, Jules, despite it being unsupported since 2018.

  8. Good morning, all. Cloudy. Rain expected before lunch – and for much of the day. We’ll see….

    1. ‘morning, Bill, currently 13°c here in The Borders and. rain forecast for midday and 20:00 tonight

      It rained overnight, I was awake to hear it.

  9. 374419+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Limitless ‘white’ hydrogen under our feet may soon shatter all energy assumptions
    There’s a real possibility that vast reserves of this clean fuel can be extracted at competitive costs.

    If this were so it will meet the same scamming blockade as fracking, the political scammers have a strong invested interest lobby in parliament all the while the money mills keep turning.

    The truth of the matter is, in regards to fracking there is, already proven beyond doubt, criminal danger displayed via the political cartel above ground than ever there could be due to fracking
    below ground.

    Beats me as to why peoples continue to support parties that are quite willing to have even tranny grannies, in this coming winter
    freeze their balls off courtesy of protecting the scammers investments.

      1. 374419+ up ticks,
        Morning B3,
        There is seemingly black
        hydrogen which is considered
        dangerous, time
        will tell.

  10. Right, I’m going to carry on reading – Kindle.

    I value your comment from hereon in..

  11. Good morning all.
    A dry start with rather high cloud and 10°C outside today and rain forecast very soon.

    I don’t know if anyone else uses the Escape Key trick to get onto the DT Letters Page, but it’s taking more attempts than usual to get past the paywall!

    1. For some reason the paywall no longer works on my elderly laptop but the comments don’t load.

        1. It used to be the same here. I used the 12 ft ladder, then discovered a few weeks ago that the DT loaded with no paywall.

  12. Good morning everyone.
    I see that one Richard Tracey is ‘on message’ today.
    “SIR – The police say they have found no evidence of a criminal offence committed by Mr Edwards. However, the issue of inappropriate behaviour still applies to a person in his position.

    Richard Tracey
    Dinan, Côtes-d’Armor, France”

    1. If people with parallel dispositions to Tommy Robinson had done something similar, they’d have been inside immediately.

      1. What, for writing a letter to the Daily Telegraph? (insert appropriate emoticon)

  14. Jesus Wept!

    Arrest after activist told crowd at London Trans Pride to ‘punch Terfs in the face’
    Met says the person is in custody on suspicion of incitement to violence after a video of the incident was widely shared on social media

    By
    Will Bolton,
    CRIME CORRESPONDENT
    13 July 2023 • 5:52pm

    A 53-year-old woman has been arrested, police said, after an activist told a crowd at a trans pride event to punch gender-critical people in the face.

    At the march in London on July 8, an activist was filmed apparently calling for protesters to “punch Terfs in the face”.

    The Metropolitan Police said a woman had now been arrested on suspicion of incitement to violence in Westminster after a video of the incident was widely shared on social media.

    Terf is an abbreviation for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist”, a term used to describe people who believe that a trans woman’s gender identity is illegitimate.

    In the video, the activist was apparently seen telling a cheering crowd: “I was going to come here and be really fluffy, be really nice and be really lovely and queer and gay and laugh.

    “But if you see a Terf, punch them in the f—— face.”

    The incident occurred at the London Trans Pride march, which has been running since 2018 and this year was supported by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.

    When asked if Mr Khan supported the alleged comments, a spokesman said: “The mayor is a proud LGBTQI+ ally and has been clear in his support for the trans community. He is also clear that violence is never acceptable.”

    There was an initial report to the Met over inciting violence, but an officer told a complainant that it was not in the public interest to pursue the case.

    They said the call for violence was “hypothetical” and allowed under free speech laws.

    The case was reviewed and on July 10 the force announced the investigation had been reopened.

    The organisers of the march said that while they do not condone violence, many activists at the event “hold a lot of rage” which they “have the right to express” through words.

    A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “A 53-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of Incitement to violence. She has been taken into custody.

    “The arrest on 12 July is in connection with an incident during the Trans Pride event in Westminster on 8 July. A video was widely shared on social media.”

    1. A 53-year-old man who dresses up as, and pretends to be a woman, has been arrested…

      Edit for punctuation.

        1. Huge difference.
          RW and many like him in films and on stage were shown as men in the before and after, and it was clearly a pretence; not as these mental defectives are claiming, a reality.

          1. The people who push the pretence as a reality are equally mentally defective.
            There seem to be far fewer women claiming to be men – I wonder why that is?

            I find the whole thing an insult to real women.

          2. One reason will be that a woman pretending to be a man is very unlikely to get the career progression that a man pretending to be a woman will.
            As a series of generalisations:
            The man pretending will have several factors in his favour.
            In woke society they will be part of the female quotas for senior positions that are being sought.
            They can claim two sorts of discrimination
            They are more likely to be more assertive than many women, who tend to be more empathetic in problem solving and less aggressive.
            To a great extent the opposites will apply to women pretending to be men. No quota advantages, some but not as much discrimination “claimability”, likely to be less assertive than the male competition.

            The same applies in sports. The femen have relative strength, size, weight, natural testosterone, the mangals lack the strength, muscle bulk, bone structure and, natural testosterone.

    3. If he/she/it had shouted ‘Fire’ in a crowded theatre, would the same relaxed view have been taken?

    4. NOT A WOMAN! sorry to shout but when will these stupid people realise that this violent person, jailed for many years for assault is a MAN?

      1. I shouted similarly in PressReader.

        (I have been busy again today so only just catching up).

    5. “A 53-year-old woman has been arrested...”

      Correction, A 53-year-old man, posing as a woman, has been arrested

  15. Mornin’

    I’ve just read an article about PCness in comedy. The author writes “….may have been gleaned by now, the main obstacle to enjoying this book, not least from the ­perspective of the kind of “small c” Conservative whose tastes should make them an eager reader…”

    You don’t need to write ‘small c conservative’, you just write conservative. It’s an adjective of its own, not a type of voter. You only need to add the words ‘small c’ when you’re speaking.

    1. Few Conservatives in the HoC are conservative just as the Liberal Democrats are neither liberal nor democratic and the Labour lot don’t give a toss for the working class.

      1. Similar for the Lords – time that it was limited to just the hereditaries, who will take the long view – what is best for their country and for their investments in their personal interests..

        No blame, looking out for their own.

        1. You don’t need a link (I never use it). Just scroll to the top of the page and click on NOT THE TELEGRAPH LETTERS (in blue) and every day’s fora come up. Just click on today’s page and you are in.

          2. Good morning, my friend and epistolary colleague
            I’m not yet back in your league but I’m working on it! However, I am glad to see that the DT Letters editor seems to see that there is a difference between what is illegal and what is inappropriate.

            The laws have changed but when I was first a schoolmaster a young teacher in another school in the West of England had an affair with a girl in the Sixth Form. This was considered most inappropriate and everyone tut-tutted and today such a schoolmaster would have been sacked and the police would have been brought in. However he escaped censure and followed the girl to Oxford and did a post-graduate degree while she did her undergraduate studies. They then got married and returned to teach in the school where he had formerly taught and she had been a pupil.

            To my mind a male teacher aged 22 who falls in love with a girl of 18 who falls in love with him is unwise to start a physical relationship and many would argue that it was both imprudent and most inappropriate – but if a trusted senior BBC employee aged 61 pays large sums of money to a 17 year old by for pornographic pictures then this is very much more inappropriate – but of course it may turn out that Huw Edwards is not in any way culpable.

          3. I was tempted by a young Irish lass, elfin and very good at the job, who I hired when she was 22 into my department, but never did anything about it because I was, and am, married to another lady, and promised before God in church not to mess around. Also, it would reflect badly on the Irish lass. If she god a decent payrise and promotion, everyone would say it’s because she’s sleeping with the boss, not that she deserved it. So, would I not reward her for her hard work, in case of the previous point? All ways round, it would be a set-up for unhappiness.
            As it is, she’s still a friend after 16 years, and we still communicate.

          4. Good morning, my friend and epistolary colleague
            I’m not yet back in your league but I’m working on it! But I am glad to see that the DT Letters editor seems to see that there is a difference between what is illegal and what is inappropriate.

            The laws have changed but when I was first a schoolmaster a young teacher in another school in the West of England had an affair with a girl in the Sixth Form. This was considered most inappropriate and everyone tut-tutted and today such a schoolmaster would have been sacked and the police would have been brought in but he followed the girl to Oxford and did a post-graduate degree while she did her undergraduate studies). They then got married and returned to teach in the school wger he had formmerly taugh and she had been a pupil.

    2. That was my fact for the day. I didn’t realise that golden retrievers were a Scottish breed.

  19. Morning all 🙂😊
    Grey, rain later.
    I must remember to grab an umbrella when I go to the vampire department for my multiple
    blood tests.
    IMHO the bbc must be converted to pay to view. Why should the license fee remain be compulsory ?

    1. Because people keep paying it, Eddy. Nothing changes as long as people comply!

  21. On the week The Sound of Freedom is doing well at the box office in the US even though few theatres will play it we have our own scandal to rival international child trafficking for sex and organs and labour – we have a peekaboo, guess who! media managed story about 17 y.o. who sent nudies to a not-very-good-Christian TV presenter.

    And the no-longer 17 y.o. did not want to complain about it. Rather his mum has had a late awakening to parental responsibility, a few traumatised colleagues found him flirtatious at the office and others who did not meet him felt threatened online.

    But ne’er a word about The Sound of Freedom.

    What a state of affairs.

    Apart from that, Bonjour tout le monde! on this grey and dismal.

