Friday 15 August: A fresh inheritance tax grab would be Rachel Reeves’s most shameless move yet

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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689 thoughts on “Friday 15 August: A fresh inheritance tax grab would be Rachel Reeves’s most shameless move yet”

  4. Good morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff, for today's new NoTTLe site. Wordle today was a Bogey – honest!

    Wordle 1,518 5/6

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    1. Good morning Elsie and all
      There are too many options today!
      Wordle 1,518 5/6

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  5. First! (edit: OK, first to start typing, not first to post. Apologies for the confusion 🙁 )
    Morning, all Y'all.
    15 August, and here in Oslo region, it's the first day of autumn. I can tell, because the air is suddenly softer, there's dew on the ground, and this typically hammens about mid- August. Yesterday, nothing like this – we had summer weather, feels quite different.
    That's what I love about living here – you can tell to the day when the seasons change!

    1. A lovely post, Herr Oberst, but sadly – by my reckoning – you were fourth today. (Good morning, btw.)

    2. If the air today could be bottled, you'd have to call it Bunnahabhain, and get it from Skye.

      1. Didn't know that – now I'm no wiser, just better informed, with the help of Google as well.
        That explains the absence of our Polish carpenter who's laying new floors. He's likely at Mass.

    1. You've never tried Bunnahabhain (pronounced "Bunn a have-in) – finest Scotch whisky there is, like you'd expect Gods promise of eternal life to taste and feel. The first day of autumn here in Norway, with the overnight softened air and sudden dampness and feeling of softness always makes me think of that particular Water of Life.

      1. Thanks for the explanation, Herr Oberst, but I much prefer a cup of tea at this time in the morning. Chacun a son gout, as our friends across the channel say.

        1. Oof! Whisky at breakfast was never my thing. Maybe a Grappa slung into my espresso, but there's rarely time to enjoy breakfast, and too much to do (including motor vehicles) to take alcohol at this time of day. Keep the Water of Life until the working day is ended, and then savour the love from that bottle – in small volumes.

          1. I tend to save my whisky until I have a small tot to see in the New Year, and another one with my Haggis, Neeps and Tatties on January the 25th to celebrate Rabbie's birthday.

          2. That's also Mother's birthday. No wonder she's lasted so long, it's all those good thoughts you've been transmitting, Elsie!

    1. It's something that creeps up as time goes by. Too many fingers in the pie have made it un-eatable and it's rotting in the dish.

    3. King Charles to wind up his formerly loyal subjects. Again.
      We don't want any cultural divides in Britain – we want to get on with being English, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish etc in 2025.

      The only way he will get the loyalty of those committed to islam is to announce that he has converted. No doubt he is perfectly aware of that.

    5. It was mentioned that he was going to make a public announcement this week.
      Is that it…….more diver city bull shiite.

    6. It was mentioned that he was going to make a public announcement this week.
      Is that it…….more diver city bull shiite.

    1. You surely aren't old enough to remember that, Anne? A re-enactment, perhaps, or a 10-year anniversary… not the real thing?

      1. Thank you for the kind thought.
        However ……
        Oh, and like many children of that era, I had a very difficult relationship with my father, because he was a strange man who 'appeared' after a long absence. In his case after a year at Haslar being treated for TB.
        He found what he viewed as a spoilt brat and reacted accordingly. I remember screaming the house down when I realised one day that my mother had gone to work and I was alone in the house with him.
        Thinking back, I suspect my mother rather exacerbated the situation; she could be very manipulative. It must have been very hard for my father; exhausted post-TB; unable to get a job because of his medical history; and a wife and child united in their dislike of him.
        Some homecoming.

        1. Poor man.
          He would have been so looking forward to the comfort of being back with his family, too. So, that reception would have been hard on him.

          1. As a child, you don't look at things that way.
            I now realise how awful it was.
            A scenario repeated thousands – possibly millions of times – across Blighty between 1945 to 1947.
            Actually, thinking about it, does that partially explain the 'youthquake' of the 1950s and 60s? We were kicking back at what we viewed as repressive parents?

          2. It takes a few years to develop an understanding on how one's behaviour affects others – and the maturity to see that in others, too.
            I'd doubt that he took it personally, but it will still have upset him back then.

          1. Gradually. I now realise we had similar tastes and sense of humour, but again those links were blocked. My mother worked hard in awful jobs to pay school fees, but at the same time she also undermined her husband and his relationship with his daughter. My brother, on the other hand, was golden balls. (Another very common family scenario.)
            Basically, my parents were not a good mix.
            Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

          2. When my children were young and we knew a lot of families with primary school aged children, it was almost a cliché – the family with a boy and a girl where the boy was the favourite.
            All one can do is try to break the cycle oneself.

          3. I'm glad to say that both our sons are aware of this.
            One son has two daughters, now grown up; so the problem didn't arise.
            Older son has one of each and is extra careful. His ex-fiancee was the daughter with a younger brother; Sonny Boy Snr spotted the 'golden balls' syndrome right from the start.

        3. Gosh, Annie, it's sad how children suffer needlessly when their parents are unable to cope well enough to gently explain some of life's problems to their children. I am so glad that at least you now have such compassionate insights as an adult.

        4. Your dear poor father , so sorry Anne ..

          He would have been in the part of R N H Haslar hospital that faced across the sea wall onto the Solent .. that area of the hospital was almost an isolation wing .. called Zymotics. The sounds he would have heard were the war ships doing their Weou weou sound as they entered the harbour from the Solent , everyone heard the the warships … and then he would have heard the sea , the many moods of the Solent were soothing and predictable.

          More comforting of all was the sight of the sea , and the old Neopolonic forts looking that protected us in earlier days . I am certain that your father would have had lovely green spaces to stroll around , and would have received loving care and treatment , fresh air , but I am certain his condition will have exhausted him , probably forever .

          Many fathers of that era , and indeed later eras , suffered in all sorts of ways .. and children like us were brought up , not in a liberal way but in an era where children were seen and not heard . My parents were demanding and strict.

          Fortunately , my father tolerated me, but my mother was difficult, she had been a Wren during the war.

          1. My father went the whole nine yards; the sleeping out on the verandah with his bed covered in snow. A whole year in an outside ward; probably a wooden hut or an outside 'villa' like the wards we had at Severalls hospital.
            In a way, I suspect that year of companionship was a re-enactment of his school days.
            Same patients, same nurses, same sister to be played up like a schoolmarm.

  12. On this 80th anniversay of VJ Day, am thinking of a dear friend of mine (Hooker for the Ampleforth 1st XV captained by George [later Cardinal Basil] Hume). He never spoke at any length of his time as a Jap PoW but his sudden involuntary outbursts about his captors' vile inhumanity gave me insights to mankind's nature that I will never forget.

    1. I went to school in 1951. Primary teachers at that time were all female, many were Miss and older. This being the result of the 1st World War and the huge numbers men lost in battle. Moved on to Secondary in 1958, again some older unmariied women and a few male teachers who had been injured in the war.

      The worst case was Mr Watson, a French teacher, he was very strange. He did not like me and the feelings were mutual. It was only in my final year, having long given up on French, that I was made aware of him having spent some 3/4 years as a Japanese POW.
      If we had been made aware of his background it's possible that I would have been a more amenable pupil and my abilities in French would have been a good deal better.

      1. My final maths teacher (he was the one who chucked me out pre-O levels) was Polish.
        I learnt years later that he had spent his youth in the Warsaw sewers during the anti-Nazi uprising.
        I felt very guilty when I learnt that; what must he have thought of the spoilt teens who were making his job pretty hellish?

      3. Same as you I started in 1951. We had a nasty piece of work Miss Bishop. At 5 years old because I had a problem writing the figure 8 and i put a circle on another, miss Bishop stood me in front of the class and slapped the back of my legs with her ruler.

    2. After serving in the RAF in Algeria and Egypt and then the more relaxing Sardinia.
      Often during my younger days my father at appropriate moments would often say to me "Never trust an Arab son". It seems to this day that he was absolutely correct in his assessment that is now over 80 years old.
      Shame that our hierarchic political muddled had never learnt anything from past history.

    2. They, like many of this world's current crop of 'leaders' are both that way inclined so what else should one expect from such tortured egos?

    3. Especially not in light of the arson attacks. Even if the Dear Leader is too thick to understand that himself, you'd think some adviser would warn him. Or have they already forgotten?

    1. Shit, Belle, I really wish you hadn't posted that (and that it hadn't happened, of course). That's unspeakable.

    2. 80 years ago, we celebrated VJ Day.
      Some things never change; evil is never eradicated.

    3. And our disgraceful disgusting lying vermin media have never and will never mention it.

    1. 8 Arrests to follow.
      Birmingham 'council' has threatened to remove all British and English flags from lamp posts. Letterbox practices.

    1. Suddenly, he'll be giving you a lift to the shops… it'll seem like it's in about 20 minutes time…

        1. I've just posted my application for a new licence no defects just years of experience and not one crash. That was my fault. 🤞

      2. Having been confidently zipped around Edinburgh by granddaughter and collected at late hours from the station by her brother, I can recommend the family taxi service.

        1. It comes on so quickly.
          A few days ago, you read bedtime stories to small people, and now that person is driving you around.
          And, BTW, I was really upset when the bedtime stories were cancelled. Used to love those few minutes reding gentle tales to a small sleepy person.

          1. Wonderful time to bring out your inner thespian.
            My four tigers in "Little Black Sambo" had very distinct personalities.

      1. I'd love a little grand-daughter, me. Sadly, looks like I'll have to go without, neither of the lads are in a relationship.

    4. I know what you mean, our youngest granddaughter has just passed her second birthday. Full of fun and joy aren't they 🤗🥰🤩

  18. A fresh inheritance tax grab would be Rachel Reeves’s most shameless move yet

    We will all own nothing and be happy.
    plus another nail in the coffin for the family unit

    1. On the other hand we could own useful things that make us happy but are worth nothing. Ironically oil, which is useful, became worthless during the pandemic but electricity, which is now free at wholesale prices and supposed to replace oil is far too expensive, risky to store and useless as a lubricant.

        1. Wild fires can be controlled using water but that is a precious resource – better to use a CO2 extinguisher except where that is being kept under wraps to save the planet. 🤔

  19. So Jenrick travelled all the way to Calais to be threatened with a machete and abused by our next batch of new replacements.
    To be fair though, he didn't need to leave London for that.
    All that carbon footprint for nothing

    1. Hear you, Bob3. At least he and Philp on their hind legs, if only a little. Hope they join Reform, and any other like-minded. Conservatives – busted flush.

      1. Just keep plugging away.
        Both the main parties are tarred with the same brush; as are the LDs by association.
        Both have a particularly ignoble history over the past thirty years.
        It is currently too early to predict whether they will adapt to the new situation, or whether they implode.
        Political parties are like amoebas.

  20. Too old to test

    SIR – May I congratulate The Telegraph on its excellent campaign for prostate cancer prevention (report, August 13). Prompted by it, I approached my GP about having a PSA blood test – only to be told, by text: “As you are over the age of 80, we cannot undertake asymptomatic screening.”

    This follows on from the refusal last year to give me an RSV vaccination because I am over the age of 80, since the vaccine hadn’t been trialled on people that age. This, in turn, follows a letter I received after an examination four years ago saying that it is possible that regular follow-up examinations might not be suggested “at your age”.

    As I continue ageing, it looks as though the only treatment to which I will be entitled from our wonderful NHS is assisted suicide.

    Terry Gorman
    Weaverham, Cheshire

    Your GP surgery will only offer tests they are directly paid for. They don't care a hoot about you, Terry.

    1. They just want all the oldies out of their way Terry.
      I read that one council was talking about charging more than usual for burials if a body was above regular size.
      It wasn't the coughing that carried him off, it was the coffin they carried him off in.

        1. Yes, Annie, irony used to mean getting the creases out of washing with a hot electrical instrument & a light splash of water. Lol.

      2. Some ancient philosophies, like Stoicism, used the term "apatheia" to describe a state of emotional detachment and tranquility.

        Meanings change over time.

  22. Good morning all.
    A brilliant blue sky, low winds with a very slightly gibbous waning moon high in the sky. 18°C on the thermometer and it's going to be warm today.

  24. HMS Garuda, Peelamedu, Coimbatore Southern India , was one of the air stations my father was based , as well as an airbase in Ceylon and a spell on aircraft carriers .. either HMS Raj or HMS Shah .. I have no more information . .

    1. Inherited wealth is NOT necessarily unearned…
      Consider two families.
      Both sets of parents earn the same.
      Little Tarquin and Ophelia in the first family have foreign holidays, ponies, music lessons and private school. They earn advanced degrees from university and use their social skills to go into good professional jobs.
      Little Jim and Jane in the second family go to the local comp. Holidays are a week camping in Devon with their Mum frying sausages on a camp fire and music is something you learn from a cheap plastic keyboard that your Dad bought you at a car boot sale. Jane dreams of learning to ride. They leave school at 18 and join their parents' company.
      Fast forward fifty years.
      Tarquin and Ophelia inherit very little and pay no IHT.
      Jim and Jane inherit several million pounds' worth of investment property, stocks and shares etc. They are stung for hundreds of thousands in IHT by a thieving, sanctimonious government.

      Different families will choose different paths, I am not trying to tell you that one is more right than the other. The point is that the children don't choose what they inherit, but they do suffer or benefit from their parents' choices and it's unfair to tax people who didn't benefit from their parents' wealth during the parents' lifetimes.

