Tuesday 25 June: The coming rejection of the Conservatives is more than a mere protest

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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728 thoughts on “Tuesday 25 June: The coming rejection of the Conservatives is more than a mere protest”

  3. Good morrow, Gentlefolk, today’s (recycled) story
    Reading Lesson

    Read this out loud one sentence after another….

    This is this cat.
    This is is cat.
    This is how cat.
    This is to cat
    This is keep cat.
    This is an old cat.
    This is idiot cat.
    This is busy cat.
    This is for cat.
    This is forty cat.
    This is seconds cat.

    Now go back and read only the third word of each sentence one after the other

      1. They bully one man mercilessly and relentlessly and then say they are the kind ones.

        Not my cup of tea but he's become a bit of a hero to me.

    1. Considering that I (and many others) couldn't have named the leader of the Lib Dems a month ago, I would say that his water splashing activities have paid off.

      2. I think it's more likely the Post Office scandal that's brought him to prominence.

  6. Julian Assange released from prison after reaching plea deal with US. 25 June 2024.

    Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures.

    Papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific Ocean, on Monday revealed Mr Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge in exchange for his immediate freedom.

    Good news. That’s a rarity.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/06/25/julian-assange-reaches-us-plea-deal/

    1. Alistair Campbell weaponised the Civil Service by filling it with Leftie liberal apparatchik twenty years ago.. it was one of the first things he did. They've now worked their way up, and recruited well.

    2. Alistair Campbell weaponised the Civil Service by filling it with Leftie liberal apparatchik twenty years ago.. it was one of the first things he did. They've now worked their way up, and recruited well.

    1. Totally believe him. It would be easy to save money after the uni-party's profligacy. Surprised we have any money left…oh, we don't. Net Zero; stupid levels of welfare (52% of the electorate are on some kind of welfare including newly arrived and their followers), Covid (money was just thrown away), undermining British based businesses, quangos and their useless, unaccountable, ruinous decisions. Cut all that away and we would prosper.

  11. 388862 + up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Tuesday 25 June: The coming rejection of the Conservatives is more than a mere protest.

    Not guaranteed, the strong magnetic pull of the party name is not being seen and being given credit for, if that is NOT a fact then we would never have reached the depths of depravity as a nation we have achieved.

    In my book ALL four parties are carrying odious baggage and the peoples mindset is revenge, and that is not beneficial to build on as a governing party of the future.

    1. 388862+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      Conclusion,
      The pen is mightier than the sword the politico's
      say in their, fools fodder,, manifesto's ( NAR).

      In reality,
      The penis is mightier than the sword as we witness on a daily basis given time the English will be bred out of England via the polling stations and the muslim sisterhood.

          3. No, just confused by the liberal sprinkling of acronyms and abbreviations; all without explanation – laziness.

    2. Agreed. We're being played, just as the people of Italy and Argentina were played with "saviours".

    3. Only FOUR parties? Conservative, Labour, LibDems, SNP, Green, Reform – I make that SIX (not counting Independents).

      1. 388862+ up ticks,

        Morning EB,
        Nothing wrong with your counting, I do consider the lib/dems 100% eu assets, and the SNP to be of a foreign nature.
        .

  12. Not easy:
    Wordle 1,102 3/6

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  13. Farage’s views on Putin aren’t just wrong, they’re weird. Charles Moore. 25 June 2024.

    Nigel Farage is right to say he is consistent. He argued for placating Vladimir Putin during Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, blaming the European Union. He did the same during Putin’s invasion of all Ukraine in February 2022. He does the same now. This consistency has no virtue, however, because its premise was always false.

    It flies in the face of the fact that Putin’s version of history is, like Hitler’s in the 1930s, a fiction designed to justify aggression. This column is no fan of European Union foreign policy, but it is not the EU’s fault that Putin broke the post-Cold War agreement which Russia made with the West to grant independence to Ukraine in return for Kyiv giving up its nuclear weapons.

    Farage by his statement about Ukraine has exposed the lie. All the MSM are now trying frantically to repair the damage that has been done to the Globalist narrative. Moore of course, and the Telegraph itself, are Globalist mouthpieces. The accusation of being “weird” is simply a slur.

    It is the EU’s fault in the sense that they went along with the overthrow of Ukraine’s legitimate government by the US and have closed both eyes to the destruction of the Baltic pipeline. It is these two actors who have precipitated the present situation.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/24/farage-views-on-putin-wrong-and-weird/

    1. Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Retchingham. A life-long Liberal. Given a peerage by Boris for services rendered? Generally sound but wrong on Farage.

    2. I posted this yesterday evening with one question: "What happened in February 2014, Charlie?"

      1. I have no idea, William, what DID happen in February 2014? (I know that many other people on the planet with February birthdays did.)

        1. The violent CIA-inspired coup, the attacks on Russians in the east and Putin’s seizure of Crimea.

    3. Charles Moore: https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

      My comment on the forum yesterday:

      The vast majority of BTL comments say that Charles Moore can no longer be relied upon to give a clear and dispassionate view on political matters. That he should jump on the MSM line with such enthusiastic alacrity is extremely depressing.

      And of course Daniel Hannan seems to have eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner. (Hemlock Hannan should be his new soubriquet!)

      I hope the DT editors will point out to Messrs Moore and Hannan that they have lost a considerable amount of good will and credibility.

  14. Good morning, chums, and thanks to Geoff for Tuesday's site.Another gloriously sunny day, so I shall do some washing today.

    Wordle 1,102 5/6

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    1. Good morning Elsie
      One of my standard second words paid off big time today…
      Wordle 1,102 3/6

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      1. Same here. Only one answer fitted.
        Wordle 1,102 3/6

        🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
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        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  15. Here's one to 'brighten' your day, and confirm the western world has gone mad n bad.

    Woman sentenced to prison for ‘offending’ convicted child rapist gang, who got away with probation.
    The rapist called in other men to rape the victim in the Hamburg city park. The 15-year-old was subsequently raped for the third time by one man and then by 3 others for the fourth time in one night.

    Subsequently, an angry 20-year-old woman dropped a message on the rapist’s SnapChat and labelled him a ‘dishonourable rapist pig’ and a ‘disgusting miscarriage.’

    “Aren’t you ashamed when you look in the mirror?” she had texted the criminal. However, in a turn of events, the rape convict filed a complaint with the police who then booked the 20-year-old woman for making ‘harmful comments.’

    On Tuesday (18th June), a court found the woman guilty and sentenced her to prison.

    German police are now busy rounding up the other 140 people who made insulting remarks towards the child rapist gang.

    https://www.opindia.com/202…

    BBC, Owen Jones, Paul Mason, James O'Brien declined to comment.

      1. On the contrary, I think the Politzei have been taking lessons off the Met.

      1. 388862+ up ticks,

        Morning Bob,

        They took a page out of Englands book, we should sue them for plagiarism.

  16. 388862+ up ticks,

    Just think Tommy Robinson shared the same nick, Belmarsh, for truth telling, in his case TR was also condemned by a good % of the peoples ( lib/lab/con supporter , voters ) as being the far right leader of the EDL for a while, whilst all that time THEY the peoples were in reality building, in the polling stations,the parties we are suffering under today.

  17. Good morning all.
    A rather warm start, 13°C, but overcast at the moment, again with little wind.

  18. Good morning, all. Another fine and boiling – as Al-Beeb and the Met Office will no doubt report it – day in prospect. These few days have had a positive effect i.e. a surge in growth on my outdoor tomatoes.

    From rob232's late post yesterday.

    From Coffee House, the Spectator

    Farage goes on the attack after Ukraine criticism

    …all around a shared theme: the utter incompetence and venality of Britain’s political class.

    Why do journalists insist on placing the emphasis on incompetence when venality, duplicitous and treasonous are more accurate words to describe the actions of our political class. No doubt that there is a level of incompetence amongst the rabble in the HoC but is it really the main failure that is driving the UK's current dire situation?

    It's time for journalists to communicate the truth about our politicians and inform their audiences that many within the political class are following an agenda set by others.

    So much going on in the World is in lockstep; the Plandemic and mass inoculation of a pathogen into the people; mass Third World immigration; financial shenanigans leading to economic collapse etc. Do journalists really believe that so many countries being afflicted simultaneously by a surge in incompetence is a natural occurrence?

    The truth will out and there will be a reckoning: journalists who have not been open and honest will be exposed for supporting the unsupportable i.e. the venal, duplicitous and treasonous politicians that are ruining our Country.

    Now that I've got that off of my chest I'm off out into the garden to pick my loganberries and raspberries that will contribute to my latest jelly making exploits.

    1. I find that saying "Haven't you got a bed to go to?" usually works. If it doesn't I change into my pyjamas (and I rarely wear any)

      1. Plump up the cushions, yawn a lot and riddle the fire! ‘Morning Spikey!😘

          1. And he believes that "apostates" should be beheaded. Disgusting individual.

        3. We stopped entertaining years ago , decades ago ..In our grander but poorer days when we were all buying our first homes , an event became a party , and then one had to reciprocate!

          We then had dinner parties which were a real bind, when Delia Smith became popular , or Keith Floyd or the galloping Gourmet , some successes , and OMG the Le Creuset became a night mare to clean , and dinner services that were wedding presents became an absolute nuisance the Hostess trolley didn't accommodate the serving dishes.

          Flan or Quiche and salad , seafood soup (Bullybase or however one pronounces it , and bean soups and then BBQs which I hate .. but Moh loves .. certain ingredients like anchovy which Moh hates .. I love it on homemade pizza .. anyway to cut this conversation short , inventive cooking became a chore for me ..

          Best parties were overseas , but were either memorable or best forgotten .

          We haven't imbibed for more than 20 years , but …when we nod off in the evening here and wake up in the living room at 0100hrs , I say to Moh , look pretend we have been to a party , now lets open the door and walk around the garden with the dog , last minute wees , and just get upstairs to bed .

          I always enjoy the company of people , but sometimes things make people morose .. alcohol does that to people .

          My Harvey Wallbanger days are long gone , and I have a nice collection of wine but give a bottle away for raffles etc

          Booting people out , well , one can just get up and offer them Ovaltine !

      2. Plump up the cushions, yawn a lot and riddle the fire! ‘Morning Spikey!😘

    1. My dream for Reform to win. It's possible. A few weeks ago they said they would have no seats – they're not saying that now.

      1. Just reminded me of an old Bob Monkhouse joke" " They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian, well, they're not laughing now. ""

        Hope Reform wipes a lot of smiles off a lot of faces.

  22. Medley Time
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/17ef5e303a5c71e11201ab31d11749608e20bd08308fa577239e29ad3db9051c.gif
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/03703520ad3247ed1af8bc1f24b21e1545dd9b8a416ff4f85bdeef44379a911d.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9d167ad48749db790d70342f80f5b8f5dffc2401f09afde6ef87304ddaf5dd72.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/98918f9a15dda471d62b9d070c6b0b5bc1792199e77754b21a08560aefadccb9.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/20f535834fc628dfc5faf1259342e3c61907231b60a6f941b9f2f739a4a4e325.jpg
    https://x.com/TiceRichard/status/1804946731471143419

    1. Well yes, I understand the necessity of Farage calling Putin evil but I see very little evidence for that. Do you know that more people, by far, are arrested for politically incorrect speech in the UK than in Russia. In 2018 3,000 were arrested in the UK and 400 in Russia.

    2. I find Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou on The Duran about the most reliable sources for geopolitical analysis. Brian Berletic for information on the progress of the war in Ukraine.

        1. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts Sir Jasper. I really hope after a few health scares I will last another decade or two. My family motto is cor immobile which translates as “steadfast heart”. So far so good.

          1. Well, Cori, I’m not in the best of health but I’ve struggled through to 80. Just KBO!

          2. Interesting. What language is that? Looks like it might be old French. I like the motto – and the transition to your pseudonym, Cori.

  25. Russia started Berlin factory fire as part of hybrid war on Europe, report says. 25 June 2024.

    Russian saboteurs trying to disrupt shipments of critical arms and ammunition to Ukraine set fire to a metal factory belonging to defense manufacturer Diehl in Berlin, Western security officials said.

    Western intelligence agencies, including in Germany, have increasingly warned of espionage and sabotage threats by foreign adversaries such as Russia. The alleged arson attack at the beginning of May could be the latest in a series of such incidents, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed security officials.

    There is absolutely no evidence to support this assertion. In fact the German Police say that it was a technical defect. This is how poor the case against Russia has become. The manufacture of stupid accusations.

    https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-berlin-fire-diehl-behind-arson-attack-on-factory/

    2. There have also been fires breaking out in Russia, mainly at military research labs and almost certainly the result of sabotage by Ukraine or CIA-linked groups, so it could be an act of revenge AS. You are right however in saying that the media is simply fabricating 'evidence' against Russia in an attempt to lead us into war.
      It is noticeable that there is no similar speculation that recent massacre by Muslims in Russia was organised by the CIA.