    1. Until the truth is fully revealed we can only speculate as to whether Huw Edwards is a decent and wronged human being with mental health problems or whether he is a perverted and deeply nasty man who blames his ‘mental illness’ on a cruel world and makes out that he is a victim. But his alleged victims, if there are any, are surely more important than he is?

      I very seldom watch the BBC News so I know little about him apart from the fact that he strikes me as a rather arrogant and unpleasant man. Bring back Reginald Bosanquet, I say!

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/350b3c7b72f53453d2d59480f96039ab9fe84d00a26e67e75ceb1a9d83319964.png

        1. All lies and jest
          But a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

          [Paul Simon: The Boxer]

      2. Reginald Bosanquet provided the inspiration for the character of Henry Davenport in ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’.

      3. His victim does not want to make a complaint. This is far-too-late meddling by his mum and all should recognise the limits of benefit to interfering in other people’s lives.

        I am not interested in Edwards. He has been sleezy and may be reaching for a victim card to save himself in someone’s eyes. I am not going to his house for dinner (even though he lives down the road).

        But on the scale of sexual abuse what he is supposed to have done is really quite trivial.
        If the press showed half as much interest in the denizens of Dolphin Square, or visitors to Epstein’s island, or Rotherham or any number of of other outrages – including what is exposed in “The Sound of Freedom” – we might begin to attack real issues rather than this now obsolete distraction.

        1. I take your point.

          Much is made of people needing role-models and in the absence of father-figures many people turn to media personalities.

          When I was a boy Richard Baker and Robert McDougall were considered models of respectable propriety whom we should admire and respect.

    2. The Sound of Freedom will not be shown here or in Europe. Too close to the bone for the predator cabal.

      Is the HE story yet another managed distraction? It’s plausible. It’s certainly the tip of a most evil iceberg.

      1. No doubt he has been sleezy, but on the very grand scale of world wide child exploitation…

  22. Joe Biden says Putin will have to cut a deal with Ukraine after counter-offensive losses. 14 July 2023.

    Mr Biden speaking in Helsinki, Finland, said: “Putin’s already lost the war. Putin has a real problem – how does he move from here, what does he do? There is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine. He’s already lost that war.”

    He said he did not think that “Russia could maintain the war forever in terms of their resources or capacity”, adding that “eventually President Putin is going to decide it’s not in the interests of Russia economically, or politically or otherwise” to continue the conflict.

    The president added: “My hope is, and my expectation is, you’ll see that Ukraine makes significant progress on their offensive, and that it generates a negotiated settlement somewhere along the line.”

    Well that’s as plain an offer to negotiate as you are going to get! An offer that the Americans have resolutely set their face against before. It is in fact, despite the first paragraph, an admission that the Ukrainian counter attack has failed and that there is no possibility of them regaining the Donbass and Crimea! If this is true then the war has to be brought to an end since the same strictures apply to NATO that Biden has ascribed to Russia. The cost.

    There are some other pointers as well. Zelensky being slapped down by Wallace; almost certainly under American orders, and his general unhappiness and exclusion at the Vilnius meeting. He’s essentially been told that he’s been dumped and yet he’s expected to keep fighting the war while things are settled. No more hugs and kisses. If I were him I’d quit while I was still alive! When his countrymen realise, his popularity is going to nosedive.

    The real difficulty here is; does Vlad see it the same way? It is quite possible that he might still want the rest of Ukraine East of the Dnieper which would justify the cost to Russia in Blood and Treasure so far. We’ve a way to go yet!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/07/13/biden-ukraine-counter-offensive-lead-to-negotiations-russia/

    1. I don’t think he wants the whole of Ukraine but the last negotiations with the West were in bad faith as they admitted, so he may not have much choice but to render NATO and Ukraine incapable of continued nuisance…. and that will involve taking the entire territory, subjugating it and then giving the ruin back to the West.

      And that would give the neo-nutters the excuse they want to start nuking.
      We are not out of he woods, yet.

      1. Yes. More or less my view Less is More. He takes the richest part of the country and leaves a dysfunctional rump for the Europeans to pay for!

        1. Which would leave Russia without a new land border to NATO, as well.
          Result!

          4. So is China.
            And Finland is properly in NATO sin.ce April this year. Also, Russia doesn’t feel the need to protect fellow Russian-speakers from being bombed. Finland kicked Russian arse seriously 80-odd years ago, too.

    2. What a delusional old fool the current occupant of the White House is. It is more likely that Russia with its almost overwhelming military strength will have the whole thing wrapped up to its satisfaction before the winter sets in.

      How offensive and insensitive is the language of Biden about a conflict which is the classic ‘brother war’. Hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christian Slavs have slaughtered each other to the satisfaction of the repulsive George Soros and his equally repulsive son Alexander and Biden says “cut a deal”.

      1. This is the man whose country and alliance is perilously short of ammunition, bombs, and the like, leading to China thinking about taking Taiwan whilst the Merkins are emasculated. Just what you need, a senile old fool at the head.

      1. Absolutely spot on.
        They have never stop moaning and we’ve saved them all.
        It seems just being black always carries a grudge.
        It’s not our fault, get over it.

      2. The left find Douglas Murray’s clear-headed lucidity deeply upsetting!

    3. She’s not the only horrible person he has on there.
      That nasty old gobby old bat Alibi -Brown and many others.

    4. Why punish yourself by watching it Bob? It’s bad for your blood pressure. I’ve never watched his crappy programme and don’t intend to.

    5. “Brexit itself helped to push divisive rhetoric in this country that impacted marginalised people…”

      Sometimes it’s a struggle to find words to answer such nonsense. Well done to the other two for their objections, though I suspect they went in one ear and out of the other. I don’t think Ms Bang-A-Drum listens to any voice but her own.

    6. Visual clickbait to improve viewing figures. Much like Pierced Organ, Vine (or his guests – always from the same small pool of clickbait-chasing grifters) will say almost anything to gain attention. Jeremy Kyle had more gravitas.

      1. Try this for accuracy, Sos:

        Climate Change and You

        The climate ‘science’ is wrong. CO2 being 0.04% of the atmosphere is a cause for good, as it is essential for plant life.

        The atmosphere is 78% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen. The remaining 1% are various trace elements of which CO2 is but a small part.

        The greatest cause of any change in the Earth’s climate, is due to the cyclical nature of the Sun’s phases, which may lead to vast differences between ice ages and continual heatwaves

        Check https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2023/03/04/challenging-net-zero-with-science/

        Please feel free to copy and paste this anywhere appropriate

        1. Actually, that’s an example of spurious accuracy too.
          Approximately 0.04% would be better.

          I suspect that there are areas of the atmosphere close to the earth’s surface where that figure may be higher and others where it may be lower.

          2. Not really. The important aspect is rate of change rather than absolute amounts, even though absolute amounts are important.

            Take CFCs, a small decrease in emissions resulted in a significant slowing of the rate of increase in ozone depletion. In % of the total atmosphere CFCs would have been almost immeasurably small as a %

            In the extremely unlikely event that the perfect level for CO2 is .04% exactly, a 50% increase is potentially a significant event even though the absolute number remains very small. If the level is reduced 50% the absolute number is even smaller but the effect could be 100% worse.

  26. Yesterday I bought some salt for our much needed water softener. It use to be £2.50 for 20 KG. I had One pence change from a tenner Now !
    And my card didn’t work again. Jeeeeze I’m going to have to have a word with Barclays again. It’s not the first time this has happened in recent months.
    Trouble is another local main branch is closing and so that means all the hassle of parking, queuing in the main branch and pointless time waisted. And it’s certainly not my fault.

    1. Email to head office outlining all your complaints about inconvenience, added costs and time. Lay it on thick about age, stress and general ill health.

      1. Points taken thanks.
        I’m going to do that today Phizz.
        If I’m still alive after blood letting.

          2. We’re doing everything we can to assist with your query…. apart from answering the telephone.

            ‘Have you used our website? You can find all the answers you need on there.’ Yes, that’s what I am calling about and no, I can’t.

          4. Twenty minutes later……….
            It’s the difference between ringing a private medical facility and the NHS.
            Three ring pick up……. or thirty minutes of nothing and getting nowhere.

          5. You get better service from the vet than you do the NHS. I rang the vet in the morning – call was answered second ring and Oscar had an appointment in about 90 minutes from the call. Compare and contrast!

          6. ‘We’re currently experiencing a high volume of calls’

            Or ‘we don’t employ enough people in the call centre’

    2. I’m partial to M&S Sherbet sweets. Several months ago they were £1.00 a packet. Now, £1.75!

      1. 😉 easier to get in from the back of the car than 20kg off salt tablets. 🤗
        I’ll get one of our sons to do it.

    3. If the card doesn’t work do you ever give it a quick polish against some suitable materiel, eg a cloth sleeve?
      It usually works for me when my cards don’t work first time.

    4. I just order a new card on line through the Barclays app. It usually arrives in 3-5 days. At the slightest hint of a card not tapping, working on insertion or swiping I get a new one. Keep them churning them out, it’ll piss them off. Oh, and keep using cash as much as possible.

      2. Cash? I try but local Bank of Scotland ATM will not dispense cash.

        Is this a CBDC plot?

  27. Guten tag alles,

    Das Regen mit Stairroden downkommen ist mit der Windt in Süd-Ost. Die Temperature fierzehn zu sechzehn heute kalt für Juli macht. Entshuldigung sie bitte für mein scheisse Deutsch.

