Friday 13 June: Will HMRC’s digital initiatives make customers’ lives any easier?

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.

626 thoughts on “Friday 13 June: Will HMRC’s digital initiatives make customers’ lives any easier?”

      1. The Gibralter people voted to stay in the EU. Stuff them, they have got what they wanted, so they can now regret at their leisure.

      1. Like most things, the longer the delay, the worse the event will be when it finally happens.
        That's a long-winded way of writing "A stitch in thime saves nine".
        Good morning, Johnny.

      2. Sadly, for us, #TwoTierKeir, the Poundshop Arnold Rimmer, and his chum Hermer will never support such action.

  12. So it looks like another big week for Reform local election gains, looking at the early doors results.
    Just as Starmer’s great closer links with the EU deal involving the loss of our fishing waters to the French gets a slap in the face by the French as they veto Britain from involvement in the EU arms trade.

    1. It's like Spoonface Cameron's bargaining failures of 2015 all over again.

  13. Good morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff, for today's new NoTTLe page. Thought of BoB this morning whilst working on my Wordle puzzle.

    Wordle 1,455 5/6

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

    1. Good morning Elsie and all
      Wordle 1,455 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
      ⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Me too
        Wordle 1,455 3/6

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

  14. 407340+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    I believe they are passing a bill in parliament saying that the wearing of ties is optional, as collar restriction is getting much more noticeable by the day.

    Dt,

    Tom Harris
    Politicians don’t want to admit the truth about the Northern Ireland riots
    Tensions between natives and Roma immigrants have been bubbling for some time. Pretending they don’t exist won’t make them go away

      1. 407540+ up ticks,

        Morning R,

        The likeness to a great many serving
        ( themselves) politico’s is uncanny.

  15. Morning, all Y'all.
    Sunny.
    A few pints and a pizza yesterday evening, so feeling reasonably relaxed.
    The link below is to a video of the Air India plane crash yesterday. Not sure if you will be able to open it… the aircraft was pretty well level as it crossed the end of the runway, gear remaining extended, and descending slowly until it vanished from sight behind buildings, followed by a pause and then a huge plume of black smoke and fire. Quite horrible. Difficult to see, but it looks like no flaps extended.
    https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/nyhetsanalyse/i/qPl1bL/air-india-fly-styrtet-i-india

      1. Indeed – I wonder why. The aircraft was not accelerating either, likely why they kept the nose down to avoid a stall. Would have thought they would retract the gear to allow for speed increase.

          1. Whatever it was, it kept the pilots busy, as I haven’t read anything about a mayday call.

          4. Mayday was 'engines losing power' – what? both of them? The only way that could happen is a) the pilot moved the throttles, b) the computer had a glitch and assumed a configuration which needed less power or c) fuel is contaminated (unlikely as the engines have separate feeds). If you watch the video you can see something black floating down just before it hit the ground. The U/C would normally be retracted just after it became airborne to reduce drag and aid acceleration, the flaps should have been still in T/O position but there was no sign of these, the leading edge slats would still be extended but you can't see them from the rear. The black boxes will determine the cause.

    1. Vagrancy law
      SIR – No doubt Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, means well with her decision to decriminalise vagrancy (report, June 12), and most would agree that a degree of compassion is necessary for those who are homeless and sleeping on pavements.

      However, the moment any street turns into the mess that so much of San Francisco has become, there will be a national outcry, and Ms Rayner will rightly be held responsible. But she won’t be the one who has to attend to the filth, drug problems and associated crime.

      Alasdair Ogilvy
      Stedham, West Sussex

      SIR – Like the London Mayor’s call to decriminalise cannabis, Angela Rayner’s repealing of the Vagrancy Act is an example of avoiding a difficult problem by legalising it.

      Trevor Joyce
      Canterbury, Kent

      My point now is , if Labour councils are offering landlords 1,000 a month on one condition…
      Take migrants. Not locals. Vagrancy will increase, won't it ?

    3. This is one of the root causes of the problem in Ballymena. They are pricing the locals out by offering twice the going rate to landlords who accommodate migrants.

      Of course the government is relying on the fact that owners of hotels and landlords can be corrupted by offering them far more money than they would normally get.

      The owner of the Cornish Camelot Castel Hotel in Tintagel refused the bribe from the politicians:

      This shows how very low our politicians have become.

      https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wyEAFxOEPu4

  17. Why should I have any confidence in handing over my personal ID information to third parties contracted out by Government agencies? I may as well be handing them over to the scammers in full knowledge of what I am doing, and with no protection offered when I am robbed through my own stupidity and misplaced trust in those we know very well cannot be trusted.

  20. Good morning, all.

    A total lack of handwringing from this Florida Sheriff.

    Accommodating law breaking by certain sections of society will eventually lead to anarchy. If the PTB will not act and protect the people then the people will have to protect themselves. Ireland, both Eire and NI, appears to be approaching the brink. Both countries need real national leadership, sadly, that commodity appears to be lacking at the moment.

    https://x.com/MJTruthUltra/status/1933233913805353047

  22. 407340+ up ticks,

    Doncha remember Mike as it has been for decades, once again, was via the polling stations, many of us tried repeatedly for change especially calling for controlled immigration But we were given the tag
    far right FRUITCAKES.

    WE gave you BREXIT EXIT and the thanks we received was the majority multitude returned to
    supporting / voting for the eu asset parties.

    The electorate majority over three plus decades had a huge hand in constructing today's odious trials & tribulations.

    https://x.com/YardleyShooting/status/1933074205379342600

    https://x.com/YardleyShooting/status/1933074205379342600

  23. A Bill to protect Britain’s natural treasures
    SIR – Britain’s wonderful, wild environment is part of who we are. From the soaring skylark to the winding hedgerow, nature is integral to our identity, but so much of it is slipping away. Rivers are polluted, species are vanishing and habitats that took millennia to create are being lost for ever. We must protect the nature that underpins our health, economy and heritage.

    This is why I have introduced the Environmental Targets (Public Authorities) Bill, a simple measure to require public bodies in England to help deliver environmental targets already set by Parliament. The Government has a duty to stop wildlife declining by 2030, to achieve net zero by 2050, and to reduce air and water pollution. This is not about new burdens or big spending; it is about lining up existing powers and budgets. My Bill would ensure that the bodies that take thousands of decisions daily, which affect our lives – from local planning authorities to the Forestry Commission and Ofwat – must help create a better environment.

    Ultimately, this is about making sure that politics is less short term. In Wales, the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 and the Environment Act 2016 place legal duties on public bodies to consider the environment in everything they do – from planning to procurement and strategy. These duties have changed how public bodies operate.

    If we want our children to inherit a cleaner, better, wildlife-filled world, we need to ensure that decision-makers play their part. I hope the Government will support this important change when my Bill is debated today.

    Lord Krebs (Crossbench)
    London SW1

    Importing thousands of migrants, many low skilled , non English speaking from peasant back grounds , living here in different parts of the UK.. but needing to feed their multiple dependants.. by consuming our wildlife, especially swans , fish , illegally slaughtering sheep , cattle and perhaps even pet cats , catching our small wild birds using traps .

    Reading the above letter brought on my despair and anger because I know nothing will change , everything is vanishing , the nonsense re the Net Zero con is disguising the real elephant in the room .

    I mean, the BBC promote a pleasant Sudanese wild life photographer who is skilled at photographing , but will other ethnic minorities appreciate his skill, of course note.

    The UK is being defiled , polluted , ruined, we will soon have similar problems that the great wildlife areas of Asia and Africa are currently experiencing .. where they are eating EVERYTHING that moves .

    To repeat a segment from the DT letter , as the UK is over run with foreigners who care not a jot about our history, natural history or anything else most of us care about
    This is why I have introduced the Environmental Targets (Public Authorities) Bill, a simple measure to require public bodies in England to help deliver environmental targets already set by Parliament. The Government has a duty to stop wildlife declining by 2030, to achieve net zero by 2050, and to reduce air and water pollution

      2. Yes, more immigrants are really good for our carbon foot print, aren't they, Milibrain and Co?

    3. Stopping building all over the countryside would help. Stopping immigration will help. Clearing the country of illegals will help. All will reduce the demand for covering farmland and wild land with concrete, dolar panels and windmills.

      1. Stopping immigration and clearing the country of illegals will stop the need to build over the countryside.

    5. "Protecting nature" is the trojan horse that will be used to drive us off the land. It is very dangerous.

    2. Good morning DB,

      Where I walk Pip on the variety of Purbeck heathlands near me , I am still hearing cuckoos calling , are you hearing any where you walk your woofle?

      Bird watchers say this has been a good year for cuckoos , I just hope there have been enough insects for the host birds to feed the young .

      1. Yes. I still hear the cuckoo. I have downloaded an app (Merlin birdsong) on my phone. It hears the birds singing and tells me which birds I am hearing.

        1. The Merlin app is brilliant , we even sit in our garden and enjoy some of the unusual visiting birds that are flitting here there and everywhere .

    3. Good morning. MIne are grounded today. Besides it getting hot, Harry ran off yesterday. Dashed across a busy road on his own and was barking at the front door when i got back.

  25. Saudi Arabia & the UAE condemned Israel's strikes against Iran.

    Course you do.

    1. Meanwhile..
      Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer offers to step up onto the world stage and demands "all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently".

  26. Good morning Nottlers. 17°C and dreich on the Costa Clyde. Golf abandoned, glad I cut the grass after the walking football yesterday.

  27. A few questions:

    1. Where are the jobs? It's been reported that a quarter of a million have disappeared recently.
    2. What professional experience? Pedalling a food delivery bike?
    3. Doesn't 'legal' immigration cover any perceived shortages in skills?

    What drives the thinking of these people? The UK is crumbling around them and they wish more of the same as if these people will stop the process of decay.

    https://x.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1933287875887366392

    1. 'Professional experience'? Yeah – they're all brain surgeons and nuclear physicists.

    2. The 'They' obviously include or count the hundreds of thousands of people who have arrived on our shores, to not work for a living. They have no Identification or viable records of any previous employment. It's taken our politcal idiots 15 years to understand that. That's why they eff up everything they come into contact with.
      Once more !

    3. Wadda loada bolero.
      The art of covering up the horrendous ongoing political mistakes.

    4. Olney claims some of the 'asylum seekers' she has met were health care workers. Really? Isn't that the only growth industry in the country? Isn't it the largest employer of recent immgrants? Why didn't they just apply for a job? They'd have been waved through in an instant.

  28. 407340+ up ticks,

    Surely without radical change more funds for the guardians of law is along the lines of the peoples financing the forging of heavier rods for use on patriotic backs.

    By the by,

    The lords silence " On the bleeding odious obvious issue" is loudly shouting "fear" of consequences regarding their past services rendered.

    https://x.com/Fox_Claire/status/1932875796445565271

    3. Meaningless waffle. Peers get equivalent of £81,000 tax free salary for just 150 days attendance. Gee us a job mister!!

  29. Good Moaning.
    And the weather really is; not too hot and a breeze.
    Highly acceptable to a temperate climate gal.

      1. For the past 30 years I've seriously been wishing that I had an L1A1 wrapped in preservative, in sealed and desiccated storage hidden out of the way, but ready for use.
        Oh yes, and a sealed, airtight box of 7.62NATO.

  31. 407340+ upticks,

    Cannot see the problem really there is enough evidence now to use when this issue hits the mainland
    and sides are taken.

