Tuesday 2 September: Starmer’s ‘reset’ won’t be enough to save this hopeless Government

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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694 thoughts on “Tuesday 2 September: Starmer’s ‘reset’ won’t be enough to save this hopeless Government”

    1. Good morning, Geoff. I keep on clicking on your last word ("here" in blue) but it doesn't take me to a new page. Am I doing something wrong?

  2. Good morning, chums.
    Wordle 1,536 3/6 – A Birdie.

    ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
    🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Dry here at present, but rain forecast from midday for the rest of the day. (Good morning, btw.)

    2. Good morning DB,

      The skies opened here half an hour ago , absolute deluge , very heavy down pour , and that was it , Sounded like a row of tractors rumbling through the garden .

      1. We had that yesterday. Real stair rod stuff; speech was impossible.
        (MB probably hoped it would go on all day.)

    3. Good morning, Del.

      During the night we had a deluge: our first proper rain since 18 May. The last prolonged period of wet weather here was the winter of 2023–24.

      1. Good morning. The Low north of Scotland seems to be stationary so we have a few more days of this. The showers may last only 4 or 5 minutes but they are monsoon like and we have standing water on the road.
        Mrs D has gone out on the mobility buggy to take the Springer for a walk in the forest. I will do the afternoon walk when it should be clear. 😀

  6. 'Morning All
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb9a4b3067e87fb43628ce106e25b2c99ca4606829c78bd7f314ed6deb03e27d.png
    See what I mean……
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/808d7f88c7e985b396b13739584f17a4e60061beca200cf5671dc855be6c6ac2.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9b52d4bcc70487c40c9093c16f030bde02830f026da474fda88637004bb9759b.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5ae446ea41ea2746ee92cfd7625356c1b6a44961fb50ed8a67ce240726c23648.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c688821287d44293abc145bfd0ef6cf324d3d479c1abf7a6617a1ce8823450fc.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/724b9b5a22c271e270638be16627449daa9da8aa5dfcced955345cda7a12caef.jpg

    1. Just done some google imaging; it's Mellis.
      If Plod should scoop me up today, rich fruit cake containing a file would be very welcome when you visit me.

    3. They have been leased to SERCO. Edit: it's a newly built terrace behind the Railway Tavern and about half a mile from the local C of E primary school.

  10. According to the media , Starmer has not had a plan , he has outsourced everything because he has not been sitting at his desk, just concentrating on his suits and his airmiles .

    The gravel voiced chancellor probably knows her days are limited , and why didn't Starmer have proper plans for a push for change before he took office .. strange that he has now decided to rejig his financial advising group.

      1. Sir Kissmyarse is waiting for her to deliver 'her' obnoxious budget before the TFL* bus arrives..then she can be sacked but the budget provisions will remain in place

        *Too Fucking Late!

    1. Darren jones: Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. Joined the Remain campaign in the EU membership referendum. 'Chair' of Labour Digital, a Labour think tank (Isn't that a contradiction in terms?) In 2022, Jones was appointed as a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. (I thought we had left the EU!). He said of English Channel migrant crossings "The majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women… (Blind as well as stupid). Has described Tony Blair as one of his political heroes. Supported Remain in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. Is married to Australian net zero consultant and technology entrepreneur Lucy Symons-Jones, who co-founded the renewable energy company Village Infrastructure – became a vegan in 2014, for reasons related to carbon emissions. As a lawyer, sat on the board of UK Legal Futures, which brought together leading lawyers to advise politicians and civil servants on legal questions raised by Brexit. What a CV! Brilliantly suited to be chief adviser to the PM and future leader of the Liebour Party.

  15. Quote of the Day
    Economist Paul Johnson told Times Radio:

    “It’s extraordinary, more than a year into this government, they’re only just working out that they might need some senior economic expertise within Number 10, both at a political level and at the advisor level. It’s yet another example, I think, of how staggeringly unprepared this government was for government.”

    27 minutes ago
    Very different. Now to comment on the “reshuffle” which is all smoke and mirrors.

    What Spanner has done is to sack Rachel Reeves without actually sacking her.

    Rachel has been demoted to Chancellor in name only, because Starmer is too weak to actually sack her.

      1. Whoever is really running this shit-show. IMHO this government isn't clever enough to create the cock-ups that we're enduring: they're THAT BAD.