    The Chief of the Air Staff has to say this, doesn’t he?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/13/raf-ready-to-fly-and-fight-russia-ukraine-war/?WT.mc_id=e_DM176645&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FAM_New_ES&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_ES20230714&utm_campaign=DM176645

    What with? The British armed forces are now a joke. The only consolation is that the state of the once serious modern Luftwaffe, Kreigsmarine and Bundeswehr is worse.

    2. The UK is not at war with Russia, so why on earth would we be making air strikes against them? Talk about asking for trouble!

  28. Forecast rain has arrived, so can’t do much up the “garden” so I’m off to Derby on the bus.
    TTFN

  29. Morning all. It gloomy weather wise, overcast and some rain.

    There are 9 letters in the DT today, all bar one sympathetic to the poor presenter. The only letter slightly critical of Edwards’s behaviour is by Rastus, quoted below.

    So much coverage of this I wonder what’s being slid under the radar?

    Edit. There are 9 letters regarding Huw Edwards .

    1. Yet I rather feel that it is being forced, rather than an event. Quite clearly the resolutions are there and they’re not difficult, just politically unpalatable. Therefore the enforced decline is intentional and spiteful.

  31. Just glanced out of my study window and the scene which greeted me is heavy rain coming straight down and sitting in it is a van from Southern Water with a man here to do some works on something or other.

    Really there is no water shortage in these islands, none at all. We are surrounded by the stuff at all times. There is only water mismanagement.

    1. I thought that the Brussels mafia had ordered our country never to construct any new but much needed reservoirs. And not to dredge flat land and river mouths to stop continous flooding.
      WTF has it got to do with them ?

      1. The Environment Agency has been tasked with making matters worse so it can be blamed on climate change. On the Hampshire/Wiltshire Avon this year they have mandated no weed-cutting for ‘elf an’ safety’ so not only is the area of fishable water reduced for we fly-anglers but the volume of the river is increased so that if there is a downpour and a consequent water level rise there is an increased chance that it will overflow the banks and flood surrounding areas.

      2. It all came about because of water problems in Spain.

        One rule fits all according to the EU.

    2. Our local show tomorrow has been cancelled because of the weather – we were supposed to be running a fundraising stall. July weather!

    4. Mismanagement enforced by the EU’s water directives. Water companies have asked to build reservoirs for years. Big fat state keeps refusing them because that would diverge from EU regulations. Heck, if it started to do that no end of things could change making the process of rechaining a bit hard.

      Frankly, every official in DEFRA should be taken out and shot. Their refusal to immediately implement pro Brexit policies is blatant and disgusting.

  32. I have two jars the same size in my kitchen. One contains Polish honey and the other pickled onions. Without fail, each time I reach for the honey, I open the jar containing the pickled onions.

    Who needs the NHS? I can diagnose terminal senility the day I actually put pickled onions on my cornflakes.

    1. Are the jars opaque? It’s normally quite easy to see which is which through the glass, without opening the top.

    2. Yesterday morning, I found the coffee jar in the fridge…after I had opened a new one, of course.
      Twas not I – my son had put it there!

      1. Some people believe opened coffee jars should be kept in the fridge. I think they may have a point.

        1. Prolly, but they don’t last long enough to lose their flavour in our house!

    3. I took a jar of vinegar back to the supermarket because it had lumps in it. The lady at the customer service desk just said ‘they’re pickled onions sir”

  33. 374419 + up ticks,

    Can we not show some compassion with this issue, to stop in dead in its tracks now will do untold damage to the scammers lifestyles.

    Dt,

    HS2 has become a nightmare. It is time Britain woke up
    We must not delay putting a stop to this vanity project. Government simply cannot afford to waste tens of billions of taxpayer money on it

  34. I’m going to read a bit more, while I sober up after a night-shift on the Uisge beatha.

    Keeps me happy in these dark times but I shouldn’t drive.

  35. Matt Le Tissier has put up a poll on Twitt asking whether the Gill statue should remain outside the BBC in the light of the artist’s own admission that he molested his two daughters and the family dog.
    BBC factor aside, the question here is whether art can be separated from the character of the artist.

    I suppose it must stay, otherwise we would be inviting a witch hunt of artists’ characters.
    But I cannot enjoy it on its artistic merits – the character of the sculptor does spoil it for me.
    https://twitter.com/mattletiss7/status/1679767935252930560

    1. I say : leave the statue and add a notice detailing the type of disgusting individual this organisation promoted in a dark and bygone era.
      Oh.
      Its not a bygone era?

      That’s awkward.

      1. Arghh, you are right, sorry!
        Will correct it, otherwise it is slander of Jacob Epstein…

      2. It is an attack on Western art and culture. The artist being a sexual deviant is an excuse.

  36. The rise of negative media.
    Since 2010, joyful or neutral terms in headlines have reduced, and negative ones have risen in frequency.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c1c61d983a7ff9ae16675c3f27102c7ae048d9e008d90c99af9d0dcda58aecc1.jpg

    Since the crash in 2008, the financial elite started in many ways to prepare for the switch from the dollar to the new group-based international exchange currency, and the eastern countries started stacking gold.

    It would be naive to assume that the preparations didn’t include propaganda in the media that they own. We are constantly being manipulated.

    1. I love it when they speak English.
      And what he describes is very similar to Westminster and Whitehall.

  41. La Marseillaise sung by Mireille Mathieu.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=la+marseillaise+top+recordings&ei=VBqxZLjgOoW7kdUPjaO9kA4&oq=la+marseillaise+recordings&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGmxhIG1hcnNlaWxsYWlzZSByZWNvcmRpbmdzKgIIADIGEAAYBxgeMggQABiKBRiGAzIIEAAYigUYhgMyCBAAGIoFGIYDSLwyUKkRWLkccAF4AZABAJgBjwKgAaYHqgEFMi40LjG4AQHIAQD4AQHCAgoQABhHGNYEGLADwgIKECEYoAEYwwQYCsICCBAhGKABGMME4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e0007753,vid:SIxOl1EraXA

  42. I’ll never forgive the BBC for letting me down. Why couldn’t it have been Jeremy Vile or Gary Linigger?

  43. “Tour de France: Biniam Girmay is leading a revolution in cycling”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/66186949

    “But, Eritrean Girmay is one of only six black African riders in the top-level World Tour peloton of 534, overwhelmingly white riders.”

    What colour is ‘overwhelmingly white’?

    2. Thank you for posting. It will be interesting to see next year’s data from Western Australia. I suspect the number of reported adverse reactions will have dropped. This is based on the research from Denmark which showed that the early batches of Pfizer shots had significantly higher numbers of adverse reactions reported compared to later batches and virtually none in the last batches (see graph below). One might suspect that given the horrendous numbers of adverse reactions being reported at the outset, the formulation of subsequent batches was changed significantly. I’ve no idea whether these ‘vaccines’ were actually effective as a preventative measure. However, I believe Public Health bodies recognise that even if ‘vaccinated’ it is still possible to contract Covid-19….

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6e9f625ea963e651315d687052cef8328ce3ca25de6177831a6906b187524a25.png

      1. The Pfizer labs are so busy producing death jabs, that they don’t seem able to produce Caverject to get my old man to stand up and do his duty.

  45. Wimbledon ‘People who identify as Men’ Semi-Finals today. Hoping for a Djokovic v Medvedev final.
    The unvaxxed v the Russkie – the media won’t know which way to turn.

    1. I thought he was busy being Russian “prime minister”…..

      I’ll get me troika…

  46. Anybody seen anything from LadyoftheLake? She didn’t appear yesterday, and so far, nothing today.
    From her posts the last few days, she seemed very down. Hope she’s getting some much-needed zeds and nothing more serious than that.

    1. Isn’t she seeing another specialist today to discuss treatment options?

      Hopefully we will hear something later.

    2. I think this morning she has an appointment with an oncologoist to discuss possible treatments.

      Yesterday she said she couldn’t cope with eating anything, which is not good at all.

    3. Have spent the last 3 days in bed, on and off,, and yesterday alternate vomiting, retching and going to the loo, Cancelled appointment today as not fit for anything.
      If I go anywhere this weekend it will be ER as I suspect I have internal bleeding after all the sickness.
      Husband making a slow recovery from his procedure but we fed up with feeling like shit all the time.

      1. Very sorry to learn that LotL. I know it is a long shot but can your GP undertake a home visit to try to make you more comfortable with better pain relief and something to help with the sickness? Best wishes S

        1. That’s a good suggestion along with Lotl’s own about ER. Got to get something to help with the pain.

      2. Good news about hubby but good at all.

        I just wish there was something we could do to help.

      4. Ooo… nasty. I’m sorry, Ann: I suspected something of that nature, just not as bad.
        Have heard elsewhere that liquid morphine is awful stuff to take, with consipation/diarhhoea at the same time, and other nasty stomach effects.
        From nhs.co.uk:
        Side effects of morphine
        Constipation. Try to get more fibre into your diet such as fresh fruit and vegetables and cereals. …
        Feeling or being sick (nausea or vomiting) …
        Feeling sleepy or tired. …
        Feeling dizzy or a sensation of spinning (vertigo) …
        Confusion. …
        Headaches. …
        Itchy skin or a rash.

        1. Trouble is that mixing pinot and morphine is supposed to exacerbate the side effects.

          1. So, cut out the morphine – other soporifics are available – such as LBV port.

          2. Bristol Cream sherry, from the fridge and over ice, is good when it’s warm outside. smooth, slides down nicely, has flavour and the coldness prevents it getting too sickly sweet.

