Tuesday 21 November: The Conservatives need to change the narrative on cutting taxes

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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513 thoughts on “Tuesday 21 November: The Conservatives need to change the narrative on cutting taxes”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolk. today’s story

    Protect Your Environment – Recycle Your Old Jokes
    The grim reaper came for me last night, and I beat him off with a vacuum cleaner.
    Talk about Dyson with death.

    I went to the cemetery yesterday to lay some flowers on a grave.
    As I was standing there I noticed 4 grave diggers walking about with a coffin; 3 hours later and
    they’re still walking about with it.
    I thought to myself, they’ve lost the plot!!

    My daughter asked me for a pet spider for her birthday, so I went to our local pet shop
    and they were £70!!! Blow this, I thought, I can get one cheaper off the web.

    I was at an ATM yesterday when a little old lady asked if I could check her balance,
    So, I pushed her over.

    I start a new job in Seoul next week. I thought it was a good Korea move.

    I was driving this morning when I saw a parked AA van.
    The driver was sobbing uncontrollably and looked very miserable.
    I thought to myself, that guy’s heading for a breakdown.

    Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarfs are not Happy.

    I was explaining to my wife last night that when you die you get reincarnated but must come back
    as a different creature. She said she would like to come back as a cow.
    I said “You’re obviously not listening.”

    The wife has been missing a week now. Police said to prepare for the worst.
    So I have been to the charity shop to get all her clothes back.

    Two Muslims have crashed a speedboat into the Thames barrier in London.
    Police think it might be the start of Ram-a-dam.

    When I was in the pub, I heard a couple of IDIOTS saying that they wouldn’t feel
    safe on an aircraft if they knew the pilot was a woman.
    What a pair of sexists. I mean, it’s not as if she’d have to reverse the thing!

    Local Police hunting the ‘knitting needle nutter’, who has stabbed six people in the rear
    in the last 48 hours, believe the attacker could be following some kind of pattern.

    Bought some ‘rocket salad’ yesterday, but it went off before I could eat it!

    A teddy bear is working on a building site. He goes for a tea break and when he returns
    he notices his pick has been stolen. The bear is angry and reports the theft to the foreman.
    The foreman grins at the bear and says “Oh, I forgot to tell you, today’s the day
    the teddy bears have their pick nicked.”

      1. 08:28 for us, Tom.
        The advantage is that you don’t have to get up early to watch a lovely sunrise!

  5. Good morning, chums. Today is due to be rain-free today right up to the weekend, when the rain is due to return. Enjoy your day.

    1. PS – I can’t do the chart with grey, yellow and green which a lot of you post later on in the day, but today I got Wordle in two. Result!

  6. Cameron threatens to ‘get tough’ on judges who block Rwanda plan. 21 november 2023.

    Lord Cameron has threatened to get tough on European human rights judges if they move to thwart the Government’s Rwanda plan.

    The Foreign Secretary sought on Monday to reassure anxious Tory MPs of his stance on the controversial European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

    Sources said he stressed the importance of pushing on with Rishi Sunak’s new plan for emergency legislation and a new treaty – and then take on Strasbourg if required.

    What’s he going to do? Beat them up? The truth behind all this posturing and blustering is that these people no more rule the UK than I do.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/11/20/whatever-necessary-rwanda-migrant-flights-rishi-sunak/

    2. Like he got tough with Brexiteers, i.e. he walked away when he didn’t like their decision?

    3. I seem to recall that the Babbling Poltroon, now aka Lord Greensill, tried to “take on Strasbourg” before and achieved absolutely nothing! I exoect more waffle this time, and again no action.

    4. I seem to recall that the Babbling Poltroon, now aka Lord Greensill, tried to “take on Strasbourg” before and achieved absolutely nothing! I exoect more waffle this time, and again no action.

  7. 367853+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    A new Right-wing party will replace the Tories if they keep surrendering to the establishment,

    A new Right-wing party will replace the Tories if they keep surrendering to the establishment, gettaway, you don’t say.

    As in,
    tory (ino) = brexit= reform =tory (ino)
    change the name, protect the guilty.

    Currently the dummy party name plus the dummy party manifesto is the vote magnet.

    Yer gotta vote tory (ino)party to keep out labour (ino) party is probably an ingredient incorporated
    within a gates backed vaccine / jab.

  10. The Conservatives need to change the narrative on cutting taxes

    We need less narrative and some actual cutting

  12. 378963+ up ticks,

    Dt,
    Britain’s addiction to mass migration is becoming dangerous
    This is not the high wage, high skill
    economy we voted for in 2016.

    Why,
    Because the four million UKIP vote
    instead of UKIP being reinforced as a safeguard the tribal voter returned to the rhetorically comforting bosom of the lab/lib/con coalition party, then the killing, mass rape / paedophilia abuse began in earnest.

    The mass suffering killing, abuse is linked to the voting pattern, if not already to late, radical voting change has to be the order of the day.

  13. Two articles by David Cole regarding the Hamas people as Islamic terrorists. Both worth reading in full in my view.

    One of my earliest Takimag columns, from 2015, covered the “Nazi/Muslim” question. Specifically, which is worse? Among monsters, who’s more monstrous—Nazis or fundamentalist Muslims?
    That 2015 column was an update of one I’d written for another (now-defunct) site in 2010 (this link is not to the site I wrote for; it’s just the only place where that 2010 piece is still online).
    In both columns, I cited polls in which Muslims in their own nations, and Muslims in Europe, were asked whether they support “violent terrorism against civilians in the defense of Islam.” These polls are done routinely, and the results in 2010 and 2015 were the same: bad. Among Muslims living in Muslim lands, clear majorities support “violent terrorism against civilians in the defense of Islam.” Of Muslims living in Europe, the figures run from 22 percent to 42 percent.
    Of U.S. Muslims ages 18 to 30, support ran 26 percent.

    https://en.ammonnews.net/article/10224
    https://www.takimag.com/article/sieg-nile-the-nazi-muslim-question/

    His conclusion is somewhat depressing:

    But now that we’ve established that Murray is correct regarding the Nazi/Muslim comparison, and Shapps is correct regarding the inevitability of civilian deaths during wartime, let ol’ Dave, the guy who was saying this stuff twenty years ago, explain why those two points conflict.
    Hamburg and Dresden, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and the Tokyo firebombing, were effective because they were employed against civilized humans. You can beat high-IQ, civilized people into submission, because they can do the math and understand when acceptance of defeat is the best path forward for themselves and their children. You cannot beat wild dogs into submission. Wild dogs—whether driven mad by rabies or “trauma”—do not know defeat. They will keep biting and kicking until their last breath.
    Meaning, there’s no way out for Israel. A hundred Dresdens will not stop a people (Palis) overtaken by bloodlust. At the same time, as evidenced by the bloodlust exhibited by well-off Muzzies in Europe, being nice to the Palis won’t help either.
    It’s been my buzzword all year, for everything from U.S. racial problems to Gaza/Israel: intractable.
    It’s a word feared by people lost in fantasy, be it U.S. rightists dreaming of “national divorce,” Israelis believing that a few Dresdens can solve the Gaza problem, Muzzies thinking that murdered Jewish babies are the key to liberation, or Western mush-heads convinced that a “two-state solution” will satisfy Gazans.
    “Intractability” is a nightmare word for humans. It’s the thing we fear most: the terminal-cancer diagnosis, the “make your peace because it won’t get better.”
    And I can’t offer any solution beyond grudging acceptance.
    Though, I find that heavy drinking can be helpful.