    4. If he’s appointed socialists rather than realists he will be no better off and neither will the country.

  16. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/09/02/TELEMMGLPICT000438139658_17567943127830_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqLUm2LqZ7QfPrWh62iB90NVTmGTZwRSZcqbDiPNar8DA.jpeg?imwidth=680 Aurora borealis displayed at St. Mary’s Lighthouse, just north of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000403029079_17567656145140_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqFPO9MH6OP3NIFDbAeBiO22gfK3aMTAGKt1u7KfwlZOw.jpeg?imwidth=680 An aurora borealis visible above Old Gardur Lighthouse on the northern point of the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland in November last year

      2. Saw one in Yorkshire about 1984/85. I was like a gigantic firework display – red, green, blue, and yellow streaking across the sky and sometime exploding into enormous waves of different colours. It went on for hours When the pub closed I went home, got a chair and continued watching in the back garden. Beyond description.

  17. SIR – I have just purchased my first pack of mince pies for Christmas (Letters, September 1).
    Will the Church of England count this as evidence of a quiet revival?

    Michael Blishen
    Burnley, Lancashire

    Do you enjoy stale food?

    I shall bake mince pies in the third week of December. They shall have a base of homemade pâte sucrée, a filling of last year's homemade mincemeat (suitably revived with even more cognac) and a topping of homemade frangipane.

    I shall partake of just one of them. The rest will be scoffed by visiting gannets over the festive season.

    1. That is why I never read detritus like the Daily Fail.

      I can't get my head around why so many people (including dozens of NoTTLers) are obsessed with buying that shit!

      I would find more reasoned debate in The Beezer!

      3. I agree that most of its content is crass dross but there is the occasional good article.

      4. We don't need to buy it – but the ads are annoying. I just look quickly at a linked article and close it.

    2. At least they give their names – if indeed these strange name are their real names.

      Maybe Ami Arifi, Gezhim Zhafa and Sohqib Shakibi should have done a Yaxley-Lennon and adopted aliases such as Tommy Smith, Bert Bloggs and David Jones?

      1. Tommy Smith was a tough Liverpool defender from the Bill Shankly era and David Jones was the real name of David Bowie. Bert Bloggs must have been a mate they had in common.

        1. At least they didn't try to pass themselves off as David Wainwright, Geoff Graham, Johnny Norfolk or Richard Tracey!

        2. David Jones was also the name of one of the Monkees. And also the same name as a Rotarian friend who was a local Colchester Headmaster.

  19. RIP

    Ken Shuttleworth, fast bowler who helped England regain their first Ashes on Australian soil since 1932

    A fine one-day bowler, his accurate spells were also key to Lancashire’s success in the early days of limited-overs cricket
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/obituaries/2025/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000437290381_17567207222510_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqj-3WcUU9db85R-rSboc_Z8TCLLr96lXIhYq0Z4bmGQQ.jpeg?imwidth=1280 Ken Shuttleworth: his first wicket for Lancashire was the prized scalp of Geoffrey Boycott
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/obituaries/2025/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000437290360_17567212298020_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqfzOMAl0Xij9hZ3C3ekNETZcfgVfmmF-i9Rdar_PlT-Y.jpeg?imwidth=680 Ken Shuttleworth bowling for Lancashire against Hampshire in 1970

    [The obit fails to mention that the umpire's name was Jack Crapp]

  21. The hounding of Tommy Robinson seen from America
    Linda Goudsmit : https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-hounding-of-tommy-robinson-seen-from-america/

    BTL

    I think it is high time that the Idiot King invited Steven Yaxley-Lennon (whose alias in Tommy Robinson) to Buckingham Palace for a chat so that the Moronic Monarch can learn the truth about Islam and stop spouting his craven, sycophantic eulogies about how wonderful Muslims are and how much we owe them.

    2. A pretty accurate assessment.

      This caught my attention.

      Trump administration is advancing plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organisation, citing its ties to Hamas and other extremist factions. Recognition of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation is one of the most important initiatives in re-establishing our Judaeo-Christian infrastructure, protecting our constitution, and preserving our national sovereignty.

      There's 700 in the Home Office!

    3. You could even remind the supreme governor of the CofE of the parable Jesus told about not inviting your friends to the banquet but those who couldn’t repay the hospitality.

    2. The complementary colours in that photograph (the violet-blue against the golden-orange) make for a quite dazzling composition.