          3. No thanks, Paul, Blue bottle or not, I’ll stick with Whyte and Mackays, thank you

      5. Please try to make appointments if at all possible. They will use your absence as an excuse to ignore your needs.

      6. We all, wish you and your OH, well.

        Keep us informed, we worry about you. Hugs and love.

    4. My recommendation for Poppiesmum was Pinto, that is an anagram of Ann’s goto medication, Pinot.

      I, too hope she’s ok, Paul..

  47. Anybody seen anything from LadyoftheLake? She didn’t appear yesterday, and so far, nothing today.
    From her posts the last few days, she seemed very down. Hope she’s getting some much-needed zeds and nothing more serious than that.

    1. We do – there are glass and steel constructions all over London. Religion still exists. The state has co-opted it for it’s own profligacy.

      It is interesting architecturally. The windows are very small, which implies it’s pre-1100’s.

      More practically could we ever build such beautiful constructions in praise of something? Yes. Will we? I think HS2 is as close as we will ever get. Ironically that is riddled with the same nepotism, corruption, fraud, incompetence, greed and graft as these beautiful Churches. Maybe the Thames barrier is a better example of modern architecture and science?

      1. It’s actually 16th Century. Begun in 1506 and finished around 1615. Yes, there was plenty of corruption in the fundraising. Indulgences, the Carbon Credits of the day.

  49. from Letters:

    Tory profligacy
    SIR – I am astonished that this Government has accepted the recommendation of public-sector pay rises of at least 6 per cent, just three months after putting corporation tax up by the same amount.

    As a small business owner, I accepted the change in tax reluctantly as I know we need to cut the national debt. However, if money raised from the private sector ends up being redistributed to the public sector, I am at a loss as to who I voted for in 2019, and who I should vote for in 2024.

    Phil Stewart
    London SW14

    Firstly Phil, corporation tax wasn’t increased by 6% it was increased over 35%. 6 percentage points were added to it but that’s not the rate of increase.

    No, you half witted pantaloon wearing twit! Taxes DO NOT pay off the debt. Cutting spending does. If you don’t cut spending you have the same debt next year, only it’s more because you’ve accrued interest and have other bills to pay. The only way – the only one – that reduces debt is cutting spending. More taxes just created unemployment, which exacerbates the problem.

    If you’re a small business owner you need to start to understand the difference between profit and revenue, debt and income.

    1. I’m not usually supportive of the OBR, they are far too political and this article comes across as a softener forfeiture tax increases, but what surprises me ( or not as the case may be) is that this economic situation has not just appeared, it has been building for many many years, across several governments. Policies are dreamt up to catch votes and little or no regard is paid to the cost and consequences of them – Net Zero being a prime example.

      I’ve copied the article, but the first paragraph is the summary. My conclusion, unsurprisingly, is that politicians are short termist, not very bright and untrustworthy. Expenditure must be cut.

      “The Government must find more than £100bn to keep the UK’s debt mountain from spiralling out of control, the budget watchdog has warned, suggesting that steep tax rises or spending cuts are on the horizon. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said pressures from an ageing population, surging debt interest and the shift to net zero meant Britain’s £2.5 trillion debt pile was on course to soar in the coming decades. Debt is expected to surge from 100pc of GDP today to more than 300pc within 50 years without spending cuts or tax increases. The analysis highlights the stark choices facing Rishi Sunak or Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after the next election. The Prime Minister had pledged to keep debt down even as some parts of the Conservative Party are demanding tax cuts to stimulate growth. Richard Hughes, the OBR chairman, said: “It is clear that current policy settings aren’t sustainable left where they are.” The OBR said Britain’s public finances are likely to remain on a “very risky” footing after a series of recent shocks including the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, a deep cost of living crisis and surging borrowing costs.

      The succession of challenges has “accelerated the fiscal pressures” facing the UK, Mr Hughes said, forcing tax rises or spending cuts before the end of the decade. Preventing debt from rising above 100pc of GDP over the long term would require tax increases or spending cuts worth around £110bn in today’s money. The fiscal watchdog warned that Britain’s ageing society was putting intense pressure on public finances. Mr Sunak’s commitment to the pensions triple lock will lead to a £23bn-a-year increase in spending by 2027 relative to the start of the decade, the OBR said. Costs are surging as inflation prompts large uplifts in the state pension under the triple lock guarantee. The Government was forced to increase payments by 10.1pc this year to match price rises.

      A wave of baby boomers set to retire in the coming years will also add to costs. Maintaining the triple lock will increase the size of Britain’s debt pile by the equivalent of 36pc of GDP over the next 50 years, the OBR said. Other burdens on public finances include a surge in long-term sickness since the pandemic, which has added £6.8bn to the annual benefits bill. 440,000 more people are now claiming an average £10,000 a year each because of ill health, adding £6.8bn to the welfare bill in the current tax year and taking the total number of people inactive for health reasons to 2.6 million. The Government is also losing out on £8.9bn in tax receipts as a result of lost income tax and national insurance payments from this group not working. The shortfall has added £15.7bn to annual borrowing, the OBR warned in its fiscal risks and sustainability report.

      Britain’s net zero push also threatens to blow a multi-billion pound hole in public finances by the end of the decade. The shift to electric vehicles will cost £13bn in foregone fuel duty by the end of the decade, while “the public investments needed to support the decarbonisation of power, buildings, and industry could reach £17bn a year” by 2030. Britain also risks suffering future gas price shocks for decades to come after failing to step up investment in renewable energy since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The watchdog said: “Continuing our dependence on gas at the current level could, in an adverse scenario, be as expensive fiscally as completing the transition to net zero.” The stark warnings from the OBR came as official figures show Britain’s economic growth continues to be weak. GDP shrank by 0.1pc in May as ongoing public sector strikes and the extra bank holiday to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles hit activity. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “While an extra bank holiday had an impact on growth in May, high inflation remains a drag anchor on economic growth. “The best way to get growth going again and ease the pressure on families is to bring inflation down as quickly as possible. Our plan will work, but we must stick to it.” ”

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/13/ageing-population-taxes-rise-even-further-warns-obr/

    2. I’ll bet the increase in taxes won’t even cover the increase in the interest the government has to pay on its debt.

    3. Give him a break. He lives inSW14 which is where Andrew Marr (amongst other luvvies) lives.

  50. Must have missed something in the telegraph letters comments while I have been out. All comments disappeared and now closed to any.

    1. Someone expressed less than complete admiration and sympathy for Huw Edwards?

  51. ‘Morning All (just)

    Belated Medley

    http://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a3781eb8a5568a7195aa164b327fc7e0b3060190553311f9d73f8d41bbe3655a.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f73680f87183c78602adf050dcae727e150ed84d606b96a555973dd354eb9b02.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d734ed87f336d5c36a4044a1d2f90d9ff054b86ed6a056f66cc003046b99fef2.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b867d95dbd8be153ca6874bb3883f2827a7a86604c9c70ad0047399098233a80.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b6ce37e3f4d3441b83abec8bf3388d252d982a69f4a2e03e4026bedb61f536a4.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e19633a28d0f2c09b2b03faff41e03e6f113951f4a1cee63625647c2e1b69074.gif

    Time for brunch,later all

    http://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b638445b8c1f08565bb4394851274ff6e4a07e83eb2dc3f0dbcca59c74b432d4.jpg

    1. Number one is pretty significant. It seems that our government could be directly accused of slavery in the way that they expect the indigenous at work to cover the costs of all the invaders they have allowed in to the country.

    2. Major Gowen has nailed it!
      Jolyon Maugham has completely lost the plot though….

      1. My wife said she saw a ‘scientific expert/doctor’ on TV this week saying that if you sit out in your garden drinking beer in this weather, you are more likely to suffer mosque keeto bites.
        I daren’t ask if he had a beard and a bruise in the middle of his forehead.

    2. Hard to believe that actually happened. How does anyone manage to capture a swarm of mosquitoes.
      Unless they had been bred in captivity. Especially for the planned occasion.

      3. Which is exactly what he does. Not so long ago he let out thousands at a conference to prove a point, and millions were dispatched over Florida this year. For the first time in twenty years there have been three reported cases of malaria in the area. It really is time to think the unthinkable. The mosquitos are not captured, they are purposefully bred in laboratories. This is biowarfare.

  53. Russian Duma passes draft law banning gender change. 14 July 2023.

    A sweeping Russian draft law to ban legally or medically changing gender has been approved by the lower house of parliament in its final reading, part of a crackdown against LGBTQ+ rights under the president, Vladimir Putin.

    The bill would bar Russians from changing their gender on official identity documents, which had been legal since 1997. Health workers would be banned from “performing medical interventions designed to change the sex of a person”, including surgery and prescribing hormone therapy.

    State Duma deputies added provisions to the bill in its second reading, approved on Thursday, to ban transgender people from adopting or fostering children, and to annul their marriages if one of the couple subsequently changes gender.

    Who would ever have thought the day would arrive when I would admire the Russians!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/14/russian-duma-passes-draft-law-banning-gender-change

    2. Sorry, Minty, “The bill would bar Russians from changing their gender”

      The bill would bar Russians from changing their SEX.

      Not your typo, Minty, as usual the Graudian.

      1. Nobody can change their sex. That’s why trannies call it gender – which can be changed according to whim.

    3. Who indeed. Isn’t it amazing how this world of ours keeps on being turned upside down?

    1. And enslaving and raping white children for centuries.
      Blood and Gold, bbc tv programme..

    2. Blatant attempt to stir up hatred against white people.
      He will be surprised when he looks backward at the pitchfork-waving mob coming for him, and sees that opposition to his child castration propaganda is not confined to one race or religion…

  55. Just back from my blood tests.
    I admired two large photos one of elephant’s and a beautiful male lion. Both on the wall inside the blood donation area. And the lady told me she had lived in South Africa. We went on to have a very nice conversation about both our experiences living there in the late 60s.
    Fortunately I was the last in the queue before lunch.