    The choice in question will be RIGHT or WRONG to resist the political overseers and their, as witnessed, enforcers.

    Dt,
    Blame game breaks out over Northern Ireland riots
    Stormont minister Gordon Lyons told to ‘consider his position’ over social media post before leisure centre fire

    1. Is it wrong to resist the state? No, defacto big government has an agenda and that agenda must be resisted.

      Are the rioters right to destroy property? No. It's just destruction – which is what I imagine most of the thugs there are after.

      However it comes back to the basic, fundamental cause: the immigrants who started this should NOT BE HERE in the first place.

  32. Morning All 🙂😊
    A Sunny warm start 20c already, thunder storms later. Hopefully that will save me watering the garden. But it's not unusual for rain to happen after I've been cleaning the windows. And not quite finished either.
    Today's headline…..Nothing or at the very least anything our government or Whitehall actually do, is designed to make any saver or tax payer's life easier.

  33. Five years after the covid v scam, apparently the Bilderberg group is discussing depopulation at their meeting this week.
    I wonder how long they will carry on pretending that over-population is the problem in public? It's a fable that will run and run in the west as long as they keep importing migrants.
    https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/bilderberg-elites-quietly-add-depopulation?publication_id=975571&post_id=165821943&isFreemail=true&r=28gmek&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    1. Depopulation?
      Just get rid of most white people and disease, famine, war and Islam will do the rest.

          2. Committee of 300 level? Not for them of course; for us.
            There is a theory that the China one child policy was the price for opening up the Chinese economy with enormous loans. The encouragement of lifestyles and sxual practices that don't produce children was dumped on the west from on high. The big vaxxing agencies were caught red-handed jabbing women in Kenya with anti-fertility agents.

      2. Yet when the white folk have been done away with, who will pay for the diversity? The state keeps forgetting this fundamental, basic element: white people pay the bills.

      1. I assume they mean dealing with the results of depopulation (caused by their policies).

    4. We don't need 80-90 million people in this country. A far better number would be 40 million, maybe 30. We are a high tech, high health, services economy. We simply did not want or need 30 million foreigners rammed on us.

  34. David Betz got mainstream coverage for this thesis (think how many people including academics are warning of dire events and are never given such publicity). He may well be correct, but it has a whiff of psychological preparation about it.
    In the US, the paid agitators, their organised riots and Trump's giant military parade seem to be pushing civil war closer on purpose.

  35. Not-So-Fun-Fact:
    Busloads of Schengen-free movement Roma shipped into Ballymena from Dublin and given free board & lodging by Home Office.. turn community into a lawless shithole.

    MSN promotes racist Ballymena explodes into anti-migrant riots.

    2. I think the rape of the Irish girl by pikeys was the kick off. To hear they're in court through an interpreter is disgusting. Don't both hearing their defence. Hang the swine.

      1. Pikeys are indigenous Irish Travellers with some Roma connections in the VERY distant past.
        The ones causing the problems are Romanian Roma.

    1. You can't really blame them as muslim here has done nothing but bomb, stab, insult, deride and kill Britons.

      Imagine what they'd do surrounded by people they really hate?

      1. No deal is better than a bad deal

        was one of the Evil Mrs May's first great lies along with

        Brexit means Brexit

        Johnson and Frost cocked up the negotiations completely and gave the UK a very bad deal and we have never had a proper Brexit.

  41. Good Morning!

    Back to the dire state of society today, with a reflection that it might be about time to re-arm the British people. In Arm The People? Restore The Right To Bear Arms , we look at how the State has gradually disarmed Britain, despite it being enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights that citizens of good standing have the right to bear arms, and ask if we should reverse the process and, if so, how. Let us know what you think, and take the poll at the end,

    Continuing our holiday from outrage, anger and righteous wrath (back tomorrow) Graham Bedford appears to have read ZYY's article yesterday and taken to seeking enlightenment by creosoting his garden fence while pondering on life, the universe and where have all the rabbits gone. Read Stepping out of the Warren and assist him on his journey by leaving a comment. Graham loves comments like rabbits love lettuce.

    As a diversion from the lunacy of modern Britain, Zhang Yingyue treats us to a spot of serenity and spirituality in looking at China's traditional Three Paths of the Soul , giving an insight to the harmony between Taoist silence, Bhuddist contemplation and Confucian morality.

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 17.7%; Solar, 6.7%: Wind 41.3%; Imports, 14.1%; Biomass, 7.5%; Nuclear 10.2% and Miscellaneous, 2.5%.

  42. No surprises

    France blocking Britain from EU’s massive defence fund

    Paris seeking to restrict member states to purchasing weapons made mostly within the bloc, diplomatic sources claim

    12 June 2025 8:18pm BST
    Joe Barnes

    France is trying to shut out British arms firms from the EU’s defence industrial programme despite the post-Brexit reset.

    A diplomatic source told The Telegraph that Paris was seeking to restrict member states looking to make a purchase under the scheme to weapons made mostly within the bloc.

    The European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) is being touted by the European Commission as the largest overhaul of the Continent’s industrial base.

    It will see EU cash pumped into joint procurement projects and the production of weapons, ammunition and other military hardware.

    EDIP, which has been six months in the making, is part of a wider scramble to spend €800 billion on defence by the end of the decade.

    French diplomats have insisted the tool should be solely used to boost firms based inside the EU, as well as Norway and Ukraine.

    This means any member states looking to make a purchase under the scheme will be restricted to technologies with at least 85 per cent of its parts made in the bloc.

    The demand means that Britain, which recently signed a flagship defence and security agreement with Brussels, will be shut out from the majority of projects being funded by the EU’s budget.

    The UK will also be blocked from joint procurement projects under the EDIP scheme.

    “Not even a month ago, we solemnly declared the turning of pages and opening of new chapters in our relationship with the UK,” an EU diplomat told The Telegraph.

    “Yet, at the first occasion to turn those words into action, we have slammed the book shut.”

    There are also fears the hard-line French position will see potential EU funding cut from factories producing Patriot surface-to-air interceptors, because they are a US technology.

    It comes at a time when Nato’s European allies and Canada were warned they would have to increase air defence systems by 400 per cent to protect against the prospect of a Russian attack.

    “It seems self-defeating to exclude investments in the one readily available air defence system, simply because it’s American,” the diplomat added.

    Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, has consistently pushed for EU defence schemes to be used to boost the Continent’s own industry, rather than allowing funds to be invested in foreign firms.

    Bogged down in red tape
    Many militaries across the EU, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Greece, have built their defensive strategies around the procurement of American systems, like Patriot air defence batteries.

    To mitigate concerns, there are discussions over allowing the transfer of technologies from non-EU defence firms to businesses based in the bloc.

    But insiders have said this mechanism will likely become bogged down in red tape, making it practically impossible to secure funds for.

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

    James Colgan
    13 hrs ago
    Why on earth do we in the UK accept this sort of treatment from the EU – mostly the French?

    Can't we have a PM that tells them where to stick it (and not very politely!) and tell them we are reneging on some of our recent "agreements"?

    I'm getting very fed up with our lack of backbone…

    Erica Below
    13 hrs ago
    What a surprise. Give us your fish and we'll discuss defence purchases. Thanks for the fish now f off you useless negotiators !

    J Long
    11 hrs ago
    Reply to Erica Below
    So long, and thanks for all the fish

    1. Agree re: fishing, a huge backstab from Starmer. As for military, UK will just tilt more to US and that's not a bad thing. Russia likely tied up a while longer. China is an interesting one to watch now. Only my opinions 🙂

  43. 407340+ up tick,

    If the two alledged offenders regarding the young girl abuse in Ballymena were indeed resulting from home office movement orders, as in, Dublin tp Ballymena, who signed these movement orders MUST be named being IT is a proven danger to the peoples / children.

        1. Not between the prods and papes this time though. But the local people were always volatile.

          1. Good point, N. More to follow no doubt. Sorry late reply, been to Rescue looking for replacement dog. No go, not going to keep looking, one will find me.

          3. ‘one find me’ that would be my choice, N…friend of mine was a dog breeder, she always said ‘one will find you’. He did, we had 15 good years 😆 thanks for good wishes x

          4. If you allow google to know which area you live in you can do an image search of local rescue dogs.

            You can always change the settings back to anonymous after.

            That was how i found Dolly the Fat Chihuahua.

          5. Been there, done that…thanks Phiz x….love the Fat Chihuahua, she sounds a keeper (bit like our Fat Border, who is now on a diet – supposedly)

          9. She did come a local breeder but as i described you can also find local rescues in the same way.

        2. A bit of serious twist though.
          Apparently the Micks & Prods are uniting to act together in this.

          1. Hoodathort migrant Roma gypsies could bring Protestants and Catholics together?

      2. They need to shut up for the sake of diversity (so i am informed)

  44. Rachel Reeves’s secret plan to save her job

    The Chancellor is gambling on new toilets and fewer sick days to balance the books

    12 June 2025 12:40pm BST
    James Baxter-Derrington

    While all eyes were trained on the despatch box as Rachel Reeves delivered her spending review, a newly created government department quietly published what could be the Chancellor’s lifeline.

    Claiming to have found more than £27bn behind the sofa, this document looks suspiciously like a get-out-of-jail-free card for the chancellor.

    The soporifically titled ‘Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans’ is the surprise result of the Office for Value for Money, which Reeves invented for her debut Budget and has until now been little more than a select committee punching bag.

    Mired in controversy over its chief’s salary, equivalent to £250k per year, and concerns it will waste taxpayer money rather than save it, Reeves’s brainchild has now created fiscal headroom out of thin air.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/rachel-reeves-secret-plan-to-save-her-job/

    By the end of this spending review period in 2028-29, the Government will supposedly have saved £27.7bn, slightly larger than a black hole. The annual saving for that year is predicted to be £13.8bn, more than doubling Reeves’s fiscal headroom, which has been rapidly dwindling as borrowing costs surge and growth forecasts are downgraded.

    Only published on Wednesday, these figures couldn’t have been factored into either of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts produced for this Labour government.

    So, where does this free money, sourced neither from the taxpayer nor lenders, come from?

    There are certainly commendable ideas within it, such as renegotiating contracts with external providers, using fewer temporary agency staff and, thankfully, calling time on a raft of consultants.

    Dig a little deeper, however, and these “efficiency gains” start to look more and more ludicrous, and surely unquantifiable.

    Apparently, we can calculate the millions of pounds to be saved from the Department for Education “getting maximum value from every pound of public money”. We know that “using digital technology more effectively” will add to Treasury coffers, and “improving efficiency” is apparently enough to put a pound figure on.

    We have factored in savings from hiring fewer temporary workers in the NHS, which will be achieved by “reducing sickness absence”. There is no detail how this might happen, but Office for Value for Money chairman David Goldstone, the man behind such great efficiency hits as HS2, has implicitly signed off forecasts based on people being sick less next year.

    Nobody tell the soldiers, but part of the Ministry of Defence’s £105m “energy efficiency” savings will come from installing low-flow toilets.

    HMRC’s plan to save £1.3bn is largely comprised of using computers a bit more, while nearly every department is convinced they can quantify the benefits of AI.

    At least these come with some semblance of possibility; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is going to save £14m by “merging websites” and restructuring its marketing team.

    It remains to be seen whether Rachel Reeves will indeed hold the document aloft in the autumn to declare her ‘iron-clad’ fiscal rules have been met, although it would be strange to leave billions of pounds of no-strings money on the table.