          6. Morning Spikey.

            After consulting my many books on birds (some dedicated to North American species) I have to agree with you.
            It is now clear that the photo has been enhanced to make it look more 'artistic', which it does.

            Having said that that there are a few bird species around the world whose natural colouring is quite dazzling. A favourite was one I encountered in New South Wales: the Superb Fairy Wren Malurus cyaneus (below).
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9d2b73bfbd6535b899d9f1165fde4aca3f3b8930e729d711e5a8ad00a3f69cd3.png

  24. Morning folks – off to Bridge shortly and then off to several more bridges and locks starting this afternoon…. bye!

  25. Good Morning!

    In Is it a candle, is it a face, or is it both? Xandra H explains why people find it so difficult to cope in the present day, when in the past folk managed much better, dealing with things that, on the surface at least, were much worse, and looks into coping strategies.

    Thinking of buying a new car? Before you do, you need to read Not buying a car from Mo by Graham Bedford. You need to read it even if you are not thinking of buying a car, as Graham knows a lot about buying cars, but even more about not buying them.

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 13.1%; Solar, 7.3%: Wind 51.4%; Imports, 10.3%; Biomass, 3.5%; Nuclear 11.9% and Miscellaneous, 2.6%. As an example of the way the power system is 'managed', that 'renewable' produced electricity fell by over 5GW from yesterday. That was made up by doubling imports, mostly from France.

    freespeechbacklash.com

  26. Michael Deacon
    This ‘visas for drag queens’ farce proves our immigration system is truly broken

    Yes, Britain has skills shortages. But are we really running low on men who wear dresses?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000437272872_17567424016450_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqLi2B1c4lZomTHUjuhvCwPTXaG_3FkRG2WH2SGzlVXbs.jpeg?imwidth=1280 Turkish drag queen Kübra Uzun

    02 September 2025 6:00am BST

    Whenever anyone suggests that immigration is possibly a touch on the high side, the Left’s favourite retort is this. If we had low immigration, Britain would soon run out of doctors and nurses.

    It seems, however, that this wouldn’t be the only crisis we’d face. Because apparently, Britain would soon run out of drag queens, too.

    That, at any rate, is the only conclusion I can draw from the news that the Home Office has been awarding special five-year “Global Talent” visas to drag queens from Turkey. Among the recipients are Q-BRA, who has rewritten the lyrics of Bizet’s Habanera in “Turkish queer slang”, and Akis Ka, whose reported ambition is to “leave queer marks on art history”.

    Naturally I would not dream of questioning the talents of these no doubt magnificent artistes. I merely ask why it is that we need to import drag queens at all. Unlike health or social care, drag is surely not a field in which Britain is suffering from an acute labour shortage. Homegrown drag queens are in abundant supply. We know this thanks to the remarkable number of stories about them published on the BBC News website. Recent headlines include “Meet the Deaf Drag Queens Keeping Gay Sign Language Alive”, and “As a Female Drag Queen, I Had to Fight for Work” (I wonder why. Perhaps all the good jobs had been taken by drag queens from Turkey).

    Meanwhile, a British drag queen named La Voix has been chosen as a contestant on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, and, later this month, BBC Three will begin airing series seven – yes, seven – of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Further evidence that this country is capable of producing more than enough drag queens of its own.

    Even if Britain ever does run short of drag queens, however, I still don’t see why we’d have to recruit from abroad. According to the most recent figures, 4.8 per cent of this country’s working-age men are unemployed. Rather than leave them to languish on benefits, why not get them to fill the vacancies in the nation’s drag queen industry, so we don’t have to keep issuing all these needless visas?

    It should be quite straightforward. Any time some bone-idle young lout claims that he can’t find a job, don’t put him on welfare. Instead, give him a padded bra, a pair of size 10 high heels and a frock that makes him look like Miss Piggy on her wedding night. He’ll be hosting his own BBC series in no time.

    What’s ‘extreme’ about the English flag?
    Soon enough, the trend for hanging English flags from lamp posts will probably fizzle out. There is, however, one thing that could give it new life.

    Telling the people doing it that they’re a pack of far-Right thugs.

    That, unfortunately, appears to be the approach taken by Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South. “Most people say they fly the St George’s Cross out of pride – and that’s probably even true for some of those putting them on lamp posts,” he conceded, generously, in comments reported at the weekend. None the less, he went on, the trend was disturbing – because “far-Right groups” and “extremists” were “using these flags” to “send an intimidating message”.