    2. Ha! You can’t say that any longer. How do you know it wasn’t a lioness in a wig self-identifying?

  56. I made trifle today.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cb2ee83ca870d280413d3837bb08fcbc805979852fa5f8cbf25cd06655cc932b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d1d9b730d5b63e7c94df09da6a3c5e82b0ad7412dd8913ae044a9d8ec528ac86.jpg Madeleines halved and filled with strawberry jam. Then soaked in sweet sherry. A lb of slightly softened strawberries on top.

    Strawberry jelly half way the the Madeleines. Then fridge overnight.
    This morning made Deliah’s 4 egg yolk full cream custard. Let that cool a bit.
    Then crumbled Cadbury’s flake all over.
    Then piped on the whipped cream and Maraschino cherries to finish. Ta dah !

          1. A gel more than a jelly is preferable. I blame the Americans as i do for most things. The traitors !

          2. Don’t normal people put gel on their heads. I might pass on that though – attracts wasps.

          3. The wasps are attracted to all the flakes of skin peeling off your scalp after using gel once it has dried out. Wasps know where to go for building materials.

        2. What’s not to like? I would eat it although I don’t put jelly in trifles, the texture is all wrong with the sponge.

          1. My neighbour comes from one of the largest council estates in the UK. Leigh Park. He went to the Falklands as an 18 year old and retired after 30 years service as a CPO.

            He can have his trifle any way he wants it.

            Imagine all the muck he has had to put up with.

            I do have high standards but my guests come first.

            Polishes halo. :@)

          2. Well, that’s me told, pet! You’d have been better off with a Birds trifle! With Creamed Droppings, as my grandfather called it!

          3. As i was slaving away over a mild stove for 20 minutes to get the cream up to blood temperature before adding the whisked eggs sugar and cornflour i asked myself the same thing. :@)

          4. As a cook, I applaud you and the pleasure cooking affords! Enjoy – I was only joshing! But the memories of my MiLs ghastly trifle linger on! 😘

          5. Cut it with a knife could you?

            I’m joshing too. Must be the rest of the sherry that didn’t go in the trifle !

          9. I only ask this from one cook to another…………….What do you think about Angel Delight? :@)

          10. Personally I love the butterscotch one! All the grandchildren love it as well, but that could be the highly flavoured/sugary thing and not the milk!!
            What about you?? I’m thinking Cocktails?🍸🍹

          11. Jelly in trifle is a no no but Angel Delight is okay ! Check your privilege ! :@)

            As far as cocktails go it has to be a daiquiri or a dirty martini seeing as you are paying.

          12. I don’t deny liking Angel Delight, but would never put jelly in a trifle! If that’s privilege? it’s OK with me! 🤣

          13. Sorry to appear dull, but I thought trifle always contained jelly.! What would you use in its place.

          15. A trifle really doesn’t need that layer. I use cake, or rataffias or sponge fingers soaked in whatever you like – sherry, Madeira, cherry brandy – then fresh or tinned strawberries/raspberries. When ‘set’ pour your cooled custard (yes, I make my own!) and finish with whipped cream and fresh fruit!

          16. TY, I make a sherry trifle for my family parties, nowhere near the high cuisine of Phizz of course! I shall try missing out the jelly.

          17. The ‘traditional’ trifle had a layer of fruit under the custard. I think jelly may have been a substitute for the unavailable soft fruits.

      3. There is a place for every taste. It’s like the question, “should pineapple be found on pizza”. If someone wants to eat it, why not. Likewise with jelly in trifle.

        1. It’s a bit of fun, eric! Personally, I eat spaghetti bolognese sandwiches, but I don’t expect other people to do the same! My trifle is my grandmothers trifle and it doesn’t have bloomin’ jelly!

          1. Of course it’s a bit of fun. With the way the world is going, we need some escapism.

      1. Thanks…I don’t either but i have guests.
        If i were to eat that i would be a gold medalist in projectile vomiting. Far too much in sugars and fats.

  57. The BBC must be remade: smaller, cheaper, better. 14 July 2023.

    We should want the BBC to succeed. We have all too few unifying institutions in this country and its image is certainly more appealing than the shabby and dysfunctional NHS. Most countries would kill for its brand and soft power. I don’t want it to disappear.

    But it surely does have to refocus. The high licence fee leads it to try to satisfy everyone, whatever their background, wherever they are in the country. That can’t be sustained. Instead, it should stand for genuine excellence: high-quality, impartial, factual news; presenting and funding the Western canon of serious music, art, theatre and drama, literature; serious history and science; and, yes, serious politics.

    I am a keen supporter of the idea of a publicly funded Media channel that caters to a serious, cultural and intellectual minority. The BBC can never supply such a service since it is populated by a left wing elite whose primary aim is the dissemination of Marxist propaganda. It cannot be reformed meaningfully in any way whatsoever. It must be shut down.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/13/bbc-must-be-remade-smaller-cheaper-better/

    1. It isn’t the BBC per se. It’s the Long March through the Institutions. All captured.

    2. I think I generally agree with Frost’s thrust but there would have to be a wire brush and Dettol applied to the staff as well to ensure intellectual and political balance. For example, it should be forced to broadcast the alternative views (truth?) on climate change.

      1. They need a few actual conservatives, not just token ones, and not the red variety.

  59. Measles outbreak alert issued as health chiefs warn 160,000 cases could hit London. 14 July 2023.

    An urgent measles warning has been issued by health chiefs who warned London could face an outbreak of up to 160,000 cases if vaccination rates do not improve.

    An alert issued on Friday, warned the UK could see a “resurgence” of the potentially fatal virus with the capital to be hit the worse, according to UK Health Security Agency.

    Get your saucepans out everyone!

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/measles-outbreak-london-warning-rash-b2375320.html

    2. Gosh! And which section of our ‘communities’ don’t ‘do’ vaccinating their children? Hmmmm

    3. Is this more Imperial Ferguson modelling? In a sample of 100 people a case of measles was found therefore it must mean that in a population of some 16 million you’re going to find 160,000 cases?

    4. No-one told me measles was potentially fatal when I had it as a youngster. Should I have been worried?

      1. I had it in 1946 – most unpleasant. I was very poorly for a couple of weeks. The doctor called each day….(really!!!)

      2. After the initial few days, I rather enjoyed it.
        As I lay in bed, reading and being pandered to, my classmates were spending that same fortnight struggling with end of year exams.

      3. It’s potentially very harmful for susceptible people, more so for adults.
        I seem to recall that as children we were taken to measles parties and mumps parties to ensure we got it when it was least likely to cause serious damage.

      4. I don’t recall anyone dying, or knowing it was potentially serious. it was just another of the normal childhood illnesses we all went through.
        Having measles as a five year old caused a perforated ear drum for me. I suffered with that ear until well into my teens. Now I just have some residual hearing loss. I got off lightly compared to others.

      5. Depends on the type, German Measles (Rubella) can be harmful to pregnant women.

    6. How can they be so specific about the number of possible cases? Or is it just pluck a number out of thin air. In any case less than 50% of “Londoners” are actually indigenous. Yer white folk, presumably, have been exemplary in having their children vaccinated. Are we being softened up for a WHO pronouncement? As in “epidemic”?

      “An urgent measles warning has been issued by health chiefs who say London could face an outbreak of up to 160,000 cases if vaccination rates do not improve.”

    7. Measles outbreak alert issued as health chiefs warn 160,000 cases could hit London

      Note the operative word, “COULD“.

  60. Hypocrisy at its best.

    Our self serving governor General just attended a conference in Iceland. Her hotel was only 500 metres from the conference site but she somehow managed to pay $71,000 for limousines during her four day stay.

    The main topic at the conference was about cutting emissions to fight climate change.

    What a bunch of crooks.

    1. I haven’t set foot over the doorstep of Tescos in 3 years. The prominent halal crap put me off forever.

  62. Well, that was four wasted days for the MR. Being an obedient taxpayer, she followed the directive from HMRC that she “must” do her tax return online. Two extra days were wasted trying to register. Then attacking the form….. Dear God. I’d assumed that it would simply be an on-screen version of the SA200. Noooooooooooooooooo! Page after page of baffling questions. Anyway, the dear girl finally got to what she thought was the end – and the “Income Tax Due” came up = three times what is ACTUALLY payable.

    As the ever reliable HMRC “help (larf) line” is CLOSED until 4 September….(yes – really) – she has abandoned it and telephoned for a paper form.

    Welcome to 1984.

    1. Im sure MR has looked at the workings of the tax demanded but it may indicate where the error lies. Or better still, adjust the input so it shows you owe them a tenner. They will soon tell you have much you actually owe, or maybe not!

      1. There are no “workings” as one would have expected from the familiar “tax calculation” form. Just a total – conjured who knows whence.

        Maddeningly there is no way of simply seeing the eight items entered at the same time; they insist on being displayed one by one. – so it is impossible to spot the error.

        Anyway, doing it on paper takes ten minutes….and one attaches a cheque. Job done.

        1. I complete returns for myself and my father online and there are always complete workings leading to a total sum, so cant explain your case. I have on occasion answered their yes/no options incorrectly and been led along a false trail, only realising so when I get to the end and see the wrong result. When I reread the question, I see my error resulting from the poorly worded Q. I use the free HMRC software. Seems like its best you stick to paper unless you forget the paper deadline, you get longer online!