    1. This just highlights the stupidity of importing more Muslim immigrants into the UK and Europe. To them, Islam is much more important than nationality. They will never become British.

      1. Agreed.
        But to a great extent it’s too late, even if no more are imported their numbers will increase far faster than those of the rest of the populations.

    2. Britain’s military role until recently was to offset fistfights overseas and sadly in NI ..

      To act as go betweens amongst those who create trouble amongst peaceful communities , to shut down aggressive behaviour , and encourage trading agreements, showing a better way, instead of constant bickering and slaughter .

      My question is , why have we lost our dignity and cultural drive by allowing foreign aggressors into the UK thus giving them a mandate to DEMAND we kowtow to them ?

      What the hell are our politicians thinking of?

      3. Morning all.

        U.K. long ago lost that mindset, just look at how we jumped on the Syria and Afghanistan bandwagons with the US, let alone BoJo’s egging on of Zelensky. And still there are articles about how we must support Ukraine in their “bitter armed struggle against the terrible Russians”.

        1. ‘Morning, vw, No mention of the ‘terrible Ukrainians’, their AZOV brigade and the slaughter of 14,000 Russian speakers.

    3. Currently the Arabian world has us over a barrel (oil)…….

      Edited to add an after thought. Perhaps that’s why some politicians dream of achieving Net Zero….?

        1. They’ll end our civilisation. Comically, they are the first group to suffer because they, more than anyone else rely on energy.

          The power network to call the police when the angry mob come for them.

    4. The mention of Dresden reminds me that last night in a book about Spitfire production by someone who worked at the Eastleigh factory, he said that people go on about Dresden, but he was on the receiving end of the Southampton Blitz and he had no sympathy whatsoever!

  14. Good morning all!
    A damp and dull 5°C this morning with the air hanging like a wet rag.

    1. Perhaps it’s merely a nazty coincidence?
      These shows will have been recorded before the Hamas attacks.

        1. There’s no question that Gorgianeh is making a clear Palestinian statement and if it’s her octopus mascot then it’s deliberate provocation.

          HOWEVER, if you look at the iplayer version it suggests that this is just a very Nazty fake and if there is a hate crime it’s on the part of the people who put together the tweets you linked to.
          https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001sq5k/university-challenge-202324-19-christ-church-oxford-v-emmanuel-college-cambridge

          2. I didn’t see the programme, and can only get the stills that I linked to, over here.
            The mascot in the still doesn’t look remotely like the thing in the tweet and the contestant is merely in standard Muslim style headgear.
            But I’m betting one or other of the pictures has been altered.
            If the show really did feature that octopus and the contestant dressed in the Palestinian colours there should be a major investigation as to who authorised it and why.

          4. Yes, the mascot is different in the still. The programme features the octopus, so it is obvious that it has been deliberately changed.

    2. We found it interesting that Greta Thunberg had an octopus by her side when she appealed for a cease fire in Gaza.

      Quote:
      Thunberg recently attended a pro-Hamas rally, where she was seen holding a sign that read, “Stand with Gaza.” Not only that, but the far-left activist included a light blue octopus as part of her protest, which is a disparaging symbol that has been used to denounce Judaism and Israel.

    3. I don’t think I’ve watched it more than a dozen times over the past 10 years. There are lots of TV programmes that don’t appeal anymore. Mastermind and Have I got news for you.

      1. I bet they thought we are all too stupid to notice and that it was a bit of a daring “laugh”.

  17. Elon Musk’s X sues media watchdog group over report on Nazi content. 21 november 2023;

    Elon Musk’s social media company X has accused Media Matters for America of “maliciously” trying to drive away its advertisers by reporting that ads for major brands including IBM and Apple were running next to pro-Nazi content.

    X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed the media watchdog group kick-started a “blatant smear campaign” by publishing almost 20 articles against the social media platform and Mr Musk earlier in November.

    This is almost certainly true. The globalists and progressives hate Musk. Just by coincidence I was watching the launch of his new Heavy Lift rocket on the BBC this weekend and the commentator remarked that it was Musk’s operation and then added quite gratuitously “Yes. Him again.” Which I thought summed up the BBC’s position pretty well.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/11/21/elon-musk-x-lawsuit-media-matters-nazi-report-advertising/

  18. Morning all 🙂😊
    The sky,…. usual and almost consistent grey. And evidence of rain.
    For the second time in my life I turned off the football on TV. The first time was last week. I realise the players are under orders. But I expect without such orders, they would come to a joint conclusion and play the game as they would naturally. And also please stop diving and rolling around on the grass. It’s so childish. Get up and get on with it.

    Oh hang on, perhaps I should take into account that they are representing our country. And seemingly its state of mind.

  19. Good day all,

    Dull at McPhee Towers and looking grey for the whole day, wind wafting around North, 8℃ and not likely to make double figures today.

    How many of us watched videos from that wonderful conference led by Jordan Peterson for three days from 30th October, Action for Responsible Citizenship (ARC)? It was a gathering of 1,500 “thought-leaders” from business, politics and independant media which at its inception was billed as a counter to the activities of the UN/WEF and the globalist cabal. Here’s its website. It gives you warm, fuzzy feelings, doesn’t it.

    https://www.arcforum.com
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9eda418ff0eebee5156eee6ec13234a93472da61afbc539fda791c98b7531bf4.png

    Well, it has recently been taken apart by the actionabletruth substack. https://actionabletruth.substack.com/p/alliance-for-responsible-citizenship-truth

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f9d9c88c5b155cc3f7c45b4a92ae267dcaf89121ece0af5efa5eb8383a58c96.png

    A central part of this analysis is a video by Polly St George aka AmazingPolly who was onto this months ago:

    https://rumble.com/v2dwmjq-surprise-jordan-petersons-arc-was-built-for-and-by-billionaires.html

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5a96e5e97dc93711614106c7f77c21c247adc8b3569bfa1a6838f66955a12b48.png

    If you were wondering why GB News has uploaded a lot of videos from ARC all is revealed. There is a common money source behind both ARC and GB News, and perhaps soon the DT and Spectator. Polly take you through the affiliates where we find, you’ve guessed it, The Rockefeller Foundation, WEF, and Bill and Melinda Gates among others.

    There’s also a video from Sonia Poulson about GB News which was posted here a few days ago.

    ARC and GB News are controlled opposition. I wonder what will happen when hundreds of the 1,500 ‘thought-leader’ participants from the independent media realise it? People like Dave Rubin, Eric Weinstein and even James Lindsay the anti-Marxism campaigner. Is ARC really a WEF-lite? It seems as if it might be, as it tangos with the WEF/UN axis in a sort of ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine.

    1. If true that’s profoundly depressing.

      The article on the new Argentinian president in today’s business section offered me some hope.

          1. Game, set and match to the Argies. I bet their forces are larger than ours. We could not mount any sort of task force, these days.

          4. “VC TENderful”. First hit the drawing board in 1949 (allegedly)….

            But, then, I saw an ARO Lancastrian fly – at the Radlett Airshow in 1947…..!!!!!!!!!!!!

          5. We returned Hong Kong because the lease ran out. The Falkland Islands have always been British and the Bennies want to stay British (rather like Gibraltar).