    But, like much of the Chancellor’s economic policy to date, I doubt it will stand up to much scrutiny.

    Peter Harrison
    21 hrs ago
    Time they shifted her. Can’t believe the damage done to the Labour party in the first few months. How can she be so narrow sighted and not realise policy like heating allowance would frame the next five years.

    Damage has been done!

    Louise Lawrence
    19 hrs ago
    Reply to Peter Harrison
    I think Starmer and Reeves between them will finish off the Labour party – neither of them has any political nous.

    1. This Goldstone dude appears to have mastered reading tea leaves.

      How much brass neck does a politician and her currently loyal minions need to have to even think up this rubbish, let alone publish it as a panacea for abject political and fiscal failure?

  47. Bruce Everiss
    2h
    Interesting development.
    During the last Iranian attack on Israel the RAF helped the Israelis.

    RAF Typhoons flying out of Cyprus were shooting down incoming drones / cruise missiles.

    This time our Government say that we are not getting involved.

  48. Did anybody see Patrick Christys on GB News last night?

    His 'panel' consisted of : David Cameron's sister-in-law, Emily Sheffield; Shaun Bailey (a Conservative Lord ennobled by Sunak); and a very strident Muslim woman, Fahima Mahomed, who has no desire at all to be integrated into British society and epitomises why the indigenous population should be more than wary of her. I am afraid that after a couple of minutes I had to grab the control and change channels.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a6c23113e524d89b09055b0748742c0dc3ff1e7d9d216f2364868ea71e2e435e.png

  49. Phew! Discovered a batch of extra large sandbags, so have just part filled 4 of them and carried them, together with 5 smaller ones I filled yesterday, up to the steps.
    Awkward to count, but there are actually 10 steps now. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f7f5657db5e4559691c662d5cacc7eb9bb33473ba212e86440c67d61e81f6726.jpg Backfilling need for top step. Bring it up to just below the level of the kerbstone, then get the next one placed and levelled ready for more backfilling. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bd606b70f0e59a049adcaa3109bef5480e21273659c28d9072c5b51a9121b16c.jpg Looking down the steps
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d65c86a323f332e3e6ef5604fe737306ff7f14db943f95bd2b3a19267293ce83.jpg Fill the bags here: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2273d25412dd887f5477af11ffd622e3951bdfc6f52956dbd70eb079ce7291be.jpg Lug them over to here https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cd82999578a33d59fa2422da4614a9573b7c1f79d0a7db117662f625a1f9c75d.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/75472e70ac645504115fa10d4d4eb84f0556e97c73e7b5cfe0731e42a8557024.jpg Then 35 steps up to the steps https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/081addce375aaf8f8576c01e6b5a7296ac42390876358c590158178b4600bd8c.jpg Looking back https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f23bb8f774706aa0898ebca06035c99b13c5cd3200882eb34140ffc89ca3fc64.jpg

  50. Well, nice to be back – we were on a Douro cruise last week and neither of my usual browsers could get this page to load as the Wi-Fi was so poor – I did try the awful Safari which did load but wouldn't let me log in as "Safari is unable to open the page [to log in] as you are not connected to the internet" despite the fact that it had just loaded the NTTL page!

    1. Welcome back and did you have a good time?
      Belated Happy Birthday by the way.

      1. Wi-Fi snags apart it was a good trip – not too hot either despite what the MSM might have claimed, although I'm glad I wasn't taking part in the "fun-run" in Salamanca!

    2. Trouble is when you have carp internet connections, they drop in and out all the time, so what worked a miinute ago might not work now, but may well work in another minute or so,

    1. I missed loads [well, a few] on FB too – couldn't load that properly either!! Anyway, thanks to all whom sent greetings!

  52. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0da141fe39d8af8d881f9214c29024ebb2c695d87e3fdebe59375e4721e666cc.png

    Red
    Foulan
    57m
    Israel has been fighting Iran and its allies for decades as the West, in the main, looked the other way, ignoring the ever increasing threat posed by Iran. After the despicable attack of October 7th the West issued the usual condemnations and claimed it stood beside Israel, but within months, after Israel had, perfectly reasonably, struck back, began turning their self righteous bleats against Israel, and, despite the perfectly clear evidence, many refuse to believe the October attack ever happened in the way it most clearly did, just as many still refuse to believe the Holocaust actually happened. For the sake of the Western world I hope Israel does what the West is too scared to do.

    fred finger
    Foulan
    2h
    Iran left to do it, by Obama and Biden.

    1. Chris K
      2h
      Predictable mealy-mouthed repsonse from Starmer. Iran, a sponsor of world-wide terror for decades, has declared its aim of eliminating Israel and has been actively pursuing nukesdespite sanctiones for years. It is not just Israel that is concerned about how close Iran is to creating nuclear weapons. We shoudl be thanking Israel for having th eguts to take action and backing them to the hilt. "Restraint, calm and diplomacy' achieved absolutely nothing

    2. From the way the US removed civilians related to the military a week or so ago, you could tel that something was going to kick off there.

  53. Nahh! Keeps me fit!
    At least I got the heavy work done in the shade whilst the sun was still behind the hillside and trees!

    1. We already have that. Big government uses it in London. This is why the diversity cover their faces.

      As always, the 'selling' is to prevent crime but the reality the state will put their weapons to is oppression. Soon it'll be you can't shop without presenting your ID. Then fuel, energy, meat, chocolate. Then you'll have to use it to log a journey. If going out for lunch they'll want to know who with.

      We're told it's to prevent gimmigratio,, but that's a blatant lie as the invasion could be stopped tomorrow, but big government doesn't want it to.

      It's disgusting that this is so clearly the plan and the fascist Left think this is a good thing.

      1. Indeed. China light years ahead.
        You can't even marry & breed unless your social credit score is aligned.
        Broadband speed. Right to a passport. Train ticket. Hotel booking.. computer says No.
        My favourite.. in Xinjiang your food choppers have a chain & chip monitor.

      2. How on earth can it identify an illegal immigrant, presumably before they land here, to prevent the illegal entry? Complete and utter nonsense.

      3. How many people on here oppose a burka ban? They always present people with a compelling reason to pass the laws.

        1. I doubt if any of us here would oppose it. But if they are going to rely on facial recognition they could pose a problem.

          1. But if we are against facial recognition, we should support the right to cover one’s face.

          3. I agree, but in a society where the government wants to use facial recognition, I might want the right to cover my face.

          4. I have read that one way of evading facial recognition cameras/software is to put masking tape over ones eyebrows, since these are a critical part of facial recognition.

          5. Even makeup can be used, I think. Also changing the way one walks, as gait is part of recognition. But society is already broken if the authorities or businesses are using facial recognition to spy on us, so we ought to keep the right to cover our faces.

  55. Some flower photos taken just now in the back garden: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01b2b41243031955a91ed1f94d02a8026e35a655884749c08bd7f81be4a62d21.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b0ace0db087f888a8f29d4eb85e8d1800af5bae8eb0b4a01070106aa6aac49e6.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1d9787b47e30834617036a0ace4a72d0ea8dc1f1ec80eed670d624424a42d625.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c7924e11b7cbed4ba368037be9b1c7cf7cf54f1fd09fecd1a929fc42e3c72418.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b7a4eb1987aa143d4c284ee31a80cb860e92a056b998d8ef7cbb368e6b56881c.jpg

  56. Taxpayer Bill for Wind Farms to Be Switched Off Hits New Record

    For 13% of last year the taxpayer was paying for wind farms to be switched off. The National Energy System Operator’s annual report shows the grid operator paid £2.7 billion to “balance” the electricity supply and keep the wind farms switched off. This is a record. Miliband is proposing to build far more in the South of England…

    Wind farms have long been constructed outside of grid constraints and it is common for them to be “constrained off.” In those cases taxpayers are on the hook twice…

    Neso said in its report: “Wind curtailment is currently a major driver of balancing costs. This is because a large proportion of wind capacity in GB is connected in Scotland, which at present is a constrained region of the network.” Those damned high summer winds are also blamed…

    Analysis shows that had the UK continued with gas-power systems since 2006 consumers would be approximately £220 billion better off in 2025 currency. Chance would be a fine thing…

    13 June 2025 @ 10:32

    1. We are borrowing (mostly to pay debt interest) £151bn a year. If we hadn't wasted that 220bn that figure would be vastly lower – and then lower still because we would have far cheaper energy and the economy would have grown as a result.

      See, the US which has grown 54% since 2016 whereas we, thanks to statist ideology have contracted.

  57. An unusual word:
    Wordle 1,455 4/6

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

    1. You're getting a healthy amount of electricity from the one panel. We have 12… I think, might be 15 as there's some on the back that you can't see with the eye and on a really, really good day can generate 4-5KW/h. Problem is, all too often we get 1.

          1. Well we've got the rainwater butts…..and me with the watering cans. OH was too busy organising his swift boxes and surveillance system to put any effort into gardening.

            The larger double box by the front door cane away from the wall last weekend and is now only held up by the tool shelf at the top of the ladder. He's now not strong enough to lift it down. I've banned him from going up there until there's someone around at the weekend to help him.

          2. The installation was necessary to allow MOH’s greenhouse plants to be watered unattended whist we took holiday breaks of about a week in her coastal lodge. Whilst she has now sold the lodge due to increasing annual ground rent we keep the greenhouse watering running to save gardening effort – the sun and rain just carry on hands free.

            The system has been running now for over ten years. I just need to clear the water jets and pump filters once a year.

      2. I've got the maximum of 16 for the domestic rate, they supply most of my electricity and heat the water before supplying the grid

    1. Took the floofs out to the doggy pool and it's difficult to keep them out of the water.

      They're putting in a physio bit where there's a turbine to push water against the dog, the sort home swimmers have to make up for a lack of space. Guess who made a beeline for it and whuffed and puffed against the 'current'?

      Oscar is still reluctant to 'go' and do things so had a paddle in the shallow end. I think he's still needing a lot of reassurance as he's spending more time coming back to me and looking at me, leaning on.

      Lucy hasn't been to the pool as much as the others but took to it like a duck. She was actually really good with Oscar and shifted over into the 'deeper' part of the shallow (it's a big wedge shape) so he had more room to move about and flopped about on her back.

      1. Sounds wonderful, wibbling! I love watching dogs swimming! Our lovely Hector and his glorious sister Lyra just adored it! Lyra’s ‘replacement’ tried to drink the North Sea last time we took her to Elie!

        1. Dolly at the beach. Completely ignores the water. Harry just barks at it.

          I never should have let them watch Jaws.

    1. I just find their whole thing antisocial. It's two fingers up to this country, it's norms, values, attitude and just bringing their own nasty culture with them, not even bothering to integrate or respect the superior nation they're living off.

      1. 407283+ up ticks,

        Afternoon W,
        It is a part of the “belittle the host nations peoples”, a campaign run by the governing overseeing political cartel.

      2. Certain peoples always seem to think they are superior in every way despite history showing that their achievements have been minimal. North Koreans are apparently of the same belief.

      3. Indeed. The people who co done this would be up in arms if Brits went to live somewhere else and refused to fit in.

    3. Fahima Mahomed
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/702572a5aefdd5114373ec0bfd721cee5f2218397278f9b2b59ade168835b58e.png
      She will assure you that Muslim women have a completely free choice as to whether or not they should wear the burqa.

