Thursday 26 December: The Government’s first duty is to ensure Britain is properly defended

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its commenting facility (now reinstated, but we prefer ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be banned.

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

448 thoughts on “Thursday 26 December: The Government’s first duty is to ensure Britain is properly defended”

  2. Good Morning Geoff, hope you had a good time yesterday.

    I haven't forgotten that you are due for retinal surgery on Friday 27th, so having had eye surgery myself twice I hope we NoTTlers will all forgive you if you are unable to provide your flawless service for a couple of days. I, for one, salute you.

    Today's Tale is about Insurance.

    Three men find themselves at a beach-side resort in the Caribbean and they soon begin to discuss their lives and how they came to be there.

    The first man says, "I use to run a successful business in the Mid-West. One day unfortunately there was a huge fire and my entire warehouse burned to the ground. I collected the insurance on it and decided to move here."

    The other two nod, slightly sympathetically.

    The second man says, "Similar story here. I used to run a jewellery store back in LA, but unfortunately one night there was a massive break in. I collected the insurance that I had on the jewellery and moved down here to settle."

    They look at the third guy. He says, "I used to run a small fishing business on the East Coast. Last year unfortunately the entire thing was ruined by a hurricane. I collected my insurance and moved here."

    The first two guys look at each other for a minute. Finally, one says, "How do you start a hurricane?"

    2. The EU. Far more dangerous to the indigenous people of Europe than Russia and China combined.

    3. Is that a repeat of the one a while ago or someone else giving her a well deserved both barrels?

      1. That's a new one. The original (in two forms) are posted below that one.

        The execrable von der Leyen is given both barrels in all posts.

  5. Fox hunters to face bigger fines under Labour’s plans. 26 December 2024.

    Hunters will face tougher penalties for killing animals under Government plans, The Telegraph understands.

    Labour has already pledged to ban trail hunting but The Telegraph can reveal that the Government’s planned crackdown on countryside pursuits goes further than widely assumed.

    Higher fines for those who break the existing fox hunting law and making it easier to prosecute hunters if a fox is killed by accident are both on the table.

    I’m not a supporter of, let alone actually hunting with hounds but I have no doubts that this is prompted more by class envy than concern for animals.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/25/fox-hunters-to-face-bigger-fines/

    1. I've never been in favour of fox hunting. And living very close to the countryside and out walking our dog we often found dead bodies. Shooting was the common practice. Along with the shooting of birds of prey.
      And even a case of a nasty farmer (probably the culprit) threatening to shoot my dog if it went onto his land from a public footpath and chased his breeding wild fowl.
      Which it never did.

    2. I believe everything should be banned.. then a simple application could be considered by the relevant government body after background social media check.
      Simple really if you have nothing to hide.

      1. You're quite right kb.

        Plus a large application fee to pay for the large licencing department. of course.

          1. More clearing the prisons of burglars and armed robbers to make space for those on remand.

      3. The mechanism for doing this is already in place. It's called Enhanced Disclosure and Barring, and can be made to cover any "inappropriate" behaviour, such as liking tweets not approved by Government.

        Because it does not come under criminal law, hearsay and malicious gossip are admissible and the burden of proof is reasonable suspicion, and there is no right to appeal for anyone insufficiently hardworking and "contributing to society" to afford a High Court legal team. [edited for senior moment]

      4. The mechanism for doing this is already in place. It's called Enhanced Disclosure and Barring, and can be made to cover any "inappropriate" behaviour, such as liking tweets not approved by Government.

        Because it does not come under criminal law, hearsay and malicious gossip are admissible and the burden of proof is reasonable suspicion, and there is no right to appeal for anyone insufficiently hardworking and "contributing to society" to afford a High Court legal team. [edited for senior moment]

      5. All sounds a bit foreign. Folk should be allowed to do anything that isn't explicitly denied.

        However, 'folk' needs definition and must exclude the diversity. They should be collared and chained until they learn to behave.

        1. Doh.. just jokin..

          Though technically in the UK everything is banned.. even sending an email.. IF you fall foul of the Hope-Not-Hate activists.
          Just ask Catholic Caroline Farrow journalist & writer
          She was;
          arrested in front of children,
          put in jail,
          all devices taken for 16 months,
          took all children's devices,
          arrested a 2nd time because trans claimnant demanded it.
          then stalking protection order.
          then a ban from internet.
          assigned her an offender manager meaning even texting her mum required permission.
          given an order that allows police to enter home between 8am to 8pm to check devices.

          Her crime? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Her accuser just felt like she deserved it.

    3. I believe everything should be banned.. then a simple application could be considered by the relevant government body after background social media check.
      Simple really if you have nothing to hide.

    6. In my youth I was a hunt saboteur. A grand title for a stupid kid who thought he was doing something good.

      The Warqueen is off to the boxing day hunt. She's already there having left at dawn to wash down the horsey and what not.

      Labour want to ban trail – rag – hunting because they hate those who do it, more they hate it because they want to be them and can't. Labour people have this ingrained sense of inferiority, grubby spite and 'lesserness' and believe they're looked down on. Which, of course, they are. Not because Labour or Lefties are inferior, flat cap wearing lower classes but because they're cretinous pathetic fools who're wrong about everything they say, do and think.

      1. "Flat cap wearing"? Almost everybody who wasn't wearing a brimmed hat was wearing a flat cap among the foot followers!

    7. It is pure class warfare. They have no idea (and they certainly don't want to know or acknowledge) that people who follow hounds come from all walks of life.

  7. Belated seasonal greetings to all NoTTLers from Kobeans Towers. And a special mention for Geoff, whose tireless efforts have facilitated the fun. HNY all.

  8. Morning all 🙂😊🎅
    Grey dark and misty as I sit up in our cosy bed with a nice cuppa.
    During the past two – three decades our useless government's have allowed more than two million people to invaded our country and openly encouraged it with treats.

  10. Good morning, chums, and welcome to Boxing Day. More Christmas grub today, but in the evening instead of yesterday when it was eaten at 1 pm with copious glasses of wine. For today's evening's meal there will be no wine at all, just a cup of tea. Yesterday's "binge" was followed by lots of sleep. Today will be a day of catching up with jobs followed by my evening meal. And then we are once again back to normality. Last but by no means least my thanks to you, Geoff, for keeping up the NoTTLe site postings over the holiday season. What would we do without you? My sincere thanks to you.

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    1. Cold turkey with turkey soup for afters for the next fortnight, and then it goes in the freezer.

    3. Equal felicitations, Sue …😘

      … and the same to all yonder peasants on this Feast of Stephen. 😊

  12. From the Daily Mail

    The Bilderberg Group – a secret organization of the global elite – is undergoing a leadership transformation as Donald Trump prepares to retake the White House.

    The society, which consists of leaders in politics, industry, academia and the military, has selected former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to chair its 'steering committee.'

    Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg group has long drawn fascination for its clandestine meetings at exclusive hotels and alpine resorts where attendees hold discussions on international relations, economics and security.

    Heads of the CIA and MI6 have been among its members, while Henry Kissinger was a regular alongside the likes of Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and then-Prince Charles.

    Now a major power shift is afoot as Stoltenberg, who attended his first Bilderberg summit in 2002, has been tapped for his expertise in transatlantic strategy.

    It comes as Trump, whose frequent attacks on NATO have sparked outrage in Europe, ascends once more to the Oval Office. The president-elect has been adamant that he will no longer spend billions in US taxpayer money to fund other countries' wars.

    Stoltenberg's tenure at NATO was dominated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and he proudly claimed to have overseen 'the largest reinforcement of our collective defense in a generation.'

    Many of his Bilderberg colleagues have benefited from this increased defense spending. Among them is Trump insider Peter Thiel, boss of AI giant Palantir, whose technology has been used by Ukraine in the fight against Putin.