          1. Had I known about all this buggerment, I’d have suggested to the MR that she did it on paper in April. I have always filed my paper return by the end of May since 1975.

          2. Had I known about all this buggerment, I’d have suggested to the MR that she did it on paper in April. I have always filed my paper return by the end of May since 1975.

          3. When you say the “free HMRC software” – is that the self-assessment online thing which gives you seven days to plod through – or something separate – software that one downloads and completes at leisure?

          4. Its whatever comes up when you press go. I dont think there a time limit, I have taken several weeks over mine. The 7 days limit applies to double authentication, when you have to send for a code when logging in. The application remains live. I dont download any software. I get it going early to avoid ‘putting it off’ to another day.

          5. That’s what the MR was “using”. My only thought was that the Revenue omitted the personal allowance – because the excess tax they say is due is 20% of 12,570 (or thereabouts).

          6. Im surprised you dont get the calculation which is where you would see that. When complete you should have a screen that allows you to print off the return and the calc…. pic below

          9. Sorry for the delay, out for my jog. It does appear before ‘file’ and after.

    2. MOH had a similar problem.

      He ‘phoned and asked for a paper form, it arrived within a few days and he sent it off.

      Within a couple of weeks he had received his overpayment back.

  63. Well, that was four wasted days for the MR. Being an obedient taxpayer, she followed the directive from HMRC that she “must” do her tax return online. Two extra days were wasted trying to register. Then attacking the form….. Dear God. I’d assumed that it would simply be an on-screen version of the SA200. Noooooooooooooooooo! Page after page of baffling questions. Anyway, the dear girl finally got to what she thought was the end – and the “Income Tax Due” came up = three times what is ACTUALLY payable.

    As the ever reliable HMRC “help (larf) line” is CLOSED until 4 September….(yes – really) – she has abandoned it and telephoned for a paper form.

    Welcome to 1984.

  64. MoH has decided to make some large Bean bags for the twins (the sort they can clamber on). Whilst in the fabric shop I got talking to one of the chaps who was looking after the display of sewing machines. He pointed out one domestic machine that could be linked to a PC and be programmed to embroider different designs & words etc. It looked like a Mclaren compared to the more traditional machines and at a mere £14,000 almost as much to buy!

    1. Sounds like a stitch up.
      I got charged £2000 for a pair of binoculars in one shop. I think they saw me coming.

      1. I think you may be right! Although a few years ago MoH looked at a Bernina sewing machine that was selling at over £6000. Thankfully she choose a competent machine at a much lower cost!

      2. Q: Why are we all out side queuing to buy binoculars ?
        A: Someone is getting us into focus.

    2. I saw sewing machines like that at the Knitting and Stitching Show.
      These were specifically for quilting. They were ginormous.
      They need a room to themselves; in fact given the size and their controls, I’d say they need a hanger.

      1. Before I went to a recent quilting show, MH said that if I saw something I liked, to buy it.
        He had no idea there would be sewing machines as well as fabrics for sale. It was rather tempting to buy a wide throated, quilter’s sewing machine ……. I was looking at one which cost a mere £4,000.

          3. Wow! That is stunning. I bet there’s no red wine allowed to be consumed in that bed!
            She is very talented. Did she do the quilting herself or was it sent out to a long-arm quilter?
            At the show I attended, there was a newly established mother and daughter long-arm quilting business, and they are only 5 miles from me. Should I ever finish the planned quilt tops for granddaughters, I now have a place to take them to for the actual quilting.

          5. Oh, wow! That is amazing. I love how the quilting goes around the applique pieces.
            Presumably the detailed quilting is made using quilting templates?

          12. Thank you. Of course we don’t have one – they’ve all been given away to friends and friends of the family!

            Oh and a king size one is being offered as a raffle prize in the forthcoming village show in the autumn…

          13. Les enfants du cordonnier sont les pire chausse’s – old French saying meaning the cobbler’s children are the worst shod. The quilt-maker’s family are quiltless 🙂

  65. Round 2…..

    Germany’s Rheinmetall to Open Tank Factory in Ukraine
    The plant is expected to be opened within the next 12 weeks
    by Dave DeCamp Posted on July 12, 2023Categories NewsTags Germany, Ukraine
    Rheinmetall, Germany’s leading arms maker, will open a plant to manufacture tanks and other armored vehicles in Ukraine within the next 12 weeks as the West is looking to boost Ukraine’s weapons industry.

    Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNN that the company will also train Ukrainians how to use and maintain the tanks they manufacture at the plant. He said Ukrainians need to learn how to “help themselves” and cannot rely on Europeans and Americans for maintenance.
    The German company will operate the factory with Ukroboronprom, a Ukrainian state-owned defense firm. Papperger said the facility will be located in western Ukraine.

    Other Western arms companies are looking to establish factories in Ukraine, and Russia has warned that it could target the plants. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s security council, warned in June that Russia should respond to Western arms manufacturing in Ukraine with “salvos of Kalibr (cruise missiles) and other Russian pyrotechnic devices.”

    Papperger insisted that the Rheinmetall plant would be able to be protected from any Russian attacks. “There are a lot of factories at the moment which are producing military goods [in Ukraine]. It is just another one — and we can protect that also,” he said.
    The war in Ukraine has been a boon for Rheinmetall and other Western arms makers. Papperger said that the focus right now is producing more artillery rounds, and his company is working on ramping up its annual production of shells from 100,000 to 600,000.

        1. Indeed. Rheinmetall must have drunk the Koolade if they think this gives out any other message!

    2. Sigh…the Ministry of Truth is already writing the history books “The Germans started World War 3…”
      I really doubt that this will have much support back in Germany, but I suppose they think they can get away with hiding it in Ukraine.

    3. “The war in Ukraine has been a boon for Rheinmetall and other Western arms makers” – most of them American!

    4. I take it that Germany and Rheinmetall are happy for their new factory to fall into Russian hands, at some time during the Summer/Autumn of this year?

  68. Better than a doughnut? Delia Smith dishes up a deep-fried jam sandwich. 14 July 2023.

    Smith and Snaith’s deep-fried jam sandwich.

    1 Start with sliced white bread. Over this, spread a layer of good-quality strawberry jam.
    2 Butter the outside of the sandwich, and remove crusts.
    3 Pinch the sandwich closed, delicately, like you’re sealing ravioli.
    4 Let it chill, then cover the sandwich in batter. Keep in the freezer until you’re ready to fry.
    5 Place the sandwich in a deep-fat fryer, giving each side a minute and a half. It should turn golden and puff up.
    6 Rest for a few moments, then roll in caster sugar while it is still warm.

    If you’re looking to impress, Snaith suggests that on special occasions you could use fruit compote instead of jam.

    I don’t like doughnuts and i’m not sure whether I would like this. Though I would give it a try if offered!

    https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/14/better-than-a-doughnut-delia-smith-dishes-up-a-deep-fried-jam-sandwich

  69. Better than a doughnut? Delia Smith dishes up a deep-fried jam sandwich. 14 July 2023.

    Smith and Snaith’s deep-fried jam sandwich.

    1 Start with sliced white bread. Over this, spread a layer of good-quality strawberry jam.
    2 Butter the outside of the sandwich, and remove crusts.
    3 Pinch the sandwich closed, delicately, like you’re sealing ravioli.
    4 Let it chill, then cover the sandwich in batter. Keep in the freezer until you’re ready to fry.
    5 Place the sandwich in a deep-fat fryer, giving each side a minute and a half. It should turn golden and puff up.
    6 Rest for a few moments, then roll in caster sugar while it is still warm.

    If you’re looking to impress, Snaith suggests that on special occasions you could use fruit compote instead of jam.

    I don’t like doughnuts and i’m not sure whether I would like this. Though I would give it a try if offered!

    https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/14/better-than-a-doughnut-delia-smith-dishes-up-a-deep-fried-jam-sandwich

    1. If they’re free, which doubtless they are, then any man would probably take them home when requested to.
      “May I order one…
      Oh if it’s free I’ll have two, thanks”

    2. Are these products free of charge? If so, why are men being supplied with things they don’t need at the taxpayers’ expense?

      1. Yes, the Dutch and the Germans appears as fed up of Brussels as we are.

        The difference is that the MSM in this country determinedly ignore the slightest criticism of the EU.

    3. “Voters across the bloc will head for the polls next June, for what could be an historic EU election that sees a “historic realignment”.”

      Yes we see what happens when EU voters make the wrong choice. The vote is rerun until they make the right choice.

    1. From the days when men were men, and did the Right Thing, however personally uncomfortable and unpleasant.
      Good on them all.

  73. Well, that got a bit bloody damp!
    Just back from Derby after a bit of shopping, a pair of 38 waist grey flannel trousers and some goodies from Lemon & Honey up Saddlergate, and going via The Dolphin in Derby, Arkwrights in Belper and a pint & couple of songs in the Boat in Cromford.
    A music festival in Belper tomorrow so I’m contemplating going in to do a bit of busking and then back to Arkwrights for a pint or two and a bit more singing.

    2. BoB’s Text:

      Just back from Derby after a bit of shopping, a pair of 38 waist grey flannel trousers and some goodies from Lemon & Honey up Saddlergate, and going via The Dolphin in Derby, Arkwrights in Belper and a pint & couple of songs in the Boat in Cromford.
      A music festival in Belper tomorrow so I’m contemplating going in to do a bit of busking and then back to Arkwrights for a pint or two and a bit more singing.