      And anyone who questions her is a racist.
      https://x.com/fahimaM100/status/1933448493546213611?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
      https://x.com/fahimaM100/status/1933448493546213611?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

  61. OT, but do you get advertisements at the top of the NoTTL page, including ones for "the most beautiful women" – who all have very noticeable embonpoint?

    1. Yes, I do too! And they’re all very peculiar photo-shopped shapes! Shoulders at impossible angles and ludicrous arm shapes!

    3. Never very beautiful they mostly look like tarts. And anything but attractive.

    4. Never very beautiful they mostly look like tarts. And anything but attractive.

    6. I get a few boring ads when i use the phone – just scroll past them. Mostly for funeral plans and the like.

    7. Mine are for claiming compensation for car loans. As I don't drive, I think their algorithms need a dose of WD40.

    9. I get them for various things American. I assume Disqus picks its ad feeds according to where you are signed on from.

  62. Private school families lose legal challenge against Labour VAT raid
    Judges deemed the policy ‘proportionate’ in its aim to raise extra revenue for state schools
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/13/private-school-families-lose-challenge-labour-vat-raid/

    This, along with the judge's decision not to reduce Lucy Connoly's term of imprisonment, shows just how complete the evil Starmer's control over the courts and the whole British legal system has become.

    Can anything be done – or is the UK completely beyond repair?

    1. Then the judge needs to revise his opinion now Starmer has said the revenue raised from this won't go on more state school teachers but housing.

  63. Stephen Pollard
    Israel’s bravery shames our pusillanimous Prime Minister

    Twice before Israel has saved us all from nuclear enemies. Now is not the time for ‘restraint’, but for Israel to finish the job

    It would, to say the least, be helpful if we had a Prime Minister who understood even his own supposed principles. Since taking office last year, Sir Keir Starmer has been admirably strong and consistent in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, at least in his statements, if not in actual firepower.

    But his response to the Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear and military sites is not just naïve, it is pusillanimous and shows how empty a vessel he really is: “The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no one in the region. Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.”

    Starmer grasps the need to stand up to Putin’s aggression, but crumbles into spineless diplo-speak when confronted by a theocratic tyranny.

    For a leader with a clear understanding of the Iranian threat – of reality, in other words – there should be relief, not consternation. Just yesterday, for example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations, refusing to answer questions on uranium particles found in undeclared sites in the country and the stockpiling of uranium enriched to nearly weapons grade. Iran then revealed it is operating a previously secret new uranium enrichment centre. The threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon has not been theoretical but very real and increasingly imminent.

    According to Sir Keir, “Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.” This is the precise opposite of what it is the time for. Diplomacy led us to the disastrous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which relaxed sanctions on the regime, handed it huge amounts of money from oil exports, and thus funded not just the Iranian proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis but the nuclear weapons programme.

    In this sense Israel has been acting not only on its own behalf but on behalf of all those Middle Eastern states which have been destabilised by Iran – and on behalf of the West itself.

    This is a familiar story; twice before Israel has saved us all from nuclear enemies, in 1981 when it destroyed Saddam’s reactor in Iraq and in 2007 when it destroyed Assad’s facilities in Syria.

    One irony of this is that the so-called Free Palestine brigade, who will doubtless be back on the streets soon, should be cheering Israel today – if they genuinely cared about securing a Palestinian state. There are reports that the UK is on the verge of recognising such an entity next week at the special UN conference called by France. But there will never be a secure and stable Palestinian state while Iran continues to spread its malign influence through its proxies – and should it acquire a nuclear weapon the prospect of a Palestinian state would be the first casualty.

    Contrary to Sir Keir’s spineless timidity, this is the time for action by a clear eyed state which understands the threat posed by its enemy and is willing to act to defend itself by neutering that threat. Far from stopping now as Sir Keir urges, it is essential that Israel finishes the job it began last night. Israel has not started a war – it has prevented one.

  64. I may have posted this before – but it is still relevant.
    https://scontent-cdg4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/347420136_10161182617889954_5154867228076575812_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s565x565_tt6&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=FB_r5G8cBF0Q7kNvwFcMJXg&_nc_oc=AdlGhKP9mRugm21xOyKvfTLiE4Hb-myvot12B_ehq1Mpk7c8K_29PNnsditGskxaX9FJo3itmHJiWArAOltnf4Ic&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg4-2.xx&_nc_gid=cpvbv8a4LU253tZ8CRDCLQ&oh=00_AfO5HmmfAMrDSrV0U02cfuf1zm9w0YDfEE6wDTTPbxQnzg&oe=6851D135

    1. Honestly, future generations will regard us as complete savages with the primitive belief that burying carbon in the ground would change the weather.

    4. You just know that in any interview with pros and antis that a BBC interviewer will treat the former with reverence and the latter with contempt.

  66. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0f1b39835ca006f650c07fd256b4e0f9dee52f1f452f05d8748486b456615959.jpg
    Part of our garden and in case the gentleman who was a total pedant but who no longer posts on here , forgotten his name , recommended a couple of varieties of climbing rose when we had a new telegraph pole in the garden a few years ago, drat , cannot remember his name , but one of the white climbing roses is Seagull , and the other 2 , drat another memory lapse .

    1. jdgarfunkle? he was keen on roses etc…….and so was our old friend (ex-friend) peddy.

      1. Peddy, yes it was Peddy, what on earth happened to him ..

        He knew Poole very well and talked about the history of the Mulberry trees scattered around the town ..he was very rose orientated .. very knowledgeable , also recommended the yellow buddleia which isn't ready to flower yet, but which has a delicious scent when it does.

        He wasn't very well was he?

        1. He got nasty and Geoff banned him. Then he came back as Peter Anderson. He didn't seem too well so Poppiesmum went to see him and he gave her short shrift. We haven't seen him since then. I could search the death registers but they currently only go up to 2023. I'll have a look.

          1. Closet misogynist. I expect his Spanish boyfriend looked after his bank account him.

          4. The solicitors usually put a statutory advertisement in various outlets, in case there are any creditors of an estate.

          5. Didn't Garlands stay with him and look after him for a while, and he appeared rather ungrateful?

        2. I think he's still alive….. no results from 2021 to 2023. Could have died more recently of course.

    2. Do you do laundry every day? I would collapse the rotary and store it in the garage.

    4. Another Climbing rose is a Dog Rose, usually wild, each flower has five pink heart shaped petals. Ours grows through a Rowan tree, that our neighbour keeps butchering. And has now just a few roses left on the vine.
      I think i know who you mean mentioning the Pedant.
      The problem might be TB if the pole is still in use the owners probably have the right to cut back the growth.

      1. It is our Pole , Eddy, the previous pole was replaced because it had rotted , it was almost forty years old .

        The electric bods compensated us , we don't mind it in the garden , I can grow lots of things that cope with the creosote staining .

        1. Trust you are getting a yearly payment (wayleave) for the pole. I have 6 on my croft, I get nearly £50 a year for the electric ones and have already had a £600 lump sum from BT for theirs

        2. No problems TB, you might need a bit of extra spaced out support for the Dog rose. But it worth a try.

    5. Lovely garden, Belle! So very English – and that’s a very good thing!
      I’ve just been putting washing out and as I came back to the house I heard an unusual bird call. Turned to see a beautiful male bullfinch and his fledgling in one of the greenfly-infested honeysuckle bushes at the sitting room door! The daddy was very busy collecting them and shoving them into the very chatty baby’s beak! Absolutely delightful!

      1. So pleased for you Sue

        How lovely , yes what a thrill.

        They are rarely seen , aren't they.

        We had a pair of bull finches in the garden during the Spring , they must be nesting somewhere close.

      1. So pretty,

        We have one on the wall at the bottom of the driveway , and we have also had Humming bird hawk moth hovering amongst the flowers.

        2. I think i was out walking our dog in the local woods when I first saw one, I snapped a twig off and pushed into the ground along side the Rowan tree and the stem is around three inches thick now.

    1. He could also be very nasty and unforgiving. Even very Christian Conway would be hard pushed to forgive him.

        1. Not as far as I can see. I looked from 2020 to 2023 but 2024 is not yet available.

      2. He use to pick on me too often and I told him where to go eventually.
        I think he use to be a dentist in Cambridge.

        1. I told him too when he was picking on your grammar. He fell out with Garlands and Phizzee – but he really excelled himself when Conway was coping with his wife's dementia and subsequent death. He was very nasty at that time and Geoff banned him.

          1. Goodness me , that all comes back so clearly, he was so acidic and waspish .

            Who are the anonymous ones who uptick , do you know who they are.

            Moh is trying to muster up energy to mow the lawn , so muggy here . It will take him an hour or so , and then the hedges will need doing , but not yet because I think birds are still nesting .
            My raven paid a visit this morning .. beautiful creature .. he arrives at about 11am .. and sits on next doors chimney to see if the coast is clear ( there are too many cats ) Moh had a disaster with a brown loaf he made in the bread machine , it was lacking in something and soggy in the middle .. so I tore it up and threw it it on front lawn .

            Raven flew down , as he usually does , had a drink from the large water tray then did what he always does, gathered the bread into a pile , and grabbed a huge mouthful and flapped off , no idea where he is flying to, there is a wood about a mile away , maybe there .

          3. Is there? I didn't know that. Must have a look when I next visit my brother.
            Apart from the Tower of London. I've always thought of ravens as living in the west of England.

          4. You are correct in that Ravens were driven out of Suffolk a century and more ago and went west so to speak. To my surprise I saw Ravens in Abbey Gardens last year in Summer and made the association with the monastic site.

            I suspect there are just a few Ravens in Suffolk and have read of rare sightings a few years ago. They were once numerous or so I have read.

          5. You are correct in that Ravens were driven out of Suffolk a century and more ago and went west so to speak. To my surprise I saw Ravens in Abbey Gardens last year in Summer and made the association with the monastic site.

            I suspect there are just a few Ravens in Suffolk and have read of rare sightings a few years ago. They were once numerous or so I have read.

          6. I went to visit him just north of Cambridge. Garlands was taking care of him and he treated her like dirt. Spooky and weird cat man.

          8. Garlands had taken the wine there herself. Spending all day at the hospital advocating for him and looking after him and in the evenings she drank the wine.

            He wasn't out of pocket.

            She also spent hours cleaning his cat shit infested house and an oven that had never been cleaned. The work tops needed burning.

            I know who i believe.

    2. You could ask yourself why neither of his sons would speak to him. He cut them out of his will.

    1. I leave mine up in as well, I wash every day , I have a line full of sports stuff and work gear for son , just put it out , and it is hanging , no breeze .. might rain so hot for m , sticky .

      My rotary is extra heavy , we have had several since we have lived here , and this one is well bedded in because of the weather we have ..

      I used to remove the lighter ones , but it is a real faff taking to the garage backwards and forwards , anyway something always need drying , golf kit and the rest , dog towels beds etc !

      1. I generally do just once per week but it stays up. I fold it but that's all. Two loads out this morning and it's quite breezy here.

  69. For 10 days we are a woman free household. Lucy is being counted as an honorary chap due to her being a dog and not really caring.

    In reality it will make no difference as the chores tend tot be done by yours truly anyway. I do want to tackle the bathroom shower screen glass though, as no matter how I approach it it always seems to come away streaky.