      1. Hi Tom. Your last remark was exactly what I was thinking when I saw that news. It's a comment on things, I suppose, that after living in the USA for 40 odd years, I now think so little of the Americans that my response was to think they were responsible for the terror attacks on a synagogue and a church.

        1. I doubt it was organised/assisted by the Americans, but I would be very interested to know if US intelligence had indications of the proposed attacks but did nothing to warn the Russians.

        2. I reamain pro-American Johnathan, and like and respect the American people. It’s the US establishment I loathe and fear. And the CIA does has form on this sort of stuff, arming and supporting insurgents all over the world. As Trump said, Obama created ISIS.

          1. Hi Tom! You are, of course, correct. It is indeed the US establishment that is corrupt and worthy of loathing. But it still turns me off the entire country. The rotten apple taints the whole barrel, as it were.

      2. That last sentence – not been all over the media, so likely nobody knows.

    1. I only use black cabs when in town. I don't care if the driver is black or white or brown. They are just far better drivers and know where they are going.

    2. Sob.

      My goddaughter (who recently got married) had a terrible rare scarring thing when she was little which very nearly took her eyesight. She spent half her childhood at GOSH. She had only just got the all clear when she was my chief bridesmaid, and it was the prospect of being my chief bridesmaid (aged 9) that gave her the oomph to carry on through the hard times. She ran the London marathon in April and raised over £8K.

  28. Morning all 🙂😊
    Just what we've all been waiting for.🌞
    The con servatives can't complain, they've brought their comming demise on themselves.
    They have never paid any attention to public opinion. All they government in charge had to do was stop the boats and the invasion.

  29. Off Topic
    That was a turn up for the books. Afghanistan are through and Australia are eliminated from the men's T20 tournament.
    They will now play South Africa in the semi-finals in Trinidad on Thursday, and are one match away from facing either England or India in Saturday's final.

    It has also improved England's chances somewhat.

    1. Football? Have the Afghans adjusted to using a ball instead of their preferred severed head?

        1. How can they run in those long robes?
          Don't tell me they have adopted Western fashion !
          That's cultural appropriation that is.

    2. At least England will be playing at 1530 and not 0130. Whether they have one game left or two remains to be seen. The good thing about this short format is that it can pivot on the performance of one or two players on the day.

    1. Gyngell/TCW big supporters, as am I. Disgraceful he lost his case vs Hockey Stick Mann.

      1. It would be so nice to live in a society where dishonesty and hypocrisy are not so highly rewarded…

  32. A couple of days ago, I made a suggestion as to tweaking the electoral system to allow single member constituency representaton, but voting power distributed proportionally, giving each MP a weighting according to the national standing of the party divided by the number of constituency MPs elected, or the total if none are.

    The adjustments for the 2019 election, measured a nominal 10,000 votes per MP, with a threshold 20,000 is as follows (in thousands):

    UKIP – 22 (1 honorary MP)
    SNP – 25 (48 MPs)
    Sinn Fein – 25 (7 MPs)
    Speaker – 26 (1 MP)
    Scottish Greens – 28 (1 honorary MP)
    Yorkshire – 29 (1 honorary MP)
    DUP – 30 (8 MPs)
    Conservative – 38 (365 MPs)
    Plaid Cymru – 38 (4 MPs)
    Labour – 50 (202 MPs)
    SDLP – 59 (2 MPs)

    The outliers are:

    UUP – 93 1 honorary MP)
    Alliance – 134 (1 MP)
    Liberal Democrat – 336 (11 MPs)
    Brexit – 644 (1 honorary MP)
    Greens (England & Wales) – 835 (1 MP)

    This shows gross under-representation especially of the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party and the Greens in 2019.

    It also shows that Labour under Corbyn deserves more credit than he was given by the media and by his successor.

    It would take too long to go through all the by-elections and changes of party affiliation during the Parliament, but I give an example of each:

    The Hartlepool by-election of 2021 would have seen Labour drop by 1 MP, with no change to their weighting, and Conservative gain by 1 MP, again with no change to weighting. Reform (previously the Brexit Party) would see their weighting drop from 644 to 634. The Liberal Democrats would see theirs drop from 336 to 335.

    Jonathan Edward's suspension from Plaid Cymru, a party he never returned to would see Plaid Cymru drop by 1 MP, but their weighting rise from 38 to 46. As an Independent, Edwards would have a personal weighting of 13.

    The most extreme example of gross under-representation must have occurred in 2015. By this method, UKIP would have scored 3881 (1 MP). This anomaly was responsible for the failure of subsequent Parliaments to debate and resolve Brexit adequately, and had far more impact on the 2019 General Election than Jeremy Corbyn's alleged antisemitism, which is still very much the core part of Labour's campaign in 2024.

    It would be interesting to see what the same calculation exposes in the 2024 election. I suspect there may be even grosser distortions, but we must wait and see.

    Parties with more than 10,000 nominal votes that would fall below the threshold are:

    Ashfield Independents – 13
    Liberal – 10
    ChangeUK – 10

    1. One change of affliation would be interesting, and that is Lee Anderson's defection from the Conservatives to Reform in March 2024. Under my system that would unseat the incumbent honorary MP, since that party would now have an elected MP and would therefore not be entitled to an honorary. I think, in those circumstances, no honorary MP should be unseated, so Reform would rise from 1 to 2 MPs, but with a weighting reduced from a nominal 644 (not the actual figure, which would have changed following by-elections) to 331. I would add Anderson's personal vote to that already gained by his Brexit Party rival before dividing them.

    2. Interesting exercise Jeremy. You haven't gone into weaknesses of such a system. There are always some in any system.

      In the FPTP system it has become beneficial for both major parties not to rock the boat in order to preserve their ongoing presence in or around power. You cannot get to be government until you become established opposition first in other words.

      Your system to its credit does allow voters to elect a popular individual. Provided the party cannot deselect that person afterwards that's good, but I'm unclear as to what influence the second party vote would have. The other issue that might come with this is that if individuals get a proportional number of votes, especially where a single rep of a party gets a commensurate voting influence, then doesn't it start to look a bit like union bloc voting with all its faults? That's of course a possibility with all democratic systems I grant, but more so here, do you not think?

      1. On reflection, a second party vote is not really necessary. The parties put up the candidate they feel most appeals to the local electorate, and the public judges each party on the capacity to do this, thereby setting nationally the standing of each party. The benefit is that second and third place votes also count nationally, which they do not at the moment.

        If an MP is deselected, then under my system this MP remains as an Independent with just his or her own vote as a weighting. The party’s weighting is adjusted accordingly. This remains until either a by-election or a general election resets. There are also existing rules to allow constituencies to force a by-election, which do not need to change.

        I accept the resemblance my system has with the union block vote, and it may be well to look afresh at it, without prejudice. The problem I remember with the union vote was that it gave great power to union barons without referring it adequately to the membership, especially the choice and term of delegates.

        I pointed out the extreme power given to MPs representing a handful of minor parties (the Lib Dems, the Greens, Reform, Alliance and the Ulster Unionists). Is it such a bad thing though that their leaders have a voting power equivalent to their national standing? A lot of second places builds up a wellspring of support that really ought to be represented in Parliament. Taken to extremes, had Nigel Farage had a weighting worth 100 Tories or nearly 80 Labour MPs, then I suggest that Brexit may have been better implemented.

        1. Yes, last point there a good one. When it comes to “weighting” many would put up the current system of our cabinet executive as having extraordinary powers, which they do. Conservatives are in effect indignant that it has failed to use those powers since 2019 to get things done. Labour on the other hand realise the power that the executive possessed, realises also that it’s not traditionally been the party of government and so continuously gerrymanders the system whenever it’s in power to weight the dice for when it’s out of power, e.g. by outsourcing government to the courts or fiddling with the Constitution.

      2. I think one solution to extreme weighting given to MPs of certain parties is to put an upper threshold on party weighting of 200 (affecting only the Liberal Democrats, Reform (Brexit Party) and the Greens in 2019), ten times the minimum threshold. Independents of course do not have any thresholds and bring with them just their own popular vote.

        1. Yes, controlling that is essential however it's to be done. The thing is that the individual personality of the Hon Member in a constituency is important to people. I'm sure the so-called party list is why people in Britain feel unsure about PR in Britain. Handing over power in effect to a small cabal of minority interests is not it seems something the general public considers safe. The results of that approach in our FPTP system has arguably already been seen dynamically when despite the members of a party voting for the PM they wanted, they ended up getting the one they were given; plus the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary as a free, unwanted package chucked in.

          PR will only become acceptable when those matters are addressed. Similarly, not only does does the public feel all warm inside at having a monarch, they like the idea that, in principle at least, a monarch to some extent denies power to the "tail liable to wag the dog".

    3. I had a bit of a think while in the wash this morning. How about the public vote for policies – as in which broad policies they want implemented and then vote for a candidate to carry those out. Thus you could have a very good constituency MP but get the policies you wanted to be implemented.

      Fundamentally it all comes back to the public being wholesale excluded from the democratic process. We vote for a person/party and they then set about making our lives miserable for 5 years with absolute impunity.

      1. A step in the right direction would be to make anything in their manifestos legally binding. At the moment they can promise anything knowing they don't have to honour those promises

      2. A thoroughly bad idea. Who decides what are “broad policies” for which people can vote, and which are non-policies where the public is denied any chance to put them to the vote, especially if they go against trending group think? It would be like BBC Question Time.

        It also forbids an MP adapting to changing circumstances or changing demands, or even using a bit of discretion without an awful lot of red tape.

        In the end, it is up to the local electorate to judge the character of the respective candidates and the parties to put forward those whose characters are most admirable. Falls apart though when everything is decided on tribal loyalty, fashion or coercion. We then get the democracy they deserve.

      1. Thank you so much T-B. We are off to Bury St Edmunds for a walk in the shade at Nowton Park then on to Abbey Gardens. Champagne on ice for later in the day. Fillet steak with Fleurie probably this evening.

    5. Happy Birthday, corimmobile! Have a wonderful day and sending best wishes to you! 💕🥂🎂

        1. When you're a child, the gap seems eternal.
          When you are mature, you blink and the year's gone.
          Happy Birthday.
          Love Bury-St-Edmunds.
          Nowadays, I even love my baby brother who lives there.

          1. Thank you so much Anne. Nowton Park is wonderful and was surprisingly not busy. Our late Lhasa Apso just loved his walks there, always taking the lead so we have some sad memories too.

            Abbey Gardens is a favourite spot where I have a preferred bench where a tiny Robin will stand on the arm of the bench. We think the Robin is a spirit of one of our departed creatures. It does not seek food but seems to wish to speak to us with its constant chirping.

            There is a great bar beneath the Angel Hotel which is a former crypt of the Abbey outbuildings. I designed a restaurant and all electric kitchens (on the cheap) on Abbeygate Street as a favour to a friend a few years ago. They serve all day brunch (Gastrono-Me). Worth a visit both.

    7. Wishing you a happy birthday Corim
      I hope you have a lovely day today 🤩😶🥂🍾 cheers.

      1. Thank you Ready Eddy. It is quite warm outside so will be seeking shade later. I have a bottle of Dry Monopole in the fridge for later.

      1. Thank you Hertslass. I have had the late onset asthma diagnosis and underwent a heart stress test at Papworth which was normal function so hope to carry on for a few more years.

    11. Happy Birthday, Corimobile! Enjoy your day! 🎉🍷🍸🥂🍾🍰🍧🎊🎉 How envious I am of those with summer birthdays!

      1. Thank you poppiesmum. We are off to Nowton Park near Bury St Edmunds for a walk in shade and then probably to Abbey Gardens to sit on a bench and be visited by a tame Robin. I cannot take too much heat!

        1. It is very hot today here in South Cambs, earlier on we were walking Rico in the shade of the hedgerows. We don’t like it too hot – our house is old with thick walls and stays cool until mid-afternoon when we have to draw the curtains to keep the sun out. But how much better we all feel just to see the sun out there..

          1. Thank you Conners. A very pleasant day at Norton Park near Bury St Edmunds, ice cream and coffee then home to Champagne, Fleurie and fillet steak with salad.

            I tried watching the football but had to switch it off. We have some excellent club players but the management is similar to the government management of our affairs: blind to our opinions and hell bent on diminishing us as a nation with a great history and pride.

            Hope to survive a few more years yet and so glad to have avoided the Covid jab bullet. I have lost several dear friends to that evil crime against humanity.

          2. Sounds like a good day. Was only saying this morning that we need to enjoy every day. Life isn’t a rehearsal.

    1. Don't they grow quickly. I never believed that they could rear all 4 successfully.

      1. Perhaps indicative of how much prey is available within relatively short distances?

      1. Does she look like she can be bothered with pouncing on real or computer mice (mouses?)
        Lazy little tike.
        Having said that, the mice were plentiful until we got her so she serves her purpose.

    3. It's because the laptop is warm. I found our office cat stretched out behind the storage server basking in 40'c heat.

    1. I hope Polievre gets on board and supports his release, probably not much point asking Trudeau.

      1. It was probably on the orders of Trudeau. that Tommy was arrested. His talk was about something that Trudeau hates, free speech.