      I put this text through through an Art Generator that creates an artwork from text using AI’s ChatGPT engine.

      Here’s your artwork: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e50fe1ee657a6aa6a4fcfdf332ae833893a93a88e8b450f32ff82efc1df6b445.png

    3. You’ll need heavy duty waterproofs – and a pint or three to warm yourself up afterwards.

    4. I first got taken to The Dolphin back in 1975 by a friend who was a local (we were attending a trial at the old Crown Court on St Mary’s Gate. It has been one of my favourite pubs ever since. I had a pint of something delightful (can’t remember what it was) and to eat I had a “Coachman’s Lunch”. This was their excellent “Ploughman’s” with a huge chunk of pork pie added.

      I have pondered often as to how they thought a coachman needed more nourishment than a ploughman.

  74. Detachment Leader Thomas Hopper Alderson GC (15th September 1903 – 28th October 1965), Bridlington Demolition and Rescue Parties.

    The citation, published in The London Gazette, August 1940 read:

    A pair of semi-detached houses at Bridlington was totally demolished in a recent air raid. One woman was trapped alive. Alderson tunnelled under unsafe wreckage and rescued the trapped person without further injury to her. Some days later, two five-storey buildings were totally demolished and debris penetrated into a cellar in which eleven persons were trapped. Six persons in one cellar, which had completely given way, were buried under debris. Alderson partly effected the entrance to this cellar by tunnelling 13 to 14 feet under the main heap of wreckage and for three and a half hours he worked unceasingly in an exceedingly cramped condition. Although considerably bruised he succeeded in releasing all the trapped persons without further injury to themselves. The wreckage was unsafe and further falls were anticipated; coal gas leaks were of a serious nature and there was danger of flooding from fractured water pipes. Despite these dangers and enemy aircraft overhead the rescue work was continued. On a third occasion, some four-storey buildings were totally demolished. Five persons were trapped in a cellar. Alderson led the rescue work in excavating a tunnel from the pavement through the foundations to the cellar; he also personally tunnelled under the wreckage many feet into the cellar and rescued alive two persons (one of whom subsequently died) from under a massive refrigerator, which was in danger of further collapse as debris was removed. A wall, three stories high, which swayed in the gusty wind, was directly over the position where the rescue party were working. This was likely to collapse at any moment. Alderson worked almost continuously under the wreckage for five hours, during which time further air raid warnings were received and enemy aircraft heard overhead. By his courage and devotion to duty without the slightest regard for his own safety, he set a fine example to the members of his Rescue Party, and their teamwork is worthy of the highest praise.

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Thomas_Alderson_GC.jpg/220px-Thomas_Alderson_GC.jpg

    2. What an incredibly brave and determined man. I read that as 14 people rescued alive, though one later died. His medal was thoroughly deserved.

    3. Today there would be a police cordon 100 yards away along with fire engines and ambulances waiting for an ‘elf and safety officer to make a risk assessment whilst the buried people suffered and eventually died.
      Thomas Hopper Alderson GC a real hero.

  75. Par Four today.

    Wordle 755 4/6
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
    🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Me too.

      Wordle 755 4/6

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

    2. Making you all feel good

      Wordle 755 6/6

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

    3. A wonderful soaring eagle today, about time.

      Wordle 755 2/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Are they not trying to point out that women earn less than men? Or have the women got married and don’t work anymore (in paying jobs, before I get castigated)? Or that a hairdressing degree means that the market for hairdressers is saturated? Who knows?

      1. That probably is the agenda, equal pay.
        I am just surprised that the difference is so great.

          1. I don’t buy the unequal pay myth anyway. You get the pay you are worth and can ask for.

  77. It has rained here on and off since 10.30 am – useful rain, too. Problem is it has turned COLD – and I shall shortly light the stove….

    2. Off to the gulags with you for heresy. Don’t you know there’s a climate emergency on?

  78. It’s a heatwave, not the end of the world. Spiked 14 July 2023.

    The truth is that global warming could be good for humankind.

    Hold the front page: it’s hot in Greece. Italy, too. And – if you can believe it – in the south of Spain. Blaring sunshine on the Costa del Sol in the middle of July – will wonders never cease? Reading the newspaper coverage of this sunshine, you could be forgiven for thinking it was unheard of. That the Mediterranean had never sweltered before. That the streets of Athens and beaches of Alicante had never baked in the midday heat. ‘Italy swelters’, ‘Holiday hell’, ‘Unbearable’, scream the headlines, as if a most unusual calamity, unknown in the annals of time, had struck southern Europe.

    Everyone needs to calm down. It’s a heatwave, not the end of the world. Yes, it’s hot. Temperatures are surpassing 40C in parts of Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Turkey. It was 41C in Seville this week. It might reach 48C on some Med islands, including Sicily and Sardinia. ‘Some scientists believe’, says the Washington Post, that we’re witnessing Europe’s hottest days in 125,000 years. The last time it was this hot there were ‘hippopotamuses in the Thames’, says a breathless BBC. I’m taking it all with a pinch of salt. Right now I’m looking at a New York Times report from 8 August 1933 which said two cities in Spain had just experienced temperatures of 42.5C. It was like a ‘steaming cauldron’, apparently. Heat is as old as time.

    Heresy! Heresy! Brendan O’Neill must die!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/07/14/its-a-heatwave-not-the-end-of-the-world/

    1. Of course one cannot find it when needed, but somewhere I have a picture of the temperature in our flat when I lived in Costa del sol. and it shews 44°c. Not unusual in an Andalucian summer.

      1. The temperature in my flat is currently 22c. Mind, I do sleep better when it’s cooler.

  79. That’s me for this cold, wet day. No watering required!! Water butts almost all full.

    Have a jolly evening

    A demain.

    1. “No watering required”, perhaps:

      “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Tim 5:23).

      “Butts almost full”; wot abat yer Iffs and Maybes?

      1. “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!”

        Just saying!!

  80. Impassioned speech putting the Department of Education et al. on notice of legal action re the sexualisation, transition etc of children.

    The Department for Education is a department of His Majesty’s Government responsible for child protection, child services, education, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.

    https://twitter.com/BadLawTeam/status/1679870363130314752

    1. This is why teachers with a conscience are leaving in droves.
      They are tasked with indoctrinating young children with alternative carnal knowledge to appease the most perverse minorities in society.
      Those that are staying want more money, if one is going to Hell for their actions then they need to be properly compensated for it in life.

    2. I watched the tweet, and was about to re-tweet when mysteriously it disappeared (‘Sorry, that Tweet has been deleted’).

      1. Video was on Youtube and is now not available. Is taking action to protect children now deemed a revolutionary act?

      1. Video was on Youtube and is not now available. Is taking action to protect children now deemed a revolutionary act?

    4. With drag queens and perversion being taught in schools, with Stonewall getting into lesson plans it is clear that the dept of ed has either completely failed, and should be disbanded or is infested with paedophiles, and should be disbanded.

      We improve education through school vouchers. Move the money to the customer, improve the service.

      I read somewhere a comment that went something like ‘If the rich were made to use state schools and the NHS then they would improve.‘ That makes no sense. Why would schools improve? They get money regardless of their competence. Forcing people who can afford better to use an inferior product does not improve the product. Competition improves products.

  81. 374419+up ticks,

    LIsten up,

    Judicial review

    Weathersfield has fallen to the political enamas / followers, Scampton is to receive an Judicial review, millions have been invested in making it a heritage Centre but as we know the top ranker politico’s are, via the WEF / NWO, with royal seal, have NO intentions of the likes of the dambusters of the past, and the recent Red Arrows giving their likes any hero status, that would be flying in the face of the odious duo’s agenda.

    Judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. In other words, judicial reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached.

    IMHO,
    The Government are legally the owners & they are saying it is an emergency, the Council are saying it cannot be an emergency for the simple reason it is a government created ongoing issue.

    The definition of emergency is a serious, unexpected and often
    dangerous situation requiring immediate action, in fact the whole issue of morally illegal immigration is government orchestrated via Dover from start to finish.

    Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
    https://www.judiciary.uk › How the law works
    Judicial review

    1. 374419+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      I do believe that Weatherfield also has permission to go ahead with a judicial review.

  82. Stop press. NoTTLers will remember the thread yesterday about the missing 2 year old in very rural France.

    You may remember my comment that the staunch Catholic parents couldn’t be under suspicion, “…Could they?”

    Police are looking into “far-right” connections of the child’s parents…..

    A demain, j’espère…

    2. At this point I think we can say that whenever you hear ‘Far Right’ you can safely assume ‘Anyone not following the Hard Left Leninist socialist arrogance of big fat state and wants to silence. ‘

      1. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8643a1a98c2fc0b99a692894804cc9b902e9370d50c1c86130cd47fba90a0e9c.jpg The little fella is doing all right, he has been careering around the garden today. Weighing in at 2.5 kgs I don’t know where he gets his energy from, he took a leap at some low hanging emerging apples as he dashed by before crashing into the lavender. I haven’t recovered yet from the 400 mile round trip to Warrington on just a bowl of grapefruit… once we left Kelly’s Kennels (KC approved) we didn’t want to stop, we just wanted to get safely home with him.

    1. They’ll get all the demented chanting Lefty hate groups there as well, which means massive plod presence to shut down the event. We can’t have the tax payer getting uppity, can we?