    2. After cleaning use newspaper or similar to dry. If you still have streaks you haven't cleaned it enough.

        1. I've just finished ours, I'm sweating buckets now.
          I'll bet it rains later. It usually does.

          1. Clean windows and a workout, well done Eddy 🙂 It’s the Brit Isles – always rains….:-D

    4. We use a daily shower spray that clears i,t with a once a week rubber blade all over.

  72. Just posted this on Faceache:-
    Hells bells! That was a close one!
    Working up the "garden" when there was a large banging and clattering with a sudden mechanical whine.
    Looked down to the road to see a 3 or 4 axle skip wagon, no idea who the operator was, roll back onto all 6 or 8 wheels after nearly coming over on the corner.
    Scrap metal skip on the back was full of steel girders etc.
    Yes, I accept the Via Gellia is a route for HGVs but for God's Sake, take it easy lads!

    1. I was executor for both my parents, having been named in their wills, and placing advertisements for creditors was one of the essential jobs, as otherwise the executor(s) could be personally liable (gulp) for any debts which the deceased had run up, and about which the executor(s) may well be completely ignorant.

      The standard places for the advert were the London Gazette (for wills proved in England) and a newspaper local to the place of last residence of the deceased. The London Gazette would be the place to look for a definitive result, but I don't know whether the information is freely available online, or only available by subscription.

    2. No, it is irrespective of whether there is a valid will or not. Otherwise creditors might not realise that they needed to put in any debt as a claim on the estate.

  75. With all these disgraceful people, what a terrible state of affairs we have in our country.

  76. I had quite a lot of email correspondence with him but he got very nasty in the end. Not specifically to me but to others.

    1. I know Geoff got complaints from him about me. Oh how i laughed. Though i did say to Geoff i would moderate my tone. For the sake of Nottle harmony.

      1. Glad to hear good news and folks enjoying themselves. I am in no way jealous. Though i do like it when people post pictures of their far flung adventures or even their beautiful flowers and gardens.

  78. He was very good on English grammar but, to coin a phrase, he could turn on a sixpence and become plain nasty.

    1. I quoted an example of how German uses compound words – short words strung together as one. My word contained a double s, as in ss. I didn't use the German symbol β. I can imagine him hyper-ventilating as he typed his correction using the β.
      Seems trivial I know but there's a limit.

  79. "Asian grooming gang"? Like they're Chinese hairdressers. Pakistani rape gang?

  80. Asylum Seeker Charged With Threatening to Kill Nigel Farage Appears in Court
    Court News UK reports that Fayaz Khan, a 26-year-old asylum seeker, has appeared in Southwark Crown Court today accused of threatening to kill Nigel Farage. Mr Khan, who has a tattoo of an AK-47 on his face, made the alleged threats on his way from Afghanistan to the UK to claim asylum…

    Farage has previously said in a statement that the videos “caused significant distress.” The last time Khan appeared in court he spoke through a Dari interpreter…

    He previously appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court in April and did not enter a plea when the charges were listed. The threats are alleged to have taken place between 12 and 15 October last year. He has been charged with threats to kill and persistently making use of a public communication network to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety…

    Intriguing
    34m
    This was the guy the government promised would never make it to the UK? The same guy they reached out on EUROPOL to their European 'friends and partners' to pick up and prevent making it to Calais?
    The guy that UK BF physically brought over to the UK and then didn't arrest him?

    That guy?

    Colin Macinnes
    30m
    A prolific criminal who threatened to behead Aled Jones and attacked a Bridgerton actress was not deported back to Algeria as he was under 18, the Home Office has said.
    Zacariah Boulares admitted stealing a phone from Genevieve Chenneour, 27, and assaulting another customer when he appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court last month.

    The Algerian, now 18, has 12 previous convictions relating to 28 offences, magistrates heard, which include stealing a Rolex watch worth £20,000 from a 78-year-old man at Paddington station in May 2023.

    2. To claim asylum.

      You're sodding joking? I imagine Starmer will offer the sewage a penthouse flat though, so spiteful is he.

    1. They wouldn’t recognise justice if it jumped up and bit them! Bunch of a*seholes!

          4. Just back from a bit of shopping! I was goaded into it! See above! I’m blaming Phizzee!

          6. Regretably, the 'ooman race' race would soon be extinct, without a*seholes

            What ges in,must come out

    2. Which UK lawyers? We know Hermer is a paid lackey of a corrupt state. Name the others !

  85. Had the perfect hot day lunch today. Braised Ox liver, heavy mashed potatoe, peas and carrots. A glass of strong ale before lunch . and a strong red wine with it. Just come round from my nap.

    2. Excellent. You would need a nap after a lunch like that on a hot day.

      Do you mean heavy as in heavy in butter for the mash?

      2. We eat minimum fruit & veg and lots of meat, fish, cheese. Like we were brought up on.

        1. I’ll be eating my 3 rasher and one fried egg bacon sandwich around 9am tomorrow. In two large slices of home made white Bloomer.
          Saturday treat.

    4. The ale sounds good, Johnny.What was it? I love a cold Guinness on a hot day – the flavour is still there despite the chill, and it draws the heat out of you.
      Very civilised lunch!

  87. Quite often they are care home girls. There was a report recently that though the care home staff know what is happening they are not allowed to intervene.

    1. The parents were ignored. There was a good podcast last week on it. I’ll look it up.

      Can’t find it but i posted on it at the time.

      1. I know of a report of a father banging on the groomers door and the police said if he didn't stop they would arrest him. His underage daughter was inside at the time.

      1. Journos if they wish to keep their jobs ignore it.I t has been going on for at least 40 years. Tens of thousands of young white girls. Even government ministers instructed the police that this was a ‘lifestyle’ choice. Even though then as now they could not legally give consent.

        Now. We are seeing calls for the age of consent and abortion changed to suit…guess who.

  89. I was just replacing a couple of dead AA batteries in the multiband radio I recommended for FIL and I picked up part of a Radio 4 discussion about fats. The expert said that triglycerides made their way into belly fat but all the other stuff made its way into the body.

    When I looked into HDLs, LDLs and triglycerides I discovered that the NHS individual measurement limits were not consistent with the total target limits.

    With the knowledge that our bodies, including our brains, consist mainly of fat it seems that Homer Simpson's diet of doughnuts is an essential part of Western life. The Radio 4 expert however was invited to give a speech in Japan about maintaining the health of the Japanese city dwellers by eating seafood.

    1. I read that many Iranians are dancing in the streets at the prospect of the fall of the Mullahs and their hateful regime.

      We were told that Iran has the finest air defences and best military in the region. Where were they?

    2. The Romans did the same thing.
      That was the fate of Sejanus' daughter when her father attempted to overthrow Tiberius.

  91. General director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi says nuclear facilities 'must never be attacked'. I wonder which side this Argentinian Roman Catholic is on – Muslim or Jewish? hard to tell. It's a Mad MAD world (Mutual Assured Destruction).

    1. Billionaire Braathen set to leave Norway for Switzerland, due to too heavy taxes on capital here (Labour government…).

      1. £140 for two epipens (not necessarily the branded Epipen) does not seem expensive if it could save your life.

  94. Just spent 1 1/2 hrs creosoting the fence and the bin compound at the end of the drive, used my oil spray gun on the compressor or it would have taken me a day. Thank god for the slight breeze or it would have been too hot. Now having the obligatory mug of tea

    1. Having the right tool makes things so much easier. Spray gun, jetwash, circular saw…

      1. I'm very well equipped with tools Paul, unfortunately I had to sell all my machine tools (lathes, milling m/c, pipe bender, plasma cutter, welding gear) when I moved house as there was no room in the new one

        1. That's a nightmare, FA.
          Just bought a mig welder suitable for car body work, and heavier sections too. Firstborn can weld, I'm crap.

        2. I basically swapped out most of my mechanical stuff for woodworking tools starting when I did an amount of remodeling on our previous house – which luckily corresponded with me being able to afford new cars! No space for both, sadly.

          I completely "finished" the bare lower level on this house – all 2,200 sq ft of it as the builder wanted a lot extra to do it. A decent (heavy, rigid) table saw and a heavy duty mitre saw were essentials, along with the usual planers, sanding staions, etc., etc.. Table saw and its extensions happily allowed me to slice up 4' x 8' oak plywood, and make long cuts on the oak I was using for window trim and sills. It's a "vintage" Sears Roebuck massive cast iron thing with a heavy duty 240V motor. A decent blade and it will happily chew through oak boards all day, no issues.

          Still got my old oxy acetylene set up if I need it, though.

  95. Moh has finished mowing the grass, he ate a cheese and tomato sandwich, we had a cup of tea, this tum thing that is affecting me has turned me off food, the smell of it and the taste of it .. had a very busy morning doing house stuff , our water is very chalky , limescale builds up so quickly .. then washed kitchen floor .. and the laundry dried on the line despite no breeze ..

    I don't sit and sunbathe like Moh , he is lying on the garden sunbed in the garden , he goes very brown , both sons love the heat , I don't .

    Living in Africa as a child killed that , when I was 26 years old I had a small / tiny melanoma removed from my leg , so the consequences in those days were dire , I was uninsurable for 9 years ..

    I don't think people understand that the skin is our largest organ , and should be more careful.

    2. I live in an area where the subsoil is limestone – and I have well water, which is of course extremely "hard" because of said limestone. However, a modern automatic water softener fixes that and delivers soft water. Just needs a couple of big bags of salt every now and then. Been doing its job since we moved here back in 2008.

        1. It can do.There is a tap off the system ahead of the softener if "natural" water is required. But not wanting the pipes to scale up, it does not get much use – apart from watering when required.

      2. We had ours taken out , Jack , it was old and useless .

        We couldn’t afford to replace it at the time , but I wish we had .

        Chalky here , and the kettle becomes furred up in a couple of days .

        Well water , wow that is quite something .. do you have an aquifer running below?

        Here in this village many people have old wells in their gardens some fifty feet deep, but the water source has dried out .

        In our previous house 20 miles from here , we had a well which was also dried out.. I don’t know how these things work re the water table , especially after long periods of rain .. some wells dry out and in other areas spring fed!

        1. The whole area has aquifers. I seem to recall that the well guy went down about 100' to hit water. The thing with limestone is that it is porous, so the aquifers refill quickly. Never had a problem even when there was a declared drought.

          I always tell people I don't use water, I recycle it – it comes out of the ground at one end of the property and goes back via the septic field at the other end – about 350 yds away.

        2. Firstborn has his own well. Never even ran dry a couple years ago when the stream did… And you'd pay good money if he bottled and sold the water! Tastes wonderful! 6 monthly bacterial surveys show no life.

        3. I remember looking dizzyingly down a well in the grounds of Sacombe House near Ware in Hertfordshire. The well was about eight feet in diameter and 250 feet in depth. The bottom was dry.

          I reckon the well dated from the early C18 when Vanbrugh was working on the site. The present Sacombe dates from the early C19. There was also an underground tunnel which had been utilised for large 9” salt glazed drainage pipes. Its route across fields was discernible by a series of iron access covers visible when crops had been harvested.

        4. I remember looking dizzyingly down a well in the grounds of Sacombe House near Ware in Hertfordshire. The well was about eight feet in diameter and 250 feet in depth. The bottom was dry.

          I reckon the well dated from the early C18 when Vanbrugh was working on the site. The present Sacombe dates from the early C19. There was also an underground tunnel which had been utilised for large 9” salt glazed drainage pipes. Its route across fields was discernible by a series of iron access covers visible when crops had been harvested.