    Donald Trump joins former First Lady Melania Trump on stage during a campaign at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27
    Donald Trump joins former First Lady Melania Trump on stage during a campaign at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27
    Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is taking over as co-chair of The Bilderberg Group
    Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is taking over as co-chair of The Bilderberg Group
    Silicon Valley billionaire and tech mogul Peter Thiel appears to be emerging as a key player shaping Bilderberg's trajectory in the coming era of Trump 2.0
    +
    Silicon Valley billionaire and tech mogul Peter Thiel appears to be emerging as a key player shaping Bilderberg's trajectory in the coming era of Trump 2.0
    TRENDING

    Stoltenberg last month warned that Trump's 'campaign rhetoric had raised legitimate concerns about his commitment to European security.'

    But the new Bilderberg boss can rest assured that if things get sticky, he now has a direct line to Trump in the form of Thiel, who has been one of the president-elect's biggest backers.

    Another notable member of the Bilderberg steering committee is Nadia Schadlow, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a DC think-tank.

    In October, Schadlow wrote a piece titled 'Europe Should Not See a Potential Trump Return as a Threat.'

    In the piece, she addressed how Trump often attacks European NATO member countries for not appropriating enough of their money to national defense but said that Europe should try to work with him.

    'Instead of framing him as destroyer of an old order, Europe should consider how Mr Trump's disruptive nature might help to position Europe for a better future,' she wrote.

    Stoltenberg may seek to harness the media to help shift the Bilderberg Group's strategy. The secretive society tends to avoid any interaction with the press and keeps the details of its meetings secret.

    But Stoltenberg is no stranger to dealing with the media and among the new members are Silicon Valley billionaires like Thiel who are more at ease with public speaking.

    Stoltenberg's co-chair, is Canadian-American economist, philanthropist, Marie-Josée Kravis (pictured with her investor husband Henry Kravis) who sits on the board of Publicis, one of the world’s largest PR and communications companies
    +

    Stoltenberg's co-chair, is Canadian-American economist, philanthropist, Marie-Josée Kravis (pictured with her investor husband Henry Kravis) who sits on the board of Publicis, one of the world’s largest PR and communications companies
    Stoltenberg will co-chair the steering committee alongside Canadian-American economist, philanthropist, Marie-Josée Kravis who sits on the board of Publicis, one of the world's largest PR and communications companies.

    Kravis is married to the billionaire Henry Kravis, founder of legendary investment firm KKR.

    A true sense of the Bilderberg's new tack could become apparent at its next annual meeting which will be in Sweden, appropriately the homeland of its new head Stoltenberg.

    As for Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies has built a reputation as both a visionary entrepreneur and a polarizing figure in politics.

    A staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Thiel's influence has steadily grown within Bilderberg, a group that convenes heads of state, corporate executives, and policymakers for off-the-record discussions on global challenges.

    His proximity to Trump allies, including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, a former employee of Thiel's Mithril Capital, places him in a unique position as Bilderberg recalibrates for Trump's 'America First' agenda.

    Thiel's involvement with Palantir Technologies, a leading AI and data analytics firm, underscores his significance in global geopolitics.

    Palantir's role in military targeting and surveillance has been pivotal in conflicts including the current Russia-Ukraine war.

    Pictured: Nadia Schadlow, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank
    +

    Pictured: Nadia Schadlow, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank
    CEO Alex Karp, who also sits on the Bilderberg steering committee, recently highlighted Palantir's impact, stating the company was 'responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine.'

    This direct link to modern warfare exemplifies how Thiel's tech empire aligns with Bilderberg's interests in security and military investment.

    This cabal of the global, largely liberal, elite — with strong ties to the EU — meets every year amid a cloak of secrecy, but Stoltenberg's appointment as co-chair also reflects the group's strategic realignment amid rising geopolitical tensions.

    Having overseen NATO's largest defense reinforcement in a generation, Stoltenberg is no stranger to Bilderberg, participating in meetings since 2002.

    His tenure as NATO chief was dominated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and increasing NATO expansion, making him a natural choice to steer Bilderberg's discussions on transatlantic defense.

    Meanwhile, Thiel's growing influence at Bilderberg also signals a convergence of tech innovation and military strategy.

    His robotics company, Anduril, and Palantir have both capitalized on the global arms race, reflecting the group's longstanding ties to defense and intelligence.

    Thiel's ideological alignment with Trump and his tech-driven contributions to defense provide a modern reflection of Bilderberg's founding ethos – melding elite influence with geopolitical strategy.

    Even conspiracy theorists cannot agree among themselves what is the over-riding ideology of the Bilderberg Group, with some claiming it is unbridled capitalism and others claiming it is tinted with left-wing or even Nazi policies
    +

    Even conspiracy theorists cannot agree among themselves what is the over-riding ideology of the Bilderberg Group, with some claiming it is unbridled capitalism and others claiming it is tinted with left-wing or even Nazi policies
    Some have claimed that the group is ultimately trying to establish a New World Order, often claimed to be Marxist or fascist in nature
    Some have claimed that the group is ultimately trying to establish a New World Order, often claimed to be Marxist or fascist in nature
    Bilderberg group meetings have previously sparked protests. Pictured protests from when the event was held in Vi
    Bilderberg group meetings have previously sparked protests. Pictured protests from when the event was held in Vienna
    Stoltenberg's leadership, coupled with Thiel's outsized influence, points to a Bilderberg Group increasingly intertwined with military innovation and political strategy.

    As the group prepares for its next meeting in Stockholm, hosted by billionaire industrialist Marcus Wallenberg, the focus will likely center on defense spending and transatlantic cooperation in an era of renewed great-power competition.

    So clandestine are the Bilderberg gatherings that no minutes are taken, no press conferences given and no reports published.

    The conference operates under 'Chatham House Rules', which means participants can use and report information exchanged there, but not disclose the source.

    The Bilderberg Group — so called because it first met in 1954 at the Hotel Bilderberg in the Netherlands — is made up of at least 120 self-proclaimed 'leading citizens' of Europe and the U.S., who meet annually to discuss 'issues of common interest'.

    Every summer, figureheads from politics, business, academia, finance and defense lock themselves away in a closely guarded hotel for three days to discuss topics of vital global significance about which the rest of us can only speculate.

    Hypothesis and conjecture about the content of their talks inevitably abound.

    At one extreme there are conspiracy theorists who believe that the hounding from office of Margaret Thatcher, the downfall of U.S. President Richard Nixon and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were all secretly orchestrated by the Bilderberg Group.

    For Thiel, Bilderberg offers a platform to further his vision of blending technology with national security, solidifying his role as a power broker in a rapidly shifting global order
    +
    1
    For Thiel, Bilderberg offers a platform to further his vision of blending technology with national security, solidifying his role as a power broker in a rapidly shifting global order
    Bilderberg's steering committee also includes prominent figures like Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, pictured
    +

    Bilderberg's steering committee also includes prominent figures like Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, pictured
    Such claims are, of course, outlandish, but mystery fosters extravagant speculation, and with no record of what goes on, critics have said it should be much more transparent.

    Many argue that the event exists solely to serve as a networking and lobbying opportunity for its attendees.

    The roll-call of attendees is invariably auspicious. Prime ministers, royalty including then-Prince Charles, has attended — army generals, corporate CEOs and bank governors all make time in their busy schedules to be there.

    Some have claimed that the group is ultimately trying to establish a New World Order, often claimed to be Marxist or fascist in nature.

    Radio host Alex Jones has been particularly vocal in his criticism of the Bilderberg Group, branding it as 'evil,' 'ruthless' and 'puppeteers above the major parties' in recent years.

    But even the conspiracy theorists cannot agree among themselves what is the over-riding ideology of the Bilderberg Group, with some claiming it is unbridled capitalism and others claiming it is tinted with left-wing or even Nazi policies.

    For Thiel, Bilderberg offers a platform to further his vision of blending technology with national security, solidifying his role as a power broker in a rapidly shifting global order.

    While Stoltenberg works to keep the alliance unified and strong, Thiel's presence will ensures that Silicon Valley's fingerprints remain firmly imprinted on the future of global strategy.

    Thiel's influence extends into Trump's administration, with a cadre of tech allies positioned for key roles.

    Bilderberg's steering committee also includes prominent figures like Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and a defense AI pioneer, and Marcus Wallenberg, chairman of Saab, a leading defense manufacturer.