      1. Never mind the detail, what gives government the right to tax money that has already been taxed, just because they want to? You earn it, pay tax, spend most of the rest (pay tax) and save the remainder, paying tax on the interest it earns.
        Thieves.
        Even the socialists here in Norway have made inheritance tax-free.

        1. That too. IHT is nothing more than grave-robbing. I’m just trying to highlight the reason why the mean people who say that children have done nothing to deserve inheritance are also wrong.

          1. Why does it have to be deserved? And what have the parents done to not be able to pass on their money how they wish? Does that mean not dropping coins in a collection tin, thus making them "unearned"?

          2. I agree that everyone should be able to give away their money as they please. These are all factors in why IHT is so wrong. Just the government reminding folks that any wealth that’s in their system ‘belongs’ to them (might being right and all that).

          3. One reason why I spent a small fortune on buying the photos of Winston and Kadi was so that I had something to treasure rather than Reeves robbing me to waste it.

      2. Never mind the detail, what gives government the right to tax money that has already been taxed, just because they want to? You earn it, pay tax, spend most of the rest (pay tax) and save the remainder, paying tax on the interest it earns.
        Thieves.
        Even the socialists here in Norway have made inheritance tax-free.

      3. It's surely anyway hypocritical to class inheritance as unearned then steal the inheritance in order to give it to people who've earned nothing and to whom we owe nothing.

    2. Not a great deal of support for Ben, or LBC in the BTL comments – I see one wag has suggested that LBC stands for London's Biggest C***s!

  26. Morning all 🙂😊
    Another bright start 12 c no rain forecast at all oh dear. My butt's are empty while I still can I'll have to top up.
    I think this mob of a 'government' will probably go down as the most vile in our history. Same old…..they eff up everything and blame the British public and taxpayers. Obviously nothing to with any of them in Wastemonster.

  27. Good Morning!

    Mrs.M Ducks tells a true story about a friend, Errol, who got a reputation for being 'far right' because he liked classical music and the countryside, went to church and was, er, white. Some of you might suspect that his story didn't end happily. Read Errol Flung and have your suspicions confirmed.

    If you missed it, read Sudo Nonym's amusing tale, Lord Farscape – Illegal Alien with a Business Plan that serves very well to illustrate the utter lunacy of those that run our planet.

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 34.9%; Solar, 10.7%: Wind 16.8%; Imports, 18.3%; Biomass, 9.9%; Nuclear 9.9% and Miscellaneous, 2.7%.

    Some of you have expressed interest in forming regional groups where you can meet in person from time to time. Anyone who would like to create or join such a group should email us, and we'll put you in touch. Freespeechbacklash@gmail.com – Groups. Up to now we have interest from the Greater Manchester area and Cornwall. I'd have thought that East Angolia would have been a hotspot……….

  28. 'Migrant from Canary Wharf hotel' is arrested on suspicion of common assault after allegedly entering a blind woman's flat..

    This is an interesting story.. that has a start, no middle bit and a nonsensical ending.

    Woman charged with assault after migrant ‘walked into her flat’
    A 22-year-old woman who was arrested on Wednesday evening and lives at the flat which was entered has since been charged with a number of offences.

    Channay Augustus, 22, of Tower Hamlets has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis.

    The alleged victim of the common assault is a security guard at the hotel, not the man who allegedly entered her flat, police say.

    Clear as mud.

  29. 411286+ up ticks,

    One would like to think yesterdays post call for ALL Brummies to purchase a national flag in defiance of the council rulings has had a good result.

    Dt,
    Labour council to remove ‘dangerous’ British flags from city streets
    Birmingham residents have installed Union and St George’s flags on lamp posts in ‘patriotic outpouring’

  31. Those questioning the Pride LBGTQ+++ lanyard around Dominic Cumming's neck..? There seems to be an intellectual shindig in Hungary.

    MCC Feszt is an annual multidisciplinary festival held in Esztergom, Hungary, organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Launched in 2021, the event combines intellectual discourse, cultural programs, and musical performances, with the aim of fostering talent development and public engagement.

    1. Former British Army Colonel Richard Kemp at MCC Feszt in Hungary: "I predict civil war in the UK… There is no political solution."

      1. Was in Nigeria during the civil war. It should be avoided at all costs, it's utter misery for everybody.

    1. Many going on to university to study completely useless subjects just so they can get a degree. (and get brainwashed)

      1. Yes, and at a price (guess who paid that). Anyhow, long ago, today sun shining and hope it is with you Alec x

        1. Not bad up here after a misty start Kate so pressure washed the car and hoovered it x

        1. You can always tell people with useless degrees – their first words to you will be "Do you want fries with that?"

      1. Precisely what I've been saying for years.
        Thousands of talented and responsible teenagers are having 3 -4 years of their lives wasted in "education" factories. All in the sacred cause of keeping down the unemployment figures.

        1. Same here.
          Wot I Tw@ted:-

          Something I've advocated for years.
          Also, reinvigorate the Junior Entry Army Apprentices system.
          Reopen Chepstow and Arborfield Apprentices Colleges to train youngsters from 15½ upwards for those who show specific aptitude to practical trades to be followed by 6y in the Army.

        2. That's why I have so many degrees.
          After BSc, there was no work, so moved on to a MSc.
          After MSc, still no work, so moved on to Ph.D, which because of grant conditions, I had to finish in 2 years rather than the usual 3.
          After that, Thatcher's improvements started to show up, and there was work for a young guy with 3 degrees and only 2 A-levels…

          1. All three of my brothers became engineers but the eldest has a BSc from Imperial College and the other two did apprenticeships while studying for OND and HND qualifications. My eldest sister-in-law did engineering at Chelsea College, as Imperial was single sex at the time. She became a librarian then stopped work to raise two offspring who are now both attorneys, in Pennsylvania and Illinois respectively. I only went to Art School.

    3. My grandson is now one of those electricians.
      Thoroughly enjoying the work, being practical and not getting into debt.
      The Danish side of the family are engineers, so I suspect he gets his talent from there.

      1. Firstborn & Second Son both followed that route. Happy, have no debt, good income, Firstborn owns about 400 acres of Norway. They get their mechanical talent from their maternal Grandfather.

    1. summary:
      Radical Left & Islam vs. the Rest you Lot.
      Gaza is the rallying point. However, what they really mean is.. They want the downfall of The West.
      This isn't spontaneous, this is funded by our enemies.
      Leaders are in a state of bewilderment. Kemp briefed cabinet many times.. they have no solutions, they dont want to address the problem. Starmer can only appease the radical left & islam.
      Starmer has even betrayed a vital ally Israel fighting a defensive war for its own survival rather than supporting an ally on which we depend in so many ways in defence & intelligence.
      Macron & Starmer base their entire foreign policy on domestic appeasement of Islam.

      1. Its repeat of the 1930s. People that should have known better thought that Hitler would come to terms and back down. Anyone with a brain knew better.

    3. My response on X-Tw@ter:-

      And I wonder how many AKs, RPGs and ammunition there are stashed round the country ready for use when it all kicks off?
      I fear that when it DOES kick off, it will make Oct.7th look like a Sunday School picnic.

      2. I think every mosque will have a stash of weapons already yet the police aren't allowed (or are reluctant) to search them

  35. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/man-threatened-british-airways-staff-heathrow-sentence-review-b1242622.html?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
    MP calls for sentence review for man who threatened to 'gang rape and set fire' to stewardess on Heathrow flight
    Salman Iftikhar, 37, told Virgin Atlantic stewardess Angie Walsh she would be dragged from her hotel room, gang raped and set alight.
    Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has urged a review of the 15-month jail term handed to a wealthy recruitment boss who hurled death threats and racist abuse at cabin crew.
    Salman Iftikhar, 37, was flying first class from London Heathrow to Lahore when he told Virgin Atlantic stewardess Angie Walsh she would be dragged from her hotel room, gang raped and set alight.
    Philp has written to Attorney General Lord Hermer, arguing the sentence was “unduly lenient”, urging him to consider referring the case to the Court of Appeal for an increase.
    He used the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months for a tweet about the Southport riots, to claim Iftikhar's sentence was evidence of “two-tier justice”.
    In a letter, posted on social media, the MP said: “Connolly made a wrong and distasteful social media post which she then deleted, but Iftikhar made over 100 sickening threats including of gang rape directly to Ms Walsh personally, face to face, and to other members of the cabin crew’s faces and has multiple previous convictions.
    “I am sure you agree that this cannot be right.
    “Given the severity of the threats and the vile language used by Iftikhar, I believe his sentence should be reconsidered and increased and I urge you to refer his case for review under the Unduly Lenient Scheme, which covers the offences for which Iftikhar was convicted.”
    Mr Philp told the Mail this case was “two-tier justice in action” and that he had referred the case for review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
    “We'll now find out if Hermer is willing to take action to fix Britain's two-tier justice problem,” he told the newspaper.
    A passenger filmed one of Iftikhar's many rants as he repeatedly accused Ms Walsh of being a racist and says: “You called me a p*** in front of everybody.”
    “Mr Iftikhar was seen drinking champagne at the onboard bar, where he was talking to cabin crew,” prosecutor Abdul Kapadia told the court.
    During the defendant's first meal service, the defendant was seen helping himself to ice, leaning over bar he was drinking at, and taking ice with his hands.
    “When told to stop, the defendant became irate, and started to film cabin crew with his phone, telling them: ‘Do not tell me what to do you b****.’
    “When asked by the cabin crew to return to his seat, he then said: ‘Don't tell me what to do you racist f***ing b****. I know where you are from in Cardiff.’
    “The pilot was then contacted, and turned the seat belt lights on. The defendant then shouted, and said: ‘Look at this b**** having the seat belt sign on when there was no turbulence. What the f*** is this b**** doing?’
    “Iftikhar returned to his seat and called crew member Angie Walsh a 'f***ing b****.'”
    The father-of-three later threatened to blow up the hotel the cabin crew were staying at and told Ms Walsh 'You will be dead on the floor of your hotel'.
    He told Ms Walsh: 'You will be dragged by your hair from your room and gang raped and set on fire', it was reported.
    Iftikhar was arrested at his £900,000 detached home in Iver, Buckinghamshire, on March 16, 2024.
    Ms Walsh sat in court accompanied by her sister, Claire Walsh, who is also a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant in their uniforms.
    She told how she had to take 14 months off work in a victim impact statement read to the court.
    She said: “I feel like what happened that day has change my life enormously. I can't quite believe that one passenger has had this much of an impact on my, my job, my career and my life. I am a strong brave, happy stewardess, and loved my job. I am well known within the company.
    “I have been flying with Virgin Atlantic for 37 years. I was working when all flights were grounded on 9/11, and I've even flown into a warzone. But this incident has broken me.”
    The Attorney General’s office has been approached for comment.

  36. I see the JWK manages – yet again – to miss the point. To tell the handful of survivors of The Forgotten Army that they'll never be forgotten is crass. As is his banging on about cultural divides bringing collaboration.

    One despairs.

      1. 411286+ up ticks,

        Morning Mo,

        Only with far more nasty consequences if lost via treacherous neglect.

    4. Anyone walking in our front door is greeted by 2 large dogs. The postman makes a fuss of them. The diversity amazon driver ran down the path. All Mongo did was whuff.

  41. I think I have just heard what C3's speech was about. It was regarding getting rid of a predominant self opinionated government that at the time was causing a huge amount of damage to its own culture and social structure, including economic development. And trespassing on other national interests in other areas of the world. Namely at the time Japan.
    Very relevant but then in a less subtle way
    to our country is today.

    2. The Hard Left are determined to destroy this country, it's traditions, history and population.

      I just ask – when there's only the blacka nd brown pollution left, who will pay for everything? Sure as hell they don't.

      1. 411286+ up ticks,

        Afternoon W,

        The strongest will survive and
        prosper…… on slavery……..

  43. Its amazing how the BBC only ever gives one side of the story, the side they support. How can they do that all the time and get away with it. They shame our country.

    1. Coz the Blob/lefties deem them to be the de facto gummint. The Pink Ladies, anti-fugee-immigrant mob and other protesters who are only now arousing themselves can act as a counter-balance but I doubt if they/we will prevail.

    2. It's so heart warming isn't it Johnny to think we all pay for the BBC (checkout the salary list)…TV licence.

    2. Wrong. Gladly sacrifice him on a huge bonfire, filthy Papist that he claims to be {:^))

      1. That would only elevate him to Sainthood, Citroen. He's still around, influencing the youth of day, and older ones. See TBI (note above).

    3. By "Tough on populism" he means, of course, to control opinion and speech.
      Very authoritarian and Stalinist.

    4. Anyone interested might like to check out his Tony Blair Institute website. He never went away, has no intention of doing so, has influenced many young people, his legacy.

      1. A tax payer trough shop. A group that profits from overseas aid.

        HMRC gave up dismantling the web of tax evasion he created. In truth, he should be dragged out, beaten and flayed and everyone he employs sacked, their entire wealth confiscated as theft and then given to those who have earned it after a thorough beating as a reminder never to work for thieves.

        Ardern works for him, you know. That's who the scum attracts.

        1. They’re of a like mind. It’s the future generation influence gets me. Enemies within.

    6. Get tough on populism. Ah, the duplicitous, lying, deceitful vermin.

      He means 'destroy those who will challenge the hegemony. How about you stop saying populism, you disgusting bastard? Why don't you just say democracy? Why can't you admit you hate it, you loathesome, putrid sack of excrement?

      Just die, damn you. Die so we can spit on you.

        1. I have a waste food caddy.
          The heat builds up in it at fast rate.
          Rotten potatoes are particularly vile.

      3. 311286+ up ticks,

        W,
        The mistake must not be made that they will stop on request, they must be made to stop.