    2. Good news about Assange. But mixed feelings about a plea deal and I understand it’s not over yet. It still has to go past a US judge.
      A very one sided extradition agreement with the US. Another of Blair’s flairs.

    3. TR has a big march in London on Saturday. How convenient for him to have been arrested just before the event. More stress and financial drain inflicted on the Enemy of the State.

  37. Just found out how to unblock posters here that I had blocked quite a while ago.
    Hmm, not sure the absence of reading their posts has improved anything. I'll likely reverse the unblock…
    Morning, all Y'all.
    Not on the best form today – day off work. The symptoms I had earlier of heart failure have returned (amnesia, mostly), so Dr trip tomorrow. Bugger – but do similar symptoms mean the same affliction? Hmm.

      1. From the Daily Mail

        ANDREW NEIL: Those who see Farage as a return to the ‘proper’ conservative values of Thatcher and Reagan couldn’t be more wrong – as his shameful peddling of Putin’s lies proves
        A storm has engulfed Nigel Farage’s election campaign ever since the BBC reminded the Reform party leader in an interview last week that he once said he ‘admired’ Vladimir Putin.
        His angry response was to claim that the West had provoked the Russian dictator’s invasion of Ukraine by expanding Nato and the European Union eastwards, a critique of Western policy he has made before and on which he doubled-down as the row swirled around him.
        It is a curious feature of the populist Right, which has put down such strong political roots on both sides of the Atlantic this past decade or so, that it has a soft spot for Russia in general and President Putin in particular.
        Farage, of course, was peddling well-worn Kremlin propaganda in blaming the West for Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. But he’s far from alone in spreading such nonsense.
        It’s long been a common view among Farage’s ideological soulmates in other countries, including those even further to the Right than him.
        His American mentor, Donald Trump, has long been a Putin fanboy (‘He liked me. I liked him. I got along with him great.’) and some of this has no doubt rubbed off on The Donald’s British protege.

        As Russian tanks roared into Ukraine in February 2022, Trump opined that Putin was a ‘genius’ and ‘pretty savvy’. While showering the tyrant with praise, Trump has disparaged American’s closest allies, saying earlier this year that he’d encourage Russia ‘to do whatever the hell they want’ to any Nato nation that was not, in Trump’s view, spending enough on defence. It gave new meaning to the phrase ‘giving comfort to the enemy’.
        Granting the Kremlin the benefit of the doubt while undermining Nato is almost the default position of the populist Right. Across the Channel, Marine Le Pen, leader of the Right-wing National Rally which is likely to emerge as the largest party in France’s upcoming National Assembly elections, is a long-time Kremlin apologist and no friend of Nato.
        A French parliamentary inquiry last year concluded that she regularly resorted to the ‘official language of the Putin regime’ when taking the Kremlin’s side and should be regarded as a ‘communication channel’ for Russian propaganda.
        Her party once borrowed campaign funds from a Kremlin-friendly Russian bank. She supported Putin’s illegal annexing of Crimea, describing it as merely a ‘reattachment’. It was only after Putin attacked Ukraine that her love-in with the Kremlin cooled.
        But it didn’t put off Hungary’s hard-Right strongman, Viktor Orban, perhaps Putin’s most reliable ally in the West.
        A few weeks before Russia unleashed its onslaught on Ukraine, he was in Moscow for a friendly summit with Putin. Only pandemic restrictions stopped them from hugging each other, but the camaraderie was still palpable. Orban’s support has never wavered since, no doubt reinforced by a long-term energy deal with Russia which has kept Hungary’s gas supplies cheap and plentiful.
        Compared with others on the populist Right, Farage’s sympathy for Russia is clearly less full-throated. But those who see him as a return to the ‘proper’ conservative values of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan could not be more wrong, especially when it comes to foreign policy.
        Far from being Kremlin apologists, Thatcher and Reagan stared the Soviet Union down, winning the Cold War and freeing all of Eastern Europe in the process.
        Read More
        ANDREW NEIL: The week the UK took another step on the road to being ruled by unelected judges

        They would never have ‘admired’ a despot like Putin. Or repeated Kremlin propaganda. Or made excuses for anything like the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. And they stood shoulder to shoulder in recognising Nato as our best defence against tyranny. Farage’s posturing would have been anathema to them.
        Ironically, Farage has more in common with the Corbynista Left than he does with Thatcher or Reagan. The far-Left shares a soft spot for Russia. It might no longer be communist but it’s still anti-West and that’s what matters to the far Left.
        That’s why Jeremy Corbyn was always ready to give it the benefit of the doubt, even when the Putin regime was trying to kill people on British soil.
        It’s why France’s very own Corbynista, Jean-Luc Melenchon, whose Left-wing Popular Front could soon be the second largest grouping in the French National Assembly, shares Farage’s view of why Russia invaded Ukraine.
        Perhaps the most telling example of this strange Left-Right symbiosis came when our very own Left-wing firebrand, George Galloway, interviewed Farage on Russia Today, the Kremlin TV mouthpiece, in 2016. Galloway repeated the familiar Kremlin complaint, which Farage shares, that the EU had incited Putin to annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, adding: ‘I respect Putin and I think he’s very popular in Russia.’ To which Farage, instead of knocking this back as any proper conservative would, merely responded in agreement with: ‘Of course.’
        So what is it that drives Farage and the populist Right to end up aping the far-Left? In seems strange until you realise they often see the world through the same lens.
        For a start, they share a dislike of so-called global capitalism, which in reality is no more than the rules-based environment which the US created, with important British support, after World War II and which has given us 75 years of the greatest economic growth and prosperity the world has ever known.
        But on the populist Right, as on the populist Left, it is synonymous with sinister globalism in which the world is dominated by shady, secretive characters and dodgy institutions, like Nato, the EU, the IMF, the OECD, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
        There’s plenty wrong with all these organisations, but the idea they’re all part of some great global conspiracy against the rest of us is the kind of paranoid nonsense best confined to the madder parts of the Twitter-sphere.
        But Putin is against ‘globalism’, standing for national sovereignty, not multilateral cooperation — and so worthy of populist adulation.
        Even more important is the populist penchant for a strongman. Trump has never met one he didn’t like: Putin (of course), but also China’s Xi, the Saudi Crown Prince, Turkey’s Erdogan, Brazil’s former leader Bolsonaro, even North Korea’s Kim Jong Un (Trump’s Rocket Man).
        Populist leaders of the Right often fancy being something of a ‘caudillo’ (as they call military and political strongmen in Spain and Latin America) themselves. So it’s only natural they rather admire the real thing.
        The populist Right also hates the perceived decadence of the West. They see Putin as a champion of traditional, Christian values, a social conservative who stands up to the woke, gay, trans, ethnic, even feminist lobbies.
        He represents a return to supposedly traditional cultural values after which Right-wing populists also hanker.
        Of course he’s a tyrant without a shred of Christian compassion in his body. But walk down a boulevard in Moscow and almost everybody is still white, just like Britain in the 1950s.
        Though they’d never admit it in public, many Right-wing populists wish Britain was still like that. Putin, they think, stands up for what we’ve supposedly lost.
        It’s not so much a conservative view of the world as a deeply reactionary one, a pining for a past that can never return. It leads to absurd claims, like the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine by expanding the EU and Nato. True conservatives need to take this nonsense head-on. As Reagan and Thatcher would.
        For a start, countries don’t join Nato because they want to annoy Russia. They do so because they feel threatened by Russia, with good reason. Just ask Finland and Sweden, neutrals throughout their modern existence who felt compelled to join the alliance because Russia had become dangerously revanchist under Putin.
        Second, it was the new democracies of Eastern Europe which clamoured to be members of Nato and the EU. Were we to deny them? Having thrown off the Soviet yoke they wanted to consolidate their democratic future by joining institutions that would guarantee it. This is why, above all, Nato expanded. It was for the protection of democracy, not a threat to Russia.
        Farage must realise that, even if Moscow doesn’t. It is to his shame that he knowingly peddles the lies of an evil dictator, like so many on the populist Right, rather than standing up for the defence of democracy, on which all our futures depend.

        2. A storm has engulfed Nigel Farage's election campaign ever since the BBC reminded the Reform party leader in an interview last week that he once said he 'admired' Vladimir Putin.

          A typically careless Farage remark that will always haunt him.
          _______________________

          He represents a return to supposedly traditional cultural values after which Right-wing populists also hanker. Of cours he's a tyrant without a shred of Christian compassion in his body. But walk down a boulevard in Moscow and almost everybody is still white, just like Britain in the 1950s.

          Autoracism at its finest.
          _______________________

          So what is it that drives Farage and the populist Right to end up aping the far-Left? In seems strange until you realise they often see the world through the same lens.

          For a start, they share a dislike of so-called global capitalism, which in reality is no more than the rules-based environment which the US created, with important British support, after World War II and which has given us 75 years of the greatest economic growth and prosperity the world has ever known.

          Not working so well now, is it? 'Global capitalism' has weakened nations and allowed China to suck the financial life of many of them.
          ______________________

          For a start, countries don't join NATO because they want to annoy Russia. They do so because they feel threatened by Russia, with good reason. Just ask Finland and Sweden, neutrals throughout their modern existence who felt compelled to join the alliance because Russia had become dangerously revanchist under Putin.

          Here, Neil is correct to a point. Russia has a dark history and is always to be treated with caution. However, there was always a tacit agreement that Ukraine should not be allowed to join.
          __________________________________________________________________

          I am still waiting for a major piece from any journalist on the events of 13-14 and the EU deal. The then President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said the EU would not tolerate "a veto of a third country" (Russia) in their negotiations on closer integration with Ukraine.

        3. Deluded doesn't even come close. It's drivel driven by Trump derangement syndrome and panic that somebody is putting out an alternative to their narrative.

    3. Pay attention to the symptoms and if the doctor orders tests get them done ASAP.
      Good luck

    4. Buck up, Paul. A good slug of neat whisky will open the veins and allow fuel for the heart to pump.

      Oh, I thought you meant Angina.

    5. NoTTLers are behind you! At least your Dr seems competent and deigns to see you. Hopefully positive news tomorrow.

      1. No worries. Getting outside of a micro-brewed IPA, so things looking up already! And the sun is shining… with positive temperatures!

    7. Barbara O'Neill, an Australian naturopath, would recommend half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a glass of water. Look her up, she's brilliant. Not liked by the Australian govt for the obvious reasons.

    8. KBO buddy.

      Sounds like they need to scan your brain.
      Check all levels in your bloods to see what is missing. So many things can affect the heart like low potassium.

      1. Thanks!
        The amnesia is troubling, as it effectively deleted my birthday from memory, so I have no idea what happened, who called, if we went to eat out…
        The last time the pacemaker fixed that issue – maybe the clockwork needs winding up?

        1. In that case can i have that £500 back that i sent you?

          No. Seriously. If you are having memory problems then you need to be looking at dementia.

          1. Checking phone etc records has helped some memory recovery.
            But yes, I agree. To be explored with GP tomorrow, and she's already booked time at the hospital "memory clinic" for me. Is that a place where the other side of the doors has no handle, I wonder?

          3. When I worked on the geriatric wards, the doors had at least four knobs.
            Two, if turned in alternate directions worked; the other two were dummies.
            We were forever rescuing shut in visitors, nurses, admins etc… but especially doctors.
            The supposedly demented old biddies knew exactly what to do.
            Still, the sprint across the lawns to field them kept us reasonably fit.

      1. A bit of a pi55er indeed.
        How heart problems makes one forget, I don't know, but follow-up with GP tomorrow is well timed. And the forgetting takes the energy out of me: I'm normally pretty driven, but when that pressure is replaced by emptiness and confusion, I can't get on with stuff.
        Rats!

        1. Your heart doesn't pump the blood efficiently to your brain, Paul. A brain starved of oxygen tends to forget things.

  38. Belated good morning, overcast yet again, it was a beautiful sunset yesterday as well.

    1. Morning. Clear and sunny here in West Sussex. Currently 23 c. or in the ancient civilized tongue of England 72f.

    2. Update: now tipping down, a repeat of yesterday morning, perhaps a lovely evening?

  39. Computer freezing time for a reboot just drop these off first
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dbf9b5738dfd75fc12368b7b07585a75c1283eb2687d50c264bfe5d00bc2dfb1.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4f3a97ba95a47fb576d590da2b318a8c6e1365cc5a648a180a5d83aee1c814a2.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c8479753857f73fab9f42f3fdf334f9870fa334278b1ead120001f4fa5e08ce.jpg
    https://media.scored.co/post/ZrqCeDLrZTMr.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/81414c88c85a26cfa2dbd1a2733a457d07a5aa406b3188ce7a1919ed79b8e820.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/226254c5c1b774adde4a792002fbfe765a8ee7fabe0ab8db2e60dce18e943bb3.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/35de56911d311c4d192fced50d0897008b6452d0f37b8262d851a4327bff8ca2.jpg

    2. It is rather annoying that when you tell people the truth (such as our water policy is controlled by the EU) and they then say 'that's rubbish, it's all da torwees fault' and refuse to do their own research.