    With Trump set to return to the White House, Thiel's network within Bilderberg is poised to bridge the gap between the administration's nationalist priorities and the group's transatlantic objectives.

    As Stoltenberg seeks to reinforce NATO and transatlantic ties under potential strain from Trump's policies, Thiel's strategic position appears to be critical.

    Bilderberg's adaptability to political change has been a hallmark of its success since its founding in 1954.

  13. 399347+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Greetings from what is fast becoming the biggest, well run interment camp on the planet with, as we have witnessed, plenty of unpaid kapos ready to "organise" their fellow man.

    Thursday 26 December: The Government’s first duty is to ensure Britain is properly defended
    ( N/A in the UNITED KINGDOM currently)

    Should read,
    The peoples first duty is to make sure the family is safe and secure then in a unified body form a government that is truly patriotic from the ground up NOT treacherous /deceitful and pro alien from the top down, in power in this case via inter-party childish spite.

    What we have been doing these last forty years is FORGETTING
    LEST WE FORGET and neglecting to put the Country's needs before the party, BIG TIME.

    1. Most Afghan Sikhs fled Afghanistan for India in the 1990s, and the few that are left keep a low profile. The main bone of contention is over cremating their dead – the Muslims like to bury them. India has no particular record of persecuting Sikhs, so is the obvious place to go. Britain is a softer touch if you can get there though.

      1. £160,000 in welfare. Forty grand each. A free house so another grand a month. Such utter profligacy is insane. Why are we paying so much out, giving so much away? They're living better than people working and are criminals and there's no punishment, no removal of the idiots who rubber stamped it all.

    2. Worse is that no checks were made prior to their removal. Even now we'll probably have them sat in a nice place while the tax payer is forced to pay for their trial, and their defence.

      We're weak. They should have been contained and checked. When the checks failed, immediately deported. Hell, with 20 million of them flights could run ervery hour day and night for a year and not get rid of them all.

  15. Good morning all.
    Exiled up to the laptop again today. Dr.Daughter & boyfriend are occupying the sitting room and t'Lad's got the front room.
    A calm and dry start but with mist clinging to the top of the valley sides. A mild 6.3°C out in the yard, also the minimum from the past day and a maximum of 11.1°C for yesterday.

  17. Hope you all had an exceedingly merry Christmas and that you have a heap of leftover scran to keep you going for the next few days. Today we ask folk to remember those alone at Christmas, perhaps through bereavement. If you know somebody, try to spare them sometime today. Some may find a measure of solace and companionship in sites like Free Speech and Nottl, so be sure to say hello if you know any, on here or on other sites.

    The Grumpy Old Git gets Christmas cards in his sites to day, while have a moan about Marxists at , and hopes you will write a response to one with him. And we hope you’ll find the time to read Nanumaga’s tale of hope that Trump is about to make the world a much better place .

    freespeechbacklash.com

    1. I find the insistence that causing (predictable, obvious) economic carnage and recession was somehow not the intent quite funny. It was obvious to anyone with a brain that massive tax hikes, theft and property confiscation would cause the problems it had. For Reeves to bleat that she is improving things is a nonsense.

      There will be no growth under this socailist govenrment. Remember, this is the Labour Party's first commandment: socialism.

        1. Dolly Parton sure has. And she has done much for her community unlike the wasters who sign up to charities like Mr and Mrs Markle doing photo ops. Hal gets paid a million $ promoting a mental health charity. Fucking grifters.

    8. No class. Also, I’m with Kate on this. One should wear tights to important occasions. Remember that when you come to my funeral.

        1. If they gave him a beret, it would sit on his head like a chef’s hat and contribute further to making him look ridiculous. A crap hat would be better.

    4. Considering a modern German rifle could go through that armour like it wasn't there it's all a bit of a posturing exercise.

      The man is a complete waste of time and money.

  22. SIR – I presume that it is not too early for New Year resolutions.

    Mine is to endeavour to steer clear of “amazing” and “wow” for as long as possible, and give the rest of our fabulous language a fighting chance of survival.

    Tim Hadland
    Northampton

    I salute you and support you in that most worthy endeavour, Timothy.

  26. 'Morning All
    Lovely family day yesterday I see leftovers in their future for some time to come….
    Boxing Day Medley
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dcaa403888cdaf139266f39aaba2a8397b221567eedb9eac1e4fb972912e4653.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b498d02aabbc2a265319ed57078f09bfa571e33629298cb47c7bf8781afe8f10.jpg
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    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f8337ddf51cc7460f8a99c444f23a2e563ac71fedf51952dd68f0e47dffce41.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8db771fb4bc8e87a7f7961e438f390bf1b480b91693fe7b37f92c4855ae47e22.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/220612d062e6d2f83ccfd60d59d45e12704ca7c78c3c4fc3978f2936b1e9070a.jpg
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    3. That's also why the guardian flounced off twitter. It didn't like these community notes that filled in the lies they liked to ignore to skew their stories.

  29. SIR — Any intelligent person would realise that this is not the time to save money by weakening our defences.

    I am proud to be a mother of a son serving in the military and know that all personnel within the Forces, whatever rank they serve, are committed to making this world a safer place.

    This Government gives me no confidence that it will deliver and I ask MPs to search their conscience.

    Jan Park
    Fulbrook, Oxfordshire

    Unfortunately, Jan, in order to possess a conscience one must first have a functioning brain. Asking MPs (especially Labour MPs) to "search their conscience" is akin to asking a park bench to recite the 13-times table from memory.

    1. Lefties cut the military budget and send it everywhere. Righties raise the budget and keep them at home.

      The problem is our military is not well organised. We have 4 bands, for goodness sake. I don't dispute the talent but four? There's a different recruiting system for each branch. Different acquisitions and logistics.

      It's just inefficient because we've always been inefficient. We've hundreds of admirals and generals with no field experience. Our soldiers have last generation weapons and armour. Our drone fleet is comical. Our entire armed forces needs complete redesign to suit the modern world whether we deploy locally to defend against savages or remotely to errr… well… defend against savages,

      1. I think there are more than 4 bands.
        Google. ….
        The British Army has 14 bands and orchestras in the regular army, and oversees several Army Reserve bands. The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM) manages these bands. The RCAM bands play a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, and traditional marching. They perform for the public, other soldiers, and VIPs.

      2. Well, there's one fewer musician in the army band; he's now training to be a medic (son of a friend of mine).

    2. I would that that were true, Griz, at least it would absolve the beggars of moral fault. But no, they know exactly what they are doing, and they just don't care.

    3. I would that that were true, Griz, at least it would absolve the beggars of moral fault. But no, they know exactly what they are doing, and they just don't care.

  30. SIR — Any intelligent person would realise that this is not the time to save money by weakening our defences.

    I am proud to be a mother of a son serving in the military and know that all personnel within the Forces, whatever rank they serve, are committed to making this world a safer place.

    This Government gives me no confidence that it will deliver and I ask MPs to search their conscience.

    Jan Park
    Fulbrook, Oxfordshire

    Unfortunately, Jan, in order to possess a conscience one must first have a functioning brain. Asking MPs (especially Labour MPs) to "search their conscience" is akin to asking a park bench to recite the 13-times table from memory.

  31. Ref our Christmas dinner last evening. I am delighted to say the 1983 claret was in perfect condition. Phew!

    2. I made our lot cheese on toast. When that got boring we had chicken breast, mini sausages and yorkshires with some vegetables that I still can't get right.

  37. An engineer discusses EV mandates and the ambitions of politicians. He quotes this bedrock sentiment which is ignored by politicians: "Reality is that- which when you stop believing in it- does not go away." Anyway, this lecture is just the A-Z of all those elements of reality which underscore why Net Zero and EV mandates are going to bankrupt and destroy our nations and societies. Well worth watching and saving to remind us that politicians are a menace to our lives in a way we have never seen beofe.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Nz-4eEBTw

  39. I may be gone some time…

    While you lot munch your way through left-overs, Christmas will be happening today atop this Wiltshire hill.