  45. Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
    The hypocrisy of Tulip Siddiq
    14 August 2025, 3:54pm

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2155344175.jpg
    The corruption trial of Tulip Siddiq formally commenced in Bangladesh on Wednesday. Among other allegations linked to £3.9 billion worth of embezzlement, the Bangladeshi-origin Labour MP has been accused by the Anti-Corruption Commission of securing luxury property for her family in Dhaka, using her relationship with the country’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted and fled the country last August following mass protests against her rule. Prior to her election as the Labour MP for Hampstead in 2015, Siddiq, the granddaughter of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, had been a spokesperson of her aunt Hasina’s Awami League in the UK even joining the former Bangladeshi prime minister on a trip to sign an arms deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

    Even so, Siddiq has maintained that her family links, which are now the focus of the corruption allegations that she denies, have actually ‘caused problems’ for her, not least because the Bengali diaspora keeps asking for favours. She has claimed that having heritage rooted in Bangladesh, which she now describes as a ‘foreign country’, has been a challenge, given the ‘racist’ attitudes around her. Siddiq has frequently spoken about the rise of populism and financial inequality in the West, while her family has been subjugating the masses and overseeing the concentration of capital among the richest in Bangladesh.

    Regardless of whether the corruption trial in Dhaka is well-founded, or politically motivated as she insists, Siddiq’s case illustrates the hypocrisy of the South Asian elite that come from privileged backgrounds but prefer to lecture on the inequalities in the West.

    The families of the feudal leaders of all three major Pakistani political parties, for instance, have been raised or educated in the same West that they avow hostility against. Imran Khan’s British sons are currently campaigning for his release in the same US that their imprisoned father has long accused of plotting against him and his country. Oxford-educated chairman of Pakistan’s historically left People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, talks about ‘Islamophobia’ in the West, but has never spoken out against the spate of forced conversions of under-aged Hindu girls under his party’s rule in Sindh province. Bilawal’s cousin, the academic and author Fatima Bhutto, who studied and spends much of her time in the ‘racist’ West that she accuses of being responsible for the genocide and apartheid in Gaza, rarely has much to say about the Ahmadis or Baloch whose persecution her grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, laid the foundation of.

    Like the Pakistani left, the Indian left too is dominated by the elite that prefer to focus on the ailments of the West. London-born Shashi Tharoor, a member of the traditionally left Indian National Congress, who has written and spoken extensively on the evils of British colonialism, even arguing that the UK owes India reparations, has recently been leading delegations defending the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s security policy in the region which ascertains India’s stranglehold over Kashmir. Tharoor describes the ongoing US tariff negotiations as being akin to ‘colonialism’, and continues to find time to denounce the British Raj while being officially tasked with defending India’s hegemonic geopolitical strategy, which includes dictation and intervention even in South Asian states beyond Pakistan.

    These self-proclaimed left-leaning convictions of the South Asian elite are not only duplicitous but more often than not unravel as soon as there is any personal cost to be paid, as evidenced by just how quickly Tulip Siddiq abandoned the Bangladeshi origin that had for a long time used earned her points inside the Labour party. Similarly, Siddiq’s fellow Labour MP, Rushanara Ali, the first British Bangladeshi elected to parliament, vociferously deploys ‘pro-Palestine’ rhetoric, but abstained from the Gaza ceasefire vote in 2023 in line with the party whip. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr speaks of the racism he faced in British schools, and undertakes queer activism in the West, but doesn’t mention Islamisation, and the correlated queerphobia, initiated by his grandfather whom he is named after, owing to his political ambitions in Pakistan. The disappearing pronouns from the bios of many amid the reversal of gender ideology in Western policymaking, and the lowered decibels in ‘pro-Palestine’ activism at US campuses during the ongoing crackdown, underlines how the South Asian-origin left in the West is devoid of actual conviction.

    Indeed, much of the South Asian left’s narrative-building is a parroting of the western left, which entails trashing their own states and its majority community, while rigidly embracing their minority identities that might check the diversity eye test. Zohran Mamdani’s success in winning the Democratic nomination for this year’s New York City mayor election, founded on a scathing critique of everyone but the community he most identified with, is illustrative of the support the left offers to members of the minority community that can showcase the least introspection. Perhaps the case that best highlights the absolute abandonment of self-reflection on the left is Rushanara Ali evicting her tenant while serving as the homelessness minister. She had to resign from the post last week.

    If the left is to survive its ongoing global crisis, it needs to start backing candidates that go beyond mimicking the so-called postcolonial discourse that focuses solely on the West, and exhibit a willingness to offer similar scrutiny for the minorities they identify with, as they would with the majority. This is especially true for those hailing from South Asia, where religious majoritarianism is on the rise, and where the advent of colonialism long preceded the Brits.

    Written by
    Kunwar Khuldune Shahid is a Pakistan-based correspondent for The Diplomat

    **********************************
    A real liberal
    19 hours ago edited
    Fascinating. A clearly-informed glimpse into the corruption that we all know is entrenched in the hypocritical, thieving, racist, ruling Asian family-elites. And in Tower Hamlets, of course. Just imagine the furore if this article had been penned by someone with an Anglo-saxon sounding surname. I'm sure Essex police would already be feeling his collar as I type this

    Whizjet A real liberal
    18 hours ago
    She should go back to whence she came – along with so many others of her ilk.
    We have enough crooked, corrupt, lying and treacherous indigenous politicians without importing any more!

    MikeBrighton
    18 hours ago
    You’ve got to love the Labour Party. It’s pure comedy.
    The Tories waste their time with cash-for-questions for few 100 quid, putting duck houses on expenses and dredging the moat. Maybe a flat screen TV.

    Labour’s city and anti-corruption minister is however implicated in embezzling £3.9Bn and lives in a string of very expensive London properties that she can’t quite explain the ownership of.
    Her auntie besides murdering her political opponents is accused of having it on her toes with some £11bn lifted from the Bangladeshi treasury ending up in ‘suspicious’ UK property transactions…..I wonder if there is a link here?
    You honestly can’t make this up…..

    1. Looking on the plus side; she certainly understood her brief.
      Few ministers have much prior knowledge of their department.

    2. Good article. The left are the same the world over – envious whiners who think they are entitled to the fruits of other people's labour.
      One of India's great strengths is that it has NOT spent the last 77 odd years whining about colonialism…

  46. OOps.
    https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/537945

    EasyJet flight U22267, an Airbus A320 (G-EZUN), and EasyJet flight flight U22117, an Airbus A320 (G-EZWH) were involved in a ground contact incident at MAN.
    Both aircraft were taxiing to runway 23L for departure when G-EZUN turned from taxiway V7 onto taxiway VC2. G-EZWH meanwhile followed behind on V7 and continued until the left-hand wing tip struck the right-hand wing tip fence of G-EZUN."

  47. FFS!!
    No two teir justice they say
    No Sireee
    "A suspended Labour councillor has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder after he called for far-right protesters’ throats to be cut.

    Ricky Jones, 58, made the comments at an anti-racism rally in the wake of rioting following the Southport murders.

    Jones described far-right activists as “disgusting Nazi fascists”, his trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court heard."
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ricky-jones-trial-labour-councillor-cut-throats-far-right-b2808329.html
    I despair I really do

    2. One wonders what precedent if any, this will allow for people to demand that far-left, pro Hamas supporters should be tied to trees, raped and butchered.

        1. It shows how skewed the system has become.
          Yes those thugs who taped razor blades in tube trains should be prosecuted with the full rigour of the law; but the implications for one-sided free speech do not bode well.

      2. That would be very wrong and not at all in line with our historic customs. Said custom decrees that they should be hanged but cut down while still conscious and have their innards removed and barbequed, with their heads severed and displayed for public delectation. Google AI thinks that Guy Fawkes was the last person to receive that punishment in England, which is absolutely not true. The practice continued until the early 19th century. Encyclopaedia Britannica has it as 1803.

        1. Being dragged on hurdle through the streets of London is a bit problematical.
          The poor chap would suffer from the pollution produced by ICE engines.

        2. When I was a youngster, I remember a gentleman telling me that his father nearly witnessed one of the last public executions in London (the last one was in 1868); the dad was walking somewhere and when he understood exactly why an enormous crowd was gathering, he turned and fled the area. Why, I asked? Because public hangings attracted the criminal underclass, eg thieves and pickpockets etc.

    3. Excuse me – how can he possibly be "not guilty" He called for people to have their throats cut!

      1. He said he didn't mean those far right fascists he meant the other far right fascists.

        So that's alright then.

        1. No mention of Extreme Right Fascists? Or Hard Right Fascists?
          Possibly saving that for his next peace promoting speech.

      2. The state protects it's own.

        Just proof of how back to front everything is. In a just world, Lucy Connolly would have been asked not to do it again and this diversity effluent would be jailed but no.

        Just more two tier injustice.

        The law is optional for the foreigner, for the statist, for the Lefty. It is used to punish the decent, the law abiding and the native.

    1. But, but, but…they do nothing about actual fair dodgers. Nor have they even tried to run London transport as a profitable business that could accommodate subsidised travel.

    2. Migrants get free travel so naturally OAP's should give up theirs…

      Free bus travel for people seeking asylum is set to be reintroduced in Scotland by 2026. The London Mayor's office has the power to make this happen through TFL. And our campaign is key to ensuring Sadiq Khans pledge, to make London for everyone.

    3. Nothing to do with free travel for the great unwashed and ridiculous salaries for the train drivers then?

    4. Nothing to do with free travel for the great unwashed and ridiculous salaries for the train drivers then?

  49. A little bit done and just had a mug of tea.
    Now off to do a bit more.

    But first, some piccies of Ashover on Wednesday:-
    A Gardner engined Atkinson:- https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/86cd25e81d1e650a850347d13572befd53ffc3253de9e78da7e5bd2c047fcbe4.jpg Fine looking Cheviots https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a9f624a6b91eeb1d8e24e2e29afa9fc86cefbf031f04bd77947518f19041103f.jpg A pair of Fowler ploughing engines https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/831a14577f886924a69352e0d8812dd0602de1eaa58c7ca0d6e1ef5f4959c4ed.jpg A fine group of flat head Fordsons; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f89fbe767b6bf6e9abc9c2d05ed473ce9eb597ac0ad1e1a818d7c9d09a5ccfd.jpg And another three Fordsons in a more natural livery https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/99772a54aa4a8bc14a2f7543233e0d24647cd85cd87453eb21446142f935deb5.jpg A LOT of Fergies. This was less than half of them! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4addc715bbe4368c8e1b72f8fc2a0ce4ed4dfcb47a26f0687d80519f0e537129.jpg Reminiscing over past motors https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b73c371f1111b6dccb9f83edb387af7f6fa80ce4414a4b5f98b5a867e36b51dc.jpg And lots of Jam, chutneys, cakes and loaves of bread https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1312784c292d3d92be75cc4fcbae9b3fe9999ec62f1df9f4328598c658290d1a.jpg And yes, it was a brilliant day out.

    3. I wish I had seen your photos before you went, BoB. I would have maybe met up with you there. Not in the least bit interested in the vehicles and livestock, but Oh!! the cakes, bread and jams are to die for. Lol. (Glad you enjoyed your day, BoB.)

    4. I wish I had seen your photos before you went, BoB. I would have maybe met up with you there. Not in the least bit interested in the vehicles and livestock, but Oh!! the cakes, bread and jams are to die for. Lol. (Glad you enjoyed your day, BoB.)

    6. And talking of photos, has anyone seen Conners today? I was hoping that he would be posting photos of yesterday's photoshoots with Kadi and Winston.

      1. No, but a former Army mate did, in Africa.
        He went to look at one of his earlier projects, about a year after it had been handed over to the village, to find all the metalwork stripped out for scrap, the hole literally filled with shite and the women back to walking miles for water.

      1. Only allowed to look at it.
        Occasionally though, exhibits put in as show entries get auctioned off to raise funds for the show.
        It all looked bloody nice though.

        1. To comply with the law all people who made food at home for sale or auction now need to have certification of hygiene standards and the relevant certificates.

    9. I always wanted a Fergie.
      Some years back, a friend had one to help with sorting out horse … er…. stuff.
      I was dead jealous.

    3. Starmer suggested such in February and it was reported by al Beeb, perhaps that's where Aftenposten took it from

  51. Another appeal for Conners to show us the photoshoot results of yesterday's shenanigans with Kadi and Winston. I know he said it was a shattering experience for all three, but surely he can't still be having a lie-in. It's nearly 1 pm, for goodness sake!

  52. Ricky Jones said he has been affected by ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia.

    Fair play. Cleeeeeeeeeeearly, he's actually the victim here.

  53. Ricky Jones said he has been affected by ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia.

    Fair play. Cleeeeeeeeeeearly, he's actually the victim here.

    1. At least it or they are not wearing the usual long skirt as some of the males do and a decent hard kick in the right area would do the job.

  55. The civil war has already started.. Radical Left & Islam vs. the silent majority & That Lot.

    The biggest prob I see.. is convincing the Tories, wet Tories & concerned Liberals that the Radical Left & Islam really do want to end Western Culture and kill you all.
    Convincing people like the whiny & irritating thicko Camilla Tominey. "Tommy is a white supremist y'know".
    And she's a right wing journo FFS.

    1. Bare in mind, according to Cummings, 15% of the active UK electorate are radicalised, organised, well funded and genuinely want all of Congo, Eritrea, Syria & Mali moved into the UK.

    2. Bare in mind, according to Cummings, 15% of the active UK electorate are radicalised, organised, well funded and genuinely want all of Congo, Eritrea, Syria & Mali moved into the UK.