          6. Perhaps Britain could give them independence, as a real country recognised by the UN, AND propose them for NATO or its equivalent in the Pacific.
            It would do two things
            Either put the Argies in their place or show us who our real friends are if the Argentinian position is supported.

        2. The argument is that the Falkland Islanders wish to remain British. This is not the true reason. Britain retaining the Falklands gives us a wedge of mineral rights in the arctic circle.

        4. “Pero… pero… Las Malvinas son Argentinas” as they used to say in my Elementary school in Argentina. Lol.

  20. Good day all,

    Dull at McPhee Towers and looking grey for the whole day, wind wafting around North, 8℃ and not likely to make double figures today.

    How many of us watched videos from that wonderful conference led by Jordan Peterson for three days from 30th October, Action for Responsible Citizenship (ARC)? It was a gathering of 1,500 “thought-leaders” from business, politics and independant media which at its inception was billed as a counter to the activities of the UN/WEF and the globalist cabal. Here’s its website. It gives you warm, fuzzy feelings, doesn’t it.

    https://www.arcforum.com
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9eda418ff0eebee5156eee6ec13234a93472da61afbc539fda791c98b7531bf4.png

    Well, it has recently been taken apart by the actionabletruth substack. https://actionabletruth.substack.com/p/alliance-for-responsible-citizenship-truth

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f9d9c88c5b155cc3f7c45b4a92ae267dcaf89121ece0af5efa5eb8383a58c96.png

    A central part of this analysis is a video by Polly St George aka AmazingPolly who was onto this months ago:

    https://rumble.com/v2dwmjq-surprise-jordan-petersons-arc-was-built-for-and-by-billionaires.html

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5a96e5e97dc93711614106c7f77c21c247adc8b3569bfa1a6838f66955a12b48.png

    If you were wondering why GB News has uploaded a lot of videos from ARC all is revealed. There is a common money source behind both ARC and GB News, and perhaps soon the DT and Spectator. Polly take you through the affiliates where we find, you’ve guessed it, The Rockefeller Foundation, WEF, and Bill and Melinda Gates among others.

    There’s also a video from Sonia Poulson about GB News which was posted here a few days ago.

    ARC and GB News are controlled opposition. I wonder what will happen when hundreds of the 1,500 thought-leader participants from the independent media realise it? People like Dave Rubin, Eric Weinstein and even James Lindsay the anti-Marxism campaigner. Is ARC really a WEF-lite? It seems as if it might be, as it tangos with the WEF/UN axis in a sort of ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine.

  21. Morning all, I see BT is up to it’s normal money grabbing antics – no more advanced payment of a years line rental and a charge of £2 a month just to have a phone on the land line. I don’t use my land line for outgoing calls so the few incoming calls I get on it is costing £2 a month. Both these costs will of course rise every March in line with the RPI plus 3.9%. Who’s side is OFCOM on? certainly not the consumer

      1. Fibre’s the best option – not anything but actual fibre – not the vdsl plug in to the phone socket lark.

        Oddly, I will say that the 4g and 5g routers while expensive are pretty good these days. We have a LM 1200 as a last ditch backup and it works very well.

    2. We have a phone on the landline, so if there is a powercut, we can still contact the outside world,in the event of an emergency.

      2. As ‘futurist’ as it sounds, the PSTN network, based on copper and creaking power supplies with aged loose wires is an antique we need to get rid of and replace witha completely fibre based set up with gigabit to homes, ten to businesses and with 100+ interconnects.

        I appreciate there are systems that still look for the phone network but there’s better options available that are more mobile.

        Just this morning location checkers flashed that the Mother in Law was in the driveway and we all hid so she couldn’t see us.

        1. So, the power fails and I do not have a working mobile phoneand with no internet signal, do I have to wait 20 years for the new system to be installed, or just pick up the landline phone, with the big dial?

          1. Aye, I can see that, but do you let your mobile telephone battery run down regularly?

            No signal is a different issue and yes, in those instances a backup is sensible.

  22. Yo all

    Just checking if we can get Guinea Fowl for Chrimbo Dinner

    Tesco came offered us this

    Burgess Excel Guinea Pig Nuggets 1.5Kg

    I think that we will pass

  23. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1771122212da947b7b1c87c81b5465d9037a71af84fc7f6617e95bad634bba3b.png
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/21/poetry-editor-resigns-in-protest-over-gaza/

    Michael Deacon is always worth reading:


    “If this resignation leaves a hole in the news the size of poetry,” she wrote, “then that is the true shape of the present.”

    What a wonderful line. Admittedly, I haven’t the first idea what it means. But then, that’s modern poetry for you. If you can’t understand it, it must be good.

  24. Another triumph for a perlice farce:

    “Police should never have released sensitive details about Nicola Bulley’s private life, and made a series of catastrophic errors in their handling of her case, an independent report has concluded.”

  25. https://twitter.com/MetroUK/status/1726896864879095907

    Parents nightmare , I do hope they are found safe and sound soon .
    Nice looking lads .

    They were last seen in a silver Ford Fiesta with the number plate HY14 GVO, North Wales police said. The force is urging anyone who may have seen the teenagers to come forward.

    A coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon searched the area around the Glaslyn nature reserve early on Tuesday, while the Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team searched for their car in mountain car parks yesterday, the BBC reports.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/missing-teenagers-boys-wales-latest-news-r7zb2wqd7

    1. As they’re teenagers why didn’t they keep their telephones on them? I appreciate there may be no signal, but it provides a way of providing light and a static map.

      I’d also ask why all they all seem to look the same…

        1. Diversity is beneficial, its supporters tell us. If these four youngsters included at least one who didn’t look like them, they would have been safer.

    3. Boys?

      I suggest they are all over 18 or their names and photos would not have been put up.

      They look like boys but so what. Our son Henry looks very young for his age. He was not able to buy a drink at the students’ bar when he arrived at university because he was still 17 – but poor chap, he is still asked to produce ID when buying a drink and he is 28 years old!

      By contrast his brother, Christo, always looked old for his years. We took him into a pub in Holt when he was 16, bought him a pint and no questions asked.

      1. The photos might not be especially recent although, that said, people with smartphones often take pictures on a frequent basis so there’s good reason to think the images will have been taken sometime in the past few weeks.

  26. ‘Morning All

    Back from ‘Orspital sore gob but life is much improved totally hopped up on codeine so not really feeling the pain

    Interesting post op advice sheet includes “stay away from forums,blogs and social media” but bugger that….

    Teachers in Batley snigger and say about time……….

    https://twitter.com/BurnsideNotTosh/status/1726267189479735514?s=20

    Bit close to home eh??

    Animal medley

    https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/153/045/158/original/778ce381c3a84d75.jpeg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/84d310f7ccc41da431f5bdd956e14f3f6aa54de5bfd53ab15538cc89192fea76.gif

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b558843af47ebe49a1b5b828deb8958ca9af20bd9d254360e619d96e00392f7c.gif
    Back to bed,later all

    3. Someone tell Reeves ‘all part of a big city, get used to it, get raped for the sake of diversity.’

    4. Reeves: “Suella Braverman’s remarks about ‘hate marches’ were appalling…but I don’t support the intimidation of members of parliament…”

      She’s not really very good at joining the dots, is she?