      I suppose if you are a rabid Left wing eufanatic the truth is painful.

      1. You don't have to be a rabid Left wing fanatic for the truth to be painful. The truth sometimes takes a bit of thinking around, and too many in the population are too lazy to bother to think for themselves.

        1. It is strange this thinking process. My head is doing it all the time, and mostly without my permission! – taking me down avenues I often would rather not, if I had a say in the matter – venture down. It happens without my consent.

          Edit: Good morning, Hertslass.

    3. It is rather annoying that when you tell people the truth (such as our water policy is controlled by the EU) and they then say 'that's rubbish, it's all da torwees fault' and refuse to do their own research.

      I suppose if you are a rabid Left wing eufanatic the truth is painful.

  40. The nuclear exchange would take place in Europe, so they'll miss out on the destruction, and be the only power left on Earth, Europe and Russia being well buggered and China not there yet. Maybe they have a deal with the Chinese?

    1. Once the missiles are falling on Europe North Korea will launch against the U.S.A.

  42. China overtook the US stealthily some time ago…in a post Kali Yuga world, the two would work harmoniously together, Russia and Germany would have close economic ties to the benefit of the whole of Europe, and we would have a new era of peace, freedom and prosperity….then I woke up :-((

  43. The parasite class really, really want to get their hands on Russia’s natural resources…they seem to hate Russia more than they hate anyone else on earth. There is a theory that it’s hereditary, from the old days when the Russians drove out the Khazarians.

    1. It was the Swedish Vikings who drove out the Khazars. That theory also presupposes that all Khazars were converted to Judaism and all European Jews are of Khazar descent, all of which modern genetics has disproved. Sadly for that particular conspiracy theory too, most of the NWO are not Jewish.

      1. It was a long history, in which the Russians were also involved though.
        I don’t think that all European Jews or members of the NWO come into it. Parasite class families might, if they originated in that part of the world.

    1. Well noticed, James…some of them are very large…the resident owl is a young tawny male, raised in my owl box fairly tame although I don’t encourage that, perches outside my door with one in his beak, throws it slightly in the air then swallows whole, tail lingering a while edge of his beak….then couple pellets later. (hope you’re not reading this whilst eating breakfast, if so my apologies…:-D)

      1. I have actually decamped to Bury St Eds to meet up with family and was having a very nice picnic when I opened your post. Great timing eh!

        Rodents have no chance around us. Our cat is a lethal rat specialist, doesn’t do birds but is continuously harassed by the blackbirds who chased it round the garden all the time. Between the barn owl, at least two tawny owls and the family of buzzards the other rodents are best staying in cover to be honest. Any small birds silly enough to not keep an eye get picked off by the sparrowhawk. It’s brutal out here frankly.

        1. You lucky old bird, James :-)) have a good time. Cat sounds fab, a keeper – I’m not keen on the ones regard birds as a challenge, think it must be the wing flapping sets them off. Have never seen a barn owl near home, but in other places…the silence of flight gives me the shivers, so lethal, nature red in tooth and claw. I’m currently in the North where kites have been released, bad idea in that they rob bird nests however the numbers now are down and I suspect Farmer Giles, as they’ve apparently been known to take new born lambs. Sparrowhawks circling daily basis. Weather close, but no sun.

          1. Kites not quite this far over us yet in numbers KJ, but where they are in places such as Kettering or Milton Keynes silly people have been putting cat food and other meat out for them. The kites of course who live in large communal families don’t forget, have said ‘brilliant, we will take your barbeques then’. It doesn’t do to be soft with nature since it won’t be soft towards you. That’ll larn ’em. People obviously haven’t read their Shakespeare.

          2. Exactly what happened here, James – feeding stations, likely promoted by Green Lobby. Yes, red in tooth and claw. Bet you’re having a pub lunch…mwah….

          3. It's like the deluded who encourage urban foxes then complain that "something" has been at their bin bags.

  45. Back from fruit picking – 4lbs of loganberries cooking, that's close to 10lbs off the one big bush – and general chores around the home. Now having a deserved quick second mug of coffee before tackling the greenhouses with the watering can and the tying-in twine.

    Nigel Farage receiving international exposure on War Room?

    Raheem Kassam – formerly of LBC and Breitbart London and now running the National Pulse Site in the USA – reporting from outside The Three Jays pub in Jaywick, of all places. Farage in the blue blazer, without a pint in his hand, talking with customers.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d30a120cea9df09fa0a90be2e0dac094fc29fa15a89a64c42954cab5ec88712c.png

    1. Interesting to encounter someone who grows loganberries – I do to. The crop is just coming into the main ripening here.

  46. Have you seen the price of 12 year old petrol cars these days??
    Everyone seems to want one.

    I want a 12 year old petrol car because I don't want an internet connected car.

    1. We will be keeping our ten year old diesel car until the day comes we can no longer purchase diesel, or the car falls apart. We are hoping it will see us out. We regard possessing an old car as a badge of honour. We have just returned from Devon, there and back from East Anglia and a little sightseeing, on one tank of petrol and some left over after our return journey. Our elder son has an EV and had to stop twice on his way home from Skipton in Yorkshire to Swindon in Wiltshire to re-charge. Admittedly he didn't leave Skipton fully charged, he said charging points were difficult to come by oop north.

      1. Isn't that a strange little gremlin that lives in the Madagascan forest? Didn't know they were filthy

          1. Aren't we all! although our ddpd is now more respectable than the public road that leads to it. What is going on?

          2. You’ve got Labour in charge and we’ve got an inefficient, wasteful county council that’s massively in debt.

          4. I think ours is nominally Con. They are still working from home, so you can’t get any response from Shire Hall. Not even our unitary council representative can do that.

  47. Serves her purpose? She doesn’t ‘serve’ anyone! That’s what you’re there for! 🤣🐈

  49. From Rebel News:

    Dear Tom,
    Moments ago Tommy Robinson received a standing ovation in Calgary, Canada, for a powerful speech about censorship and government overreach.
    And then moments later, ten police – both undercover officers and uniformed officers, swarmed him, arrested him, put him in the back of a big SUV and drove him away.
    This is outrageous but completely unsurprising. One of the few places with worse censorship than the UK itself is Justin Trudeau’s Canada.
    Well, not on my watch.
    Tommy was our guest on a speaking tour. The least we can do is keep him safe from bullies like Trudeau’s highly-politicized RCMP.
    I immediately called Alain Hepner, one of Calgary’s top criminal lawyers. He’s on the case right now.
    We’ll work through the night to get Tommy free.
    If you can help us cover the costs of this emergency legal help, please do, by clicking here or going to http://www.TommyTrial.com.
    I’ll keep you posted throughout the night.
    Yours truly,
    Ezra Levant
    Rebel News
    P.S. It was a wonderful night. A standing ovation. Tommy was brilliant. And then the bullies, censors and political cops stepped in.
    P.P.S. We’ve got to help Tommy get out of jail – and we’ve already got a great lawyer on the file. Please help me cover his fees by donating here – thanks.

    1. I see the green trolls are responding in force – some sane comments though, which is nice to see!

    3. Not forgetting the damage to birds, bats…neighbour of mine thinks viable alternative is hydro, when I asked how much power that would generate he replied 'we'll flood the whole valley'. Scary stuff, he was serious – green nutcase.

      1. I remember good old David Bellamy helping to stop the hydro scheme in Tasmania, some of the trees to be flooded are over a thousand years old. And the bbc banned him because he didn't agree with their climate change BS.
        I saw something on TV Monday evening about a huge 'solar farm' being constructed in the Cotswolds.
        There's also a proposal for one near WGC Herts, at Shaw's Corner. There are more solar panels on house roofs than there has ever been. Surely that's good enough.

        1. I really is disgraceful, Eddy…we shall reap what’s been sown, especially the pollution from solar panels at the end of their span – having been airily told that will be resolved at some ‘future point’. Posted earlier about a friend working in hydrogen business – when I ask him about safe storage, he tells me ‘the brightest minds are working on it’ (and have been for some time…)

        2. It's never enough where farmland is concerned. They intend to build the largest data centre in Europe just East of London.

          1. You mean the Google data centre just south of Cheshunt by the A12 which I walked past the other week on the New Rive. It is HUGE. And I had to abandon my walk a little further on due to the equally huge Sunset Waltham Cross film studio with the New River closed.
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9ebf460049f3bed8cf502feeb47eaeca33cd8ee04a80424f1935d2ba8c89f97.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/25d2c8d6c8f1fa4ee26363ed4d309e821913f8b1bfe098f31a5e1c836ba13948.jpg

        1. Would need a substantial sea defence, I think, SirJ 😀 I guess my friend could adapt his plan to the tides, but that may make leccy supply more limited – pretty much as Millipede is planning with his green plan. We do have engines in place to deal with flooding but they’re currently mothballed. That plan may need to return with Climate Change, firstly we’d have the ‘discussion’ about a) does Climate Change exist and b) who would pay, last time the Water Board said they wouldn’t bear the cost alone. It will cause great excitement, and much hot air- we could utilise that perhaps!

  52. ITV’s Tom Bradby has said that there are not many “white male anchors” left presenting TV news programmes as he prepares for the general election.

    The former royal correspondent and political editor, 57, will lead the commercial broadcaster’s coverage on July 4, against a diverse pair of double acts — Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC and Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4, with Sky News coverage led by Kay Burley.

    However, Bradby insisted that he did not feel his role was under threat, amid qualms that ITV’s line-up, which also features the former chancellor George Osborne and former shadow chancellor Ed Balls, was too white and male.

    https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/itv-tom-bradby-general-election-coverage-tb3zr3926

    1. It was a number of years ago when we noticed the ongoing agenda at the bbc with promoting more and more people of colour to the fore of presentation. Back then my wife and I were at the BBC theatre and before we went in to be entertained, we had some refreshments in the restaurant above the TV news rooms and the very busy desks area next to it. Although even then there were many people as described already, on our screens. The average of those in this work area was far lower. Almost nil, actually. Probably still the case now.

      1. I remember seeing my first black doctor about 50 years ago. I was having bad headaches and he said he couldn't really say what was wrong with me. I asked him if he could throw some bones on the ground and get a second opinion. He thought that was very funny and he'd remember that.

          2. There are valid reasons to dislike some foreign doctors. My last prostate check was done by a Turkish doctor who resembled the incredible hulk. Fingers to match !
            Thank God my colonoscopy that followed was carried out by an Indian.

          3. Our GP is from northern Europe, a nice guy but his Norwegian accent is quite strong.

            A long time ago my original GP said as he was a bout to check the prostate said " I hope you're not going to enjoy this".
            I replied, "I hope your not". A Geordie…..he chuckled.

        2. You'd be banged up for that non-hate crime these days and be on the permanent register!

    2. The V&A I read a few days ago was apparently 'very proud' to have, through a long programme deliberately achieved its equality targets by employing the desired quota of women and ethnically diverse staff. So far so what, I thought. That's modern Britain. Then, I was astounded to read that they'd got to their desired policy reduction of "white indigenous males" down to only 30%, nevertheless were now quite concerned that that has fallen off beyond target to 26½%. Their ideal would apparently be to 'restore the balance' where they return to 70% (presumably "equal" 🤔) female representation to 30% white men.

      When you're dealing with those levels of attitude and corruption of language the museum sector is lost to ignorance I'm afraid. Let them stew in their own juices. Personally I hope white male representation drops off to nil. They only want token white men to fulfil their silly game quotas, in any case and I think that's a real possibility. I've noticed a very healthy trend among young white men in my part of the world who are scurrying away from the nannies as soon as they identify them and getting quite secure employment elsewhere in a more sensible area. Leave them to it, I say.

    1. 388862+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      AKA, getting shot of the scam props, so in future they can claim "what PPE" and their supporter / voters say "yeah, what PPE" for the good of the party, they truly walk among us.

    1. Not their money. What do they care? Maybe the intention all along was to buy and not use – a camouflaged way of giving money to a mate…

      1. What’s the saying about the most careful spenders are spending their own money on themselves and the most profligate are those spending mot their own money on other people

    2. the civil service are still in WFH lockdown..
      and all Lefties still wear face nappies at protests.

    3. the civil service are still in WFH lockdown..
      and all Lefties still wear face nappies at protests.

  57. Undignified shouting match going on at LBC.. James Cleverly in clash with Yvette Cooper over illegal immigration..

    Yvette Cooper: "We let in far more undesirables than you ever did.. And we used to have the Dublin Agreement which unfortunately did have some returns to Europe."
    James Cleverly: "This is just invented, this is just fantasy. We let in far far far more, and over a shorter period."

    1. Diplomat cars have flags. Royal cars have flags. President cars have flags. Is Khan going to ban them too?

      1. People have got this all wrong. I'm sure his real target is all those Pride flags in so-called Pride month.

        1. If i recall correctly the Mayoral election was canceled because of the covid scam. So he just carried on.

          3. The 2020 election was delayed by one year. The 2024 election was held on its planned date, therefore Khan served a 5-year term followed by 3 years, the same 8 years as if the 2020 election was held on its planned date. His new term will be the standard 4 years unless another 'emergency' intervenes.