    4. It's not as simple as that. The entire state machine is determined to destroy the native culture and society. It protects the criminal, the xenophobe, the abuser, the rapist, the murderer beucase it hates, feverishly, psychopatically; the normal.

      1. The entire state machine IS pretty much one or the other of Radical Left & Islam.
        It is that simple.

      2. Only a small minority actually want that to happen. But a larger group is enabling it by "just doing their jobs."

  56. Labour council to remove 'dangerous' British flags from city streets

    Local residents say they are 'sick of having to apologise' for nationality

    Tim Sigsworth
    14th August 2025, 6:09pm BST

    A Labour-run council is facing a backlash over its plans to remove "dangerous" British flags from lamp posts.

    Residents in Birmingham have installed hundreds of Union and St George's flags on the city's streets in the past fortnight in a "patriotic outpouring". But the city council plans to remove them after claiming they could put the lives of pedestrians and motorists "at risk" – despite them being 20ft off the ground.

    "Placing unauthorised attachments on street furniture, particularly tall structures like lamp posts, can be dangerous," the council said in a statement.

    The Labour-controlled authority, which has been beset by bankruptcy and bin strikes in recent years, has now been accused of showing "utter contempt for the British people".

    "This is nothing short of a disgrace and shows utter contempt for the British people," Lee Anderson, the Reform UK MP, told The Telegraph.

    "We should be flying our flags with pride. Our nation has a rich history of hospitality, generosity and innovation – something to be celebrated, not condemned. "Any elected official who supports removing the British or English flags, restricting personal freedoms, or silencing free speech should be removed from office for betraying the very country they serve."

    Councillor Robert Alden, leader of the authority's Conservative opposition, added: "Our national flags are nothing to be ashamed of. Seeing our flags flying gives us all pride in our shared history and achievements as a great nation. "Birmingham City Council should be proud to fly them across the city. Labour rushing to rip them down is shameful."

    He said the council has not previously acted as speedily to take down other types of flags and "flyposted" advertising on street lamps and traffic lights elsewhere in the city.

    The plans to remove the flags came just a day after the authority lit up the city library in green and white to mark the 77th anniversary of Pakistan's independence from Britain. Palestine flags have also flown elsewhere on the city's streets since the war in Gaza began in 2023.

    The council last year announced a crackdown on the Palestine flags – which fly mainly in the predominantly Muslim east of the city – but has not succeeded in completely eradicating them. ‡

    The Government has previously issued guidance saying it wants "more flags flown, particularly the Union Flag", as long as they are erected with "the permission of the owner of the site".

    The British and English flags have been installed in suburbs in the south-west of Birmingham since the start of August by a group of residents – the "Weoley Warriors" – who climb halfway up them with ladders and affix flags using cable ties. Funded by £2,500 in public donations, the campaign is intended to show "Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements".

    Simon Morrall, a Conservative councillor for Frankley Great Park, said the flags were a "clearly peaceful movement".

    "When the city council can't fix potholes, are closing down youth centres and selling off assets, all while fly-tipping piles up in our community and graffiti is out of control, then finding resources to remove Union flags sends the wrong message," he said.

    The suburbs now decked out in red, white and blue include Northfield, Weoley Castle, Bartley Green, Selly Oak and Frankley Great Park.

    The campaign has been welcomed by local residents who warned there would be "trouble, even riots, if they take them down".

    Hayley Owens, a 40-year-old former police officer, said: "We are sick of having to apologise for being British. The flags have had such a positive impact on the community – people love them. There is nothing political about it."

    Dr Helen Ingram, a historian from Northfield, said: "We are a small mostly working-class community, and these flags have reinvigorated our collective pride and community spirit. I doubt we will win this, but we will fight our hardest to show that we are British and proud."

    Birmingham City Council said it only opposed flying flags on publicly owned "street furniture" and would not take the Union or St George's flag down from council housing or private property.

    A spokesman said its policy was to remove flags, posters and signs of any kind from street lamps or traffic lights. They added that its programme to upgrade lamp posts to energy-efficient LEDs cannot continue if the flags are not removed.

    The council spokesman said: "People who attach unauthorised items to lamp posts could be putting their lives and those of motorists and pedestrians at risk. We are continuing to do this every week, and would ask that staff doing this work are allowed to continue this work unhindered."

    Birmingham's streets have been blighted by mounds of uncollected rubbish this year amid an ongoing bin strike by refuse workers.

    The industrial action began in January after the Unite union claimed the council told the bin workers they would face pay cuts of up to £8,000.

    The council declared effective bankruptcy in 2023 and has since been forced to make £300 million of budget cuts.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/14/labour-council-remove-dangerous-british-flags

    ‡ Has it even tried? I doubt it. It wouldn't dare. Its employees would be beaten up…or worse.

    1. Labour council to remove 'dangerous' British flags from city streets.

      There is no other word for it but Racism.

    1. Hmmmmm. Not influenced by influencers.

      It can be crowded if you go to the Mara in the migration season. I wouldn't go then. It amounts to harassment of the animals and that's not a good thing.

      I prefer to go off season and stay in the conservancies where camps and numbers of vehicles are strictly limited. Quite often nobody else there at all, just me and the guides. Sometimes one or two other cars, all staying at the same camp so people we chat to at dinner. In 2023 I was the only guest in camp for the three days I was there. The manager joined me for meals and we had lots of good chat about this and that. Sightings were good – just me and the guides. Last year I had the flight to myself as well – I was the co-pilot!

      I'm going this year in November. On my own – just me and the guide.

  58. Suella Braverman: 'Labour tried to smear us as racist for opposing migrant housing'

    The former Home Secretary was celebrating a Home Office U-turn with her Waterlooville constituents – and hopes others will follow their lead

    Neil Johnston
    14th August 2025, 6:23pm BST

    More than 200 years ago, what is now the unremarkable Hampshire town of Waterlooville, was founded by returning soldiers celebrating the defeat of Napoleon.

    On a damp Wednesday evening over two centuries later, Waterlooville is the scene of another victory party, as residents descend on its high street to celebrate following the news that the Home Office has backed down on plans to house migrants in the town centre.

    Union flags are draped over shoulders, 'Sweet Caroline' (and AC/DC) blares out of loudspeakers, placards say "Keep our women & children safe". Some are dressed head to toe in red, white and blue; even those who have stumbled across the rally by accident while running their errands are getting into the party spirit. The atmosphere is upbeat, but it's also defiant: speakers are also lambasting the "woke liberal agenda".

    Residents' anger at the thought of being neighbours with 35 unknown asylum seekers housed up in flats above a junk emporium on that inauspicious high street – and relief that they now, for the moment, won't – has even been backed by local Conservative MP and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman who, with her husband Rael and family friends, and carrying a Union flag, is mingling and taking selfies with protesters.

    Braverman's appearance marks a defiant hit-back at her critics. Labour MP Philip Munday, who heads up the local Havant council's Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green coalition, had accused Braverman of seeking to "exacerbate fear in the hearts and minds of our concerned residents" on the migrant housing issue, and said her comments on it were "deeply inappropriate, potentially inflammatory and ultimately misleading."

    He argued that those earmarked for the flats were asylum seekers, not "illegal immigrants", and joined the fuming chorus from Left-wing politicians and charities who disparagingly frame the protests over migrant hotels and accommodation as a far-Right cause.

    Yet despite two weeks of outcry in Waterlooville, involving a protest by 1,000 people last month and a petition that has received more than 10,000 signatures, there have been no arrests or violent incidents.

    Indeed, it is largely ordinary local people – shop assistants, carers, IT workers and pensioners – who have turned out for the evening rally next to Boots.

    "These are not skinheads. These are mums and grannies and children," says Braverman when we meet over a drink in The Denmead Queen, the local Wetherspoons, ahead of the gathering. "These are families who are feeling cowardice, who are feeling like no-one speaks to them and who are feeling like they have no other option but to take to the streets in peaceful protest to represent their views. They feel powerless."

    She says that the suggestions her constituents were motivated by racism is "incredibly offensive."

    "It's not racist to want to have a sense of control and safety in your own country. That is patriotism, that is love of our country, that is decency, and that reflects the vast majority of British people who are welcoming and friendly."

    Braverman says that there was always the risk protests would "attract provocateurs" and extremists, and admits she is "very concerned" about public order in the coming weeks amid growing anger over illegal immigration. ("We're walking on glass in this country," she says. "I think there's a real simmering fury and fear of betrayal, and combined with a sense of powerlessness and the lack of anything on the horizon looking like there will be a solution, I'm very worried about public order to be maintained.")

    Yet the former Attorney General says that Waterlooville had shown peaceful protests could be effective, and the government should prepare for more demonstrations elsewhere.

    "I think where Waterlooville leads, the country can follow. The fact that it's been carried out very peacefully, zero arrests, zero incidents, zero offences, really reflects well on the people from Waterlooville who did this and took the action. I think it does provide a bit of a template for how objections can be successfully maintained."

    She says her constituents feel "a profound sense of fear, anger and betrayal" and claims that Munday is part of an establishment that is out of touch with local people and the country's problems.

    "The Labour leader wrote to me and was seemingly more upset that I used the term illegal migrant rather than asylum seekers. They're more interested in terminology and faux outrage and trying to silence people and smear people as racist, xenophobic, divisive and inflammatory than actually being honest with the British people."

    As she leaves the pub for the rally, Braverman notes that Sir Keir Starmer could not expect a warm welcome at The Denmead Queen. "I don't think Keir Starmer will get anyone offering to buy him a pint, let's put it that way," she adds.

    "Keir Starmer is so far detached and insulated from the realities of what is going on that he does need to open his eyes as to what is happening in this country, on the ground amongst regular folk who go to Wetherspoons, because people are fed up.

    "There's a real sense of despair, unfortunately, and in the Westminster bubble this might look very, very different to him. He's just deluding himself the more that he stays away from people. His arrogant dismissiveness of the British people is not good for him. It's not good for the Government, it's not good for our country."

    At the celebration, attendees share Braverman's anger at being dismissed as racist.

    "I've got seven grandchildren," said Maria Jackson, 56, a shop assistant. "That's why I'm here. I want them to live in a safe environment. We don't have an issue with letting in a number of people who genuinely need to come here. But this will just be men, not even kids or women.

    "These are flats right in the town centre. Why can't they give them to people on the waiting list? If our children wanted to live there they'd be waiting for years. They talk rubbish about racism but Keir Starmer is not in the real world."

    Councillor Philippa Gray, deputy leader of Havant Borough Council, says legitimate concerns are not extremist, and the authority respected "healthy democratic debate". However, she says Braverman was continuing to use "inaccurate and inflammatory language", and that the flats were to be used by a mix of families and individuals who were "asylum seekers" and "not illegal immigrants". But locals do not believe these reassurances.

    "We have no idea about the history," says 61-year-old IT worker Paul Crowley, who is joined at the party this evening with his wife Mel Crowley, also 61, who works in retail. "We don't know who is coming in. If they came through with legitimate reasons because of persecution that's fine, but this is now a concern for me as a grandparent. I care about my children and my grandchildren."

    "We've been slurred a lot with racism," he says. "I'm not a racist, I am patriotic. I care about this country and I care about people entering the country who are completely undocumented."

    Genevieve Doury, 46, a refuse collector for the same council that criticised Braverman, says she would have been "neighbours" with migrants who would move into the flats and was worried about her teenage daughter's safety.

    "I live here with my 14-year-old girl. If they did actually come here I would have to leave here. I'm right across the road and I would know nothing about who these people are. I wouldn't feel safe. There are people who try to get a visa, do the proper route but these people are skipping the queue and that's unfair. There are rules for a reason."

    She adds that she will "100 per cent be back" protesting if there are any new plans to house asylum seekers in the town, and hopes similar peaceful protests would spread across the country.

    "I hope there will be a domino effect," she says. "We've started it and everybody else will follow."

    It certainly could provide a template for grounds on which to argue: ironically, for all of Munday's dissent against Braverman's protest, the council did raise concerns over fire safety in relation to the flats earmarked for asylum seekers, and in a statement the council later said that after a consultation, the Home Office "decided not to purchase the property as the accommodation".

    Many of the town's 65,000 people now worry there will be a fresh application from the Home Office to house migrants elsewhere. However, for now Braverman believes residents have done the town "proud" by peacefully defeating the plans for the high street.

    "It's a victory for the ordinary folk who often don't have a voice," she says. "This is a victory for the people of Waterlooville."

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/08/14/suella-braverman-labour-smear-racist-waterlooville-migrants

    1. Yet the tories spent 14 years doing nothing about the gimmigrant invasion. 14 years of endless hordes of savages pouring in, day after day. The tide of filth could have been stopped at any time, but they did nothing.

      1. The ones that did call it what it is were smacked down. Suella Braverman called it an invasion.

    2. Waterlooville is not far from me. Not somewhere i ever wanted to visit. Most of the shops and businesses shut.

      If those same people who flooded the High St supported those businesses and voted rather than tribal then their town might improve.

      Ms Braverman is my MP.

    1. If true, instant dismissal. Too many people's lives depend on air traffic controllers remaining professional.

      1. One would want to have faith in air traffic controllers. What if one decided to crash two Israeli planes into each other over a city…

        1. Such an occurrence is bound to happen at some point.

          I spoke with a neighbour yesterday regarding the Indian airline disaster where all were killed bar one person. He told me that the cause will have been the refuelling cycle. Apparently a valve is switched off to deny fuel to the engines during refuelling and switched back on after refuelling is complete. Without this procedure the engines would be flooded.