    Smoked salmon
    Roast Pheasant
    (with hostages in blankets, bread sauce, roast spuds and parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts)
    Christmas pud
    (with Citroen's supercharged brandy butter)

    Yesterday was spent telephoning some of my less bolshy children and grand children, (skiing in the French Alps, Prague, and Scotland. Cleveland , OH are on non-speaks.)

    K is on her way back from seeing some of her grandchildren in London and expects me to have everything prepped and oven ready before she gets here. I might do that but, without telling her, take everything to her cottage (12 minutes down the valley) and see how long it takes her to figure out where I'm hiding.

    Afternoon watching the gee-gees on the telly.

  40. I may be gone some time…

    While you lot munch your way through left-overs, Christmas will be happening today atop this Wiltshire hill.

    Smoked salmon
    Roast Pheasant
    (with hostages in blankets, bread sauce, roast spuds and parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts)
    Christmas pud
    (with Citroen's supercharged brandy butter)

    Yesterday was spent telephoning some of my less bolshy children and grand children, (skiing in the French Alps, Prague, and Scotland. Cleveland , OH are on non-speaks.)

    K is on her way back from seeing some of her grandchildren in London and expects me to have everything prepped and oven ready before she gets here. I might do that but, without telling her, take everything to her cottage (12 minutes down the valley) and see how long it takes her to figure out where I'm hiding.

    Afternoon watching the gee-gees on the telly.

    1. Yet they're given everything else, so why shouldn't they get this as well? After all, it's against their 'ooman wights' to be made to contribute anything.

    2. Imagine employing that one.. then again the probability is practically zero.
      Imagine building the future of your country around the likes of her and the gang.

    3. Imagine employing that one.. then again the probability is practically zero.
      Imagine building the future of your country around the likes of her and the gang.

  42. Do it at her place. Not only do you get to use her fuel/energy you can leave all the dishes in her sink.

  44. Morning all. I hope you had a lovely day yesterday.
    Here at sister's household I'm the only one up and guests are arriving at 11!
    Probably won't see nieces until half past three going by the length of time they usually take to shower and get ready.

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

  47. Really difficult today. Couldn't find words to fit:
    Wordle 1,286 6/6

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

    1. Yo B o B C

      Your second descriptor, the one starting "Cu.." is used for something wholly useful.

      Never ever will that parentless thing be that

  50. The fog is giving way to mist….to last all day. Thank goodness it was nice yesterday for our coastal outing.

    2. Well, blow me down! Whoda thunk it? Well anybody with a bit of nous. Guess which it will be in the choice between spending cuts and more taxes.

  52. Good morning, all. Damp and miserable here.

    Memes.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/717922c14ed26d4b71caba531f0463e90da5572c31ef56724817af00679898cb.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/446805af9246890a7a25c6a882c0376b003383adc18ddda02680b489f3acbb80.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/371a4e271ad43cc8f7a3dbcf990325e5a72c89d9c389e839e128c432259305c4.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1ddce09e53977c592793134934ebca8f38dd41ee28683e9792835b48ea2baf1.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4beb21983f55b213e1e6e9581651bc78c2228fa695ff07a5cc201f30edfb4527.png

    1. The sushi restaurant said the penguins were bad payers but the pelicans were worse, their bills were enormous!

  54. Starmer has lost control of our gargantuan relic of a state

    The public sector keeps expanding without benefit, but few have the stomach to enact painful reforms

    Kamal Ahmed
    22 December 2024 6:00pm GMT

    "Politics," the Liberal Ernest Benn wrote, "is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it wrongly and applying unsuitable remedies."

    We are just 171 days into the new government, and Keir Starmer is approaching Christmas in a baffled state of mind. He thought he had a mission that was clear, a set of remedies that would work, and public support that – although not lavish – was at least willing to give him a chance.

    The reality of government has been harsh for the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service (total employees: 7,000). Public support has plummeted, policies have crumpled on first contact with reality, and the economy has stalled after an anti-growth Budget.

    The fundamental issue is that the state has grown whilst its productivity has fallen. Central government employment hit a record high of 3.97 million in September 2024, an increase of 113,000 compared with September 2023; 28,000 have joined in the past three months. More people, over two million, work for the NHS than at any point in its history. Public satisfaction is at depressing lows.

    More than 60 official reviews have been set up, from defence to knife crime, as the Government hunts for solutions. Voters reasonably ask why a government, elected to "turn the page", is still working out what the book looks like well after its election victory.

    After five months, Starmer is the least-popular prime minister since IPSOS started collecting the figures when Margaret Thatcher was the resident of No 10. His rating of -34 per cent compares with +57 per cent for Tony Blair at the same point in his term.

    The party is now grubbing around in the polls with an Opposition that has just experienced the biggest electoral defeat in its history, and an upstart with few policies that gained its first MPs in July. Support in the low- to mid-20 per cent range is the best that Labour, the Conservatives and Reform can achieve with a sceptical public.

    What is to be done? With a degree of stealth, No 10 is trying to apply the New Labour playbook. Peter Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the United States is just the latest in a long line of 1997 vintages called up from the retirees cellar. Jonathan Powell (the new national security adviser), Liz Lloyd (director of policy delivery) and Michael Barber (No 10 adviser) have returned to the fold. All served under Blair.

    Starmer is, belatedly, beginning to understand the iron laws of Labour's political history. Governments of the Left come into power convinced by years in opposition that the state and its workers are the route to success. When the Left is out of office, relentless campaigning by well-intentioned pressure groups and public-sector unions reveals endless ills that Labour MPs become determined to fix. The backgrounds of all involved in these debates are similar, campaigning groups and public-sector employment. Virtue is their super-power.

    Few have read their Friedrich Hayek, whose The Road to Serfdom outlined the dangers of trying to centrally plan your way to prosperity. States can facilitate wealth creation; they are not wealth creators themselves. Once in power, reality dawns. It took the most successful prime minister Labour has ever had two years to admit publicly that the state-led model beloved of the traditional Left is wrong. The public sector, packed full of nice individuals, is poor at reform and serving its customers.

    "People in the public sector are more rooted in the concept that 'if it's always done this way, it must always be done this way' than any group of people I've come across," Blair said in 1999, famously referring to the "scars on my back" as he tried to push through change. It has taken Starmer five months to come to the same conclusion.

    "Too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline," the PM said in his "Plan for Change" relaunch. It was the most significant line in a speech otherwise marked by vapidity. "I totally get that when trust in politics is so low, we must be careful about the promises we make. But across Whitehall and Westminster that's been internalised as 'don't say anything', 'don't try anything too ambitious', 'set targets that will happen anyway'."

    Curbing the size of the public sector is a curse of Sisyphean proportions. There are 543,000 people employed by the civil service alone; 10 years ago, it was 440,000. Brexit, Covid and public demands for ever more services have created a growth logic that too-weak politicians of both a Conservative and Labour persuasion have found difficult to resist.

    Headcount is up in all regions of England, median salaries are up by 6.5 per cent, the number of new entrants has increased, as has the percentage of people in an "executive officer" grade or above – job-title inflation being a beloved pastime of public-sector managers.

    Officials insist that change is on the way. "This is not about the 'blob' or the shirkers working from home," one government source told me. "It is the system, the processes. Numbers are at record levels. Have services improved proportionately? No, they haven't."

    Ministers, led by Pat McFadden in the Cabinet Office and Rachel Reeves in the Treasury, are casting around for efficiencies. Sources argue that artificial-intelligence systems and automation will be able to bypass many functions at present laboured over by real people. Ten-thousand redundancies have been spoken of. That a robot or an algorithm doesn't demand a pay-off – or a pension – is not lost on reform-minded members of the Cabinet.

    The Chancellor will use the spending review next spring to try and "turn the page", it is to be hoped with more success than her boss in No 10. She has demanded the first "zero-base" line by line analysis of spending since 2007 and that each department find savings of at least 5 per cent (a routine demand in many private sector businesses).

    "After five years in power, we must show that we have thought radically about the overall-shape of government," my source tells me. McFadden has spoken of the state behaving "like a start up". Even Dominic Cummings' 2020 demand for more challengers and misfits across Whitehall has been referenced with approval.