          1. Postal votes for Fatima 1, Fatima 2, Fatima 3, Fatima 4.
            All the little Fatimas and Mos.
            Plus their sister, cousins, aunts, grand mothers, grandfathers, uncles three times removed ……

    2. See my post on immigrant judge above. What do you expect from his ilk? Born in Britain means nothing!

  59. Witness Hancock. And the less said about Johnson the better, go to America and stay there a variation of it.

  60. This sort of conversation just underlines exactly how useless our politicians actually are.

      1. It's all they Know James, how to eff everything up they come into contact with.
        Consistently useless.

        1. Overpaid useless. Cheap trash is one thing, trash that you pay through the nose for is beyond putting up with. Some effing up. They should eff off instead, with a big shove from taxpayers.

        2. Overpaid useless. Cheap trash is one thing, trash that you pay through the nose for is beyond putting up with. Some effing up. They should eff off instead, with a big shove from taxpayers.

    2. Once more, allowing this to happen this shows us how useless our political classes are.

    3. Takes one to know one. Good choice for judge – the UK becomes more and more banana republic by the day.

      1. Amazing the things that these things happen, innit? I am surprised at every turn.

    5. Sop complaining, how can you possibly expect them to integrate without us making them feel right at home?

      /sarc

          2. I have visions of them climbing up the sides for help and pushing the helpers in.

    1. For a moment I thought you meant Politics Philosophy Economics. The degree all the nincompoops in Parliament have from Oxbridge.

  63. As if the saturation coverage of the election [and Wendyball] isn't nauseating enough, I note that Jeremy Whine will be one of the BBC's election "pundits"!

    1. In my experience they only look for certain things after a first diagnosis. Which is why they missed my low potassium for several months until i started getting palps and banging in my ears.

      Perhaps have one done privately to look at as many things as possible.

  65. Oh my., a great big raspberry to the village idiot and his liberals.

    There was a by election in Toronto last night in a safe liberal seat, a liberal staff member was parachuted in from Ottawa and she was supported by many government ministers i. The campaign to retain this safe seat.
    Unfortunately (chuckle, chuckle) for them the liberal 24% margin from the last election was overturned and the Conservative candidate took 2% more votes than the Liberal candidate.

    Ah bliss. in a normal world the leader would resign but we are left wondering if Trudeau will even acknowledge the result.

    1. It seems that everywhere but the UK moving to the centre/right (Known as the far right/extreme right now)

    2. True Dough should be replaced by a gluten free alternative according to Caroline who has coeliac disease.

  66. A question of scale i suppose. China has some very large hydro dams. Not great for anyone that was living in the valley.
    On the plus side you have a large inland expanse of water that can be used for birds, other wildlife and fish. Pleasure craft and lodges.

    1. Yes, they’re pretty steep valleys there. Here, mine, not so much. It’ll never happen, Neighbourhood Meeting couldn’t even agree on mini roundabout to reduce accidents (including recently a couple of deaths).

    2. IIRC China's rivers tend to have a high sediment load, so it won't take all that long for the sediment to build up in the reservoir.

  67. Poilievre has plenty to say to Trudeau, every time they meet, he has plenty to go at – very little response from Trudeau.

  68. We are just moving from communism towards the centre, our conservatives are hardly right. Sstill it beats what we have.

  71. Edited – Nottlers have been wondering why my old friend JD has vanished . He's left online, he's busy and more interested in his offline dealings . I'm sure he'll be missed and i don't think I will expect to see him online again.

    2. We don't like losing people for any reason. Tell him to be a good boy and come back or there will be trubble ! :@)

    4. That's a pity; I enjoyed interacting with him and reading about his efforts in maintaining his church's witness despite the malign influence of the diocese. If you have a way of contacting him, please send my best regards.

    5. That's a pity; I enjoyed interacting with him and reading about his efforts in maintaining his church's witness despite the malign influence of the diocese. If you have a way of contacting him, please send my best regards.

    6. I had wondered why he hadn't been on. I hope the PCC struggle hasn't got to him. It does grind you down after a while. Send him my regards, please.

  72. Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, has called on the doctors’ regulator, the General Medical Council, to take a tougher stance on racism and extremism, after it failed to strike Dr Wahid Shaida, who ran the Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, off the register.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/24/doctors-union-becoming-a-vehicle-for-jew-hatred-jewish-medi/

    Doctors fear the British Medical Association’s annual meeting is becoming “a vehicle for Jew hatred” as union factions called for action against Israel.

    Leaders from the Jewish medical community raised concerns about the “hostile” atmosphere at the union’s conference hours before a woman was heckled on stage for saying she was a “practising Jew”.

    Around 30, or one in 10 motions, which are policy proposals that doctors vote on and the union adopts if passed, had to be removed from debates on legal grounds because they related to the Israel and Palestine conflict, and “risked being perceived as discriminatory, more specifically, anti-Semitic”.It also only suspended Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis for three months after anti-Semitic comments such as London being better if it were “Jew free”, which it deemed made him “not a racist but someone quite comfortable with using discriminatory language”.

    A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which is a charity that fights anti-Semitism, said the “rise of anti-Jewish hate incidents in the medical profession has been particularly disturbing” since the Oct 7 Hamas massacre.

    A BMA spokesman said: “The BMA takes extremely seriously behaviour which is discriminatory, racist or offensive in any way. In this instance, one or two members chose to disrupt the speech by a Jewish doctor who was speaking out in defence of the Palestinian community in Gaza.

    He added: “The BMA stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and prejudice and we believe in dignity and respect for all individuals, regardless of their personal characteristics.”

    1. The Jews should certainly clear off out of Europe and North America and go back to the Middle East, taking with them everything they've invented/contributed. We'd be well fucked and deservedly so. On the other hand, if the Mohammedans were to leave…well, we'd get by.

  74. US could halt weapons deliveries if Ukraine refuses peace talks. 25 June 2024.

    The United States could threaten to halt weapons deliveries to Ukraine if it refuses peace talks, under a plan presented to Donald Trump by two of his former Pentagon advisers.

    Russia would separately be warned that any refusal to enter negotiations would result in increased military support for Kyiv.

    A ceasefire would be arranged on the basis of the front lines as they are when talks begin.

    This seems like a sensible plan. Biden has of course blocked all paths to negotiations since he is not remotely concerned with peace or the fate of the Ukrainian people. Unfortunately we have to wait for the succession of Trump before it can be implemented.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/06/25/us-could-halt-weapons-deliveries-if-ukraine-refuses-talks/

  75. Just seen photos of some of the offerings on sale at the Somerset Artisan Fair (link posted here last weekend). There's some lovely stuff – in soft, earthy colours, they look like a hug coloured in!

  76. "Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appears to have been detained by officers outside the Carriage House Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary, Canada."

    DM Story

    Why does the MSM seem to think that by drawing attention to his 'real name' they are in some way discrediting him. I wonder what Reggie Dwight, Harry Webb, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Krishna Bhanji, Ilyena Mironov, Gordon Sumner and others would have to say about this?

    Mind you I can understand why Total Tosspot decided to rebrand himself as Boris Johnson.

      1. "Shapps's use of the names Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath and Sebastian Fox attracted media attention in 2012. He denied having used a pseudonym after entering parliament and, in 2014, threatened legal action against a constituent who had stated on Facebook that he had. In February 2015, he told LBC Radio: "I don't have a second job and have never had a second job while being an MP. End of story."[30]

        In March 2015, Shapps said he had made an error in his interview with LBC and was "mistaken over the dates" of his outside employment. He said he had "over-firmly denied" having a second job."

        2. Then after found to have lied was elevated to high office.

          I no longer care if Putin takes over. Not that i believe it is his intention.

    1. Anyone waving around an AK real or not in the UK needs a bullet in the head. How are ordinary people supposed to know it's a fake ?Where was the armed police response? People have been shot for carrying a table leg !

  79. Post

    See new posts
    Conversation
    Active Patriot
    @ActivePatriotUK
    BRITAIN IS BROKEN

    Gang of immigrants with 'imitation' AK-47 rifle and Eritrean flag takeover busy Teesside beauty spot 'Roseberry Topping' on Sunday and police just give words of advice

    This video being circulated on social media shows the group with the flag and what is believed to be an imitation AK-47 rifle at the busy Teesside beauty spot on Sunday

    Cleveland Police confirmed that “words of advice” were given to the group, and the item confiscated

    A force spokesperson said: Around 1pm today, Cleveland Police attended Roseberry Topping after reports of men believed to be in possession of a weapon

    It is believed that a video showing the group was also circulated online

    https://x.com/ActivePatriotUK/status/1805556511214645697

    Officers spoke with a group of men and confirmed that the weapon was an imitation firearm

    This has been confiscated by police and words of advice have been given

    1. I don't believe a word of what the police have said about this. How would they have known in advance it was an imitation weapon? Standard response would be a fully armed assault team and everyone arrested. Those left standing of course.

    1. Bacha bazi is still common in muslim countries. They say it has been banned but as usual they are lying.

      If a police commander is doing it everyone is.

      Remember what they did to Saddam Hussein when he was captured.

      2. From Google: Bacha bazi
        boy play
        "boy play"; from بچه bacheh, "boy", and بازی bazi "play, game") is a slang term in some parts of Afghanistan for a wide variety of activities involving sexual relations between younger adolescent men or boys, who are called dancing boys, and older men. The custom is connected to sexual slavery and child prostitution.

          1. Yes, i hadn’t heard of it:

            “Bacha bāzī is a practice in which men (sometimes called bacha baz) buy and keep adolescent boys (sometimes called dancing boys) for entertainment and sex.

          2. These "beautiful dancing boys" feature in their banal and carnal heaven, along with the 72 virgins. I would add that the "trans" phenomenon is very much the alternative (in their book) to execution for the practising homosexualist. Yet the rape of little boys is also condoned. What a bugger's muddle.

          4. My mother’s cousin (as opposed to my father’s badger-loving reclusive cousin who died sometime last month but no one is sure when, the police had to knock down the door) converted to Islam in the 70s, much to my great aunty and uncle’s distress. However I take a crumb of comfort from the fact i may be protected when we are all one big happy universal caliphate. He lives in Dubai and is a perfectly nice man and some big-wig in the Muslim world. My great uncle (who was in oil in Bahrain prior to the nationalisation – apparently he was the one who had to turn it all over to the Government) was always convinced he was a spy. He converted when he was at Oxford.

          5. That would be the prophet's thumb of comfort, I take it? 🙂 You'll be okay once you've become a good and chattel, joined the harem and converted, pet.

          6. Lol caught the autocorrect and changed it to “crumb” (in case no one else has a clue what’s going on)

    2. Horrid. Stinkers of the first order. Do not import any more of this vile ideology into our country, please.

    1. Or Reform voters just pretending to be a bit put off by Farage's remarks on Ukraine.

      1. From Coffee House, the Spectator

        Is the Farage ‘Putin ally’ row putting off Reform voters?
        Comments Share 25 June 2024, 10:35am
        So far in this election campaign the consistent theme has been Tory turmoil. A large part of this has been caused by Nigel Farage and his decision to return to frontline politics and lead Reform. Depending on which pollster you pick, Farage’s party is either narrowly behind the Tories on voting intention or ahead of them. The impact of this is that many Tory candidates in once safe seats of majorities of 20,000 plus now fear they could narrowly lose next week when voters go to the polls.

        But is Farage finally feeling some pressure himself? On Friday, Farage sat down with Nick Robinson as part of the BBC presenter’s series of election interviews where he was asked about Putin. He told Robinson: ‘I said I disliked him as a person, but I admired him as a political operator because he’s managed to take control of running Russia.’ On the war in Ukraine, he suggested the war was Putin’s fault but the West had provoked it by giving the Russian leader an excuse:

        ‘Right, I’ll tell you what you don’t know, I stood up in the European parliament in 2014 and I said, and I quote: ‘There will be a war in Ukraine.’ Why did I say that? It was obvious to me that the ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union was giving this man a reason to his Russian people to say, ‘They’re coming for us again’ and to go to war.”

        Since that interview, the row has dragged on and dominated the news. Boris Johnson has attacked Farage over the comments – as has Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak. On Monday, Farage attempted to get out on the front foot with a special press conference billed as his most important speech to date. It was largely a rebuttal to what Farage described as smears against him. He pointed out Johnson had once made similar comments with regards to the EU – and attacked both Labour and the Tories on foreign policy failures.

        Ultimately the line from Farage is that he is doubling down on his comments, while trying to fob off accusations that he is a Putin ally. Will it matter in the election? On the latest Coffee House Shots podcast, Fraser Nelson argues that Farage is learning from the Donald Trump playbook. He is leaning into a row on a divisive topic as a way of getting more exposure. However, the Tories believe it is the best attack line to date that they have on their nemesis. So far, the campaign team is finding it difficult to persuade angry disillusioned former Tory voters to back them one more time.