        5. We have a salt filter for the general supply but have a small carbon filter fitted to the mains below the kitchen sink for drinking water and a separate tap in the sink. We use the carbon filtered water to fill the kettle and have no furring.

          We used to have an RO (Reverse Osmosis) filter beneath the sink but it proved difficult to find replacement filter parts.

    3. Being a child of Nigeria helped me later working in North Africa deserts – Libya, Sudan, and Middle East. 60C was the hottest (according to the jeep's thermometer) but all was well with me & team: I knew how to handle it as a European.

      1. I am very fair and blue eyed .

        My sisters are auburn , they can handle heat , I can’t .

        Khartoum .. so hot , we went to school early in the morning, then everything shut down at mid day , and woke up at 5pm ish .

        Those were the days .. early 1950’s before we ended up in Egypt then Nigeria.

        Khartoum life was like a perpetual mirage , I feel so sorry for those caught up in the war .

        1. Worked a while in Khartoum. Good place.
          I'm fair too, blue eyes… Just learned to handle it. I get more sunburn in Norway than ever did in Africa, as the air is so clear. Add dust, and the UV transmission is much teduced.

  97. Anonymous civil servant on Wokery in our wonderful cicil service (envy of the world etc):

    “Life as a civil servant in Whitehall means accepting the politically correct worldview without question and being thankful for it. Features of this include, as you might expect: ‘gender-neutral’ toilets; Pride flag lanyards; being expected to celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility; and pronouns listed in email signatures. As a gay man, it was baffling to me to be lectured constantly about the so-called ‘LGBT community’, a confected identity group into which I had been categorised against my will. But this was just the superficial stuff. Underneath lay the cultural superstructure of Whitehall: the application of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) – or as I think of it, Conformity, Inequality and Exclusion – to all aspects of work. The effect is to ‘inclusively’ ensure that only conformists are hired and promoted, and meanwhile to cancel any heretics who might not adhere to the general groupthink.

    ‘Bring Your Whole Self to Work’, we were often being told, as part of a general so-called ‘#BeKind’ ethos. Yet for anyone with at all dissident views, the reality was a self-censorship minefield, where bringing your whole self was frankly best avoided. Indeed, one had to be cautious at all times where one stepped.

    Plenty of examples spring to mind. I recall one meeting of policy officials where a colleague, who I’ll call ‘John’, commented, mid-flow, “and I know everyone wants to get into curriculum decolonisation policy”. The words just rolled off his tongue, matter-of-factly. I had to bite mine, so as not to exclaim: “Really, you know that everyone does?” It was simply not possible to disagree with him. I knew that to question whether the dogma of “decolonisation” was indeed universally affirmed would have meant a black mark against my name.

    One might think I am exaggerating, but I had in fact been previously suspended and investigated by the Civil Service for having expressed non-PC opinions (quel horreur), not even as a civil servant, but several years before I joined. I was the target of a witch hunt, in which an attempt was made to apply departmental policies retroactively against me, though thankfully it didn’t succeed. And I was far from alone in being persecuted for my beliefs. A colleague at the Office for National Statistics was dismissed for refusing to undergo diversity training in the wake of the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter riots in 2020. Just for that his career was ended. The experience left him psychologically broken and dependent on medication. Pour encourager les autres.

    ‘John’, meanwhile, has an easy time in SW1 because he holds the right woke views. Doors open easily for him. One day he was parliamentary assistant to a Labour MP, the next a senior civil servant supporting a ministerial private office, and now he works in policy for an international corporation. He had even attended one of the right universities – the LSE, founded by the Fabian Society. All it takes to go far in the corridors of power is the right opinions and the right credentials. I envy him no more than I might envy a snake oil salesman.

    Ideological conformity is also ensured through the Civil Service Code, under which civil servants must act with “integrity”, “honesty”, “objectivity” and “impartiality”. Noble goals, one might think, but these standards apply to some civil servants rather more than to others. I recall being at a departmental away day at the Oval in 2020 where, in a speech to some 100 staff, the then director, a senior civil servant, openly mocked Conservative Parliamentarians over their Brexit deregulation plans, without fear or consequence. Meanwhile, part of the disciplinary case against me was the mere fact that I had attended a protest – before becoming a civil servant – against the Mayor of London and commented to a reporter on his failure to tackle knife crime. I was told this meant I could have violated the Civil Service Code on impartiality grounds, and even brought the department into disrepute.

    To be a civil servant is to be constantly lectured about ‘diversity’, yet diversity applied in the Civil Service really means conformity of belief, and that only those who do conform can feel safe. This ensures that only policy officials with the right ideas for legislation, regulations and guidance are hired and promoted, and that everyone is on board with the same agenda. The result is a closed system and culture where no one can dissent and those civil servants with the right beliefs are in complete control. This is why the Whitehall Blob has so much power: UK legislation is conceived and developed by policy officials, and the vast majority of it takes the form of regulations (especially statutory instruments) which are signed into law by ministers without any parliamentary debate or scrutiny. Provided a department’s officials are all on board with the agenda, it is therefore very easy for them to manipulate ministers and in effect to decide the law.

    Here’s how they do it. All policy proposals created by officials have to be submitted to ministers for approval. But civil servants know that ministers are always busy with constituency matters, their media image and countless other commitments. They don’t have time to read detailed policy, so they can be easily choreographed. There are numerous tricks. When a policy proposal is presented for approval to a minister only two options are presented. One option will be doing nothing or will be presented as something unpalatable, and the other option will be the one the civil servants recommend (the one they really want). In theory the minister can take whichever decision he or she wants to, but the minister is directed.

    Next, ministers may be told that there is a pressing international treaty that must be followed and which takes precedence over domestic concerns (right-thinking civil servants always prioritise international esteem over the national interest). And often ministers are warned that a statement, termed a ‘commitment’, has been made in Parliament previously, meaning the incumbent minister is duty bound to the same course of action. He is not, of course – he can make up his own mind – but he rarely ends up doing so. This dynamic means that even supposed cabinet ‘collective responsibility’ is an illusion, since the policy detail of other government departments is developed by the civil servants working for them, rather than ministers. ‘Collective Whitehall groupthink’ would be more apt.

    On the rare occasions that ministers do push back and exercise their own judgement, they will typically find themselves accused by civil servants of ‘bullying’ and be likewise bullied by a compliant media for making a fuss until they resign.

    In short, Yes Minister‘s Sir Humphrey lives on in woke Whitehall today. He may not look the same as Nigel Hawthorne in the 1980s but his Machiavellian methods continue.”

    2. Glad I retired in 2011 – it's got much worse since then. Diversity training was three days out of the office and a complete waste of time.
      We had "Values" that we had to adhere to……

      1. "OUR VALUES" are printed on the back of my ID card. I won't copy all of it but yes, there are phrases like "we're independent, impartial and truthful" and "we're kind and we champion inclusivity".

        1. Pardon my swearing but it’s so childish, isn’t it? “We’re kind and we champion inclusivity”. Why don’t they also say “we act as if we are 5 years old”?

    1. How the mighty have fallen. That marching reminds me of most current and recent governments.

      1. I met a former Button Boy in Addenbrookes a few years ago. He explained that there was a sturdy metal lightning conductor rod projecting above the button which he grabbed to haul himself up onto the button. Still grabbing the conductor he then pulled his jumper down over the metal bar.

    1. We haven't seen the sun all day and a swathe of clouds and heavy rain have been surging across Cornwall from the SSW.

      2. Ah, getting cloudy now , so off to take Pip spaniel out for a walk , probably Arne , so I can hear the cuckoo before she clears off!

        1. Have a good time. I think our local cuckoos are already gone. The call of Africa.

  102. CAPTION CONTEST https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eee9be3b023123291bef2941fe9659435e208c04e4c6be5b107220564e093bc2.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2a524a1849f44c2949f03bae75bd04e2a3a4c34608740b5b54dfd9aff55de025.png
    Captain Weird
    2h
    Great news! This hospital is now part of the Mauritius Health Service.

    J Sharp
    2h
    "I was an economist at the Bank of England you know?"
    "I brought her in, nurse, she's not taking her meds again."

    Where’s your tool
    2h
    Wes ‘she claims to have a growth but no one can find it’

    1. "If you know what's good for your health, you'll all smile while I talk bollocks!"

    3. The good news is that there is no trace of a brain tumour. However, there is bad news . . .

      1. She is insane though. Only someone insane would believe that hiking taxes and waste, the causes of the economic collapse will resolve the collapse – caused by massive taxation and state waste will solve the problem.

    5. Look , you must get better quickly , another fifty possible doctors are making their way across the English Channel now.

      Please do not take Air India flights for granted , we will have a gap for awhile .

  103. JackCoitus
    55m
    Trump: I Offered Iran Leaders a Deal, Now They Are All Dead

    I hope they keep stalling.
    I really do.

  104. The story of the single survivor of the India air crash is surely a miracle amongst so much bad news today. According to the Mail, it is thought that he was sitting next to the emergency door and it came off.

  106. Wordle No. 1,455 4/6

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

    Wordle 13 Jun 2025

    Twaddle for Par Four?

    2. Wordle 1,455 4/6

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

    3. Another Bogey for me today, on a bad run!

      Wordle 1,455 5/6

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

    4. That was a fortunate choice.

      Wordle 1,455 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟩⬜🟨⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    5. Lucky with a birdie today.

      Wordle 1,455 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. I liked Switzerland for its frequent national referendum based political decisions.

  109. https://order-order.com/2025/06/13/exc-casey-rape-gang-review-to-be-published-next-week/#comments

    Righty. The report will:

    State that white men are the majority abusers
    Refuse to discuss muslim
    Say the problem is a lack of diversity and will demand more
    Demand more money is wasted on 'communities'
    Praise Labour for importing ever more foreign savages.
    Blame white people.
    Lie, cheat, abuse.

    If anyone thinks thiswill acknowledge the problem an be honest that massive uncontrolled muslim gimmigration is nothing more than cultural rape, I've a bridge to sell them

  110. HMRC has revealed the top reasons for fraudulent work expenses – and most are accidental.

    Of course. Why didn't we see that? How stupid of us!

      1. Lords atop of their allowances now get an extra £65 when sitting and residing in their flipped London residences which they own. I doubt very much they get the double council tax as second home owners.

        What do i know about anything. Though Black cab drivers have been more fruity.

  111. Nice day out at Coniston again today.

    We planned to drive to the main jetty and take a launch around the lake, getting off at Brantwood , John Ruskin's former house, and catching a later launch back to Coniston town.

    Unfortunately, as there was a wind speed slightly greater than a mild breeze, all the launches had been cancelled – elf'n'safety you see…..

    We decided to walk the 2.5 miles there (and 2.5 miles back!) and, although it is around the lake perimeter it is very much uphill and down dale – in fact I could have sworn it was uphill both ways!

    The upside was that Brantwood is very interesting and has a lot of Ruskin's possessions and collections – including some Turner sketches – and the gardens are very well turned out. The entry to the house and gardens is £16.50 each but you get 12 months access for that (like a number of places in the Lakes).

    We also got to sit outside the cafe and take in one of the best views around (it's a stock photo but you can see the cafe tables at the bottom of the picture). Despite the wind (?) the weather was very pleasant.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5b94d88420b0782dea045577f9629ef386a5d2b70123382eb0678f756d3f5e5a.png

    1. Had a cycle-ride in Netherlands that was downhill there and back. How does that work?

    2. Lovely, it's been 40+ years since I've been there, but I still remember the 'Lakes' beauty.

  112. Off to Nice airport to meet the two octogenarians joining us in Roquebrune for a few days.
    They'll be company for my 93yr old mother :).
    I'll just do as I'm told and fetch, carry and drive.