    In other words: we should worry when we see lots of national flags everywhere, because some of the people responsible may be hateful, extreme and potentially violent. An interesting line of argument. I have just one question.

    Would he apply the same reasoning to people who fly the Palestinian flag?

    I ask because Mr Lewis has himself attended pro-Palestine demonstrations – for example, the “Red Line for Palestine” protest which was held this summer in front of Parliament, his own place of work. During such events, has it ever occurred to him that, while some of those waving the Palestinian flag are merely doing so “out of pride”, others may be extremists who wish to “send an intimidating message”? Does he ever worry that, among the pro-Palestinian movement, there might just possibly be one or two people who think it’s acceptable to use violence to achieve their political goals? And, if so, does he think we need a crackdown on the flying of Palestinian flags, in response?

    I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that just two months ago, Mr Lewis stood up in the House of Commons and railed passionately against the Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group, after it allegedly broke into an RAF base and caused serious damage to British military aircraft. As he put it on his official website, later that same day: “We shouldn’t confuse dissent and terror.”

    In summary, then: people who display their own country’s flag are extremists. But people who attack their own country’s air bases are not. I think I’ve got that right.

    ***********************************************
    SG

    Stephen Ganter
    1 hr ago
    "In summary, then: people who display their own country’s flag are extremists. But people who attack their own country’s air bases are not. I think I’ve got that right."

    Spot on. A repulsive mindset skewered!

    Bernard Bee
    1 hr ago
    It would never ever occur to the likes of Clive Lewis that a Jewish citizen might feel intimidated by the abundant display of Palestinian flags. Or then again, perhaps it would, and perhaps that is his hope and intention?

    1. Has he never visited Wales? The dreich goch flies everywhere and embellishes number plates as a matter of course. But then, they aren’t English, which seems to be his main problem.

      1. He appears to have adopted the very English notion of self-loathing. Well integrated Mr Lewis.

  28. SIR – Perhaps every southern pupil used “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain” to remember the colours of the rainbow (Weather watch, August 30), but in the North it was more likely to be: “Rowntree’s of York Give Best in Value”. We remember winners, not losers, up there.

    Kevin Cottrell
    Grosmont, Monmouthshire

    Rowntree's did indeed provide the best value (and unimpeachable quality) right up until they time they were bought out by the execrable Nestlé ("Nessles"), who immediately set about destroying the former company's legacy and their top quality produce. Everything the magnificent Rowntree brand had developed over the previous few decades was destroyed. Good quality ingredients were replaced by chemical pretend versions rendering everything inedible.

    Swiss corporate bastards!

        1. Good to see you back in your old colours!

          No, I found the ad you have posted but it is not the one. My favourite was not ruined by the strident, whining voice of the little boy.

          The one I was looking for had a little boy with a wistful voice looking out of the closed window trying to tell him mum telepathically not to forget the fruit gums as she walked down the street to the shops.

        2. Good to see you back in your old colours!

          No, I found the ad you have posted but it is not the one. My favourite was not ruined by the strident, whining voice of the little boy.

          The one I was looking for had a little boy with a wistful voice looking out from behind a closed upstairs window trying to tell his mum telepathically with a voice over not to forget the fruit gums as she walked down the street to the shops.

      1. I agree with what he said – do you agree if I say it? The government's intention is that we become an "island of strangers" as Kier Starmer said. The British people who built this country – second class citizens in their own land.

  30. What a present that would be for Keir Starmer on his 63rd birthday today. The Prime Minister’s celebrating with a Cabinet meeting at 9.30 a.m. Just picture the scene: a rictus-grinned Rachel Reeves leading a stilted round of ‘happy birthday’, new head boy Darren Jones bringing in a cake, a little joke about Boris Johnson’s lockdown party fine…
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dc6ff3d41e0a5b2aca641f47a72d3fc4ebe5b24dbb0e9e418d7beaefae6c4983.png
    ‘It’s my birthday and I’ll reset if I want to.’

  31. Good moaning all from a cold and dark, (weatherwise) South Wales

    Strange, but I did not get 'The Boss's " link to today's page

      1. How many judges are there available in the pool and who chooses which will sit and who will chair the panel?

        This case looks rigged.

      2. The worst kind of leftie – public school, Oxbridge educated, self-satisfied smuggie determined to pull the ladder up behind him.