        As one campaign aide puts it: ‘There will be a group that this speaks to and some voters who will back Reform whatever. But for lots of our base considering voting for Reform, it is unpatriotic and a turn off.’ In the UK – unlike with some countries on the continent – support for Ukraine remains high. Anecdotally, Tory candidates say they are finding the comments useful on the doorstep as a way to deter some voters from switching to Reform. Though one says there is a ceiling on the attack as a lot of the potential voters don’t have strong views on foreign policy generally. It’s just over a week until we find out who is right.

        1. it is unpatriotic.. LOL. As if flooding the island with hairy arsed fighting men aint, and surrendering to a foreign court of law.

          on the continent – support for Ukraine remains high.
          Rod Stewart draped in Ukraine flag booed off stage in Germany..

      2. It seemed quite likely to me that some would change tack when they read what. Farage said. However, what was carefully omitted was the fact that he said the same thing in 2014 in the European Parliament.

  86. At the end of their first date, a young man takes his favorite girl home. Emboldened by the night, he decides to try for that important first kiss.
    With an air of confidence, he leans with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he says to her, "Darling, how 'bout a goodnight kiss?"
    Horrified, she replies, "Are you mad? My parents will see us!"
    "Oh come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?"
    "No, please. Can you imagine if we get caught?"
    "Oh come on, there's nobody around, they're all sleeping!"
    "No way. It's just too risky!"
    "Oh please, please, I like you so much!!"
    "No, no, and no. I like you too, but I just can't!"
    "Pleeeeease?…"
    Out of the blue, the porch light goes on, and the girl's sister shows up in her pajamas, hair disheveled. In a sleepy voice the sister says: "Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. Or if need be, he'll come down himself and do it. But for crying out loud tell him totake his hand off the intercom button!"

  87. At the end of their first date, a young man takes his favorite girl home. Emboldened by the night, he decides to try for that important first kiss.
    With an air of confidence, he leans with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he says to her, "Darling, how 'bout a goodnight kiss?"
    Horrified, she replies, "Are you mad? My parents will see us!"
    "Oh come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?"
    "No, please. Can you imagine if we get caught?"
    "Oh come on, there's nobody around, they're all sleeping!"
    "No way. It's just too risky!"
    "Oh please, please, I like you so much!!"
    "No, no, and no. I like you too, but I just can't!"
    "Pleeeeease?…"
    Out of the blue, the porch light goes on, and the girl's sister shows up in her pajamas, hair disheveled. In a sleepy voice the sister says: "Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. Or if need be, he'll come down himself and do it. But for crying out loud tell him totake his hand off the intercom button!"

  89. Already did that.
    This was a belly rub signal.
    I was a bit slow on the uptake.
    You can’t get the staff nowadays.

  90. Help ! Sort of.
    I don't believe i have vertigo but i do and for many years fears of falling. Not only in my dreams but waking dreams too.
    It makes me stand back !
    Anyone have any ideas? I have had some progress in trying to take control but i am haunted each night.
    I think it might be some standard Meds i am taking but we know how diff that is to get a proper diagnosis.

    1. I have a fear of heights on a ladder against a building, but I am fine up a tree. I think it helps to have something to hold onto. If you are dreaming of falling, maybe you can also dream a handle to grasp onto?

    3. Aversion therapy – parachute tandem jump? (someone else to pull the cord).

    4. Have your blood pessure checked (when lying down and immediately, standing up). Mine proved I have underlying low blood pressure and that causes me to fall over sometimes.

    5. Take up parachuting, but, if you don't succeed at first, it's probably not for you

    6. Just a fear of? No tripping over or unexpected falls?

      Maybe tackling the fear head on is the way to go with the parachute jump that has been suggested. Be wsrned that the sight of the plane whistling up from you is interesting.

      of course you could always try the medical route and see a psychiatrist but that would be no fun and they would probably tell you to lay off the booze.

    7. I have a pulse oximeter which measures Peripheral Infusion (PI).

      I've just taken a reading as the temperature here is 26 degC.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/550b987262a3773a4274243bb90dfac753ebf96a8ef57c9234abc05c875e33e4.jpg
      A PI of 9.2 is normal for me in hot weather but higher readings are indicative of high blood flow in veins and arteries which is the mechanism used by some cardio drugs to reduce blood pressure.

      Monitoring your PI can be more helpful than other vital signs in seeing seeing how it changes both with drugs you are takng, the environment you are in and the sensations you are feeling.

    9. It could well be a side effect of your meds, or it could be caused by a virus. I had a bad attack of vertigo a few years ago – bad enough to go to the doctor about it. He said it was caused by a virus in my case.

      1. Or, as with me, it could have come on very suddenly after the second jab and never gone away

  92. Spot the error!

    Reform manifesto: "Give tax relief to people who buy health insurance, and send their children to private school."

  93. A stinking Bogey Six!

    Wordle 1,102 6/6
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    🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
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    1. Five for me. Silly mistake in guess four. I repeated a letter I'd already established isn't included. Doh!

      Wordle 1,102 5/6

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      3. From Coffee House, the Spectator

        What Nigel Farage gets wrong about the Ukraine war
        Comments Share 25 June 2024, 10:51am
        ‘We [the West] provoked this war [in Ukraine],’ Nigel Farage recently declared on BBC Panorama, blaming Putin’s invasion of the neighboring country on the ‘ever eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union’. He later doubled down on his claims, arguing that Putin’s behavior in Ukraine was ‘reprehensible, but…’

        Farage of course is not alone in explaining Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by blaming Nato and the EU. For a start, Putin himself has done so repeatedly. Putin and Farage clearly see eye-to-eye on this point. But Farage’s views are also aligned closely with those of several academics, best represented by John Mearsheimer whose famous article – ‘Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin’ – was first published ten years ago, and has since become a point of reference for all those who seek to ‘explain’ Putin, not ‘justify’ him.

        The problem with this reading is that it robs the offending party – Putin – of agency. As a result, explanation serves as an implicit justification. The argument suggests that other leaders, put in Putin’s shoes, would have conceivably been provoked in much the same way, and would have reacted in much the same way.

        The reality could not be more different. To understand why, we need to distinguish between two types of threats. Some threats are objective. We know, for example, that the threat of global warming is not a figment of anyone’s inflamed imagination and that if we continue to burn fossil fuels at the rate that we do, then nasty things are bound to happen.

        Other threats, however, are more elusive, and come down to perceptions and interpretations. Such threats are, to paraphrase the prominent political scientist Alexander Wendt, what we make of them.

        Most popular
        Steerpike
        Badenoch blasts David Tennant over trans debate

        In the case of Russia, the threat from the West is not only subjective, but also deeply disputed within Russia itself. Too often, we fall for the fallacy that there is only one viewpoint that the Russians supposedly hold and that any Russian would behave just like Putin did or worse.

        This is not the case. I am a historian of Russian and Soviet foreign policy. I have just published a book that offers a panoramic sweep of the Kremlin’s approach to foreign relations from Stalin to Putin. If there is anything that writing this book has taught me, it is that 1) nothing is inevitable until it happens; and 2) there was often a real debate in Moscow about the nature of threats the Russians faced, and the range of available remedies.

        My favorite historical anecdote to address this point takes us back to the end of the Cold War, at the very origins of the debate about Nato enlargement. In the winter-spring of 1990 Soviet leaders were contemplating the prospect of German unification. Some – broadly speaking, the military, and a few Communist party officials – were aghast at the idea, and dreaded the Soviet withdrawal from East Germany, citing security concerns.

        Others, for example, Mikhail Gorbachev’s chief foreign policy aide Anatoly Chernyaev, thought these concerns were inflated. As Chernyaev put it in a memorandum to Gorbachev, ‘the situation is defined by the nuclear balance between the USSR and the USA.’ Did it even matter that the Soviet forces were pulled out of East Germany, or that Germany would be in Nato? Who would threaten the USSR? Who would dare to start a war with a nuclear power?

        Gorbachev, as we know, went along with Chernyaev’s recommendations and… as we now know, the North Atlantic alliance did not invade Russia. Eastern Europe revived and prospered in the expanded EU, and in Nato. Russia itself benefited richly from this post-Cold War arrangement because, perhaps for the first time ever, it found itself surrounded by secure and happy countries. It could trade with these countries and, because of its energy leverage, it could even exercise a degree of ever-growing influence over them.

        It is for this reason, perhaps, that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine struck the Russian expert community like a bolt of lightning out of clear skies. Far from being the only option for Russia, or a natural outcome of a process initiated by the West, the war seemed irrational, absurd, and self-defeating. It still is.

        Instead of asking, amid misplaced self-flagellation, how our real or imaginary sins explain Putin’s inevitable crimes, we should respect Putin by granting him the agency that he deserves. He chose his threats. He chose from a range of policy options, not all of which had military outcomes. In other words, Putin chose war. Instead of explaining how Putin made these choices, Farage and his like should try to explain why he did not choose differently, and what would have happened if he did.

        Here’s my view. If Putin hadn’t decided to begin this war, Ukraine would still know peace. It was certainly in no immediate danger of joining Nato, and in the completely unlikely scenario that it ever did join, Nato would have become more bloated and therefore more unwieldy. The threat of it invading Russia with or without Ukraine onboard would have been exactly zero.

        Putin misread the nature of threats Russia faced. By buying into his narrative, Farage and his supporters misdiagnose the problem, and thus make it even more difficult to find a solution.

        1. No mention of the ukies shelling the Russian-speakers in the Donbass etc, I notice.

    2. My second word was good, only choice after that was correct. Bloody New York Times.

      Wordle 1,102 3/6

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    3. Better than yesterday

      Wordle 1,102 4/6

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      but anything beats a fail!

    4. Dont know this happened, particularly with the US spelling, but sunk a majestic eagle! Get in!

      Wordle 1,102 2/6

      ⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩
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  95. 100%.. Gareth Southgate wears safety goggles to mow the lawn.
    Southgate is the type of guy who charges his phone if it drops to 99%.
    Southgate is the kind of guy who bubbles wraps his bubble wrap.
    Southgate gets insurance out on a £15 toaster from Argos.

    (that's enough..)

    1. Huh? No capito. What's the beef – the man is duller than the dark side of the moon? 'cos that's my place!

        1. Who – me or Southgate?
          I'm almost retired – too knackered to work for anybody.

          1. The Chinese have landed a probe on the dark side of the moon and
            " 'cos that's my place!"
            suggested you might be on their team.

            The cider has clearly clouded your cognisance.
            };-O

    2. Actually wearing safety googles to mow the lawn isn't as stupid as it sounds if he's got a rotary mower. It's certainly advisable if strimming. I've been hit by a stone thrown up and it hurts. Fortunately it didn't hit my face.

      1. Our daughter and SiL had to get a new back door last week after the strimmer encountered a stone, which connected with the double glazed door! Our other daughter has Larry the lawnmower which pootles around the sloping lawn and does a great job until he ran into the clothes pole, knocked the washing down and then chewed up a very expensive White Company duvet cover!!

        1. Have never tried these robot mowers/hoovers. Husband loves the toy tractor thingy. If he dies or stops it in general before me will let grandchildren or their progeny do it. We've tried goats, in the past, but contrary to received wisdom they are surprisingly choosy.

          1. You could try slaughtering them. We had a discusión thread on it just yesterday from memory!

          2. Firstborn had pigs. They tend to be diggy, very diggy, or escape artists, so you get a call from the neighbours to say your piggies are ploughing their tulip bed…!

          3. Good for clearing dense scrub but no respecters of fences. Their other big plus is that they tend to be humanely slaughtered in this country at the moment,

          6. Had a bad day so am on the wine and chocolate. You have made me splurt both out😂

          8. It’ll all be over by half time I reckon (the wine and chocolate)

            It’s good quality NZ Sauv Blanc leftover from daughter’s 21st, but the chocolate is from my cooking cupboard…

            Edit. Not that I am watching the football, I am in the garden.

          10. Larry is very impressive, I’ve got to say and he does avoid the dog, the toys and everything else – at least most of the time!

        2. Ouch! White Company – not just very expensive, stratospherically expensive (says the cheapskate that pays extortionate amounts of tax therefore cannot claim to be poor but who still has, and uses, the first duvet cover she bought with her first pay packet which was from Next and the White Company equivalent back in those days. It is very thin and worn now, but 35 years old, yellow and white stripes on one side and yellow with white dots on the other. I thought I was the Queen of Sheba).

          1. I like old gear, like your duvet cover. They become like old friends, cosy and familiar, and collect memories…
            I'll get me coat.

          2. She had used John Lewis vouchers they got as a wedding present, as the twins and dog don’t do so much damage nowadays! She was nearly in tears when she ‘phoned ‘not even the pillowcases – it had to be the cover’! I’m sure you’ll understand her horror! Larry is on a guide wire and even reversed over it – several times!

          6. I use my old things until they die – I've washed up some bedding and towels and so on this week and they're all pretty old.