    Briefings and warm words are one thing, actual change another. Pay rises have already been agreed – a move which should have been done in tandem with reforms. The deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has strong allies and will not countenance mass redundancies and cuts.

    The unions fund Labour and have many sympathetic MPs. Railways are still slated for public ownership despite evidence that public control leads to worse, not better, services.

    "Please Lord make me virtuous, but not yet" said St Augustine. Many will encourage Starmer, McFadden and Reeves to put off reforms until tomorrow. They should close their ears to such protestations over a state that has become too big for its own, and the country's, good.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/22/starmer-has-lost-control-of-our-gargantuan-relic-of-a-state

    1. Clearly.. Let me be clear about this.. We recognise some trouble, some teething troubles here.. us Labours will set up a series of round tables with a new radical team to find the way forward.

    2. Clearly.. Let me be clear about this.. We recognise some trouble, some teething troubles here.. us Labours will set up a series of round tables with a new radical team to find the way forward.

    3. "the Government hunts for solutions"

      No it doesn't. It looks for ways to reinforce and make palatable its bigotry and foolhardy obstinacy.

      Starmer is a man wearing a blindfold locked in a padded cell hopelessly searching for the door.

    1. Facebook asked if I’d like to open that in the app and promptly took me to a photo Jules had posted of her son sitting in an armchair with her two cats. I’m guessing that isn’t the link you intended.

      1. Funny. I jus clicked on it and it opened – asked me to "see more on facebook" which I deleted and there was the short video of two dogs in a swimming pool.

    1. BBC's Strictly was won by a professional drag artist, Tayce, dancing with professional dancer Kai Widdrington.
      The professional judges. appearing in their usual gender appearances, scored the couple staight 10s.

      I admit to referring to Tayce as she and it is this pronoun that is used in the context of this posted url:

      https://www.google.com/search?q=christmas+strictly+winner+2024&oq=christmas+strictly+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDQgDEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABiDARixAxiABDINCAIQABiDARixAxiABDINCAMQABiDARixAxiABDINCAQQABiDARixAxiABDINCAUQABiDARixAxiABDINCAYQABiDARixAxiABDINCAcQABiDARixAxiABDINCAgQABiDARixAxiABDINCAkQABiDARixAxiABDIHCAoQABiABDIHCAsQABiABDIHCAwQABiABDIHCA0QABiABDIHCA4QABiABNIBCTE0Nzg3ajBqN6gCALACAA&client=tablet-android-asus-tpin&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

      But is this not a sexual deception in the evolving criminal law because we should all know the drag queens are in fact really males dressed up as females?

      https://ucsbtherevivalzine.wordpress.com/2022/02/20/pronouns-in-drag-culture-rupauls-drag-race-and-other-crazy-controversies/#:~:text=Some%20drag%20queens%20may%20prefer,When%20in%20doubt%2C%20ask!

  59. Not allowing comment? Well blow me down. What a surprise.

    It's what you get when you make up laws so that people may be allowed to 'practice to deceive'. In the end the entire thing just becomes a tangle of lies and untruths. I hope they're satisfied.

    I bet they all wish they could simply return to the uncomplicated days of sending people to jail by ending a post on Twitter with #MeToo.

    1. Had a read of the website, thought I might join. The policies are fine enough, but don't seem to address a directly-expressed problem leading to a desired result – so, the document shows what's not wanted, but doesn't say what is wanted. Or how it is to be achieved. Reads more like a rant. Very disappointing.

    2. Sadly the Labour Party still have more than double that number of members. They probably offer free membership on arrival at Dover but even so, it’s not good.

        1. Indeed. If there are that many choosing to join, then the country must be awash with more imbeciles than I first believed.

  63. A couple of weeks ago someone posted a link to a song but I can't remember the singer's name.
    I thing it was something like Joe Sleeps.
    Does anyone know who I'm thinking about?

        1. There has been so much rubbish promoted that i was surprised people were still producing music you nod your head and tap your feet to…

  64. Good morning Nottlers, just been for my weekly shop (normally it's on a Wednesday but festivities intervened). So no more shopping this year!

    it was quieter in the store, a lack of minions shopping for click and collect customers, with the majority of shoppers being middle-aged men. I'd fit right in but as that's my weekly task the till girls always have a laugh.

    I had a good day yesterday and my niece's relatively new dog had me pinned as a pal as soon as I crossed the threshold.

    As to the header on this thread, when I joined the RAF in 1977 there were 87,000 on the RAF established strength. Through the ensuing years this has dropped to an HM Forces full-time trained strength of only 130,000 ( http://gov.uk figures as of 01 Apr 24).

    It seems to me that defence of the Realm has been the last thing on consecutive Westminster/Whitehall minds over the past 50 years. I always felt that the politicians, and especially the civil service bureaucracy, had plans for the UK to be merely a Brigade or two, with limited air and naval support as part of Nick Clegg's non-existent EU Army. No wonder they are still bleating about losing the Brexit vote, whilst continuing to make life as difficult as possible for Northern Ireland and our fishermen.

  65. I found that I have been happier since I changed from coffee in the morning to orange juice.
    My doctor explained that it's the vitamin C and natural sugars but I really think it's the Vodka.

  66. Interesting Christmas stats this year
    Reform overtaking the Conservatives with their party membership figure making them the most supported biggest party
    You cant really count Labours tally as it is mostly trade union bullying workers into paying it.
    And the petition signatures for a new election went above 3 million, someone must have taken the magnet off the meter.
    Onwards and upwards for the New Year

    1. mostly trade union bullying workers and Postal Voters, who give the forms to someone else. I'm am azed they get away with it

  67. Three years ago today I posted this tribute to a world known religious leader:

    Archbigot Desmond TwoToes has snuffed it. The BBC is in meltdown. They have promised 20 or more radio and TV programmes devoted to their hero – and even more tomorrow. We will remember him (But won't mention all the white South African farmers and their wives who were murdered by his followers) said the head of the BBC Propaganda Unit. You are not forgotten, Archprikup Twinkletoes! https://scontent-cdg4-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/270006382_10160021887929954_154491978849612752_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296_tt6&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=k8-EGmd6SqoQ7kNvgHdj24l&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg4-3.xx&_nc_gid=AM2qA3DaO1-c2zWlzR843Ri&oh=00_AYChAzY9K_Mt_CdtJAxwGPusWixnTDG2tz8a8fuUMMCi-A&oe=677333AB

    1. Desmond Tutu turned up one Sunday morning at All Saints Fulham. He was flanked by two big burly black bouncers. His friend Walter Makhulu had retired to Fulham from Botswana.

      1. Amazing how the South African archbishop gave his name to a mediocre university degree!

  68. Someday I will solve all my problems with logic and clear thinking.

    Not today though…

    Today I will solve them with whiskey.

  69. The Wife: I'm heading to the store, do you want anything?

    Me: I want a sense of meaning and purpose in my life…
    I seek fulfillment and completeness within my soul…
    I want to connect to God and discover the spiritual side of me…

    The Wife: Be more specific, Beer or Wine?

    1. Store?

      Did she take her storing-bag with her on that storing expedition?

      In the UK people go places, they do not head to them!

  74. 399347+ up ticks,

    Does charlie (kingo) know what he is fronting for as a WEF member, his subjects being in many cases incarcerated for name calling and more importantly his elderly subjects as in " move along the baynet please ,room for one more" types,( he's met them in person) being terminated at the first BIG FREEZE that come along due to HIS
    political WEF / NWO pals odious gangsterism type of governance.

    NOT in OGGA1s name, charlie.

    2. Very much doubt he's in touch with general population and their worries. He'll only be aware of what he's told. Possibly Wills & Co a bit more awake (or woke??) Talk of Harry returning, we'll see.

  75. Progressives lost their minds in 2024 – and alienated people with their nastiness and extremism
    Activists, whether campaigning for Palestine, Just Stop Oil or trans rights, do little to endear themselves to Britain’s tolerant citizens
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/25/progressives-lost-their-minds-in-2024-backlash/

    BTL

    In the 1960s when protesting became all the rage not all the protest songs were left wing – here is a part of the the lyrics of a 'protest' protest song written at the time!