          It seems that the valve cutting fuel to the engines was not switched back on thus the engines were starved of fuel sufficient for a complete take off. Evidence for this is the voice recording where the pilots are accusing each other of switching off fuel to the engines whereas the real culprit was the person in charge of refuelling. Further evidence is the absence of smoke from the engines when set to maximum thrust. The aircraft could never recover in time.

          We agreed that if such a disaster can be so easily perpetrated then it seems almost inevitable that similar could occur in the UK.

          3. Layers of responsibility.

            When the ground crew shows green to go it's green.

            As an aside. I'm not flying any more.

            Not just because of all this nonsense but because of all the new laws and other rigmarole.

          6. The engines would not have started if the fuel was cut off. And there wouldnt be ' fuel in the lines', at takeoff the engines are consuming about 200kg per minute.

          8. We have got the ‘how’ the accident occurred but I dont think we will ever know the ‘why’, unless they have more on the tapes than released.

          11. I remember the problems experienced by others with missing property taken from their luggage. I hate travelling via Heathrow simply because so many inspection positions appear to be occupied by foreigners.

            How remarkable that going “Airside” even when carrying survey equipment, goggles, steel capped boots and high viz jackets and plastic safety helmets, as I have done when surveying “Aurside” for Carluccio’s, that a skip load of blacks can enter the UK without suffering any of the usual indignities that the rest of us suffer.

      3. We were at Washington's Dulles airport for the first BA Concorde flight to London take off. Someone we were with had a communications receiver tuned to the local ATC frequency. We heard the pilot doing his "Speedbird request for takeoff" folowed ATC's, Clear for take off. And as the plane rotated and aimed shyward, the controller's voice came on with "Go baby, go!".

        1. Send him to an airport in Palestine. Oh, I forgot the Yassarf Arafat Airport is no more – same as most of Gaza.

          1. We now have in the UK muslims demanding we pay for an Airport in Pakistan so it is easier to visit their folks.

    2. Now what would the context of those appalling crimes be, I wonder? Is it possible that the victims were white teenager girls and that other men were also involved?

    3. Crikey, if he's been that badly behaved in court, what's he been up to elsewhere?

      The diversity simply cannot be permitted to get into these roles.

      3. TBF; the time does tend to drag when you're hanging around a court.
        When you've read the Sun and completed the crossword, what else can a chap do?

    2. I’m just thinking about Bernie Grant’s comments all those years ago. We haven’t moved on much, have we?

      1. 'But it’s obvious Jones was presented as a 58-year-old victim of a hard knock life, a sufferer of ADHD and dyslexia who had faced racism at school after being forced to do PE in his underpants'.

        Hasn't he grown up yet?

        At my Primary School both boys and girls did PE in our underpants. Once at Secondary school i forgot my kit and the PE teacher offered me a pair of shorts that i would have needed to hold up the entire time. So i ripped the strings off an apron from my locker and made a belt.

        As for him having ADHD and Dyslexia i would be surprised is those diagnoses were being given out 50 years ago.

        Hi Sweetie… :@)

        1. Dyslexia was discovered around that time. I remember a college friend in the 70s dismissing it as bunkum. She figured some people learnt to read and some didn't and there wasn't anything more to it than that. I don't recall ADHD quite that far back. There were just badly behaved kids.

          1. There were just badly behaved kids.

            And, generally speaking, the school discipline system stopped them from becoming the problem they are now.

          2. Now, of course, it would be "child abuse" (if not worse) to attempt to tell a child to stop behaving badly.

          3. And we don't dare tick you off when you are being above normally nasty lest the MR sue us for zillions.

          4. Very true. Our youngest and one of his pals were trouble makers in primary school. Their teacher moved them to two desks at the front, right under her nose and if they are much as looked sideways, she was on top of it.

            Both very bright, but very bored.

          5. We had never heard of ADHD until about the 1980's. And it was really plain old ADD – no adults involved.

          7. I can’t be bothered to research his early life and his difficulties then but to use the conditions for his behaviour now just doesn’t wash.

            I have several permanent scars across my face and body from before i left home at 17.

            None of what happened to me was considered extraordinary on a council estate.

            I have a scar across my foot where i was run over.
            I have scars across my fingers from being bitten by a neighbour’s dog.
            I have scars across my forehead from a house brick lobbed at me.
            I have scars around my knees and i no longer know how i got them.

            I then got more scars when i briefly had to live on the streets.

            One in particular that still annoys me was one particular gang beat the shit out of me as i walked to Bistro Montparnasse to wait tables in Southsea.

            What really sticks in my craw was that utter bastard who punched me in the stomach and laughed was later featured in a BBC documentary about how disadvantaged people living in Somerstown right to the Law Courts had it so hard.

            I think. I have grown.

            Though i expect by now the old cunt is in a mobility scooter or died in prison.

        3. We had to do PE in our school issue harvest festivals.
          Thank you for another reason excuse.

    4. I don't suppose anyone bothered to check whether he has any documented history of ADHD type behavioural patterns and previous diagnosis? He likely had it for one day only and for the purposes of the desired outcome, that was accepted without question?

      1. Before I post any more, I will make an announcement.
        I AM NEUROTIC DIVERSE.
        Now I can say absolutely anything.
        Or does my wan complexion cancel that freedom?

        1. #metoo. Whatever i say/write is in the heat of the moment. No come back on me, thanks.

    5. We are not allowed to know the jurors. Snaresbrook Crown Court in Redbridge…East London.

      1. It would be interesting to see the demographic make-up of that jury.
        Twelve good (wo)men and true?
        I doubt it.

      2. From AI…

        East London's demographics are characterized by a high level of ethnic diversity, with significant populations from various Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. Specifically, Newham, a borough in East London, has a particularly large Asian population, with Bangladeshis being the largest single ethnic group, according to Wikipedia. The area also has a relatively young population and a high proportion of residents who were not born in the UK.

        All the Cockneys have left.

        2. They were already bailing out into Essex when we lived in the Dengie Hundred back in the '70's.

          I remember the lovely line in one of the 7 Up episodes, where the cheeky chappie cockney kid had grown up and become a taxi driver. On being asked whether he would ever move back into the East End, the answer was "Nah, you want to be with your own kind, dontcha?"

          In the American "street" vernacular, True, dat.

          1. “Nah, you want to be with your own kind, dontcha?”

            That posted on media will now get our police knocking on your door for hate crime.

            We have a very long history of welcoming corner shops and restaurants from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

            The militants have infiltrated.

            How many Barber shops does any town need.

          2. London's loss is Essex's gain.
            Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire probably say the same thing.

    6. Jones – good old Welsh name that. What is it with the Welsh, from choirboys to knickerless little dears.

  62. Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It was formerly a Saxon Catholic cathedral (705–1075) and a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), before becoming a Church of England parish church in 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries.

    The Saxon Catholic Diocese of Sherborne was founded in 705 by King Ine of Wessex to relieve pressure from the growing see of Winchester. He set Aldhelm as first bishop of the see of Western Wessex, covering Dorset, Somerset, Devon, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of 27 bishops of Sherborne. Cornwall was added to the diocese at the end of the ninth century, but in 909 the diocese was divided in three to create the new bishoprics of Wells, covering Somerset, and Crediton, covering Devon and Cornwall, leaving Sherborne with Dorset.

    The twentieth bishop was Wulfsige III (or St. Wulfsin). In 998 he established a Benedictine abbey at Sherborne and became its first abbot. In 1058, the Sherborne chapter elected Herman, Bishop of Ramsbury, to be also Bishop of Sherborne. In 1075, Herman unified his two bishoprics into a single see with its seat at Old Sarum, so Sherborne remained an abbey church but was no longer a cathedral. The bishop (in Old Sarum) remained the nominal head of the abbey until 1122, when Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury, made the abbey independent.

    From 1122 until dissolution, Horton Priory (founded as a Benedictine abbey in 961, but reduced to priory status when the bishopric moved) was dependent on Sherborne. Also, Kidwelly Priory (later abbey) in Wales was made a cell of Sherborne Abbey, which was at that time a cathedral priory, c.1110 and was dissolved at the same time as its mother-house.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5d6a41bf1aea1098a0c5c4f3978ae29f7ba7ae24775690300ece7397d6912f82.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9bc811057cc709e109ed112ecd889b79844958d904ddf1f79cab259918fcc249.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f596dba719b302fdc91e3828cb661ef3ead53db3cb4f03d1efe97c9e10488bf1.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bf36a13c838c2b97d3ebdcf9bc32a141c431c16faf935fd99009f9384856d3b8.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/21b857ef916235961ddd8c8aa2b5ccc7511a82b166009bbfcee4158ff06ddaba.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/572be197f6814363082f0067c3c8dd37cc172a4074c19f2220f536e4134ae883.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1717dbef2434c8ef7ca7ba13a70ca6aea1e42df0ae85456b2764dbcf7294610c.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0ca07751e489459420a8d810160073a406c28a37ad288d3bb354e321e476c447.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/29792dce8982aa04c7272c2e399795a89692a79f8b88d5ba26bfcc8c4a66848e.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7685a2f553d718c01c50f2ff74e47e078199699b96301f1fa62d33d7cc8f3d87.jpg

      2. None. That style of architecture is Perpendicular Gothic, which dates from the 14th to the 16th century. The Normans abolished slavery in England. Yes, I know they had serfs and serfdom is little better than slavery but technically they weren't slaves.

        Edit: I didn't spot "black". Definitely none of those.

    2. The fan vaulting and stained glass is exquisite……….. This is our heritage – what will become of the Christian faith with its current head fixated on another religion?

  63. Well the visiting family have departed………. it's lovely to see them but also nice to have our quiet house back. The boys are both talented pianists and they had a good session on our ancient piano. Pizzas for lunch and then Kiran went up and picked the last of the high-up greengages.

          1. 14 and 11 I think………… growing up fast. They're on their way to stay near Bourton on the Water for two weeks.

          2. It’s very odd to me that our schools in Scotland have gone back after the summer! Except for our other family in Borders region, who seem to have given an extra weeks holiday!

          3. First week in September is usual here. but Scotland has always been different – did they break up earlier?

          1. On orders from the very top. As are so many of the other political prisoners in the UK. Duty solicitors need to be sued, personally, for giving their clients very bad advice.

      2. Connolly was convicted of inciting racial hatred. Jones was acquitted of encouraging violent disorder. How do the offences compare? What level of evidence is required?

        Most importantly, how were the two advised and who did the advising? This is where questions of bias arise.

        1. I would love to know who the HELL advised Sarah Connolly to plead guilty. The Tw@ deserves stringing up by his bollocks.

  66. So now you have it:
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15003941/Daughter-tried-storm-migrant-hotel-meat-cleaver-asylum-seeker-blind-mothers-flat-moving-hand-groin-court-hears.html

    A daughter tried to storm a migrant hotel with a meat cleaver after she found an asylum seeker in her mother's flat 'moving his hands over his groin', a court heard.

    Channay Augustus, 22, is accused of being part of a group of around 20 people who tried to barge into the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, east London, on Wednesday evening.

    The trouble started when she discovered a migrant as she cleaned her blind mother's ground-floor flat, a five-minute walk away from the hotel, Thames Magistrates' Court was told.

    1. My bold

      Augustus, an events worker, broke down in tears throughout the hearing and was joined in court by a number of family members.
      She is charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis.
      Ms Augustus's grandmother broke down in tears as District Judge Jane McIvor denied bail in the case.

        1. I have little doubt that the woman in question would not be my ideal neighbour, but how many other people get remanded in custody in cases like this?
          I wonder whether the amount in question is below Khan's proposed ignore it levels.

    2. OK, so the meat cleaver was, unsurprisingly, the main reason why she was arrested and the cannabis would suggest she may have been stoned at the time.
      However, the Invader walking into a private home should have also been arrested for behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace, if not an actual breach of the peace.

    3. I can't find a photo of Ms Augustus. I don't s'pose she's a proper ol' East End gal, kno' wot I mean!

        1. Dutch, German, English, Welsh, West Indian (mainly Trinidad and Tobago), and African (mainly Nigeria): from the Latin personal name Augustus (from the adjective augustus 'consecrated, majestic, venerable') or a Latinized (humanistic) form of German and English August.

  67. A few more pictures of today's work.
    After the post-1st session mug of tea:- https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/635b21ef42aaf4b7c2c2abf08cd9059dc498c2ca71c0fbe461dcebcb388ea976.jpg And what I'd chucked down: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5f200c69202133beecba4aa2a03c83d429b576a522b181926d20543e61f1024b.jpg The Phlying Phart sees daylight for the first time in a couple of year, don't look too bad, so plan getting it MOT'd https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/132f28035b457a074fd872daf1175016f7c0c22eac0dac08fcae58180cc2ef8f.jpg Just about to get started again https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/90368f0f2499da5cc8445b7dc282133383f3cfd5b769fa9b15538256635d64d1.jpg And what it looked like then https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1be0392b5ac123f67701e4f3ed5efbf80133cb99f98f93dc523f75ca58fd356.jpg And what it looks like now https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1e9b93fc6178ac948f8938c7f3c7540d62cbba58462b4215f1c8c658d88f29eb.jpg Another view https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/27fed185ba973f3c76bc27a4ba3794f1bd12f89f3d838969f1125f686ed4a5bf.jpg And a general view of what I am trying to sort out https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7a7070be34d1996ceb28e8d52adc209e1922760bd06798997b46fef2af619ea7.jpg And once the DT is home, fed and watered, I'll be off for a long, cold bath!

      1. It's in the yard and had been blocked off by Welder Son's Kawasaki 600 White Elephant which he bought just as I was about to get it MOT'd 4 or 5 years back as well as a second CG125 that he'd commandeered from me.
        A long story on that lot.