    2. Counter demonstration with a lot of bussed in union and public sector lefties.

  86. Just baked three different and decent ‘artisan’ loaves.
    First time I’ve used Spelt Flour. It’s Different.

    Reading the comments below surely the ‘THEY’ were never knowledgeable enough to have removed all of the guns from the public prior to the secret revolution.
    We could have had an absolute ball reorganising certain aspects of life in the UK.

    1. I must try Spelt Flour. I usually use Misspelt Flower but it never comes out right.

        1. Oh no what have I started now……
          Not sure I’ll grain any advantage.
          But I need the dough.

      1. Yes our middle son sufferers gluten intolerance.
        I get him to try it.
        Apparently It’s now a long lost product. I expect the price will go up as usual.

          1. Yes it’s difficult to discerne the difference in flavour. I’ve never tasted anything similar.

          2. Yup, an ancient grain. I used to use it, combined with other flour, for my bread. Now, I bake mainly a rye sourdough with my two and a half year old sourdough starter.

          7. I’ve never tried a ‘real’ sourdough starter, but Panasonic have a breadmaker recipe which works for me.

            The ‘starter’ comprises flour, dried yeast, sugar, balsamic vinegar and water. After 12 hours (or less), use half of the starter, add flour, salt, a bit of yeast and sugar, and a little water. My Croustina breadmaker has a ‘lean’ setting, which takes six hours to bake. Once the machine is sufficiently cool to make the next loaf, repeat. It does wonderfully crusty loaves, and the ‘faux’ sourdough is far superior to the bog–standard white bread recipe. I tend to use a slice or two when the loaf is fresh, then slice the rest and put it in the freezer…

          9. I make gluten free bread in the breadmaker in 3 hours using 675g Doves Gluten Free white bread flour, dash of vinegar, 3 eggs, 465g milk, 1 1/2 tspns of salt, 3 tbsps sugar and 3 tspns of yeast and a bit of Xanthan gum to bulk it up.
            Use the standard setting on the machine. Allow to cool, slice on the meat slicer and freeze. The bread is great straight from the machine and once cooled makes excellent toast – it has a ‘cake’ structure

          10. Good evening, Alec. I don’t bother with a 3 hour recipe. Instead, I buy a small loaf from Aldi, pop it in the freezer and only take out a slice or two which I pop into the toaster on the rare occasions when my main meal of the day is poached eggs on toast. Lol!

          11. Evening Elsie, That’s fine if you don’t mind eating cardboard – if you tasted my toast you’d never go near Aldi’s again

    3. Spelt is an
      ancient grain which was cultivated by earlier civilizations such as
      Mesopotamia in the Middle East around 9000 years ago. In Britain it is first known to have existed as a main crop in 2000 BC.

    4. I’ve recently been buying a rye, wheat and spelt cob from Morrisons – it’s very good.

      1. I bought a 400gm loaf made with wild wheat from Ocado. It tastes like bread used to taste like before the abomination of the Chorley Wood method.
        £2.50 for half a loaf but it made fantastic sandwiches.

        1. The cob lasts well and has a good flavour – it’s much denser than the ordinary wholmeal ones.

  87. Off topic
    I wonder what the result would be coming from a FOI request regarding:
    How many ULEZ, bus lane, speed fine, traffic light fines have been incurred by employees of the mayor, working on official business, and who has paid the fines and fees.

    4. Watched the second half. Too much chatter in the interval but enjoyed the music.

      1. You can watch it on ‘catch up’ (not iPlayer), you don’t need a licence for that

    6. No – but we spent an enjoyable and uplifting evening in our local church for a fundraising choral concert. Five different local choirs, a chamber group and other musicians – it was supposed to be a picnic in the park, but due to the weather, it was a picnic in the church followed by the concert. We only knew about it this morningg – some of our neighbours were involved.

      1. I woz there.

        Started well. A group of arena prommers shouted, “Ladies and gentleman, three cheers for the BBC Singers”. There was just one huge cheer and sustained applause. Then the choir sang Finlandia.

        Just before the last piece, two Just Stop Oil loonies got onto the stage with their orange banners. They were bundled off very efficiently but, they came from back stage. How did they get there? Who let them in? I smell a rat.

    1. My VC relative has an entry but no photograph.
      do you know how I could get one to them for their records?
      I don’t use facebook or the like.

        1. I saw that, but it seems to be set up for users to get rather than send emails

          1. I clicked on it and my email asked what account I wanted to send it from. When I told it it brought up the blank email.

          2. See above,
            The site must load very slowly on my connection, (not unusual out in the Styx) or I’m too impatient.

          3. Here’s what I got back:
            Each of the following recipients was rejected by a remote mail server. The reasons given by the server are included to help you determine why each recipient was rejected.

            Recipient:
            Reason: 5.7.1 : Relay access denied

          5. The site is slow, it has much more appearing as one stays on-line, I’ll leave it.

        3. PPS
          A picture, not the same as mine, has appeared where at the time that I accessed the site there was nothing there;
          Very strange.

  92. That’ll do me for today. Popping off in an hour.
    First a top up of a smooth, red red wine.
    Night all.

  93. After reading the link below I dare say the Democrats will be mispronouncing Mr Kunstler’s name:

    https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/a-fun-day/

    [Mr. Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He moved to the Long Island suburbs in 1954 and returned to the city in 1957 where he spent most of his childhood. He graduated from the State University of New York, Brockport campus, worked as a reporter and feature writer for a number of newspapers, and finally as a staff writer forRolling Stone Magazine. In 1975, he dropped out to write books on a full-time basis. He has no formal training in architecture or the related design fields.

    He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, RPI, the University of Virginia and many other colleges, and he has appeared before many professional organizations such as the AIA , the APA., and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.]

    1. It frightens me that there are so many Western leaders that are hungry for war. They think we are safe being so far away. But things in this joined up world can quickly get out of control. I despair of our leaders and the total absence of conciliation.

      1. Our political leadership is the most ignorant and stupid set of fools I can remember in my lifetime.

        I cannot think of a worse bunch of Parliamentarians in my own personal experience. They seem to be power hungry money grabbers and grifters to every man and woman.

        The present lot on all sides seem dense and almost immune to what is actually going on in the World. They are all stupid or thick.

      2. A quick line to thank you very much for that very helpful HMRC screenshot. It enabled us to find out their calculation – which turns out to be 100% correct. The fault lay with me believing that the higher rate threshold for 22-23 was £50,270. Silly me…

        We will still do it on paper – but at least the MR now has some familiarity with the system and will do it online for the current year.

        One reason for that decision is that, in addition, they want 50% of the 22-23 tax on account for 23-24 – which will be a different kettle of fish because the new higher rate band will mean she is below the 40%.

        We are both very much obliged for your advice and patience.

    2. Bunter is a gross stinking blob of lard with no morality and even less sense of awareness that he is despised.

      We gain nothing as a Nation from supporting Ukraine, the most corrupt country in Europe, nor from our feigning support of the Americans who have used Ukraine for its own nefarious and underhand financial money laundering siphonage schemes for decades.

      The issue here is that the US politicians running for office or seeking presidential office are beholden to sponsors for mega bucks. The political class in the US are dependent upon donors and those donors gain from investments in the military industrial complex.

      Allow the Ukrainians to field old military stock in the sure expectation that it will be destroyed by better Russian equipment, then simply replace the junk with later versions to any fool government likely to accept the status quo.

      Without the sponsorship of those representing the military industrial complex no politician will have sufficient funds to gain election or remain in office.

      This stark reality places President Trump apart from the rats seeking to oppose him. President Trump has no reliance on the normal funding channels owing to his own immense personal wealth. His financial support issues from ordinary Americans, small dollar donations but from millions of MAGA supporters.

    3. He’s extravaganza as a complete dick head is not over yet.
      It certainly raises many questions of genuine and honest attention spans amongst others in Westminster.

  96. Evening all. My good friend ‘Dianne the Ex’ has been staying here for the last couple of nights, hence I’ve been relegated to the sofabed (I’m all heart, but it means I can get to the computer to post the new page without disturbing anyone).

    She has (foolishly?) undertaken to do a sponsored walk of approximately 30 miles, tomorrow, taking in 10 Royal Parks, in aid of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer thingy. Rather her than me. Though I’m reminded that I managed a 50 mile walk towards the end of my stay at secondary school. Something to do with JFK…

    She’s reached, and slightly exceeded, her target of £1,000. She’s staying with a doctor and recovered cancer sufferer friend tonight, and they will be setting off, early in the morning.

    Far be it from me to extract hard-earned cash from fellow Nottlers, but – should anyone feel supportive – her JustGiving page is here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/dianne-westoby-brooks-1685392601920?utm_term=mdNyb5b96. If you’re interested.

    The last few miles of her challenge are closely related, albeit in the opposite direction, to the Queue to see HMQ lying in state last year. I had to abandon that project near Blackfriars, to my eternal shame.

    Please feel free to ignore, but any contributions will – I’m sure – be gratefully received…

    3. So what, it’s hot in the summer.
      Get over it.
      1976 in the UK was hot. We got over it.
      Temperatures in Australia were well over 40 C in late 70s. They got over that.
      People like him are obsessed with their nonsense.

    4. Where’s the video of what is actually happening, i.e. lots of people on the beach or sitting in the shade sipping cold drinks?

  100. A few minutes to midnight, so I’ll wish you all Goodnight and God bless, Gentlefolks.

  102. Our latest grandchild is on its way we already know its a little sister for the little lad my wife left home at 4 am to take care of while his parents are in hospital taking delivery.
    I can’t wait. 😄😃🙂🤗

    4. My brood are unlikely to produce grandchildren. Too busy doing other things.

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