      1. Deborah works so hard. Double shifts. Then has crusties to deal with while on holiday. I think she should accept my invitation to my

    1. Apparently border force is under existing law are not allowed to question them. Smell anything?

  115. 407340+ up ticks,

    May one ask,
    Will those politico / pharmaceuticals that pushed these allegedly evil potions via the NO JAB / NO JOB and likes route, ever be brought to book.

    This whole odious, evil issue has, I do honestly believe,
    killed with clinical disregard and vile forethought in regards to the peoples of these Isles.

    "Lest we forget"
    The moving chairs.

    https://x.com/MelissaRedpill/status/1933138224618123556

    2. The covid nonsense still works in favour of the 'plan'. Complete loss of trust in institutions we would normally rely on.

      1. 407340+ up ticks,

        Evening Pip,

        Sad to say, in one respect that time will prove IMHO, the un-jabbed right

      1. Because they hoped it would go away. Not seem relevant. Old news. Like Ricky 'slash the throats' guy.

        Of course Lucy is a threat to national security so was locked up immediately.

        Then we have the Manchester savages who attacked policewomen and broke bones still have not face '''justice'''.

        I think even the most dense people in the UK will get the 'message' soon.

    1. I don't think the parasite class cares – it's what they want isn't it? the peasants fighting among themselves while the dollar burns and our wealth is stolen.

    3. DWP should be sending out these cards:

      "Sorry to learn of your Anxiety / Depression/ PD / ADHD, There's a wonderful cure called work it will take your mind off things!"

    1. That is far too long a video at this time of night ! Post again in the morning when my painkillers have worn off. Alternatively some tit action. 🙁

        1. You would particularly appreciate the ad that he does for skincare half way through…

      1. Skip to the yellow dots, N? you'll get the gist of it…(I agree some videos can be self-serving and boring…as with life…:-D)

    5. Stop moaning you guys, just set the speed to 1.5!
      After all this time, it does remind one how rotten the British media establishment is.

    6. Thank you Geoff. I remember GBN early days, the studio lamp falling over, the sound not working, Andrew Neil crying – seemed to sharpen up with the appearance of Farage. I also remember Steyn covering vaccine injury, one of my personal interests, and also interviewing at least one of the Rotherham girls, another interest of mine. Obviously, he had to go, whereupon he had four heart attacks quick succession, hair turned white, in a wheelchair for a while. I still read his blog most days. Pleased he recently won his case against Michael Mann, although I understand an appeal may be in the offing. I used to read his column in the Spectator (possibly in the days of Conrad Black?). Gove would never touch him, of course, possibly too busy with other things, dancing for one. Hope all good with you, Geoff, love Kate x

      1. That is a begging stare. Ooh poor starving me.

        Dolly has a different stare. Feed me or i will kill you. :O(

          1. Thanks Belle for lovely comment. I will try but I'll have to ask him in the workshop, as I don't know how to do that. He says he's getting two chihuahua/pekinese crosses (puppies from the same litter) tomorrow. I never know when he's joking…….

        2. My recently euthanised dog (15 years and counting), fixed his stare on me the first time we met (take me home, take me home, take me home). Never took that loving gaze away (unless eating, sleeping, fighting with/running away from another dog, or being at the vet where it changed to an ‘I may hate you for this’ look).. Dolly sounds a treat:-)))

          2. Thanks, Phiz…I know many here have had similar experience. I sense I’m moving from grief into grateful for the time I had with him, and for his character. Plus I have his ashes, with a certificate stating they are his alone which I’m choosing to believe 🙂 I am relieved he’s no longer suffering, liver seemed to pack in more or less completely.

        3. Spartie is more subtle; he stares at the food and wills it to jump off the plate.
          If that fails, he gives us the full Chihuahua with a side order of Jack Russell.

  122. EXC: Casey Rape Gang Review to Be Published Next Week

    Pitchfork Revolt
    3h
    Delayed so the government can suggest some edits and modification to prevent an outraged public reaction? Or am I just being cynical?

    Monty
    3h
    Don't worry folks- I already have a copy- here is the public version…
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b24c91864e83209a936fdfc7e52b43371fcbd25d20e222658e613f171fdbacda.png
    GenghisMcCann
    Monty
    2h
    Bit like the loony in porridge land back in the day
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4877ef431e8426710b640674a1296a06c07a51ce3950ff74dbd88396b6591e1.png

    1. NB: every time the name Mohammed/ Mahomet etc… appears, write "John".
      Change all surnames to "Smith".
      When in doubt, wield black felt tip with enthusiasm.
      Oh, and delay the report for 20 years.

  123. More to this than meets the eye, especially in Labour. What happened to those three young Ukrainian lads?

  124. Britain will regret abandoning the North Sea now Israel has attacked Iran
    The UK is at the mercy of a volatile energy market because it cannot rely on its own resources
    "Britain will regret abandoning the North Sea now Israel has attacked Iran"

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/06/13/britain-will-regret-abandoning-north-sea-israel-iran/

    BTL

    "Britain will regret abandoning the North Sea now Israel has attacked Iran"

    It is worse than that: Britain will regret ever having elected this extreme left Labour government who put a complete lunatic in charge of energy.

    This will result in the end of the United Kingdom.

  127. Did a couple of jobs this afternoon.
    Planted one of my seed grown fruit trees in front of the lower terracing wall. I've no idea what fruit seed it's from, but after getting dried out a few years ago, it lost it's vertical spike but it's got two still thin, but still strong horizontal limbs that makes it perfect for the location.
    Last year, (or was it 2 years ago?) when building the lower wall, I salvaged a load of (I think) bluebell bulbs and planted them into a trough full of soil and compost.
    I've been sifting them out of the soil and sorting through them so today I planted them on the uphill side of the boundary wall against the road. Hopefully they should flower there.
    As I was doing that I was also filling a smaller builders' bucket with rock and stone that had rolled down the bank over the years and carried them up to the steps where they bulked out the backfilling for the latest step I put in place.
    Went and got a 2nd bucket of rocks and decided that, with the sun being full on to the steps, it had become too much of a sun trap and I was absolutely sweating my cobblers off before I even did anything, so called it a day and came in for a cold bath.
    Tomorrow I plan to finish off backfilling and then putting the next kerbstone in place ready for that to be backfilled.

    Another couple of kerbstones after that and that should see that project completed.

    Here's a few more photos that I took this morning:-
    Looking down from up the hill behind the house, here's a loaded limestone dust tanker heading towards Cromford probably from Longcliffe Quarries; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e51ad93cbae3f5e627028ae9ce44de128020ae793edd5f6816ad7b0c24b0e82.jpg And here's an Ben Bennett's tanker heading up to reload; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3125d6b8dee77b20ab063370bb32013a360ac4c9a0d8c3585ab3c885e568a734.jpg This was meant to be a photo of my Egremont Russet tree but it appears to have blended in a bit too well with the background! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3d3f08a3c46bf9434b8d274fe4c8361f7df362818796ed05b490448a9c72a9c1.jpg A view of it from the other side! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4588d7734da44992fa7a4f9b88927175cf15d91078a5082dd94f811a5236148d.jpg Looking down onto the building site next door. Effectively, they've demolished the place except the front and Bonsall end walls and built a new house on the façade. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8c97787ad6d2595a8c85f27b6029a1f4b3a0f51a6a0a3b8676e8724c9fbd8689.jpg Leaves from one of my seed grown saplings, a sweet chestnut, that I've planted on the Bonsall side of the garden. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/98bb74ffc9973d0bf922b0e3eb5c3129b9c8e4681865f96c602abae0d3151cb1.jpg Two of my seed-grown saplings in this photo. The one in the foreground is an apple that actually produced one tiny apple last year when still in the pot that actually tasted very nice and to the left & uphill of the bucket is the aforesaid chestnut. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/78add0529a03c170c2bc6ed0da6bf20ab5e60e73ccf213763a6fe83464f83a14.jpg Not sure if this was a peach or nectarine, I planted it several months before the others, but when the woodsmen were felling the trees a couple of weeks back, it got snapped when one of the trees fell onto it.
    However, as it has sprouted a couple of leaves I'm hoping it will recover. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2173de64f7b374b2820ce691172f5e46b835559cb76b45ecc7651fb74abb4641.jpg

      1. I'll never get it finished.
        All I am doing is laying the groundwork for someone else to, hopefully, take over.

          1. They will probably conclude -"New Evidence proves the Aztecs landed in Britain…"

          3. And talks of Marx and nuclear fission
            With all a rustic's intuition

            Reminds me of John Betjeman's marvellous poem, The Village Inn

            THE VILLAGE INN
            by John Betjeman

            "The village inn, the dear old inn,
            So ancient, clean and free from sin,
            True centre of our rural life
            Where Hodge sits down beside his wife
            And talks of Marx and nuclear fission
            With all a rustic's intuition.
            Ah, more than church or school or hall,
            The village inn's the heart of all."
            So spake the brewer's P. R. O.,
            A man who really ought to know,
            For he is paid for saying so.
            And then he kindly gave to me
            A lovely coloured booklet free.
            'Twas full of prose that sang the praise
            Of coaching inns in Georgian days,
            Showing how public-houses are
            More modern than the motor-car,
            More English than the weald or wold
            And almost equally as old,
            And run for love and not for gold
            Until I felt a filthy swine
            For loathing beer and liking wine,
            And rotten to the very core
            For thinking village inns a bore,
            And village bores more sure to roam
            To village inns than stay at home.
            And then I thought I must be wrong,
            So up I rose and went along
            To that old village alehouse where
            In neon lights is written "Bear".
            Ah, where's the inn that once I knew
            With brick and chalky wall
            Up which the knobbly pear-tree grew
            For fear the place would fall?
            Oh, that old pot-house isn't there,
            It wasn't worth our while;
            You'll find we have rebuilt "The Bear"
            In Early Georgian style.
            But winter jasmine used to cling
            With golden stars a-shine
            Where rain and wind would wash and swing
            The crudely painted sign.
            And where's the roof of golden thatch?
            The chimney-stack of stone?
            The crown-glass panes that used to match
            Each sunset with their own?
            Oh now the walls are red and smart,
            The roof has emerald tiles.
            The neon sign's a work of art
            And visible for miles.
            The bar inside was papered green,
            The settles grained like oak,
            The only light was paraffin,
            The woodfire used to smoke.
            And photographs from far and wide
            Were hung around the room:
            The hunt, the church, the football side,
            And Kitchener of Khartoum.
            Our air-conditioned bars are lined
            With washable material,
            The stools are steel, the taste refined,
            Hygienic and ethereal.
            Hurrah, hurrah, for hearts of oak!
            Away with inhibitions!
            For here's a place to sit and soak
            In sanit'ry conditions.

          5. Thank you , Richard , and I have just this minute finished reading that to my Richard , who is watching the golf on his laptop!!!!!

        2. Dear Bob!

          I feel exhausted listening /reading about your hard work , you are a man with a mission, but have you ever thought about moving to somewhere less exhausting to maintain

          1. Judging from his "Grab a Granny" postings I had him down as a Missionary….

  128. How irritating can this be?
    A slice of ice cream in a bowl, yet I can't eat it because every time I try & take spoon slice off the end, the bloody thing flips over with a huge "Crash!" and no chip of ice-cream in the spoon!
    Argh!