    "I say that what we want is tolerance and peace
    In proof of this I smash up cars and throw things at the police
    I refuse to hear a point of view that different from my own
    A really reasonable debate's a thing I've never known

    How I hate apartheid
    But how I love to demonstrate    ."

      1. Still blethering away, but at reduced volume, thank God. Seems to be on a channel called "Dave", as moronic as the name.

    1. Cadbury's chocolate is now disgusting. Brown, over-sweetened glop that coats teeth with oily detritus and glues itself to roof of the mouth.

  78. The 'fact' that scientists have discovered that the human brain works at 10 bits per seconds hit the headines in the Times today:

    https://www.techspot.com/news/106080-human-thought-crawls-10-bits-second-caltech-study.html

    I disproved this finding by unwittingly testing the parallel thought processes used by my granddaughter during the process of choosing a children's Christmas day video to watch on YouTube.

    When faced with a selection of four video choices on a screen I was able to launch a video within milliseconds of her making her choice. But before the video had even started the described the video formerly displayed on the screen that she now wanted to see.

    There was clearly something going on in her brain to make her vocalise her choice whilst at the same time her brain was working out a different choice. This clearly illustrates that the female human brain works extremely fast in a parallel computing mode.and can make multiple opposing decisions within a few milliseconds.

    This also goes to show that is inappropriate to choose a female chancellor of the exchequer

    1. Our brains are slow, but they do massive multiprocessing. Standing up and starting forward is truly an act of mathematical astonishment.

      This is why we were/are building AI and computers wrong. Previously we went for speed, high single clocks. Now we're heading for vastlyscaled out hundreds of GPUs (as they're better at single instructions at speed).

      In fact the human brain is really many thousands of computers – one to tie our shoes, another to breathe, more to fart.. We're more a set of clustered, single purpose computers.

      I do not believe Reeves thought hiking taxes and making people poorer would do anything to help the economy grow. If she did, she's stupid. Bluntly, I doubt she has a clue about any form of economics or monetary theory at all. The budget was designed by the Treasury built from the demands of a Hard Left socialist : this Advani character who's ideology vastly outweighs any measure of competence.

          1. Perhaps people need to take apart HER garden fences so they can keep warm this winter. Might bring it home.

    1. 💃🕺👯‍♂️…all dancing (I think), Johnny. Nigel achieved one of his aims, onward to delivery.

    2. We had a chess champion visit once. Famous bloke off the TV. Our school lined up it's best players – and me to make up the numbers.

      I was thrashed playing speed chess in 20 moves. He played all of us at once.

        1. There are things laying on their backs blowing bubbles on the bottom of ponds better looking than that grubby little hypocrite.

    4. I’m off to Saudi with work next week. It’s improved a lot since my first visit there inn2015 (in terms of being a woman).

    5. I’m off to Saudi with work next week. It’s improved a lot since my first visit there inn2015 (in terms of being a woman).

    1. If Britons had done that plod would have arrested them – despite blocking the highway being an offence.

      That, in a nutshell is what's wrong with this country. The criminal is lauded because the state approves of their cause.

  82. The BBC is wetting itself about a programm called Gavin and Stacey which had an audience of 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day. Apparently it has been running for 17 years or more. Have I missed anything?

      1. I couldn't work out why they shook hands when getting married.

        The statement 'never kissed, never will' didn't make any sense.

        1. Remember Nym in Henry V who said: "I can't kiss, that's the humour of it."

          He also said "Shall we shog?" meaning shall we go now. As a schoolboy when I first read this line I thought Shakespeare had used the wrong vowel.

    3. You laugh at the BBC programming but compared to our canadian CBC it shines.

      Rather than enduring some woke lesbian trash documentaries, I was able enjoy good low brow Wallace and Grommet then reruns of Morecambe and Wise.

    5. Not surprised given the astonishing amount of time BBC TV and radio wasted on pushing it! Didn't work on us though.

      2. The locals will turn on them soon enough. Property prices in the town are rising because of the exposure.

  83. The BBC is wetting itself about a programm called Gavin and Stacey which had an audience of 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day. Apparently it has been running for 17 years or more. Have I missed anything?

  84. My prediction for 2025..
    Alex Phillips will somehow manage to drop a sprog.. then go onto become an MP at some by-election (landslide).
    (And by 2029 become a senior cabinet member.. then PM).

  85. Aged 13 on a school cruise I was an average schoolboy chess-player. A Swiss chap a few years older, on the same cruise, was thrashing all-comers. I sat down before the smug-faced Swiss 'champion' and after three moves I'd removed his Queen, much to the mirth of his friends and colleagues. He still beat me (he was that good) but he never lived down the embarrassment I'd caused him.

    2. Caroline's maternal grandfather was the head of De Nederlandsche Bank. He was a Grand Master and his hobby was writing complicated chess problems

      I cannot play chess at all but by two sons are not bad at it.

    3. Caroline's maternal grandfather was the head of De Nederlandsche Bank. He was a Grand Master abd his hobby was writing complicated chess problems

      I cannot play chess at all but by two sons are not bad at it.

  86. The Hunt has finished and the party has begun. I do honestly believe the Warqueen would rather spend time with the horses than the people.

          2. Interesting isn’t it that families can fall out over Christmas even when you never see them and they live miles away.

    2. As Katie Hopkins opines.. $follow the money$.

      People Smuggling is big buck business.. and if you personally want a cut from;
      Soros’s Open Society Foundation’.. Capital Research Center.. Arabella Associates.. Tides.. BlackRock.. the Chinese Progressive Association.. Clinton Foundation.. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation..

      then you have to play the game of migrant invasion & climate bllx.

      Anyhow, what does it matter, it's not you paying for it.

      1. 300347+up ticks,

        Eevening KB,

        It could very well be “you” paying for it, and paying the ultimate price.

        1. Crystal ball 2029..

          Treason is an ancient crime, but it fell into disuse in most Western democratic states after World War II. Now it is making a comeback with rumblings of threatened prosecutions against those committing treason against the state & Crown.

          1. 399347+ up ticks,

            KB,
            And if it is proven to be the state and the crown applying the treason upon its peoples ?
            “what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”.surely, and begging for an 8/3/1917 rerun on our home turf.

          2. 399347+ up ticks,

            KB,
            And if it is proven to be the state and the crown applying the treason upon its peoples ?
            “what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”.surely, and begging for an 8/3/1917 rerun on our home turf.

        2. Crystal ball 2029..

          Treason is an ancient crime, but it fell into disuse in most Western democratic states after World War II. Now it is making a comeback with rumblings of threatened prosecutions against those committing treason against the state & Crown.

    3. Why don't we just provide them with tents and nothing else – no pocket money , no free health care, no meals but if they must eat then this should be provided by charities rather than the tax payers.

      4. The problem there Rastus is that an awful lot of these 'charities' are funded by the tax payer. They'd then take the government to court which would then ensure it lost – all on tax payers cash – and even more money would be poured on to the vermin.

    4. Why don't we just provide them with tents and nothing else – no pocket money , no free health care, no meals but if they must eat then this should be provided by charities rather than the tax payers.

      1. Of course Hermes was safer than Herpes for those in the Royal Navy because it was only a carrier.

  92. Not a good Christmas for transport in Norway.
    After yesterdays total shutdown of the railways (an issue to do with a firewall in a communications computer), today a coach has run off the road in Lofoten and ended up in the sea – so far, three dead.
    Not fun.

  94. I made a mistake of visiting my ill nephew. His mother then told others in the family who i haven't had any contact with for the last 15 years. Shit now hitting fans. All the old memories boiling up and threats being made.
    I am now at the point yet again where i am afraid to answer my front door.

    1. Oh, lord, man. That's no fun at all, you have my sympathies in bucketloads.
      How did hey get in such a state? Did you not conform to expectations?

      1. Too long a story. Suffice it to say i wouldn't do what i was ordered to do. Many years later when my father died i found out i was a pall bearer. At the door to the church. She didn't consider me worthy of being informed before hand. I wasn't invited to that meeting. Now she uses people in the family to gather information. I'm going to kill the bitch.