          7. I love old things, Ndovu, and I love mending things – also things that have been mended

      2. Our daughter and SiL had to get a new back door last week after the strimmer encountered a stone, which connected with the double glazed door! Our other daughter has Larry the lawnmower which pootles around the sloping lawn and does a great job until he ran into the clothes pole, knocked the washing down and then chewed up a very expensive White Company duvet cover!!

  96. Why is Euronews.com filled with Francophone news, and bugger-all about the rest of Europe – eg Germany, Austria, Italy, to name the bigger states.

  97. Just started a barrel of homemade cider, about 2-3 years old. It's almost as clear as water, but is appley & smooth and, once in the stomach, you can feel the alcohol. Didn't read the OG, but it's very thin on the tongue, so must be now less than 980… so, likely about 10-15%.
    Looks like a tankard of water… 😉
    Hic!

      1. That's why I gave up on home made it was so strong that I couldn't enjoy a decent glass full. It eaz more like calvados than cider!

        1. This isn't so powerful – I'd say about 15-18%
          Not too many pints for me tonight…

  98. Hustings are an integral part of the election process where candidates & parties debate policies and take questions from the audience.
    However, Leftie election shenanigans popping up across the country.. as Kellie-Jay Keen followed by police, banned from entering and generally harassed by organisers.

  100. I'm off for a walk over to Matlock Bath and the session in the Old Bank.
    Might be on again later.
    TTFN.

  102. Audrey and Me, float into the page on a lovely summer evening .
    Still feeling rather down, I do appreciate your kind thoughts, I shall take a break from NoTTl for a week or so until after the election. Be good and have fun x

    1. Take care, you hear? Hope you're back "up" soon – when I felt bad in the past, NoTTL has been a robust support.
      Don't be a stranger.
      Direct message, if that helps.
      Can reveal my email if you want a one-on-one.

      1. Thats very kind of you, I just need to be alone atm, this is a kind and lovely site . I will remember your kind offer, just need to be away from online for awhile, I’ll soon be back .

          1. Not so much atm but will be soon I hope, thank you for your kind words 4G x

        3. Do what's best for you.
          Lean on us when you need to.
          We're always here, thanks to Geoff.

      1. I've got to say, Eddy, every time I see that phrase I'm reminded of Fawlty Towers when Basil tells the old lady residents (Miss Tibbs and Gatsby, I think) that he's going away for the weekend with Sibyl.
        'Dont do anything we would'nt do Mr.Fawlty!' they chorus at him.
        'Surely a little breathing!' he responds wickedly……..

    3. But be careful if following Ready Eddy's advice.

      Nottlers do all sorts of things that might not be good for you.
      What they wouldn't do is in the angels dancing league.

    4. Sorry to hear you're still upset. We are, on the whole, a kindly bunch here, so don't hesitate to come back when you feel ready.

    5. Take care, a bottle of wine and huge bar of cooking chocolate have cheered me up…until reality dawns tomorrow

      1. Thank you for your kind words, I’m very fond of chocolate and red wine 🙂

    1. All those covid jabs and boosters.
      And someone some where actually knew that would happen.

      1. At the beginning, they said that Covid was like 'flu, so take a shot… the lasr flu vaccine I had, about 15 years ago, made me sicker than a dog and was deffo much worse thn flu, so I politely declined the Covid vax – as did SWMBO and the 2 offspring. Thank God. That was close!

        1. The only reason I consented was that I would not have been allowed to see my very challenged son otherwise. I have other horror stories connected with this. A travesty of medical ethics, the whole thing.

          3. I only had the two AZ jabs because I had a trip to Kenya booked (and postponed twice) and it was clearly going to be a requirement for travel. I'd had so many travel jabs it seemed the logical next step. But I won't be having any more.

        2. I swerved the jab because I'd had covid and recovered. What was the point in having a "vaccine" when my own immune system was already geared up to fight the infection? I had a lucky escape, too.

          1. I believe I was one of the first to catch it in Norway, too, and it wasn't so bad.

          2. It put me in bed for a week – NOTHING does that normally. I couldn't even walk my dog for the first day. Strangely enough, for such a "virulent" disease, MOH didn't get it.

          3. It has been recognised by the medical establishment that there is a fair number of people who do not catch Covid-19 no matter how much they are exposed to the virus. This is because previous infections by coronaviruses have activated the T-cells in their immune systems to recognise the whole family of coronaviruses and fight them off. I think this must apply to me, as I have never had any illness that resembled in any way the distinctive symptoms of Covid-19, or tested positive for it. Perhaps this applies to YOH.

  105. Badenoch for next Tory party leader?
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13568065/Kemi-Badenoch-bigot-Dr-David-Tennant-trans-row.html

    In a stinging tirade on X this afternoon, Ms Badenoch, who is a Tory candidate at the general election, said: 'I will not shut up.

    'I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.

    'A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can't see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.

    'Tennant is one of Labour's celebrity supporters. This is an early example of what life will be like if they win.

    'Keir Starmer stood by while Rosie Duffield was hounded. He and his supporters will do the same with the country. Do not let the bigots and bullies win.'

          1. No idea.
            Since I don't live in the UK, it would offend my sensibilities (!) to even do so, since I don't have to live with the fallout.

    3. thanks for that; here’s a bit more.

      “Speaking at the British LGBT Awards, Tennant said: “I attract the ire of the occasional online idiot – but I don't have social media, so I have to be told about that by my brilliant wife, Georgia, who is the real engine behind anything we do. She educates me about empathy and understanding and she has been a huge educator for me….”

      You always know you are dealing with a Leftards when they use the words “educate”, “educator” and “education, education, education…”

        1. "She educates me about empathy and understanding."
          Yerst. I can imagine her version of empathy and understanding.

      3. His wife sounds like Mrs. Glum or 'Er Indoors.
        A malign, unseen female presence who puts the fear of God up her jellyfish of a husband.

  107. Evening, all. Scorchio again here. People have been dying like flies from heat exhaustion – oh, sorry, that's the Bbc news report. Actually it's been very pleasant with a gentle breeze. I did manage to do a bit in the garden, but mainly I lounged around the house reading (I have a serious pile up of books awaiting perusal). I did finally get around to hanging the hunting picture in the kitchen.

    The rejection of the Cons should not be read (although it will be) as an endorsement of LibLab coalition. Personally my feelings amount to "a pox on all their houses". My young neighbour who stopped to chat when I was out walking Kadi (and, being sensible, keeping to the shade) is seriously considering Reform. I pointed out that if he wasn't happy with what had gone before, he shouldn't vote for more of the same. He's too young to remember the '70s. I have noticed that all my neighbours, even those who have not normally been interested in politics, have started introducing it into their conversations.

    1. We went to the tip – exciting lives we lead……….. it was quite busy but as everyone has to book a timed slot it was nothing like it used to be when it caused traffic jams on Sundays.

      1. I had an even more exciting experience; I put my green bin and recycling bin out along with the cardboard recycling bag. I had to go and lie down afterwards 🙂

        1. I was lying down when they came and emptied our bins. At 7:30 am this morning.

          1. I expect I'll be in bed when they empty the green bin tomorrow, but I shall be up and about, having had breakfast and walked the dog, by the time they get around to collecting the recycling (about 12.30).

          2. We have alternate weeks for recycling collection and residual waste collections, with food waste weekly. Not that we have a lot of food waste. Chicken bones sometimes or fish skins……..

    2. It makes their, maybe radical decision, feel safer if they find others in like mind, Conners.
      So, if you can give them the advice you mention here, that'll make it more likey they vote a tad more radically.

      1. I am careful not to tell them who to vote for, but I do put the case for choosing an alternative.

    3. Possibly the introduction of Farage into mainstream news instrumental in your neighbours new found interest, Conway? I've noticed it too, and he's the one mentioned most often as the cause. Like him or loathe him, he seems to have that effect.

  109. A party leader who oversees a 26% drop in the vote in a by election would normally do the honourable thing and resigned. Then we have Trudeau after a stunning loss in last night's by election, he came out with.: I hear your concerns.

    As we know, no honour there. His caucus is full of He is doing a good job, he should stay rhetoric. Hopefully the.knives are out in the back rooms of power.

  110. "Labour was dragged into the election betting scandal on Tuesday after it suspended a candidate who put a wager on himself losing his seat……

    The party withdrew its support for Kevin Craig shortly after being informed by the Gambling Commission that he was part of its investigation.

    Mr Craig, an expert in crisis management, will still appear on the ballot paper for Labour as the legal deadline for registering candidates has passed."

    Well, this should really test his claimed expertise.

  112. My brain must have melted in the afternoon heat because I cannot see why banning 'conversions' is a bad thing.

    This must be Labour's most disturbing policy yet

    Labour's commitment to a new 'trans-inclusive' conversion therapy ban would make it even harder to protect children from gender ideology

    MIRIAM CATES • 25 June 2024 • 12:35pm

    Throughout the last Parliament, a number of both Labour and Conservative MPs sought to pressure the Government into banning so-called 'conversion therapy'.

    On the face of it, this may seem a noble aim. Some of the 'therapies' employed in the past to attempt to change a person's sexual orientation were utterly abhorrent and included the use of electric shock treatment and rape. But of course – mercifully – these practices are now very much illegal, and the Government Equalities Office found no evidence that they are taking place today in the UK. Non-violent but coercive 'practices' are also illegal, and we have a whole host of legislation that covers harassment, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and homophobic speech and discrimination.

    Yet for many campaigners, this isn't enough and they have repeatedly called not only for a ban on attempts to alter someone's sexuality, but for this ban to include a prohibition on changing someone's 'gender identity'. And this is where the task of drafting effective legislation moves from the 'difficult' to the 'impossible' pile. Because, in law or in fact, there is no objectively verifiable definition or test of 'gender identity'.

    This is why two attempts to bring Private Members Bills this year – one in the Commons and one in the Lords – have both failed. In speech after speech, MPs and Peers pointed out the Bills' flaws, exposing the weaknesses of any legislation that would prevent parents, teachers and therapists from asking sensible questions and providing wise guidance to children who are questioning their gender. Both of these discredited laws could have resulted in parents, teachers and clinicians being criminalised if they deliberately set out to dissuade a child from 'changing sex'.

    The sad truth is that, over the last 15 years, more and more children have been exposed to gender ideology, which is now rampant in school, institutions and social media across the Western world. The Tavistock scandal and the Cass Review exposed just how pernicious and dangerous this ideology is, especially to vulnerable children such as those with autism or who have experienced trauma. Countless thousands of children treated at NHS gender clinics were put on a path of irreversible physical and biological change – including the loss of healthy body parts, infertility, sexual dysfunction and lifelong health problems. This scandal happened because too many adults failed to question the idea that a child can or should 'change sex'. Instead of giving these children wise and evidence-based counsel, clinicians – and some activist charities and even teachers – accepted that feelings of gender dysphoria in children as young as ten or eleven should be celebrated and treated as a real and irrefutable sign that they had been 'born in the wrong body.'

    Yet rather than considering how to avoid a repeat of this tragedy the Labour Party's response is to commit to bringing in a 'trans inclusive' conversion therapy ban that would make it even harder for responsible adults to protect children from the harms of gender ideology. Seemingly dismissive – or perhaps unaware – of the very serious unintended consequences for child protection and free speech that such a ban would invoke, Keir Starmer believes he can succeed where the Government and Parliament have failed.

    We understand that Labour's ban would include 'safeguards' similar to those included in former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle's unsuccessful Private Members Bill. But these 'safeguards' were worthless, containing a multitude of contradictions, circular definitions and a failure precisely to define key terms such as 'transgender'. Incomprehensibly, under Russell-Moyle's Bill, a parent would have been 'protected' from prosecution under the conversion practices legislation, except if they were guilty of a conversion practice. As we have seen from cases brought under the Equality Act, it would take just one successful prosecution to induce a chilling effect on anyone who seeks to protect children.

    Conservatives who stand up to such extreme attempts to undermine society are frequently accused of stoking a culture war. But the truth is that it is those on the Left who are waging a full-on war on our culture, a culture which – until now at least – upholds the rights of parents to protect and guide their children as they see fit. The fact that Keir Starmer is willing to risk criminalising responsible parents tells us all we need to know about his 'changed' Labour Party.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/25/starmer-wants-to-make-good-parenting-illegal/

    1. It's a bad thing because there aren't actually any conversions. They're trying to stop people giving counselling to people who are confused about sexuality issues and want help. Encouragement/confirmation to be gay or trans is the only thing that's allowed.

        2. It's not "anti" anything in this context AFAICS. It is delving into the psychological problems that the child has and asking whether radical surgery and a lifelong, debilitating drug regime is the ideal solution.

          1. Given that the Alphabet People are so keen to encourage sex changes and discourage discussion, I'd say it's 'anti' advice. The presumption for too long has been that surgery should happen and it's a bad thing to question it.

          2. We are probably in agreement. I misread your argument to be against any psychological exploration to find an alternative solution to drastic medical intervention.