        1. Thanks for that BoB. A lot clearer now. I thought that you'd thrown it down from way up in your garden.

          1. Yes, it's a bike I bought for Dr.D when her more modern Honda 125 was stolen (she did later get it back).
            There were a few problems on it, not lease the reserve setting of the fuel tap being blocked with grit from when the tank grit blasted and then repainted black. The idiot who repainted it used a paint that dissolves in petrol!!
            He'd also screwed in the slow running screw so that the engine "ticked over" at nearly full RPM.
            So I brought it home, got the fuel tap renewed, the tank flushed out and wound the slow running screw to get the engine running at a more sensible speed.
            I than used it for several years until it got blocked in!

    3. Ever thought of buying a new house o. A nice level flood plain somewhere? It would save you a lot of work!

      1. Some flood plains now reckoned to be safe as houses (lol..)…we'll soon see about that……..

    5. If I wasn't already sitting down, I'd collapse with exhaustion just looking at the photos.

      1. Bob is clearly a hoarder. If he digs deep enough i think he could discover the Amber Room.

  68. Half way (ish) through the month and my Energy Standing Charges are 4 times the cost of Energy used

    1. I suppose the answer would depend on how you would like it to be done and with what you intend to replace it, GQ

        1. Tom has some accurate definitions of the terms bandied about, often as as insults, what such political designations really mean – on his Free Speech Backlash site

      1. The Pistols were great – couldnt play a note, but they were great…..

        Edit: They could actually play a note – it just happened to be the same one over and over again!

  70. Wordle No. 1,518 4/6

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

    Wordle 15 Aug 2025

    Upright for Par Four?

    1. Surprise birdie today.

      Wordle 1,518 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
      🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Just a par today

      Wordle 1,518 4/6

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

    3. Called wrong one of two to miss out on a par – unusual multiple use of 'double' letters, I thought.

      Third bogey on the bounce – silly bloody game……

      Wordle 1,518 5/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. Late on parade. Par here. So near and yet so far.

      Wordle 1,518 4/6

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

    5. Par here, too. Good time at 5 0'clock club though.

      Wordle 1,518 4/6

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

      1. Perhaps we NoTTLers ought to apply to be the new owners. With you negotiating on our behalf, Lammy and 2Teir will grant us at least £1 mill per capita per annum which should be enough for even me and Wibbers to live on.

    1. Done…with a hugely polite comment…do please visit me in HMP Wandsworth with file-bearing cake ASAP. xxx

      1. Hope you like rich fruit cake. It needs to be a pretty dense texture to conceal the file.

        2. I think we can all guess the composition of the jury, and the level of understanding of British law that it would entail

          2. Recently watching the tv series the golden age. It shows quite clearly that coloured people can be just as racist to other coloureds.

            Taking it back years to the book Roots and the film. If you were poor, if you were not the right tone of brown, you were oppressed.

            It isn't about colour.

  75. One a day now.. nay more than that.

    Migrant Khalifa Eissa Benyzeed who arrived in Britain by small boat has been arrested after three people were injured in a knife attack in Eastbourne.
    One man suffered a 'potentially life-threatening' stab wound to his chest – and two more were slashed across the face.

  76. That's me for this VJ-Day. I was impressed that the Woke Wales family did not consider it worth their while to take part in the commemoration. All history, innit? Who knows or cares these days? I expect there was a WEF directive….

    Have a splendid evening – there is an agreeable breeze here right now which is freshening the otherwise rather oppressive atmosphere.

    A demain.

    1. May I politely disagree?
      1) school holidays
      2) there is an increased security risk/burden if many Royals appear together at public occasions.
      3) Kate and the sprogs might be a distraction
      4) when Prince of Wales, the Jolly WK attended many WWII commemorations. He knows the form.
      I was moved by the words of 105 year old gent, a former army camera man; does anyone remember a documentary swansong made by Alan Whicker about his experiences in Italy during the war? c2005, viewable on youtube.

        1. It is a joke isn't it. All those military that served under Elisabeth and Charles. All those in the Firm that served and then we still have hundreds of ex servicemen dying on our streets.

          1. The JWK and his dreadful children are appalling.

            I am embarrassed to be in favour of a monarchy. It ended with her Late Majesty.

          2. She was backed up by Prince Phililip, a man for whom I have enormous respect.
            Command during the war, he was a hard man who thought very clearly, and advised Her Majesty from the shadows. The results were easily visible, in the huge respect she got as Queen. He, had almost no attention apid at all, which is how I suspect he planned it.

    2. Today, apart from being the Feast of the Assumption, is Winston’s third birthday. Happy birthday, Wynne!

  77. Enjoyable DT article on foreign dining experiences.
    Being a romantic soul, I particularly savoured (!) this one.

    ‘The giant carcass was covered in a thick layer of grey jelly – which quivered as the elderly restaurant owner shuffled it over’
    As soon as I saw the chicken, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. It lay sprawled on a platter, legs and wings akimbo, its giant carcass covered in a thick layer of grey jelly – which quivered as the elderly restaurant owner shuffled it over. There was no doubt it was for us: my then-boyfriend and I were the only two diners, watched over by a stern official from the Taiwan tourist board, our “minder” for the entire stay.

    We were bog-eyed from the 14-hour flight, and when I’d spotted braised chicken on the menu it had sounded so comforting amid this bizarre scenario – nothing like the fridge-cold, ashen hunk of flesh and fat before me.

    The owner and official lingered at the tableside, and I forced a weak smile. But by the time I’d forced down two mouthfuls, I was in the danger zone. There was no way I could manage another, let alone finish the beast.

    “I just can’t…”, I murmured to my boyfriend. Spotting my pallor, he wordlessly slid the platter to his side of the table and started to work, giving our companions a thumbs-up for good measure. I knew at that moment that he would be the man I’d marry – and he was. You can keep your diamonds, your roses: the man ate the chicken for me. It was so horrendous, that not even the chicken anus skewer I mistakenly tried a few days later eclipsed it – but that’s another story…

    Hazel Plush

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/travel-writers-worst-holiday-meals/

    1. Many countries..?
      Sure 27 + 1.

      Personally, don't blame him or Israel.. UK & Ireland are practically begging him.

      1. The whole of Europe and the UK are already flooded. I don't believe Netanyahoo said that.

    2. That should be, and hopefully was, "Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu
      admits that he wants to drive millions of Palestinians into       Europe. other Arab countries."

  79. Good day, Nottlers all!

    Very late on parade due to yesterday's quilombo (damned useful word; pretty much a shambles).

    It took 14 hours for the water to be turned off upstairs, due to various misunderstandings and cock-ups, during which time I had to empty buckets every half an hour and endure what was pretty much Chinese water torture. 🙄

    The last drops fell at about 9.30 pm, and I had promised to go to a milonga, but felt like nothing more than crawling into bed.

    Dragged myself out thinking, ah, I'll just sit there like a zombie for a while and say hello to people, only to have an unexpectedly good time, in the way of such things. 🙂

    Onwards and upwards!

    1. Sounds good…let everyone else do the work, and look after you – what's not to like! Hope you're back to usual self today 😘🎶

    2. Hi, Katy. Hope all is well. I've yet to scroll down far enough to see the cause of the leak, but you bring to mind a situation a few years ago.

      I was still Verger, and living across the road from the Church. The Church loo is basically in a shed by the lych gate. It was deemed too expensive to connect to mains drainage, so a septic tank was placed under the loo. Sue, the redoubtable former Churchwarden, lives in the valley a few hiundred yards below the churchyard, and has similar sanitary arrangements. Consequently, when she books a "pump out" at home, she does the same for the Church.

      Around 7.00 am, I had opened the shed to grant access to the tanker. As he pumped, the mobile rang. It was Dianne The Ex – we remain friends, but when I lived at her place, I had my arm twisted into doing many improvements to her place; happily – since DIY when someone else ia paying for the materials… what's not to like?

      "I have boiling water pouring through the Kitchen ceiling – I don't know what to do. And the Police are here!"

      "First of all, why the Police? What you need is a plumber…"

      Jack, the youngest son, was (prolly still is) fond of long showers. In the airing cupboard, adjacent to the bathroom, I had installed a power shower pump. It worked brilliantly, until someone – as yet unidentified – left the immersion heater on. Its thermostat failed, and in those days, a safety cut out wasn't required. Jack was lucky, since the shower mixer was thermostatically controlled, so he was oblivious to the boiling rain in the Kitchen. One might suggest that the sound of a boiling kettle coming from the airing cupboard might warrant investigation, but… meh.

      What had happened, was that the plastic flexible hoses to the pump had essentially melted.

      The police? The flood of boiling water below the first floor tripped out the power. Dianne, being so9mething of a cheapskate, had cancelled the service contract for her alarm. I had a neighbour do the same in Seale. All is well while the power is on. But cut the mains power, and if the control panel battery has failed, all hell will break loose.

      The moral? If you have an alarm, make sure the battery works… 😊

        1. I am so glad at last years garden party i gave him the 'comfy chair'. It was bad enough with Anne Allen and her accomplice to be set free on the streets ! Wacky races .

  80. Not yet happening in Britain but something for pet owners to be aware of.
    Who knew there was a parallel WHO for animals? After all, the foot and mouth disease reaction in Britain was so successful courtesy of Professor N Ferguson, why not repeat it?
    James Roguski's substack "Protect your Pets"
    https://substack.com/@jamesroguski

    2. My cats were probably vaccinated against feline diseases as kittens, and may have had boosters before they came to us. They won't be having any more.

      My last two kittens were vaccinated just the once and lived into their mid-teens.

      Two cats who came to us as kittens in 1984 had the jabs as kittens – and one – Joe – had a nasty virus a couple of years later. He recovered and his brother didn't have it. They lived to be 17 and 18.

    1. It certainly would be, usually hides any tab/meds in her cheek. So what about the human cruelty she does to me…chasing her round, holding her squiggling, medicating and then a YuMove treat…

        1. With cats, Sue? generally, I think pets over-medicalised..in a similar way to many humans. I’ve taken in several rescue dogs, this one is a terrier and one I actually paid for…still paying, in terms of her sitting near as she can whilst supper served and eaten……..

          1. We had a very glorious Lab who could find a tiny pill in a piece of cheese, pate, sausage, ham, chicken or anything else nice, and spit it out the side of his mouth!
            I see you have a Velcro dog!

          2. Ha! that’s one breed I’ve never had, they look so easy-going and innocent with it…good to know can be as sneaky as others. I do love dogs tho :-)!

          4. Well named, that Dog! And good boy for not letting go…mine I tell you, all mine….just had the most splendid evening, old friend called, been laughing our socks off…!

          5. Kadi is a Velcro dog. My red setter used to eat everything the treat was wrapped in and spit the pill out.

  82. Concerning "Slasher" Jones' innocence:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fZLrP4j4HM

    Colour me surprised. Choosing my words carefully here, the London Borough of Redbridge had a White British population of 23% at the last census, 14 years ago. I'm unaware of any more recent figure. I can't be arsed to check out the political leanings of the Borough, but I can hazard a guess. Obviously, I wouldn't dream of speculating about the nature of the jury in the case against the fine, upstanding Councillor Jones.

    On the other hand, in the case of the evil, far-right T*ry (I can't bring myself to type the whole word, naturally) scum [(c) A Rayner, PBUH] Connolly (spit), and her entitlement to bail, i would merely refer viewers to 19:25 in the video above, and invite them to draw rheir own conclusions…

    Should the site fail to update by 0700 hrs tomorrow, sarcasm will have been proscribed. Please send a file with a cake in it. Or vice versa. Whatever, it was good while it lasted…

    1. In mitigation you have been almost blind for a long time and after having your legs removed you were no longer able to play the organ in Church.

      Do you happen to have any black ancestry? The Black and White Minstrels?

    2. I always suspected you were 'Far-Right' Geoffrey – it's the organ playing, dead giveaway!

        1. Yes Geoff – it’s amazing what a cursory Google search throws up;

          Prince Albert
          Max Planck
          Werner von Braun
          Huw Edwards (oops)
          Ted Heath
          Adolf Hitler
          Benito Mussolini

          Oh all right, I made the last two up…….

  83. Moh played golf and I attended the VJ ceremony in Weymouth by the memorial on the sea front ..

    I left the house well before 10am , got stuck behind the lycra clad brigade who were cycling to wherever they cycle to.. they held up nearly a mile of traffic!.

    I arrived at 10.30 . and found a parking space near the old pier bandstand , very near to all the memorials , and a few early arrivals appeared looking splendid in their uniforms , average age 80+ there were a few younger ones , those who had served in Iraq etc , but the guys who were older had served in ships re the Korean campaign , and other squabbles like Egypt , Malaya etc .. but of course people like me were there because our parents were stationed / aboard/ or taken prisoner / fought and the whole caboosh that nasty war produces .

    3 Standard bearers , wreaths and eulogies , it was a tender moment , prayers and the Kohima prayer , last post and various stories brought tears to our eyes ..

    The sun was very hot , the traffic wasn't halted , holiday makers moved amongst the gathering , and that felt surreal , but it was a coming together , maybe for the last time of painful memories and sacrifice ..

    The far east was hell on earth and the cruelty of the Japanese matched the Nazis , Hamas, Taliban and every other God forsaken hole where the devil hides .

    Never ever again, did I really say that?

    PS I was the only one who had a flag to wave .

        1. Then he might want to consider your protection in future seeing as our flags are being banned.

          I would be interested in his response to you being arrested for waving a little Union Jack flag where some Pro Pallies might be nearby.