        1. If anyone comes again, say that you have taken legal advice and that you will be taking action for harassment (a criminal offence) if they return. (I don't know whether it would stand up, as I haven't looked into it, but it might scare them off)

          Also, they have not got your authority to go over any of your property to get to your front door so they are committing the civil offence of trespass.

        2. Oh, man.
          Families, eh? Don’t go round killing folk, causes all kinds of trouble you could do without.

    2. Phizzee , is this serious , real.

      Are they being a nuisance , why .. dreadful things happen in families , years and years ago I completed a counselling course .. but life took another turn for me, I also volunteered for Samaritans for a while .. and that has hard .

      You are a strong witty sensible chap .. you have the upper hand , and should be able to turn the other cheek..

      Some say through every adversity lies the seed of greater benefit .

      You must relax a bit , and focus your mind on other things .

      You have good neighbours , don't feel vulnerable , please.

    1. Well done, me too, but it looks like I must have not Wordled on Christmas eve as my 'streak' is down to 2.

      Wordle 1,286 3/6

      🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      5. Well done! Mine was four, but I only got it because I was messing around with random mixtures of letters and it took me a moment to realise that it was a word at all.
        Wordle 1,286 4/6

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

    2. Well done, I thought that was a real stinker – ultimately very relieved to get away with a double bogey!!

      Wordle 1,286 6/6

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

      1. Difficult today.
        Wordle 1,286 5/6

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

        Hope you all had a great Christmas as did Alf and I at our daughter’s with the whole immediate family. Lots of food and drink and Secret Santa – great fun. We all (9) had to buy a prezzie for £10 or thereabouts, beginning with S, but had to be bought from a charity shop. Great way of doing it. Had a lovely time finishing with watching Gavin and Stacy and then The Royle family. Both good laughs. Hadn’t seen either regularly, just one or two of each. Good belly laugh.

        1. Sounds a lot like mine – apart from when I chanced upon Mrs Brown's Boys, dear God that was dire! – that's what Christmas is all about vw!!

      2. Difficult today.
        Wordle 1,286 5/6

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

        Hope you all had a great Christmas as did Alf and I at our daughter’s with the whole immediate family. Lots of food and drink and Secret Santa – great fun. We all (9) had to buy a prezzie for £10 or thereabouts, beginning with S, but had to be bought from a charity shop. Great way of doing it. Had a lovely time finishing with watching Gavin and Stacy and then The Royle family. Both good laughs. Hadn’t seen either regularly, just one or two of each. Good belly laugh.

      1. I told Mrs D in passing about the posters who did Wordle and gave a rough explanation. She did Wordle on Christmas Day and got it in one! I have nothing more to say.

        2. I find you need a good start word and a variety of second line words if the starter fails. If you find two or more letters in the starter word even without correct placements you stand a good chance of a Birdie or even an Eagle.

          My starter word SLANT gave me the letter A but in the wrong position. My follow up word PROEM simply eliminated another five letters to add to the four eliminated on my first line.

          I could not think of any obvious word given most five letter words included those letters I had eliminated. I then took the Dictionary and searched for a five letter word starting with the letter A. Eventually I found the possible solution and entered it and to my relief found it was correct (AFFIX).

        3. I find you need a good start word and a variety of second line words if the starter fails. If you find two or more letters in the starter word even without correct placements you stand a good chance of a Birdie or even an Eagle.

          My starter word SLANT gave me the letter A but in the wrong position. My follow up word PROEM simply eliminated another five letters to add to the four eliminated on my first line.

          I could not think of any obvious word given most five letter words included those letters I had eliminated. I then took the Dictionary and searched for a five letter word starting with the letter A. Eventually I found the possible solution and entered it and to my relief found it was correct (AFFIX).

    4. I was lucky with a double

      Wordle 1,286 6/6

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

      1. Bloomin' five

        Wordle 1,286 5/6

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

      1. With my brothers. But I did Wordle this morning.

        Wordle 1,286 3/6

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

  98. just reading the paper. Came across this. Apolos if it’s already been posted. (Have been entertaining the folks. We went to East Molesey and mooched around the “antique” (junk) shops. My daughter was with us – some nice ideas for her garden, which could stand very large pots and pergola-type things. We parked in my motor-yacht club. I’ve spent all afternoon doing lunch and prepping for tea.

    “A partygoer was left in a lifethreatening condition and three others injured when a driver rammed his car into a crowd following a nightclub row in central London. Police arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder near Soho’s Windmill Club following the attack in the early hours of Christmas Day. Blood, clothing and debris were left strewn across the pavement on Shaftesbury Avenue yesterday as forensic officers combed the scene for evidence….”

    Murdered over a row. What a nation we have be one.

      1. So it was an irate white man, Bill? A black man would have said "You messin' with my bitch?"

  99. That's me gone for this misty, damp Boxing Day. Tomorrow is forecast to be very similar. I blame global boiling.

    Have a jolly evening

    A demain.

  100. Evening, all, from a very foggy Marches. Despite the worst efforts of Labour's Cheshire West council, the meet went ahead (although not at its usual venue, which will have no doubt hit the pubs in their profits) and trail hunting took place over the border. I think the reason the council put forward was problems with traffic – the result was the lanes were jammed solid with cars. There were lots of people out to see the hounds and lots of children (although not many on horseback). Hopefully there will be a lot of letters of complaint heading to Chester. My local rag said Labour was under pressure to deliver on its promise to ban trail hunting. My view is if they do, it'll be the first promise they've kept and a most useless one.

    The government hates this country and would happily see it subjected to foreign rule. They really are a shower.

    1. Bickering and sniping are not helpful to either side.

      Kemi would have done better if she'd said 'Congratulations Nigel and Reform. We'll be discussing policy in the new year.'

        1. Because she understands Labour, and is in the comfortable position of not realling having to fight them.
          Reform – whole different position. Much more difficult.

        2. And the other way round, Janet (eg Farage is so fixated on destroying the "Tories" that he gives the Starmergrupenfuhrer a free ride).

    3. Does this mean that the conservatives have hacked into Reform Party servers?

      isn't that illegal?

      1. You are nowhere near so puny in my mind's eye, wibbling. (Going by your well-documented claims to giantism) :-))))

    4. Only someone with no self awareness whatsoever would wear speedos with that physique. Eeeww. Nice tits, though.

      1. Naughty naughty Mola , but so true.. He really irritates me .

        Once long ago when he was a young Lt in the RN , as was my husband , we parked our car at Yeovilton .. Fleet Air Arm airbase.. Moh parked our car and I got out to get into the driving seat to drive home , he turned up and parked within an inch of us . Moh was in his own FA uniform so no seniority issues , and Charlie boy climbed out of his car , didn’t even acknowledge Moh , just glanced sniffily and walked away quickly..

        My first observations were how short legged he was , with a very slim waist , hand in pocket , and off he went . Not well built like Andrew , who I have also been close up to .. he was stouter and more robust, not a skulking character like Charles .

      2. Prince Philip suported Queen Elizabeth in making the right decisions. Charles has nobody as clear and, frankly, hard as Phil the Greek. He needs his Father.

          1. Philip was a hard man; he'd commanded during the war, for example. I can see why Charles might not have got on with him.

        2. Too late, I’m afraid. He’s being used, but he thinks he speaks for the people, but is just a puppet of this New World Order, and he’s just bloody wrong.

        3. He wouldn't have taken any notice. He will only go along with the advice that confirms his personal world view.

    2. Our nation has been caught hook, line and Sing-Kaur and is flopping about on the beach waiting to be dispatched.

      1. I honestly believe the intent is to do so much damage that the IMF are called in and force us back into the hated EU. I can't see any other reason for the carnage they're causing.

          1. It'd be nothing more than a convenient scapegoat. We've been forced to this situation and it was so easy to avoid.

        3. We agree, Wibbling

          We've believed that for some time as there doesn't appear to be any other logical explanation.

          And as for the "surrender" department at no. 10 set up recently, what else are

          they organising?