    5. Reeves: “Suella Braverman’s remarks about ‘hate marches’ were appalling…but I don’t support the intimidation of members of parliament…”

      You’re not really very good at joining the dots, are you?

    1. I know people who like sprouts. Well, they say they do. But, once you delve deeper it’s clear they’re suffering a bizarre vegetablist form of stockholm syndrome.

          2. I can see an emergency sprout rescue centre is needed. Don’t worry, it’ll be on the way, green lights blazing to save you from this disgusting vegetable.

            Then the recovery can begin. You’ll all be safe and sprout free forever in no time.

  29. MOH’s friend messaged this morning that she was isolating after testing positive for COVID.
    Friend’s OH is towing the Government’s line and expects to maiintain his social commitments and die anyway.

    1. How many jabs have they had?

      We know people who have had as many as five boosters since the initial one and in most cases they have had Covid several times, despite the jabs.
      They respond to my stating they’re ineffective by claiming they would have had Covid much worse without the jabs..

        1. Some are very highly educated and well qualified individuals.

          I’m always accused of being anti-vax, yet that is totally untrue, I’m just anti this particular vax. I think it is next to useless, it can certainly cause harm to some susceptible people and long term I dread to think what it might be mutating into.

          1. Education and common sense do not always go together.

            One of my best friends has a First Class Oxford degree in Modern Languages. He writes well and very lucidly but at a practical level he is extremely stupid and I would never trust his judgement.

          2. I love Dickens, his novels and his fascinating life, and regularly watch ZOOM talks by learned Professors on “The Inimitable”. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to follow what they are saying; lots of “ums”, “er”s, “you know what I mean”s and “oh, I should have mentioned this before”s. But if they have produced a published book on their topic, when I read it the clarity of their thesis, presumably polished prior to printing, is much clearer.

          3. Yo sos,

            As we say about “very highly educated and well qualified individuals.”

            Can easily work out the ” two-thirds square root of the volume of a jar of pickles’

            But could not open the damned thing

          4. Actually, while highly educated, I can’t do either (mathematically challenged and with arthritic hands) 🙂

          5. I am not anti-vax, I am ex-vax. It would be wise to consider avoiding future vaccines now; if you read the ingredients why ever would one consider injecting aluminium, thimerasol, and other such along with stem cells from aborted babies and other animals. The whole industry disgusts me.

          7. I was never anti-vax – I’ve had loads for travel purposes, including the two AZ ones. My children had all theirs when they were young. But now I think the ones I’ve had will have to last me for the rest of my life – I’d be very reluctant to have any more.

            The bullying this year for the “seasonal vaccinations” flu and covid has been off the scale – texts, emails, letters in the post – I’m surprised they didn’t actually phone as well. I don’t remember them being so persistent before. I’ve only ever once bothered with the flu jab as I do think it’s useless, and that was in 2020, before the covid jabs came out. The propaganda must have got to me that time.

          8. The flu jab was always put into production in January each year, based on predictions of what it might mutate into by the following winter. This was because they needed to start making the flu vaccine straight away to have enough supplies by October. Sometimes the predictions were accurate and sometimes they were not. Hence I now now longer bother with them.

            Now, as for having the dreaded Covid vaccinations for travel, I am told that for economics reasons (airlines don’t wish to go bankrupt and foreign destinations are desperate to attract the tourist pound/dollar) then there is no need to continue with the Covid jabs. Can anyone advise me if this is true? I have two elderly older sisters in New Zealand who are both in nursing homes and nearing the end of their lives. I would hate to make a last-minute dash to be with them as the end approaches or to attend their funeral, but would hate to be stopped and sent back home after the 24 hour journey.

          9. I don’t think there are any requirements now – even the US dropped it this year, but of course, that could change.

            When I went to Kenya last February, I did need to show my vax certificate, but I hadn’t had any boosters and it was ok. The previous year (22) we had to have “Fit to fly” swabs at £70 apiece very shortly before going, as well vax certs uploaded onto a Global Health Security website. Let’s hope they don’t start that again.

          11. The flu jab was always put into production in January each year, based on predictions of what it might mutate into by the following winter. This was because they needed to start making the flu vaccine straight away to have enough supplies by October. Sometimes the predictions were accurate and sometimes they were not. Hence I now now longer bother with them.

            Now, as for having the dreaded Covid vaccinations for travel, I am told that for economics reasons (airlines don’t wish to go bankrupt and foreign destinations are desperate to attract the tourist pound/dollar) then there is no need to continue with the Covid jabs. Can anyone advise me if this is true? I have two elderly older sisters in New Zealand who are both in nursing homes and nearing the end of their lives. I would hate to make a last-minute dash to be with them as the end approaches or to attend their funeral, but would hate to be stopped and sent back home after the 24 hour journey.

          12. I am happy to say that the hysteria about the vaccines that I have seen in the UK press, seems to be absent in the US.

      2. Are these Covid cases self-assessed or confirmed by testing of swabs? I ask because people with bad colds sometimes say they have flu. This could be another form of upgrading.

        I’ve yet to become a vaccine refusenik and have not yet had a confirmed case of Covid-19. If anything, I’ve had fewer respiratory ailments than usual since the Covid-19 vaccine programme was launched, although I have my (untested) suspicions about a stubborn cough in August.

        2. I think we both had covid in January 2020, with a long-lasting cough to follow. Since then the only thing I’ve had was a sore throat in August last year, which didn’t develop into anything. I’ve been taking vitD from October to March each year since 2020. I think it’s improved my general health as well as warding off infections. I have no particular aches and pains or arthritis, which one might expect at 75.

          In previous years, I’ve had some real stinkers of summer colds – especially one 10 years ago, which lasted weeks and weeks.

    2. I still see folk wearing a mask. Being honest, it’s their choice. It could be something aside from COVID that’s the reason…

      5. There’s one woman who works in our local Waitrose whp goes around with one of those heavier masks with filters on the side. You can hear her coming. She sounds like Darth Vader.

      6. There’s one woman who works in our local Waitrose whp goes around with one of those heavier masks with filters on the side. You can hear her coming. She sounds like Darth Vader.

      1. I wonder if I had Covid last year?

        I tested positive,

        I am in my late 70s.

        I am overweight and not as fit as I used to be – and yet I only was in bed for one day – I have had far worse colds than this one.

        Caroline was only tested because the nurse came to the house to test me so she was tested too.

        She tested positive.

        She didn’t even have a cold

        She needed no ‘bed rest’ and carried on as normal.

        Was/Is the whole Covid thing a massive con from the very start?.

          2. Before Grizzly jumps in, we are only nearly 23 years into it. The new millennium did not start until the end of December 2000. (Am I turning into Peddy the Pedant in my old age?) Lol.

          5. You are forgiven since – as a recently married NoTTLer – you must have other things on your mind. (Belated congratulations, btw.)

        3. I think you were both lucky.
          There is no doubt that some people get it much, much worse than others.

          Like you, I got it very mildly on the two occasions I’ve had it and had testing not been done I’d not have known it was other than a cold with some slightly odd effects on my senses of taste and smell. Neither of else felt it necessary to confine to bed.
          We do know people who have been absolutely floored by it, with after effects lasting months, even though they were jabbed. They claim that but for the jab it might have killed them.

          1. I had to go to hospital every month for 18 months while covid was raging. I didn’t get it at all.

          6. We had the advantage of having had no Covid jabs at all. Our friends and family members who had it when we had it were fully jabbed and boosted and had it far worse.