          1. I think he was. A diseased part of the body politic needs to be excised.

            Paul's response at the time i said his actions may have been justified suggested he was uncomfortable with what i said.

            It has since all proven to be true.

            Many many attacks not just in the UK alone and the Brainwashed Left still make apologies for their behaviour.

            People being overwhelmed with stabbers while they just wanted to go out to supper.

            People going out for a dance in a nightclub and being gunned down with automatic weapons.

            Someone drawing a picture…Office slaughtered.

            Little girls giggling and dancing to a Pop icon and throats slashed.

            They are here because Left Wing politics excuse their animalistic behaviour.

    2. I mentioned earlier the only tests or face to face was if they were paid to do it. GP practices like Vets have sold out.

      1. My dogs have had better service/treatment at vets last few years than we have from our GP surgery. Post-vaccine was when I started not being well, husband phoned GP – who accepted his call and said 'actually a few men have been saying similarly, about their wives'. There are no words, really, no words.

        1. In my area three practices have come together. In any of them you will never see more than two or three people in reception. When observed most are in for blood tests.

          1. I think it's a fairly widespread problem. Have a picture of many pensioners standing outside the surgery in the pouring rain, waiting patiently to collect prescriptions during lockdown, being issued one person at a time through a small window. And then having a tickbite which developed bullseye thus needing antibiotics (have had prescriptions for that previously), told to go to A&E, by time I saw a medic three hours and counting, told 'your bp is high, we'll give you something for that…'envy of the world my tush….

        2. When I ring the vet it gets answered immediately. The GP? Your call is important to us- but if it’s so important to you answer the sodding phone.

    3. "What will it take to make these British people riot? Why aren't they already out on the streets so we can send in the UN troops? Go on, you peasants! Start rioting!"

  85. I see that the old politically motivated two tier judiciary court system is becoming a cutthroat business these days by todays events.
    It would have been better for Labour had this Labour councilor been found guilty, now it is looking like triumphalism without a care or any conscience.

    1. I can’t imagine Tim Martin going along with anything like that. However, since I really don’t know what on earth she was on about, I may be wrong!

          2. Good Lord no! Glaswegians have a sense of humour, Manx’s certainly don’t!🙄

          3. I was thinking drunk or sober..just my experience, which I freely admit is limited (Glaswegian, and mind they have enough on their plates SNP and all that).

          4. When I first moved up here I worked in Glasgow with Scottish & Newcastle. The people remind me of us Geordies – funny, welcoming and completely unintelligible!

    2. Being called “far-Right” is simply an absurdity.

      Being labelled ‘far-Right’ is preposterously idiotic. If you are on the Right of the political spectrum it means you shower, work, know the words to the national anthem, belong to a family, voted Brexit, eat meat, and prefer single-sex lavatories. Have I missed anything?

      Oh yes, I've missed a lot. It also means you are an independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant individualist; who has aspirations and is innovative, knowledgable, entrepreneurial, enterprising and hard-working; who enjoys low taxation and small government. Moreover, your preference is a free-market economy, and you do not go in for mob-handedness, rioting and civil disorder. You expect these positive attributes to be encouraged and rewarded. Your self-esteem, your family, your locality and your country come first, and you are prepared to kill (and die) to defend them.

      In a nutshell, you are NORMAL.

      Therefore it logically follows that to be ridiculously labelled as being ‘far-Right’ means that you must be an extremely independent, extremely self-sufficient, extremely self-reliant and an extreme individualist; who is extremely aspirational, extremely innovative, extremely knowledgable, extremely entrepreneurial, extremely enterprising, extremely hard-working, and enjoys extremely low taxation and extremely small government, etc.

      If that is the case, then you may call me extremely ‘far-Right’ until the cows come home.

      ©2022 Grizzly.

    4. I believe that 'Spoons' wanted to stay out of the political shit. Flags 'n' that.

      What i don't forgive them for is the tables they put out on my High St i wasn't allowed to sit my dog.

      Tim has his priorities. I have mine.

  87. Totally off topic.
    We get "memories" appearing on HG's Facebook link (I don't do Facebook).
    Today was one from 2014 when we were awarded a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence for the gite.
    Apparently they don't give too many of those.
    It seems a long time ago that I had my heart attack and we stopped doing it.

    1. I get that kind of stuff from Facebook – I'm only there because Mother's care home publishes photos of what the inmates are getting up to, and just now & again I get to see Mother having a good time – in a 95-year-old kind of way.

      1. I remember that with my dad, Paul. Although he was a few years younger, almost 91. Cherish it whilst you can, I see him in my mind's eye, laughing or getting mad at me.

        1. Mother is in a "closed department" at the care home, due to dementia. So, she's sadly not often on view in the videos taht they post, and not surprisingly, really.
          Yet, when I call, she's usually OK to talk to, although I get the strong feeling taht she's being polite and making conversation because she was a well-brought up girl… but really, she has no idea who I am. It can be hard work, that.

          2. Us too.
            The home are very kind, we were lucky thqt Mother got a place during lockdown. But the cost is fierce! About £5,000 a month… when the money's all gone, apparently the local authority will pay. I have my doubts, and (hope??) that Mother doesn't get to that position.
            I never really knew my parents, being sent to boarding school aged 8 (no suitable schools in Nigeria) and then never really living at home after that. I regret that deeply the older I get, and make sure that I irritate the shut out of both boys by maintaining contact (visiting Firstborn's place 2-3 times a week, with overnights) and buying Second Son Rum 'n Cokes weekly at our local. THat keeps me happy, that they are still included in the Family.

          3. My dad's was similar cost – very lucky I went to visit solicitor to seek out his will, she asked about his situation and said categorically 'if he needs 24/7 care, the state pays'. (UK) That was then, this is now though and may not be the same – but worth a check? I have two children, one abandoned ship many years ago without any reason I can make sense of, still close to t'other. All the best to you and yours, Kate x

          4. Apparently, the Council pick up the bills once savings get very low.
            So, on the bright side, no hassles from the UK government for inheritance tax… 😉

          5. Bit of good news 🙂 think Reeves is bringing in new legislation IHT, worth everyone checking if affected by it.

          6. My friend has just lost her mother aged 92. She has lain in a bed, in a care home for 10 years and hasn’t recognised her family for a very long time. Although the end was peaceful, and the family were there, my friend was shocked at how sad she felt and is grieving.
            All that time, and still so shocking.

          7. Oh, man, Sue.
            My sympathies for your friend. You never know how these things will take you.
            As an example, I was (unreasonably?) upset at yesterday's news about Jill the Lass, although I never knew her personally, and still am upset. Yet, I rushed home as fast as I could back in 1997 from Osslo as my Father was dying, being a tad too late, and although being upset, wasn't tearful even when talking with Mother who couldn't be there as he took his last. It was too painful for her (I understand, being unable to stay with Magnificat's last) leaving Father to draw his last all alone.
            It's all very difficult. Maybe if we thought it through in advance, we'd know what to do, how, and why?

          8. Paul, I don’t think it would make any difference how you plan it. Death happens and most of the time, we can’t change anything. My mother died about 12 hours after I went to Greece to see my sister. She was fine when I left, and then she wasn’t, so nothing prepares you for that.

          9. I just hate the thought of Father dying alone and separated from his family.
            It was bad enough when Magnificat had to be put down, and I left because I couldn't bear it. He tried to hook my sleeve with a claw, to keep me back whilst he took that last ride to Valhall. But I fled.

          10. Sorry to read that, Alec – you're not alone. Not looking forward to my own demise, or that of anyone similar age I know. Although, bright side – old friend called this evening, laughed ourselves silly as often the case :-D, not seen her for a long time.

          11. I'd rather be hit by a train than degenerate into vegetable status. Cleaner for all concerned (not the clean-up crew, obvs).

          14. Oh, man, Conners. I'm so sorry. That's the toughest situation I can conceive of, and even thinking of it, I am really moved.

          15. Towards the end, I was never sure if he recognised me or not. Very strange, to see and hear him seemingly normal, but then realising he wasn't at all. I stopped going when it was obvious he really was no longer compos mentis eg fist fighting with female residents quite an eye opener. Carers told me all residents were sedated to one degree or another, which was uplifted when they judged the time was near, to three separate injections. Wish you and Mother all the best, Paul, a difficult time but it will surely pass.

          16. Thanks!
            When I call, and she clearly has no idea who I am, it's a bit hard I admit. But then, life can be that way.
            I'm sorry about your Dad and the fisticuffs… you don't need that kind of thing.

  89. We can now expect 48 hours of intense debate on the obviously correct decisions given in the Connolly and Jones cases and how our civilisation has been saved by the just and proper application of the law. Fascism has been put down. Anyone who argues unfairness is ignorant of how the law works and should keep his mouth shut.

    The BBC will be scrupulously objective, only allowing debate on points of law. Anyone who attempts to debate the individual merits of the cases will be interrupted. Any social comment will be considered as a justification for racism and will be treated with contempt, especially on programmes such 'Any Questions' or 'Question Time' with their carefully selected audiences. Radio phone-ins will be ruthlessly managed and anyone critical of the outcome of the cases will be summarily cut off.

    Meanwhile, out on the street…

    2. But but but she pleaded guilty wah wah wah so she was obviously guilty otherwise she wouldn’t have wah wah wah wah you stupid gammons don’t know anything wah wah wah

      etc etc etc

  90. We can now expect 48 hours of intense debate on the obviously correct decisions given in the Connolly and Jones cases and how our civilisation has been saved by the just and proper application of the law. Fascism has been put down. Anyone who argues unfairness is ignorant of how the law works and should keep his mouth shut.

    The BBC will be scrupulously objective, only allowing debate on points of law. Anyone who attempts to debate the individual merits of the cases will be interrupted. Any social comment will be considered as a justification for racism and will be treated with contempt, especially on programmes such 'Any Questions' or 'Question Time' with their carefully selected audiences. Radio phone-ins will be ruthlessly managed and anyone critical of the outcome of the cases will be summarily cut off.

    Meanwhile, out on the street…

  91. Fekkit. Tim Martin walks on water (and lives in Topsham, which has yet to fall to the invaders.

    rI don't mean Grockles. Since my local bus was erased by Surrey CC, my regular bus trips to Aldershot, Morrisons, then 'Spoons, have gone.

    If Taylor Wimpey get their way, things may improve, but not if the Nimbys win. Search Normandy and Flexford…EWon' affectme – I'm on the right side of the railway, More houses = less likelihood of closing the station. And maybe some shops…

    1. Lord, Geoff. I'd be knocking on your door, give you a lift, we'd have a good old laugh at the lousy state of things. Take it easy, my lad x

    2. Okay. That's either very nice Malbec or straight single malt.

      You can have the use of my E-Chair for free !

  92. EPL kicks off.. Liverpool vs Bournemouth

    Liverpool have named a starting XI without a single English player in it

    1. That's outrageous , they're the current English Champions – it's important to keep the progression in the game for indigenous players.

      It would be totally within their gift for the FA to insist on a minimum number of English players for each English club. I'm sure they used to do something similar??

    2. I wonder what the average diversity income would be if one extracted all the earnings of diverse sports people.

  94. I see that the adults are out in Alaska sorting out the globalist mess in a WEF free zone
    Not before time, if you ask me,

    1. I don't know how the judge instructed the jury, but if found not guilty there is no sentence to be given.

    2. We are living in a time where all the people that have have made it to the top of all our institutions and positions of authority not because of their ability, intelligence or ingenuity, but because of their blind allegiance and a lifetime of parroting the globalist line and not speaking out against it.

  96. Evening all. Finally home (M1 and M6 both chocker block). No photos yet because I only chose the ones to be put in the album this morning. It was really difficult as they were all so good. I shall get the album in about two or three weeks. Photos have to be printed and then bound. I can only say I am very impressed. When I paid a fortune for the photos I said I might as well spend it on something I wanted as have Reeves steal it to waste.

    2. That's exactly how I think about my savings and Ms. Reeves. I don't plan to bankrupt myself, but I am now very happy to "treat" my friends as often as possible.

      1. It helps if you have friends to treat.

        Everybody is very wary of me, so I have few friends!!!

          1. But true.
            Those who regard me as a friend know that I will do anything I can to help them. Some will even attest I helped them through considerable difficulties.

            I tend to keep myself to myself, apart from on Nottle.

          2. Got that impression over the years of NoTTL – Thanks, Geoff!
            You are a good person to know, Sos.
            Maybe all of us should meet up somewhere neutral – put faces to names, and there's many I'd love to meet!

          4. I'm awful at being social, I never learned as a youth/child. But I have learned to sepaate the bullshitters from the rest over the years, and to my surprise, am very good at it. Maaybe due to extreme introversion – I actually observe the behaviour and speech of the other person, and am able to make a judgement PDQ. As a result, I'm a damn good interviewer… have never hired a bad 'un except one, where I never saw him face-to-face first, Won't make that mikstake again.
            But my judgement is clear: You are one of the good guys, Sos.

          5. Perhaps you've made your second mistake?!!

            I hope not, and kind of you to put it like that.

          2. I just want you to know that i like you even though you are pug ugly and beastly to me. :@)

          1. Can't tonight. Been drinking!
            (and I'm sure all Y'all are amazed by that!) but I buy wine by the box, frequently.

          2. What do they charge you for a 5 litre box of "acceptable" red?
            I pay roughly 16 Euros.
            Often less.

          3. EUR 50 or so, Italian named red.
            By law, alcohol over 5% can only be sold through the wine monopoly (www.vinmonopolet.no), where it's very expensive, but you get the most fabulous choices! Including many you can't easily find elsewhere. But, it costs.