        4. The EU is falling apart. Should President Trump pull US funding of NATO, the UN and WHO it will sink without trace.

          Just as anyone with half a brain could see that Project Ukraine would end in disaster those of us following world events would know that the EU is of no worldly consequence and doomed to Second Tier status, if that.

          Somebody needs to tell cloth-eared trougher Two Tier Starmer and his band of incompetent crooked misfits.

        5. The eu was but just a step on the way the to the WEF's One World Government, which is what it was really all about in the first place, a neat little political bloc to be handed over. Now we are heading straight for the OWG.

      1. If our roads were glass smooth. If we had a fair, efficient justice system. If you could get an appointment within 2 months. If we had small, efficient government, if we had plentiful cheap energy, if taxation were fair and supported those joining the workforce and welfare were not a lifestyle choice, if our military were well equipped… and on and on… then I wouldn't mind the taxes we pay.

        But every single thing is wrong. Nothing works. State regulators are incompetent and abusive. Waste is everywhere. Left wing Hate groups are given endless funding. The entire system of government is utterly corrupt and just does not work.

        We can last 8 months before we have ot increase our fees. W've tried to be honest with our customers for that, explicitly stating we don't expect a wave of support sign ups. Even with just 6 of us we cannot swallow another £6,000 per person on the wage bill. Mrs Clarke has said she wants to retire (she is 85 this year) but we still need that role filled. Investment will have to fall, we won't renew the van for another 3 years… a host of stuff has to be put on hold, a proper slamming on of business brakes.

        Our cable installers are facing ten times higher fees for their fleet thanks to Reeve's redesignaation of pick ups as 'company cars'. Reeves is pure, utter evil. She – Labour generally – don't seem to understand that if you destroy wealth, it doesn't keep getting spent.

        Compare our economy to Argentina's. Milei, an actual economist is cutting taxes and state waste. Ours is increasing them. They're growing. We're in recession. Allowing socialists near an economy is nothing but destructive.

        1. I think they do know the short term consequences of their idiotic edicts. I think that they are both obeying orders and are delusional as to how the consequences of this wholesale destruction will lead to their ideological utopia )which, of course, it won't)

        2. I think they do know the short term consequences of their idiotic edicts. I think that they are both obeying orders and are delusional as to how the consequences of this wholesale destruction will lead to their ideological utopia )which, of course, it won't)

  106. Off for a walk, will expect Dr.Daughter to have taken possession of the sitting room by the time I get back, so logging off now.
    Might be back on the laptop when I get back.

  107. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UblQpmNOc7Q

    What did Labour expect would happen? Oh! I see. They thought the parents would just find another 20% of £7000 to pay Labour's maliciously driven taxes. have they no concept of real life? Did they not predict this would happen or did they literally just say 'Hurrh hurrh, we'll hammer those evul wich Torwees'?

      1. Used to be said 'lions led by donkeys', Paul….now…you have fuckwits (gov't) led by bigger fuckwits (CS), round in circles.

    2. I don't think the disastrous consequences described are accidental. I think it is all intentional.

        1. I know, KJ. It is awful to have to acknowledge that the driving force behind these people is deliberate, calculated Evil.

          4. I subscribe to that view too, opopanax: intentional incompetence designed to sweep us willingly into the grasp of the WEF's One World Government and all that it demands. See how successful the Tories manipulations were in getting us to vote Labour, who were (and are) prepared to further the dirt in excess. There is worse to come, much worse.

        2. I know, KJ. It is awful to have to acknowledge that the driving force behind these people is deliberate, calculated Evil.

      2. Do they just think people will continue paying just to fund their tax demand? Did they? Did they not realise that huge numbers of parents sacrifice vast amounts to send their children to private school?

        They're just thick, assuming nothing will change for their constant tax hikes. It's a staggering lack of ability to look beyond the greed and spite and consider the consequences. If they lack that, they shouldn't be in office.

        1. No, wibbling, you are being too kind to them. They know what the destructive consequences to children's education – to the whole of our society – will be. They know that this will further trash the education system in the tenacious little remnant of our country that persists despite their efforts to destroy it. It is part of the plan. It is not unintentional.

        2. The only ones who will be able to afford a UK private education will e coming from Saudi and Kuwait. Is that the intention?

  108. It would be the means to the end. They want us back in the EU regardless and will try to put the blame on the IMF.

    1. House empty for the 600 hours "debating" the Hunting Bill, lobbies full to bursting to vote it through.

  116. Just seen the Secret Prisoner in today’s Terriblegraph. I’ll post it again tomorrow.

    “I’ve been taken to the prison governor on a charge of disobeying a lawful order. It was the second time I had been formally disciplined following my refusal to return indoors from the exercise yard.

    Officers prised my arms from the prison bench I was trying to hold on to, cuffed me, then marched me back into the wing. I had been outside for 20 minutes. My protest was entirely peaceful – if I could have superglued myself to the bench, I would have done. But the officers were intimidating and wanted to use force rather than persuasion.
    If you are forcibly kept indoors for more than 23 hours a day, outdoor exercise – even if it’s just walking around the trash-strewn yard – is immensely precious.

    To be fair to the Home Office, they know this; a new National Regime Model, leaked in June, stipulated that prisoners should have a full daily hour of exercise outdoors. Here we have only ever had this full hour on weekends.
    At my first hearing, in the summer, I protested against the fact that even the weekend exercise had been curtailed to half an hour, which had happened on two occasions. Though I was found guilty, and cautioned, I noticed that the full weekend hour was then restored. I was also told at that first hearing that the prison did recognise the stipulation for a daily hour outdoors, but would not be able to implement it until the autumn due to manpower shortages. Until then I was advised that the weekday exercise period would remain at 30 minutes.

    At last, at the end of October, the new regime was implemented and the timings put on display for all prisoners to see. Exercise would start at the earlier time of 7.45am and run until 8.45am, with an opportunity for prisoners to return to the wing at 8.15am if they wanted. But officers, even senior officers, seemed not to understand the changes and never gave us more than 30 minutes. So when time was called just 20 minutes into exercise one recent Tuesday, I kicked off.
    Pulled back inside to the Wing hub, I continued to protest. Prisoners were hooting and cheering – they find my middleclass righteousness hilarious.

    “You have half an hour, not an hour!” shouted the hot-and-bothered young officer who had heaved me indoors.
    “Alright then, give me half an hour,” I protested. “I only got 20 minutes!”
    This caused amusement among prisoners and even some officers. Afterwards a wag on Spur Two impersonated me: “I say, officer, this is jolly unfair, a chap needs his fresh air you know!”
    At my hearing, the governor made short shrift of my argument that an order that contradicts the stated policy of the regime [to ensure an hour’s outside time] cannot be deemed lawful.
    “If an officer gives an order, it is a lawful order.”
    “But –”
    “That’s enough of this. I find you guilty. Three weeks no canteen; three weeks half pay.”

    As my weekly pay in distance learning is £7.50, I was not too gutted by the loss of the £11.25. But the loss of canteen for three weeks was painful to hear: no instant coffee or whole milk; no tinned mackerel for protein; no weekly supplement of fresh fruit and veg. It was a proper punishment.

    Leaving the hearing, the officer who had escorted me expressed her own view that the exercise situation was “all over the place”. She was not the only officer who took the trouble to express sympathy with my position. There are a lot of decent people here. Even the officer who had hauled me inside said later: “It was nothing personal.” Naturally, I concurred.

    And this morning? A full hour of exercise – well, 7.50am to 8.40am. A chap did get some fresh air.”

  118. The Con Party is as dead as a dodo, Rastus. Reform should (IMO) stop sawing the sawdust of this and concentrate on the real and present enemy that is our Labour government. Both parties desperately need to provide serious and intelligent opposition. That is their only job until the next election, which i fear will be in another 4 1/2 years, if ever.

  119. I’m shattered. I haven’t sat down for two days and it’s work tomorrow. Still waiting for the washing machine to finish but nay call it a night.

  120. Well, chums, my bedtime arrived a few minutes ago. So Good Night to you all, sleep well, and I hope to see you all awake and refreshed tomorrow.

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