          7. ‘….even though they were jabbed’. The jab destroys immunity, which is why they were floored by it, and why the effects lasted for months.

          8. I feel very lucky. I had the jabs when available, plus flu’ shots and no sign of a cough, or cold for the past 10years. Must be doing something right!! ;-))

          9. You have indeed been fortunate. Both our sons have been affected by the covid jab. There is a web site that goes by the name of ‘how bad was my batch?’ whereby you can check out the batch number of your vax and how harmful it was. Dr Mike Yeadon, former CEO of Pfizer, writes about this and other stuff connected to the covid jab.

          10. My fervently covid-believer colleague who has had every jab going as far as I know, is currently off work with shingles.
            He thinks it is purely because he had chicken pox once. I didn’t even bother asking him whether he had had a booster this autumn.

          12. I don’t think you can get shingles if you haven’t already had chicken pox at some time. But the covid jab seems to reactivate the herpes virus. It’s quite a common reaction.

          13. I had the shingles jab although I never got chickenpox as a child (I had an amazingly disease-free childhood; the only illness I got was whooping cough, caught in hospital). I had a friend who lost the sight of one eye through shingles.

          14. I had shingles in 2019. It was nasty and painful, and apparently you can get it more than once, so we did have the jabs for that.

          15. My aunt lost the sight in her left eye through shingles, it also affected the nerve on that side of her face and affected her speech.

          16. It is a pre-requisite, certainly. However, it tends to flare up when the immune system is challenged, and it has been linked to the covid jabs.

    1. It’s not making headway because millions of people have little to no interest in party politics, will never have heard of it, know nothing about it and have no interest in finding out. Many will not bother to vote.

      Then there are the other millions who are confirmed socialists, greens, liberal democrats or Scottish/Welsh/Irish nationalists who would never vote for a party such as Reform UK.

      Then there are the millions more who are confirmed Conservative party supporters or who vote for the party, not as supporters, but merely in an attempt to keep out a party they dislike even more.

      That won’t leave many millions for Reform UK.

    2. It’s the ogga effect.

      Many wil, vote lib, lab or con because that is what their families have always done. Not many have parents that voted reform so they will join the disillusioned mass who will not bother.

      I wonder how a labour government will respond to an invision of the Falklands. Will labour insurers be able to find the islands or will they just say Port Stanley is a colonial relic?

        2. Certainly not, Uncle Bill. Although I do regularly buy their Malbec wine, mainly because I enjoy it but partially because I refuse to buy wine (and other items) from France, Germany, Italy and other EU wine-producing nations if I can possibly avoid it.

    4. An extract from the Guardian’s website on Sunday. It suggests that restoring “Brexit” to the party name will help to make it a little more recognisable.

      It was barely noticed, but a slight tweak last month to the name of the insurgent rightwing party Reform UK sought to resurrect a ghost that once terrified the Conservatives. In future, it is to be known as “Reform UK: The Brexit party”.

      https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/19/reform-uk-goes-back-to-brexit-as-it-looks-to-seize-on-tory-troubles

      1. Blair achieved success by branding his party the New Labour Party.

        The Reform Party ought to call itself: Reform UK: The Real Brexit Party.

    5. 378963+ up ticks,

      Afternoon R,

      I’ll give you a clue
      tory (ino)party =
      brexit party=
      reform party =
      tory (ino) party.

    6. If only we could persuade everyone to vote LD so they get a small majority. It would a) Teach the Conservatives a hard lesson not to take the Pi55 or their core voters for granted. b) Cause Lab to go into meltdown and the second coming of JC. And C) Leave us reasonably safe because not having been in power for over a century they would probably find it difficult to enact their exotic policies… 🙂

      1. When the LDs had a sniff of power (under the coalition) they did a lot of damage – Climate Change Act, anyone? Don’t imagine they’d find it difficult to enact their various follies.

    7. a) Not credible, no credible candidates
      b) Pi$$ed on by the media who make them out to be fruitcakes.

  31. I wanted to change 2 items on my Donald Russel order. Not able to do it online the way their website is set up. They called me this morning and were perfectly happy to do as i requested but that left an underpayment of 27pence. It must have cost them double that for the card processing.
    Not so canny Scots.

  32. I am off now (in the rain) to the Monopoly lecture. I’ll car tell you about it later – perhaps.

  33. Russia ‘rented out Prague apartments to pay for Ukraine invasion’. 21 November 2023.

    Russia rented out Prague apartments to tourists using holiday letting websites to help pay for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, the Czech Republic has said.

    The Czech government has now frozen the Russian real estate assets, which were also rented to tenants, who were forced to pay in cash.

    Using the roughly 150 apartments, a legacy of when the Czech Republic was behind the Iron Curtain, for commercial purposes, was controversial even before the invasion in 2022.

    The rent from 150 apartments was used to finance the war? They didn’t run a raffle and organise a rag and bone collection as well by any chance?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/11/21/czech-republic-russia-rented-prague-flats-pay-ukraine-war/

    1. Unless these “apartments” were blocks of flats, 150 would probably raise less than $20 million since the start of the invasion.

      Remind me, how many billions have been given to Zelensky?

  34. **Insanity Alert** ** Insanity Alert**

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dea0f6d3194df931a61d655ffcf69c90abf5a9be89317c66a47a55b7909dcf94.png

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/20/trans-roman-emperor-hitchin-museum-claim-pronouns-woke/

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d8b537efb270ea007620fa0884654516928f9a94498ee996e88aaa180d5a31b4.png

    If he/she/it was I doubt he/she/it would have survived long. This was the Roman Empire, you know.

    You really do have to laugh at them now.

    1. There are some sports where men and women can compete on equal terms e.g. horse-riding. Anyone who has gone through male puberty (regardless of whether or not he has undergone hormone treatment and surgery) should not be allowed to compete in women-only sports. The sooner that the governing bodies of sports accept this fact the better. Otherwise women should refuse to participate in competitions where ‘trans-women’ are competing. It wouldn’t take long for the qualification rules to be changed.

      1. What about eunuchs – like the singing castratos who were castrated so that they did not lose their treble voices at puberty?

        Which team would eunuchs play for? Would the pre-puberty castrated boys be allowed to play in girls’ team? Would boys castrated after puberty have to play in men’s teams.

  36. 378963+ up ticks,

    Asking any bright spark, is this feasible, big time ?

    Search on GETTR
    ogga1

    Post
    orkid777（🌸兰花 ）
    @orkid777
    ·
    Nov 20
    An
    #enslavement
    that must now be abolished. How can we be free again? If is was easy to develop electric cars back in the early 1900s then today would be a piece of cake as we are more advanced today than we were then.

    The energy to power the World’s machinery and cars for thousands of years can be derived from electromagnetic wave conductors.

    We have known for 80+ years that electromagnetic energy can be used to harness the freely available electromagnetic radiation and power the World. A simple antenna is an electromagnetic conductor which converts harnessed radio waves in free space to an electrical current. This electromagnetic conversion can power all our
    #machinery
    , including our
    #cars
    and
    #trucks
    .