      1. Not really. I get 100 pills for three months. I don't take them every day. Because i do know about addiction. They are co-codamol . Weak. But they do allow me some respite.

        Walk through the pain he said.

        I might consider other avenues later given they are not prepared to operate. Saying that i know you situation was more serious and i do hope for the best for you.

        1. Thank you
          Greatly appreciated.
          My care here is so much better than the UK that I hesitate to comment.
          .

  132. NHS to cut waiting lists by directing patients to GPs for treatment
    Most of those on the 7.4 million-strong list are outpatients who, under Wes Streeting’s ten-year plan, would be treated by community services closer to home    .

    https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/nhs-to-cut-waiting-lists-by-directing-patients-to-gps-for-treatment-l8ff6wvh5

    EMWood
    46 minutes ago
    Replying to Jane Bowskill

    If you are retired, then you will be old enough to remember how things were in the past. If people were ill, they would walk to the local GP practice, talk with a receptionist and then sit in a waiting room until your name was called. If your illness was serious, you knew that you called always count on the Dr coming out, day or night if necessary. This system functioned for many decades and all were happy. It was only from the 60's that we started to import millions of newcomers, and the result is the same as it is for housing, schools etc. Too many people without the necessary increase in infrastructure. It doesn't help that Labour screwed up the system by giving Drs. new contracts, cutting hours and allowing them to send everyone to A & E

    Alec Bradley
    2 hours ago

    "NHS to cut waiting lists by directing patients to GPs for treatment"

    It's hard enough to get a GP appointment already. What's it going to be like from now on?

    Reply

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    Share
    Simon Sandler-Vallance
    2 hours ago

    So the GP refers you to a specialist, who will then refer you to your GP for treatment adding to a system that is overwhelmed already. I guess it is a 10 year plan which is the average time it takes to get a face 2 face with a GP.

    Reply

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    Margie Stevenson
    1 hour ago

    So waiting for hospital appointments will fall but waiting times to even see a GP never mind get treatment will increase.

    Reply

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    j rees
    2 hours ago

    Well that's a laugh and a half out loud. Gps around our way ( Wales ) clearly don't want to see anyone and anything vaguely urgent is referred to A&e ( who don't want to know you. Just spent £500 to get my son seen by ent private as his sinus issues are not getting seen to 3 months of problems befo…

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    Diane Stubbs
    1 hour ago

    Bless him. My pharmacist advised me to go private if I could afford it.

    Reply

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    1 reply
    peter ellis
    2 hours ago

    I could have suggested that myself. GPs have had it cushy. The contract given by new labour in 2005 slashed their hours by fifty per cent, they were not required to make evening or week end visits and gave them a sixty per cent pay rise putting them well over 100k then and this has been one of the …

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    Jane Bowskill
    1 hour ago

    Don’t remember my hours being slashed by 50% or pay increased by 60%.

    Gave up own on call after I did 19 visits one Sunday and was called four times in the night, with a whole day’s work ahead on Monday.

    My half time was 35 hours..where is your evidence

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    Del Greenwood
    2 hours ago

    Recently requested to see my GP, was told first appointment was in 3 weeks. So now they are to handle a lot of outpatient appointments I assume the time will in future be 3 months.

    Reply

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    Sophie Dickinson
    34 minutes ago

    Where in the UK do we need to live to have only a three-week for a face-to-face appointment?

    Reply

    Recommend (1)

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    2 replies
    G Smith
    2 hours ago

    Best of British Wes. Good idea but doubt it will survive first BMA/GP strike.

    Reply

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    peter ellis
    2 hours ago

    this is just playing around the edges. Real reform is nowhere in sight.

    Reply

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    Judith McAuley
    1 hour ago

    I have not been able to access an NHS GP appointment and as a result 2 pre cancerous conditions would have gone undetected, had I not been able to afford a private GP consultation. Disgraceful service from a GP surgery that simply does not appear to wish to see patients. And I am not someone who bo…

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    Jane Bowskill
    1 hour ago

    Too few GPs , ever rising workload , an patients who expect the NHS to have dial a doctor in the same manner as ordering a pizza

    Reply

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    1. That makes absolutely no sense.
      "We want to get you off the waiting list for a new hip, your GP can do it?"
      It'll just be a never-ending circular sequence of appointments punctuated by six month waits!

      1. This proves how blooming dangerous and idiotic Wes Streeting is , he hasn't a clue .

        So a novice GP from a foreign background is instructed to give a woman an internal examination, no gynae qualifications, insert a urinary tube into the bladder , check out breasts for lumps , drain cysts , oesophageal intubation , oh yes , what could go wrong!

        1. My daughter, as part of her post nursing degree training as a prescriber, asked me to do the illustrations for her thesis on self catheterisation for both males and females.

          Having read the text of her thesis I was able to understand enough of the DIY process to undertake the appropriate illustrations and provide her with a printed illustrated thesis.

          I can now clear obstructions in MOH's air threading overlocker tube channel using a length nylon fishing line.

          2. I find it very pleasurable when I clear the blockage after seeing fluff falling out of the other end of the tube.

          5. An overlocker is a type of sewing machine that has a cutting blade for finishing seems.

    2. More and more people will sign up for private care – main problem there is that as far as I know it's not a 24/7 service (and not Easter or other national holidays). We may say GPs aren't 24/7 either but A&E is, which on the rare times I've been is absolutely rammed, as is the pharmacy (not always 24/7 either) waiting for a script. We have far too many people using the NHS, and a good number of them have never contributed, it being free at the point of use (NB not free as and of itself, those who pay/paid NIC contributes/contributed). So if that's not you, take out a private care policy, or use a pared back NHS service at a few specified locations. And you'll need papers/passport to access the service, so don't chuck them into the Channel. Next up – blackmarket jobs…….

  133. Goodnight. My last lunch cost me over £300 and i didn't get to eat anything. Dog sitters, Bouquets. Travel arrangements. I wish i were a Lord.

      1. Kind of you. Family always get to me. Meticulously planned over a period of weeks and at the last minute…

      1. Not the Lanesborough one with the Nottlers. This one had family members involved. Never again.

  135. Israel-Iran latest news: Tehran fires ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv
    LIVE
    Updated 1 minute ago
    Sirens sound in Tel Aviv amid Iranian reprisals to Israeli strikes on military and nuclear sites that killed several top generals.

    2 minutes ago
    8.35pm
    US helps shoot down Iranian missiles
    The American military helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two US officials said on Friday, reported Reuters. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not provide information on whether fighter jets or warships carried out the operation.

    11 minutes ago
    8.26pm
    Netanyahu urges Iranians to rise up against their leaders
    Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has called on the Iranian people to rise up against their regime in the last few minutes.

    “The Iranian regime has never been weaker, this is an opportunity for the Iranian people to stand up against the regime,” he said.

    Netanyahu added that he and the Israeli people stood with ordinary Iranians.

    17 minutes ago
    8.20pm
    First responders in Tel Aviv say at least five injured
    At least five people have been injured in Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, emergency responders in Tel Aviv said.

    Advertisement

    “As of this moment, teams have gone out to search seven locations where reports were received in the Dan Bloc [a suburb of Tel Aviv]”, said a spokesman for Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service. There were also reports of people being trapped in buildings.

    https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-iran/article/israel-attacks-iran-latest-news-nuclear-site-qltfw980m

    1. Israel is doing what the West should have done years ago.

      They will be castigated, but they are doing the whole world a favour.

      1. I honestly think people are going bonkers at the moment. They won't get us to sacrifice our children in the meat grinder without a "convincing" reason.

  139. Sputnik One Coconut Moderator https://disqus.com/home/discussion/the-coconut-whisperer/thecoconutwhisperer_some_history_british_sanctions_against_israel/
    20 minutes ago edited
    Good night all, I am signing off early due to the situation, we have had 3 waves of attacks on us today one of 100 attack drones this morning and 2 waves of 100+ each ballistic missile's tonight – at least one office & residential tower of a 4 block complex hit and damaged in Tel Aviv from a missile – 2 medium injured & a dozen or more light injuries – it being Friday night the offices were empty and only a few of the top floors are residential and there was some damage, and also some residential buildings in the adjacent town of Ramat Gan were hit causing casualties and residents trapped in damaged buildings have been evacuated & there are also light injuries in a town up north too tonight from a missile hit, right now at 23:05 PM we are still under IDF home front orders to be near shelters as a 3 wave of missiles could be fired in the early hours of the morning

    3
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  140. Turning in now before I doze off in my new reclining chair again.🙄
    Good night all Nottlers.
    😴

      1. Similar here, bats didn't stay out long, guessing not many flying insects. 'Night, Belle…and everyone x

      2. I had to get out the hose this afternoon and water all of our plants front and rear.

      3. It feels thundery here – clouded over by tea time – I'm hoping it will rain so I only watered the tomato plants. We had a wonderful display of swifts flying round our house as we had dinner.

        Our lovely neighbour saved the day with the box perched on top of the ladder – he lifted it down with no bother. OH has realised that at 82 he is no longer strong enough to do that kind of thing.

        1. I am glad the bird box was sorted , men and ladders .. hmmmm.

          Not seen many swifts here , but have seen them in Wareham .

          Still some thunder but no torrential down pour .

          1. Nothing coming down yet – will have to water tomorrow if it stays dry. At least the rain yesterday has filled two of the butts.

  141. Right – that's me off to bed – just looking at Bob's photos makes me feel tired! Good night all and thanks for your company today.

  142. Well, chums, it's time for bed. So I wish you all a Good Night. Sleep well, and I hope to see you all early tomorrow.

    1. It's a pity that Rupert is soon have an unfortunate accident.

      Why are you still up?

    2. Rupert Lowe is not up-to-date with political realism. These "adult males" to whom he refers may well identify as children, babies and women, and it is a violation of the Equality Act, Diversity and Inclusion to suggest otherwise.

      Has he no Pride?

        1. We elected the worm to wriggle for the duration of this Parliament. It is how we choose to be governed. The law insists it is so. All we can do is to pay up and look happy, since to look otherwise is a hate crime.

  145. In the grip of a cannabis-induced 'psychotic disorder', the Brazilian is said to have strangled, skinned and deboned his cat, Wizard, before attempting to eat it.

    Minutes later, Monzo is alleged to have set off with the animal's remains on a baking tray, a number of swords and a ball-bearing gun on a mission to kill, shouting 'does anyone believe in God'.

    Khan gets a knighthood.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14811521/Cannabis-changed-claims-sword-killer-hacked-boy-aged-14-death-hallucinating-cat-causing-Armageddon-court-hears.html

    Well whoopie fucking doo.

    This is what you get from progressive liberals…

    1. Ahhh, you cant beat a bit of diversity.. Morning, just off to Gatwick for the trip to Dubai and beyond….if traveling isnt stressful enough. I like to live dangerously.

    2. Nowadays being drunk when driving and causing an accident/fatality is used as mitigation. As will be the cannabis induced psychosis. And Khant wants to legalise cannabis!

    1. Deep question. What is “home’? Who am “I’? Was the bus going to deviate from the route again? (Yes…)

      Actual answer: I damn well hope this is my own bed I’ve woken up in, as I crashed so hard I forgot to clean my teeth!!

  152. Good morning, everyone. Back from the dog walk and I realise I am slowing down a bit.

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