          6. Yo sos,

            A while ago, for a raffle, I made a Cube out of a

            1 Litre box of Red Wine
            1 Litre box of White Wine
            1 Litre box of Rose Wine
            1 Litre of skimmed milk
            1 Litre of semi skimmedmilk
            1 litre of soup

            at a cost of 6 Euros (pukes)

            Arranged a a clump, 3×2 they made a perfect cube, then 'gift' wrapped

          8. In Noggieland, it costs a Fortune

            In France, a while ago, a 5 litre 'Cube' ofwine, used to cost 5 Francs

          10. We ‘tin tented’in France for a while, the changed to Spain, where we were, when Convid struck and were given 5 days to get out of the country, without any Ferries running

  97. I've been fairly busy but it wears me out.
    So good night all Nottlers sleep well 😴

    I think l have just seen that the government will be cutting the state pension by 130 pounds per month. By the end of the year. If that is true, a lot of people will be struggling to make ends meet.

    2. I think it's to do with freezing the allowance and the 130 is per annum, and that is some way down the line.

      1. Most of us here possibly exempt because of age, Kaypea, me included – thankfully, I'd probably be the only one voting to bring back hanging (or similar).

      2. How can they be one's peers, then? If not white British? One is judged by one's peers…. in theory. Could one refuse to have someone on the jury who was not raised in the same country? This sort of stuff was all very well in the 16th – 19th centuries – '12 good men and true', solid British stock, but we live in a very different era now – how can we even call ourselves a democracy because we no longer have a demos – a group of people sprung from the same culture, not any old random collection of people.

        1. Im not familiar with how a jury is selected but I thought that the lawyers can object to those proposed who they do not favour, thus potentially slanting the members toward a suitable racial bias.

    3. Further down the thread is a make-up of the good people of Redbridge.

      Over 50% are “Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh”

      Who makes these categories up? Do they not know anything??????

    4. Further down the thread is a make-up of the good people of Redbridge.

      Over 50% are “Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh”

      Who makes these categories up? Do they not know anything??????

    3. Someone will be tracking them….did you ever see the footage of Cooper 'working' in a bakery, other workers (all gals) didn't seem impressed.

  101. Well, chums, it's been a day and a half for me here in deepest Colchester. So I have decided to take a very early night. I wish you all a Good Night's sleep and hope to see you all early tomorrow morning. Toodle pip!

  102. Wordle No. 1,518 4/6

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

    Wordle 15 Aug 2025

    Upright for Par Four?

  104. Well, very warm evening isn't it ..

    Patio door and windows wide open ..

    Son sleeps downstairs .. easy for when he was working, still not at work because his bones in his hands are still not fixed , wears splints.

    Now, we heard a rattling sound in the hall .. the dog went to investigate , the visiting cat was pawing the corner of the hall table .. oh no , another mouse perhaps ?

    Interrupted Moh from viewing football and asked him to move hall table .. the cat pounced , caught the mouse , dog chased the cat into son's bedroom , followed by Moh , and the cat dropped the mouse .. which then ran under son's bed .

    Do you know what , it is far too warm to mess around .. the mouse will sleep I hope or will he gnaw the bed , I dunno , but Moh rushed back to the football, son is sleeping because he has an early start in the morning ,5k Park Run in Poole .. and he just turned over and went back to sleep!

    Me, I am hot and sticky , so decided not to unload the dishwasher .. and just let things cool down .

    1. I say, Belle… a Lady says she is hot & sticky, all us "gentlemen" get all unnecessary & excited!
      😉

        1. For the moment, all good, thanks.
          Could use some vacation, but then, who couldn't? Summer seems to have been very short this year.

          2. The last 10 days I spent paining at Firstborns place – the barn needs it.
            Lots more to do, weather not right for sitting in the sub drinking G&T… Oh, well.

    2. I say, Belle… a Lady says she is hot & sticky, all us "gentlemen" get all unnecessary & excited!
      😉

    3. Running is at most a fool’s errand. His joints will eventually wear out and the silly sod will end up limping. Far better to move sedately and take care of those supporting you. The same applies to your better half who strikes me as an oaf.

  105. Off topic
    Mad dogs and Englishmen.

    This evening we went to attend the village Assumption day fete.

    Sorry, it's been cancelled because at 42°C with no shade and no breeze, it's too hot.

    Wimps!

    I feel very sorry for the people whose stalls were set up, but no customers; it's this kind of evening that normally makes the difference between a good and a poor year.
    Once they go bust it's the end of the line.
    Several local marchès nocturne have closed since Covid and nights like tonight could be the start of a death knell.
    Very sad.

    1. Hope they find a suitable venue, sos, and the fete makes a return. Very sad to lose it, a number already lost post-lockdown.

    2. 12C here just now, in the darkness, at 22:54 – pigging freezing for August
      Wine at EUR50 a box of cheap, not EUR 16.
      Why are you complaining?

        1. Agree she wouldn't have that expression, why I said AI, but I think she'd make her opinion clear all the same.

          1. I've seen pictures of her with that face.
            I'd have hated to be in the firing line. One woud already be clenching the sphincter…

          3. The one of Her Majesty scowling and wearing a headscarf used to be my avatar. But one day I realised that she would not live forever, and that if she passed away when I still had that avatar it would be in very poor taste. At that point, I changed my avatar to Giles' Granny.

  108. Hmm… just got shrieked at by family because I never heard of Key Lime pie – and the twat on the TV seemed to say "Tea lime" pie.
    WTF is that? Key, or Tea? I assume it's a pastry-lined pie with, well, limes…

    1. I think it's like Lemon Meringue Pie only with limes, so not the same zing. We all need a bit of zing, time to time……

      1. Love limes, me. And lemons, especially Sicilian ones.
        It appears that the "Key" = "Florida".
        Hooda thunkit?

        2. There is something different about Florida Key Limes – I think they are larger therefore they will have more juice. They may be extra flavoursome with it.

          1. Key limes — from the Florida Keys —are actually smaller than (Persian) limes; and they have a slightly different flavour.

    2. I've made a scrumptious Key Lime Pie on numerous occasions. Not the authentic one because I cannot source Key limes, so I had to use bog-standard limes.

    3. The Key lime has thinner rind and is smaller, seedier, more acidic, and more aromatic than the Persian lime.

  111. Excellent performance of Shostakovich's Babi Yar just ended. so I'm about ready for bed.
    Did a bit more up The Ledge, as I'm now calling that bit I'm working on, using the hand pick to hack out the bramble and berberis(?) roots.
    I plan working my way around to the gap against the shed over what is left of the summer.
    A few more pictures of the "garden":-
    Old Des's Lord Derby apple tree is well laden; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7a386c7baf9dbcffe92b84810858ebf53f364e75d463f7848d236660de646422.jpg As is my own; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6ab44c00596fac1db3af8d0af5c6e2b5830d79d8cf232dfa96bbbe46e27b49a4.jpg A closer look; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/938b15dd5074d0df0f79aaf2e78e8052aa46434933df55e8caa6df3d191f27a8.jpg The Aldi Special is doing well too, a lovely, crisp apple, not too sweet and not too sharp; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dfea05f96da9869ea118b7c18ced7c6a417e2cd1cc56c1ca8799262203dd949b.jpg As is the Egremont Russet up on the higher level:- https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6d58c521bb75b3e6b2320bc95c277e7724084464c635eed4d7194a1175289747.jpg A lot of blackberries still to pick, but no room in the freezer; https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7fe62a6c824f42cb196c5b9e3b23903551d4e3562165c90d51f658abb2f370d8.jpg And a glance at my largely seed grown potted trees https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b85e6866a96130e2dae04b3be44076cefc1e35290e999e57ce4291a755681ae8.jpg Which includes a rather nice Scots Pine! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/805aac5d863b36fa9657448b51f2ca89e23191b416ae3667aed933bbb2ffcfd1.jpg And with that I'm off to bed with a trip to Stoke planned and, possible, a couple of nights in the Van.
    TTFN all.

      1. The "upper level" with the russet tree is questionably on the boundary which actually makes the blackberries Balleye Quarry's.
        The bit where I've been clearing and have planted a couple of trees is also probably Balleye's and the Lord Derby actually forms the boundary between Des's old place and mine.
        The boundary's never been properly marked out and the previous owners of Balleye never bothered with this side of the hill.

    2. TThe blackberries have been very early this year. They were ripe for picking at the end of July and now those that were left have withered. Were only halfway through August

  113. It's 23:30. Bed time for a knackered farty like me.
    See all Y'all in the morning!

  114. Britain is getting worse and the old politics offers no solutions

    No matter what the establishment claims, the public can sense that the country is at a tipping point

    David Frost
    14th August 2025, 6:20pm BST

    Is life in Britain getting better or worse? Fraser Nelson has ignited a vigorous debate by positing that "broadly speaking there has never been a better time to live in the UK".

    As evidence, he pointed out that overall crime, according to surveys, is only a third of the level of 25 years ago; that crime had fallen while immigration surged; that air pollution was at historically low levels; and that carbon emissions were falling.

    His assertion feels implausible. Still, one cannot simply dismiss it with anecdotes, or just claim the data is wrong. Data does matter, and it's not necessarily mistaken to use it to question the popular mood. After all, with Nelson as editor, The Spectator persistently opposed lockdowns on the basis that Covid was neither as dangerous nor as fast-spreading as the government claimed. Hard information proved the policy wrong.

    So what is it that jars to so many of us – including this writer?

    Well, first of all, it's that if you are trying to assess the quality of life in Britain you must use all available information and analyse it properly. In fact, overall crime has stopped falling and is ticking up again. Crimes as various as sexual assault and shoplifting, crimes that matter to us day-to-day, are going up significantly. Moreover we are all adjusting our behaviour as shops, streets, and trains feel more threatening, and as the police seem ever less on the side of the law-abiding. The data doesn't catch everything.

    And crime is only one element of the picture. We've had a serious spike in inflation and we can see prices going up yet again under the very uncertain hand of the Bank of England. Vast numbers of Britons have given up working. And GDP per head has grown barely 6 per cent since its pre-crash peak in 2007 – 0.3 per cent a year. In this steady state economy, the only way you get richer is if someone else gets poorer. Look no further for the source of the social conflict of recent years.

    So the wider data certainly gives a gloomier picture. But personally I believe something even more important is also going on.

    People are sensing the country is reaching a tipping point and that the future is going to be different to the past. When this happens, existing data will, self-evidently, tell you nothing reliable about the future.

    What a growing number of voters now see is that for 20 years we have taken the easy way out. We haven't dealt with our problems and we have carried on living on tick. But now the various bills must be paid and it is not going to be fun.

    For 20 years we have robbed selected wealthy Peter to pay collective Paul – or rather not pay, because we haven't run a budget surplus in any of those years and now one government pound in every twelve is spent on financing debt. It's not surprising people worry another financial crisis is coming.

    For 20 years we allowed immigration to increase to its highest ever levels. The consequences are now visible well beyond our major cities and we have nowhere to put illegal migrants except in hotels in hitherto untouched communities. Is it any wonder that people are suddenly agitated about the scale of the problem?

    For 20 years we told people that wind and sun could power Britain. Now they see fields covered with solar panels, their energy bills going up, and heavy industry leaving the country. Is it surprising that suddenly people think they have been sold a pup and fear the consequences?

    Even in those fortunate parts of the country that remain relatively untouched by migration or crime, people are beginning to ask themselves "how long can it last"? No-one seems to think the problems can be fixed. All they hope to do is insulate themselves from them as long as they can.

    That's why people are right to be unhappy. So why have so many voices embarked on the implausible task of telling people things are not so bad? It's because they have to. After all, if the last twenty years have not been spent on turning Britain into a close approximation of the Elysian fields, but rather on complacently storing up difficulties that are now bursting out, why should anyone have confidence in the political ideas of that period or the parties and politicians in charge during it?

    The answer is that people won't have such confidence and will turn to others. That's why the establishment are so keen to persuade you that things are not as bad as they seem. "Trust us, it's not so bad, we'll put things back on track."

    Trust me, they won't. The people who got us here, who tried to stop us leaving the EU, who told us we had to rely on immigration, who said we could safely run down our energy systems and outsource the consequences to China: these people won't get us out again. Whatever Britain's future, it can't be like the past. Change is needed and change is surely coming.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/14/britain-is-getting-worse-and-the-old-politics-offers-no-sol

    Even the good lord is saying in his oh so quiet way that it's all about to go BANG!

    And, thankfully, he hasn't succumbed (well, not yet anyway) to whatever has possessed Sherelle Jacobs who is predicting a defeat for Europe as Putin, aided by Trump, seizes everything.

    1. REPORTED crime. People don’t bother because plod is too busy with “hate crimes “ to deal with burglaries,etc.

    2. Starmer is a fool. He will be gone shortly. He appears to have invested everything in Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

      Starmer has no interest whatever in his own people but will bet our future on a bunch of crooks in Ukraine.

      Russia has already won the war in Ukraine. I would normally advise Starmer that “when in a hole stop digging”. In the case of the dolt Starmer however I suggest we throw in a larger shovel. The sooner we are rid off this imbecile the better for all.

    3. What are they planning to do in the UK for which they want the army out of the way?

      My guess would be the financial crisis and a few weeks without free money payments (see Deagel report).

      1. He is lovely. I took him with me to the forties weekend and he was very well behaved and got lots of attention.

  120. Goodnight,all. I have finished a bottle of rosé and am going to stagger off to bed. I am going to a Forties Weekend tomorrow. Sleep well.

    1. They told us they wanted to stop flights, and Labour only has one tool in the toolbox – raising taxes.

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