  37. Why are young people sympathising with Hamas? Spiked. 21 November 2023.

    Over recent decades, older generations have failed to inspire in children a positive vision of the West. Worse, education has often actively cultivated feelings of shame towards nations such as the UK, the US and Australia. Take the teaching of history. Far from promoting a positive account of the past – or even an objective or balanced account of the past – children today are often taught that everything that happened in the past was sinful. Both the school curriculum and popular children’s television programmes damn British history as an unbroken story of slavery, colonialism and countless other acts of barbarism. This is a story without heroes or acts of redemption.

    Western societies have created a generation of young people who are antagonistic to their own national history and profoundly alienated from Judeo-Christian culture. Many are willfully ignorant of the Holocaust and some even prefer to side with terrorists over slaughtered Israeli citizens. We need to be far more concerned about the numbers of young people happy to don a keffiyeh and turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism.

    Too late I’m afraid. These young people were created by the present Elites and their Cultural Marxist beliefs. They destroyed Christianity and indoctrinated them with lies in the schools system. The MSM supported it. It cannot be undone.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/11/20/why-are-young-people-sympathising-with-hamas/

    1. Many young people of my generation were considered left wing when I was young. They believed in tolerance of others of all races, they believed in democracy, they despised anti-Semitism, had ideals of freedom and supported equality for women and sexual freedom. They also thought homosexuality should not be illegal.

      Now young people have moved to what young people of my generation would have called the extreme right:

      They are intolerant of those who do not share their views, they embrace anti-Semitism to the extent of allying themselves with those who wish to kill all Jews, and men who want to keep their women segregated and treated as chattels and dressed in miserable garments, despise democracy and want homosexuals eliminated.

      1. Intolerance is a hallmark of the Left, not the Right. I’ve not met a Right minded person who wants much beyond being left alone.

    2. Not sure I agree with this statement;

      “the obfuscation of the realities of the non-fossil nature of oil ”

      But, all in all, Argentina certainly needs political and economic U-turns, rather like the UK.

          4. As far as I can see, his whole argument is based on no fossils found below 16,000′. That’s a totally flawed theory. Fossils are more rare as you go deeper into the rock strata. The deeper you go the more the pressure and heat increase, which is not conducive to fossil remains. Then throw in the fact that only a tiny fraction of animals and plants get fossilised in the first place and the drill bit reduces the substrate to dust which is then flushed up the drilling pipe. The only samples taken at depth are with coring tubes which came in 30′ lengths. you might get 2 or 3 hooked together for a 90′ coring tube. This necessitates bringing up the the thousands of feet of drill pipe and attaching the 90 of core tube and popping it all the way down with drill pipe on top of it. Not something done frequently but when the mud loggers might have found something interesting in the mud pumped from the bottom of the well or seismic data suggests a change of lithology that might indicate a possible hydrocarbon presence.
            So you get a 90′ core sample at the surface knocked off into 3′ wooden containers which are shipped to a lab for analysis. I’ve found fossils on and in rock cores but usually from limestone bedding and from some thousands of feet down, but it’s not common , and believe me, it’s the porosity, permeability and gas/water/oil content that is looked for. The most common place in the core to find one is where the breaking of the core into 3′ lengths leaves a bedding surface at each end.

            Sorry to go on so.

          5. Windmills are made from steel and concrete. By default they are fossil fuels, they’re inefficient, pointless, wildlife slaughtering, 500 tons of concrete eyesores reliant on massive subsidy.

        1. Knowing what i know i expect the lady gets all sorts of proposals every day. Including the naughty ones. :@)

        2. Damned good, thank you! I have been getting my ear for the language in by listening to the election debates (they actually had them; all the candidates, subject to strict rules). I’m here at an absolutely fascinating time.

          Trying to concentrate on tango rather than politics, but yesterday, for example, I discovered I was dancing with a man who had fought in the Falklands. My Spanish isn’t yet good enough to go into the nitty-gritty, but he didn’t hold it against me – we agreed that we were not our governments and went on to dance very well together. I am learning so much!

          2. Glad you’re having a good time, Katy.

            “but he didn’t hold it against me”

            One for Phizzee’s dirty mind.

  40. A distracted West is about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Ukraine. Hamish de Crettin-Gordon 21 November 2023.

    Above all, we in the West must realise that it is events in Europe that will shape our destiny far more than those in the eastern Mediterranean. We must provide everything Ukraine needs to win; otherwise, there is the real prospect they may lose, and bring a dark cloud down on Europe which we have not seen since 1939.

    I of course think that the “dark cloud” is already here and it’s not from Russia. I have never felt that the UK is at risk from Vladimir Putin and that even if it were the Ukraine war has proved it an impossible ambition. Of all those who have posted such opinions on the threads and been called names for it, I have never read one that called for a Russian victory. They all have sought a negotiated settlement which should have been the aim from the beginning.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/21/israel-gaza-ukraine-zelensky-west-distracted/

    1. If that Crettin can’t see that the real threat to the West, and for that matter civilisation, is that from the religion of Islam’s adherents pouring out of the Middle East he isn’t the analcyst he claims to be.

    3. I have very little time for Putin, but I believe his aim is nationalistic i.e. he has the interest of Russia uppermost in his mind. Islam, however, has world domination as its goal, and has made no secret of this. It has proved throughout its history since the 7th century that it will do this by force if necessary.

      It is clear, then, where the danger lies – and it isn’t from Putin.

      1. That is exactly why the US attitude to Russia since the fall of communism has been a disaster for the World.

    1. Without a doubt, Rishi is planning a Spring (May) election. Tax cuts (I have seen that the Chancellor plans to borrow yet more to fund his cuts!) will be announced in his Autumn Statement. He will undoubtedly say “This what we will do from the new tax year”. This will soon be forgotten, but when the cuts become a reality in April, the “sheeple” (copyright W S Churchill) will think “Let’s vote for Rishi again”.

      1. They don’t need to borrow Elsie. The most obvious answer is Just get rid of all.the Illegal invaders and scroungers we are being forced to support.
        And you’ll have a landslide Richie sun hat. It’s that easy.

        1. Reforming services like health, education, passports.

          Get out of transport, energy, sport and culture. Just shut the departments down.

      2. The absolute cynic in me suspects that he’ll leave it as late as possible hoping for an Islamic atrocity and then stand as the law and order party as opposed to Labour, the party of Islam and gimmegrants.

        1. Twill be interesting to see which one of us is right, Sos. I’m banking on the early payment of a tax-free pension for life when he resigns and is given life-long police protection will be the clinching factor for him.

          2. I forgot to add “for him” in my post, Sos. You have to be very careful on this site to make your meaning absolutely clear unless you want to be teased mercilessly.

      3. “Let’s vote for Rishi again”. No-one outside of the House of Commons ever voted for Mr Sunak to be Prime Minister

        1. I stand corrected, Tim. I should have written “Let’s vote Conservative again. No-one votes for a Party leader unless he stands in their constituency.

      4. His talk of hiking the min wage is wrong and tiny cuts to NI also wrong. He needs to raise the tax allowances to at least 18k and 65k if he isn’t willing to scrap it entirely.

  42. It’s enough to make one’s blood boil…Oh hang on a mo…

    “Gas hobs and boilers are to be banned in all new homes in Oxford from 2025 under council plans.

    Oxford City Council has said the new rules for builders, part of a wider scheme for the city to hit net zero by 2040, would help tackle the “existential threat of climate change”.

    Appliances that use fossil fuels in heating and cooking are to be forbidden from being installed in new houses and commercial developments with only limited exceptions, under the proposals.