          3. They need their transgenders for the next step – transhumanism. Nothing must get in the way of this WEF project.

  115. She’s the daughter of Peter Davidson (also Dr. Who) and the ditsy Sandra Dickinson!

  116. Well I've been as busy as I could have been today. Home made and very tasty Pork and apple burgers for evening meal, with mixed salad. And home made and baked six medium loaves 4 whole meal and granary. Two Bloomers.
    Watching the England game and once again finding it difficult to understand how the referees can't tell the difference between deliberately obstructing or pulling an opponent over or accidentally coming into contact during a tackle.
    The white socks appear to have been pulled up a little. But not a lot.
    Good night all. 😉

    1. "Watching the England game and once again finding it difficult to…"

      ..stay awake. If they're not careful, they might end up second in the group and facing the hosts in the last 16.

  117. Course not! Marianna Spring has decreed on this per pro the Beeb Grifters inc.

  118. Another day is done so, I wish you a goodnight and may God bless you all, Gentlefolk. Bis morgen früh. If we are spared!

    1. I know! This mare was a beaut. I miss her so much. Actually, the whole horse thing does soften my attitude to the moslems in general

  123. Trying to think of things that move slower than the England side
    Snail
    Tortoise
    Brexit

        1. Hard to identify , Opopanax, when all one has is ‘KJ’ but thank you for the elucidation.

  129. The pulling and shoving is out of control. Its about time the Ref gave a red card for the offence, it wouldn't happen again in that match.

  132. two things we should be told.

    1. Do people order their comments by Best/Oldest or Newest (me: newest)
    2. What’s up with Audrey/ Dancing with etc? I went through the whole thread and could only discern something to do with JD.

    1. 1. Newest
      2. It was something yesterday which she was upset about, and she decided today to go offline for a while.
      3. Who is JD?

      1. JD also known as 1664 was a prolific poster and author on Going Postal who flounced because of lack of support for the Ukeland war
        I imagine our views on that don't please him either

    3. Newest.
      Don't know, but absence is a bit concerning.
      Where's Bill Thomas? Thought he would be back by now.

    4. 1. Newest.
      2. What's up with Audrey etc. Absolutely no idea, Mir!
      I don't know 'JD'.

      1. JD was a spexiteer and a churchwarden who was having trouble with his vicar/rector. I think Audrey and he had known each other some time, but only on-line. I am not sure that he was the one who let her down.

        1. Oh the rectorette. Of course! Yes. Not been here for a week or so. I’d like to think you would miss me😉

        2. Hello, yes I know JD from the Speccie, both you and he are Christians with vicar issues . I think he's just busy with business ventures and church issues. The one who let me down was another lady who was like a sister to me for many years since the ConHome days .
          This is a lovely site, it wasn't anyone here, Audrey and I are just having a short break from online . Thank you for your kind words and I accept the hug from your dog.

          1. Kadi is very pleased 🙂 I hope it all heals up soon and you feel better. It’s very hard when you’ve been let down and feel betrayed.

      4. 1. Newest.
        2. I'm not sure where Dancing with… etc came from, and I've missed any unpleasantness.
        JD was here as '1642 again', before morphing into the short form of JD de Pavilly. If he's gone, I'm sorry. Maybe he's in full flow at Going Postal?

        2. Going Postal is an odd site and hard to navigate. JD has a well-reviewed novel on there

        3. No, JD hasn't returned to Going Postal, he left there two years ago. He was posting at the Spectator for the past two years until they dumped disqus, I've known him at the Spectator . I believe he's left online due to busy church and business commitments and not a slight against the good people of this site . As for me I've been posting here for several years ( with a different account which no longer works as I lost the password ) I've been here since the days when NoTTl was one of the free sites, when Jennifer SP and Peddy was still here and before the upvote stealing – it was you who advised me to get a second account due to disqus – the clue is in the name which links my fellow NoTTl friends and Spectator friends.
          I am taking a break for a short while due to falling out with a friend from another site who was like a sister to me – no one here- there is never any unpleasantness on this lovely site, so don't worry .

        4. PS.. I've sent you a longer post below . JD is busy with church and work dealings so cannot be online atm . Please stop linking him with Going Postal I think he'd rather forget that place, for over 2 years he's been posting at the Spectator . Going Postal was utterly vicious to him, they tore him apart, insulted and abused him, spat in his face and mocked his Christian faith merely because he supported Ukraine .
          So no, JD hasn't returned to Going Postal and I'm sure he'd like to forget that place and the name he used there of which you frequently mention. As I said he's busy with work and church commitments so has left online for a while and not slighted here. He's a good man and doesn't deserve online gossip about him .

    5. Newest. Puzzled by Audrey/Dancing With but I think JD used to be 1644 Again or something like that and has been here on and off for years. Perhaps he’ll reappear with a new ID in due course.

      1. Hello Sue . I believe JD is too busy to be online blogging atm, I understand he's lots on with his business ventures, church dealings he has a large young family, he helps lots of people too, and I believe he gave you advice here on some church matter – he's very kind and I'm sure he'll return when he has time for online . As for me, I've no idea why you'd be interested but I've had a falling out with an online friend, she and I have known each other for a very long time, I've not the commitments that JD has but I'm just taking a rest from politics and online for just a couple of weeks . Thank you for your interest,

    6. Oldest first for Tom's joke and then back to newest first.

      I get here five hours after you locals, there are normally a few hundred messages to filter through.

  133. I didn't know that. My view expressed above is romantic and unrealistic, I realise that

    1. I was told that many years ago. I have no reason to think it isn't true, given their attitude to everything being inshallah.

    1. I saw them attended a Wings' Gig at the Winnipeg Stadium, Manitoba, in 1993. The air was rich in marijuana . . .

      A great concert!

        1. At the risk of causing offense – if it was a "Wings" concert that is most unlikely :>)

      1. But I recall it being played on the pub sound system whilst we sat in the garden (I was too young to be allowed in the bar), so that’s what I associate it with.

      1. Alexa just told me that the Lounge temperature is 27 degrees. Was approaching 30 deg outdoors earlier today.

        A pleasant day, in fact. I prolly wouldn't have lasted long were I to do some long-awaited gardening.

  136. What a boring boring game of football, it’s hopeless. Why don't England run towards the opposition goal as if they mean it! What a waste of time.

    1. It looks exactly as if they are repeating what they do on the training ground, with no end result.

      Keep ball.

      I wonder if any of the training actually results in shots on goal, I suspect not.

    1. Oh yes (as the Churchill dog might say)

      (Though makes me maudlin. I miss my dog. And I know you miss Oscar and others miss theirs)

      1. Yes, I know. There isn't a day goes by when I don't think about Oscar and miss him, although I've got Kadi. Oscar was such a big character for a medium sized dog.

    1. I mended my garden table. It's wooden and will cost a fortune to replace. I don't think it will last beyond the summer, though.

      1. Ours gave up the ghost a couple of years ago. We didn't sit outside to eat at all last summer. We could have done this evening as it was warm but we didn't.

    2. I mended (patched) a load of horse rugs last year with beautiful hand stitching etc.. It gave me a big surge of happiness at the time. Of course it would have been more cost effective to get someone else to do it with machines – or even to buy new ones, but there we are, here I stand and life is short.

  140. Been watching the football for twenty minutes with a frozen picture
    Nobody noticed

    1. I’ve just worked out we are playing Slovenia not Sweden. Who knew? (Apart from everyone else).

    2. I’ve just worked out we are playing Slovenia not Sweden. Who knew? (Apart from everyone else).

  141. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh. It's so….random.

    Yeovil Town F.(C).
    @YTFC
    Club Statement | Xenophobic Sticker 📰

    Yeovil Town Football Club is aware of a sticker featuring our former logo with the slogan “stop the boats,” which has been spotted in Germany and circulating social media.
    We want to make it unequivocally clear that Yeovil Town Football Club does not condone or support this message in any form.
    Our club stands firmly against any form of discrimination, xenophobia, or divisive rhetoric. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and welcoming community that respects all individuals, regardless of their background or nationality.
    The use of our former logo in this manner is unauthorised, and we are taking steps to address this misuse.
    We appreciate the continued support of our fans and community as we work to uphold the values of respect, unity, and diversity.

    —-
    By this time everyone is thinking "where's the sticker? I want to see the sticker!" here it is:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4b8ea5abcecb98e70e87e2ec0bd5cef13d8699ff3185b2a39f5dca5eb17ad4b0.jpg

        2. It's made me maudlin'. Ref the music videos below. I'd best lay off and go to bed.

  143. Very few people in England are aware of Yeovil Town FC (Non-league club), so I doubt anybody in Germany has heard of the club.

    1. The River Yeo is hardly a busy bit of water like the English Channel. It would take pretty enterprising illegal immigrant to navigate it in a large rubber dinghy up to Yeovil.

  146. It's over.

    "England's best move of the day"
    only took 92 minutes.
    Gawd, talk about flatter to deceive.
    Pathetic.

    1. I counted three real openings before Palmer's chance: one in the first-half, in the net but offside, and two in the second when no one got on the end of good crosses.

      Marginally better than the Denmark match but nothing to worry any of the other teams.

  147. "After tasting the meat pies, Samantha said that she liked Mr Dewhurst's beef in ale, but she preferred his tongue in cider"

  149. Kadi makes me laugh every day. I love him to bits. He is the only dog I've had that chases his tail.

    1. Yes, it's so funny, we've only ever had one that buried bones, like a cartoon dog.

      1. Our new pup buries his bones (chews) around the house. We are quite likely to find one underneath the pillow when we go to bed. He is forbidden to take them outside…. we are mean like that. He tries to dig to Australia through the bedding.

    1. I have windows open, front and back. There's little wind, but it's never been opressive indoors. I've yet to break out a fan.

      My humble abode has a large East-facing picture window. Great in Winter. In Summer, I open all the available opening lights, and (tell Alexa to) close the venetian blinds.

  152. Excess deaths reach new heights tonight with thousands being bored to death watching ITV.

  154. You are touchingly trusting, Geoff. My daughter is the same. I would not give Alexa the time of day

    1. The reform votes need a further boost – but if the other candidates are anything like our local one, who cannot be arsed to even submit a photo and a cv they are not a serious contender. i say this as someone who would love them to actually win.

      1. Ours produced an update last week. I think they were rather caught on the hop. He seems a sensible guy – an electrical engineer who understands the nonsense of nut zero. –

        1. How reassuring! As said, ours is giving no clue at all as to who or what he may be. Nut job? Who knows. And we do have a very good constituency Con guy in place, although due to boundary changes he is unlikely to win. You see the dilemma? I do NOT want a Labour MP (we are in Wales already) under any circumstances.

          1. I only know the name of my Reform candidate, absolutely nothing about him. I do have the policies though and that's what I'm going to have to go on.

          2. Our Tory MP has been good for local issues, but I think she will lose her seat this time. The Labour candidate is a local GP & I think he will win. He won't get my vote though.

          3. Ours is someone I know both socially and someone who has helped with seemingly intractable local problems BUT he switched his allegiance to Sunak at the 11th hour and was rewarded with Welsh Secretary. The charitable view of this is that he thought it better to be inside the tent as he saw which way the wind was blowing, then. I think him an honourable man – and would definitely rather him than any other of the known candidates. But I do not understand why or what the Reform one is hiding. I have found some info of him and a photo: he has stood in several other constituencies and each time seemingly lost his deposit and he has plucked eyebrows (I know).

          5. I've just searched for info on our candidate; he's a former Con councillor and ex Deputy Mayor of a local town. He did switch quite a while ago, though (supported the Reform candidate in the last by-election). He's ex-military and an ambulance driver. Can't see anything there that's too awful (apart from his having spent decades as a Con).

          8. Nice, given the anti-semitism of the BMA. Although of course not all individual GPs are anti-semites; but they do need to have the courage to call their union out on this (and of the don’t, publicly, it makes me think they are pandering to the muslim vote).

          11. It’s a bit like ours but what he says he’s done is really what the local councillors should do. I want him to fight on the big national problems we have rather than just following orders.

          13. Sounds like a sensible guy and as a scientist should know that nut zero is bunkum.

    1. Weirdly, in my baroque mind, he and Audrey had run away together, as they both abruptly stopped posting at the same time, having both posted prolifically. Just goes to show how wrong one can be and how pernicious the internet

      1. Hello, just caught you here, sorry the post you sent me on Monday was sent to spam, I tried to respond just now but the thread is closed .
        Thank you for your lovely kind words, someone online ( not here) I fell out with, she was like a sister to me for many years, I have had to walk away, I've been far too trusting and treated like a toy . Im just taking a few weeks away from online due to that and politics is getting me down. As for JD, I think he'd more then likely to elope with you, Opp 🙂
        I believe he's left online for awhile, probably late of business and church related stuff, he's a big family too – maybe his wife has asked him to not be online so much . My husband doesn't blog so I've never had to put the foot down. Thank you again for your kind words x

  161. Good Night, chums, sleep well and I hope you all awaken refreshed. I did a lot of washing today. Tomorrow is when I hope to do some top-up shopping.

    2. 'Morning, Geoff and thank you for all the work and effort you have put in to keep us all going. Well done!

Comments are closed.