    The Labour council wants to bring forward its previous 2036 date for the ban on gas and oil in new builds, going further than what has been set out by the Government.”

      4. They gave themselves the power – they are right (or rather righteous), due to the massive global warming (that isn’t happening).

    6. 378963+ up ticks,

      Evening S,
      Street kapos will organise morning PT for ALL residents for not later than 6 AM
      6 days.
      ALL RESIDENTS.

    9. Immediately rip out all the boilers from all councillors and their staff. Hit them with the crippling cost of electricity.

      Then sack them.

  43. Another five today

    Wordle 885 5/6

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

    3. 4 today.
      Wordle 885 4/6

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

    4. Four for me. Figured out the second and third letters but the penny was very slow to drop.

      Wordle 885 4/6

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

  44. Phew! I stink of diesel!
    S@H Son worked out how to get the outlet pipe off the fuel filter last night so I went to Matlock and got sufficient fuel pipe to allow me to syphon the tank via the filter.
    It’s taken all afternoon, but I’ve recovered 50 litres. 2 x jerrycans full and 10 litres into the new van.

      1. As far as I’m aware, Bob isn’t powered by li-ion batteries. So that’s OK, then.

        As for stinking of diesel, I was left in charge of an practically complete new Littlewoods Store site in Dumfries, in the 80’s, the Site Manager being on holiday. There was a diesel emergency generator at roof/2nd floor level, adjacent to a bunded oil tank room. At Lower Ground Floor level, was an external Oil Fill Cabinet. No-one had thought about oil to commision the generator. Client issued an instruction to provide sufficient oil to commission said genny. I passed this on to the Mechanical & Electrical subcontractor, who declined to return to site. With the store opening less than a week away, I sought their assurance that the oil storage part of their installation was complete, and they assured me that it was. The oil fill alarm was not yet commissioned – so, in agreement with the client’s clerk of works, we measured the tank capacity, and I ordered approximately 1/4 of that amount.

        What could possibly go wrong? Well, several operatives, as they left the site on a Friday afternoon, casually mentioned that “there’s diesel oil pissing through the staircase ceiling!”. Screamed at the tanker driver to stop pumping, ran up eight flights of stairs, two at a time, only to find a shower of diesel spraying up the wall behind the oil tank. There were two filter bowls, the lids of which, no-one had bothered to tighten down. I found the valve, and turned it off, but was showered in diesel fuel.

        Luckily*, the tank was in a bunded, oil-proof room. *Er – it was supposed to be, but the idiot M&E subby had directed our humble, but ever so willing, Irish labourer to drill a hole in the floor for a lighting conduit. There is one effective solvent to remove vinyl tiles and stair nosings. Guess what? That’s right – diesel. Worse still, it soaked into the concrete below, and a drip even made it to the ground floor sales area.

        Evenually, the legal stuff was settled, but I returned o the store around ten years later, and that staircase still ponged of diesel fuel…

        2. OMG What a story GG.
          Glad you came out of all right.
          It surely has powerful lingering smell. I expect you had to get rid of your clothing.
          But a good fuel.

          1. Yes.
            Yes (but I was meeting friends in a pub for a meal that night – and I didn’t have time to deal with the aroma)…
            Yes…

            As I’m sure you’re aware, however one tries in construction, sh1t will happen. It’s how you overcome it that matters.

          2. Oh yes, from an apprenticeship as a joiner to contracts manager and own building business, it certainly does.
            And I learned an awful lot about the great British public.

  45. Just watched the first episode of Masterchef Knockout week. One of the chefs made a beef fat chocolate Ganache as his dessert.
    Must be a Northern thing.

    The judges liked it though.

  47. Bodies of four missing teenagers found in crashed car. 21 November 2023.

    The bodies of four missing teenagers have been recovered from a crashed car in Snowdonia.

    A massive hunt was launched for Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris after they failed to return from a camping trip on Sunday.

    North Wales Police said their bodies were recovered from a silver Ford Fiesta, which appears to have left the road on the A4085 at Garreg, near Tremadog.

    No Merry Christmasses there!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/21/four-boys-missing-latest-north-wales-snowdonia-live/

    2. Car crashed and found half submerged. Absolutely awful tragedy.
      How do families recover from that, I have no idea.

        1. Why on earth do TV reporters ask such ridiculously stupid questions such as “How do you feel after this desperately sad news?” I am not heartless, and cannot imagine the pain of the four sets of bereaved parents but, had I been the councillor I might have replied “Desperately sad” and left it at that, maybe adding “How do you think I feel?”

          1. I saw a clip of one (American) reporter asking a chap with a bandage round his head, “where were you hurt?” Bloke just looked at her.

          2. Our news(?) reports seem to have a mandatory clip of someone crying in agony. The Gaza stories are a great opportunity for them to show some Palestinian wailing and crying over a body bag.

        2. Why on earth do TV reporters ask such ridiculously stupid questions such as “How do you feel after this desperately sad news?” I am not heartless, and cannot imagine the pain of the four sets of parents but, had I been the councillor I might have replied “Desperately sad” and left it at that, maybe adding “How do you think I feel?”

    5. My neighbour’s daughter knows one of them (they were at sixth form college together). When we spoke about it this morning, they hadn’t found the bodies.

      1. When I was that age I recall one of our group being allowed to drive his father’s car, a big Morris Oxford, similar to the Austin Westminster.
        He drove like a lunatic and lost the tail, hitting a tree.
        I was in the middle on the back seat, no belts in those days: the back door burst open and I grabbed the guy next to the door.
        He was very lucky that my upper body strength in those days was exceptional, I managed, but only just, to pull him back into the car, otherwise he might well have been killed.

        Naturally we all headed off the the pub.

        Crazy fools.

        1. I suspect that many of us have had moments like that. One night, after the pub, I was in the back of a mate’s Capri, driven by his then girlfriend, being driven (to my parental) home. Suddenly, there were a pair of headlights bearing down on us, on our side of the road. Cue head-on collision. None of us were particularly injured, but I was able to climb out of the nearside rear passenger seat without tilting the seat forward. Car was a write off.

          We all decanted into Mum’s place. Capri-owning friend rushed off to the bathroom, and returned, having eaten half a bar of Imperial Leather soap. When Plod arrived, he assured them that he was the driver. He passed a breathalyser test. Can’t remember what happened to the twat that was driving on the wrong side of the road, but a neighbour’s car, parked opposite, turned out to have an expired MOT, and he was the one that felt the full force of the law. Unfortunately.

          1. I’ve told it before.
            An idiot came speeding out of Cambridge on the Hill’s road, smashed through two lights and crossing points, hit me and then ploughed into Homerton College fence
            Plod wrote my statement for me.
            The bastard who hit me was prosecuted and hammered.

            Believe it or not, his surname was Lawless!

        2. Speaking of strength, many years ago, I called in on a friend, to find him working on the rear brakes of his Mk 2 Cortina. On a scissor jack. Before I could advise otherwise, the car shifted sideways, and landed on the ground, or – more accurately – with the leaf spring pinning down both his legs. To this day, I don’t know how I did it, but I put my back into lifting the car by the wheel arch, and he was able to crawl free, unscathed (save for soiled undies, I imagine).

          1. There are numerous similar stories where women have seen children trapped and have lifted cars. Adrenaline I guess.
            I’m not sure it could be done with modern vehicles

  48. Night All

    As surreal as my codeine dreams

    https://twitter.com/lipschittz/status/1719043592944238822?s=20

    Bit more medley

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/005b641129265cb1a6cbc9eb811919126c59ca9bd175533cb6822d1a3f971bee.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5d10e07bd63ae4ccc7b2954b90ccbc88dda9934f8c5fe8ac38d815af2289da12.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a37662d317e8714733bf795f2a6fb9cfaf9579baa63d02db1fb944b95f09c0c0.jpg

    https://twitter.com/yokalli2/status/1726462389040955842?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d032ff7b1c991fb3e565baa30ac0d2e14a9aec9cdde9b67009df1136845e371d.jpg

    finallly one for Sir Jasper’s joke book

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/466f78e825e6fbd8e2d27c42dc9f4805039f93a706884d5e9493dbb46682496f.jpg

  49. Evening, all. I shall be dipping in and out again tonight as I have to go to a meeting (only local, this time, thankfully) later, but I hope to be back on line afterwards.

    The headline letter writer just doesn’t get it; changing the “narrative” isn’t what’s required, it’s ACTION to actually cut taxes, slim down the state and generally start to act like a Conservative. Anything else is just window dressing.

  50. That’s me gone for today. Very interesting talk – the speaker rather monopolised it, though! About 15 minutes too long. Still I learned one or two things about London that I didn’t know.

    By the way – Talking Pictures TV are running a series of “Look at Life” (only older NoTTLers will remember). Gosh – talk about bring back memories…. Worth catching and recording.

    Have a spiffing evening planning how to announce your phoney tax cuts.

    A demain.

    1. One or two things about London you didn’t know? What? Where to buy whelks? Where to get a free lunch?

    1. Not advisable with U.S traffic cops. They don’t tend to have a sense of humour. Not that i blame them.

    2. Eating at the wheel can lead to a charge of ‘driving without due care and attention’. IIRC.

  52. Here’s a chuckle

    https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=4aa4eb35cb84e085JmltdHM9MTcwMDUyNDgwMCZpZ3VpZD0yMTRhYWMzMS1jN2Y3LTZkMzctMzZlYi1iZmZlYzY0YzZjMzYmaW5zaWQ9NTIxNQ&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=214aac31-c7f7-6d37-36eb-bffec64c6c36&psq=Del+boy+Triger+Rodney+buss+on+beachy+head+&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucXVvdGVzLm5ldC9zaG93LXF1b3RlLzYyODg2&ntb=1

    1. “One defendant, a Spanish national, admitted having had sexual relations with the alleged victim during the hearing” – bit public, shirley?

      1. Merci, Elsie, mais je viens de revenir apre’s une re’union. Je ne vais pas dormir actuellement.

    1. “Fine = 125%-175% of weekly income, up to a maximum of £1,000 (£2,500 if you’re caught on the motorway).”

      How do you calculate a drug dealer’s weekly income?

      “Take tree tousand, officer, I be late for my appointment.”

    3. Speed limit on rural dual carriageways is generally 70 mph, unless the signs say different. So that seems unduly harsh, assuming it wasn’t in Wales…

      1. Even in Wales speed limits are normal except for 30mph which is now 20 mph (one of my Welsh friends got caught out in England, doing 20 in a 30 zone ). They do tend to be hotter on fining even 1mph over the limit.

    4. I assume your friend didn’t receive an FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice)? That would be a £100 fine and 3 penalty points, unless the speed was excessive. If the case goes to a Magistrates’ Court then the points and/or fine could probably be more.

      2. Why the diacritics? Latin didn’t use them (at least when I was studying A Level and reading inscriptions in Rome, they didn’t).

    3. Deepest sympathy, Bob. Felt the same when the Merc went away. It only needed a few suspension parts, but so soon after the extreme chiropody, I had no confidence to do the work myself. And – with 280,000 on the clock, it had negligible resale value, owed me nothing, and wasn’t worth spending hundreds on repairs. It was more painful to take an Alfa 156 24V V6 to the scrapper, when they unceremoniously picked it up from the side with a forklift, to check the catalyst converers were still in place. But a local resident had attempted to reverse his Discovery up the bonnet, with some success…

      1. Prejudices? I thought she was lovely. I get amused by the ‘fake footage’ conspiracy theories.

        1. I liked it, but I suspect many Nottlers would not, because of her accent and presentation style

          2. What I want to know is how Mr Potato Head got into her house and was able to climb on to the bookcase shelf. Lol.

  59. Meanwhile over the pond:

    “US Settles With World’s Largest Crypto Exchange: Binance ‘CZ’ To Step-Down, Pay $4.3 Billion Fine

    It is alleged that this chappie blew the whistle on FTX and Sam Bankman Freid……

    1. Agreed.

      It’s her way of saying I red wot U did writ and acknowledge your existence, no matter how silly the comment wot U dun did post or in Phizzees case dat post wen he waz pissed.

    3. Sue M is similar.

      So, who to Sue, should we crowdfund to raise enough cash to consult Bill Thomas?

        3. My mother’s initials were ME and having a sense of humour, she would label possessions with her initials.

      1. And colourless now but there are theories that classical statuary was originally colourfully painted.

        2. Some of the churches around here have very bland interiors but over the years water has washed off some of the wash coverings and underneath the walls are brightly decorated.
          It’s a shame they can’t be stripped back to the lower layers, which are beautiful

    2. I liked the comment at the side:

      Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.

      I must try to remember that one.

        1. My favourite scene and song from that film was “Sunrise, sunset”, beautifully lit, shot and edited.

  63. It’s getting late, I’m off to take my pile of medication. And read a couple of chapters of my book.
    Recording the Australian Wars bbc4.
    Moaning indigenous as far as I can make out. Who now of course know absolutely everything.
    Erin’s out at one of her local ladies clubs.
    I’ll be asleep before she’s home.
    Night all.

        1. There is a story (probably apocryphal) about a chorus girl being asked to sing the song from sheet music. Looking at the lyrics she sang “When I’m calling you, double o, double o). Lol.

          1. Like the child in the out-takes who read off the card, “the Grand Pricks”. When people laughed, she protested, “well that’s how it’s written!”.

    2. The shortest, and most poignant, story ever written was, I believe, written by Ernest Hemingway:-

      ‘For sale. Childs shoes. Never worn.’

  67. Oh boy a budget statement from the Canadian government. They are promising to run a deficit of no more than $40 billion a year for the next many years. We are basically promised a depression next year with support for home building some time in about three or four years away..

    Happy days

    1. Only 40 thousand millions? Chicken feed! All fiat money’s worthless now, anyway. Might as well blow it all on poutine and hockey sticks.

  69. The DT is not allowing comments on the 4 boys who died, but rest in peace, lads. You were doing something you wanted to do and it went wrong.
    Sorry for your parents, friends and family, sorry that we’ve lost you.

  71. And guess who woke up over an hour ago and could not get back to sleep!
    Good morning fellow insomniacs!

    2. My alarm went off at 5:38, because I forgot to switch it off from the last two days of having to get up early. And I stayed up late last night too, because daughter was coming back late on the train…work is looking particularly appealing this morning…still, I am glad to have it…

  72. First major spillage on the upstairs carpets. Junior bopped into a door frame and hot chocolate went on the floor. Minor problem.

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