        From wiki:

        David Bean was born on 25 March 1954, the son of High Court judge Sir George Bean. He was educated at St Paul's School, an all-boys independent school in Barnes, London. He studied law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge between 1972 and 1975,[1] graduating from the University of Cambridge with a first-class honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[2] He was President of the Cambridge Union in Lent term 1975.[1] He previously served as Treasurer of the Society of Labour Lawyers.[3] He was Chair of the Fabian Society from 1989 to 1990.[4]he ids a public school.

  33. 412189+ up ticks,

    It's failures ?

    More rhetorical fodder for fools, the three party coalition are playing a blinder in regards to achieving a successful coup via the polling stations.

    Give starmer (THE TOOL) & kit their due they have activated actions on par with adorf in far less time
    and could very well be in buckenham palace by Christmas , early 2026

    Dia Chakravarty
    Ordinary people are paying the price for Britain’s immigration disaster
    Our bloated state has no right to expect businesses to bear the burden of its failures

  34. James Frayne
    Starmer’s growing list of enemies can smell his weakness
    Another reshuffle can’t distract from the brutal truth that the Prime Minister is the worst possible leader at the worst possible time.

    It is always the Prime Minister’s fault for things going wrong and never their staff. Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and now Keir Starmer all ran chaotic, failing Governments entirely because of their own personal weaknesses and character flaws. Keir Starmer’s reshuffle of Number 10 staff will achieve nothing because he is not up to the job.

    It was Starmer’s decision to bin the Conservatives’ Rwanda scheme, which would have seen asylum seekers arriving on small boats processed outside of this country. It was his decision to extend the early release of criminals from prison. It was his decision to increase public sector pay while raising taxes on businesses and families. The list is long; each of these decisions was down to him, not to his staff. While he no doubt inherited a failing country from incompetent Tories, he has made it worse.

    Proper leaders do not talk publicly about the mistakes of their staff; they praise them or say nothing. Serious leaders know that every appointment is down to them and that, as leaders, they set the priorities and targets and must hold everyone to account for delivery. Starmer, on the other hand, talks about the failings of his staff publicly. This is pathetic in principle but should make us all worry about what sort of person he is.

    Starmer’s handling of the fall-out from his immigration speech in early summer which, reminiscent of Enoch Powell, dwelled Britain being like “an island of strangers”, said it all. Effectively blaming his speechwriters, he said that neither he nor them were aware of the closeness of his language to Powell’s. A proper leader would never reference their staff in this way; they would take it all on the chin personally.

    Elsewhere, while acknowledging he made the appointment, he told an interviewer that others had told him not to hire former civil servant Sue Gray as his chief of staff, and that ultimately he believed she wasn’t the right person for the job. Again, great leaders do not talk of their staff in this way, as if it is their fault for the machinery of Government going wrong.

    Because Starmer clearly thinks errors are ultimately down to poor staff performance, a reshuffle in Number 10 follows as night follows day; he no doubt thinks everything will be back on track now. If only.

    On the face of it, his reshuffle has a certain logic to it. He is increasing economic expertise at Number 10 at a time when the economy is flatlining and when the Treasury has long since run out of ideas for how to boost growth. Bringing in senior advisers from the Treasury and a new economics adviser from the academic world make sense. Forget the Chancellor, the Prime Minister is responsible for the economy.

    Elsewhere, Tim Allan is a talented communications adviser (a former boss of mine) and will help bring about order to a function which has been a debacle since the earliest days of this Government. Giving more power to the competent Vidhya Alakeson – currently Deputy Chief of Staff – can also only be a good thing too.

    However, looking at the reshuffle, there is a massive glaring hole in the middle of all this. Given that provincial English working-class rage is dictating the political agenda, with Reform currently sweeping all before it in elections, there appear to be no senior roles for those that understand this phenomenon. It looks like a reshuffle of a weak London lawyer.

    Starmer makes a great deal of his love of football and he is said to be a committed Arsenal fan. Several years ago, I watched Derby get battered at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. I could only get a ticket in the home end, amongst the Arsenal fans. Amid the famous Emirates silence, at one point the Derby fans started singing “your support is f**ing s**t”. The Arsenal fans around me – one actually had an Apple laptop open – were confused and horrified that the roughians from the Midlands could be so rude.

    Starmer is just as confused and horrified about what is going on across provincial England now. He speaks a different language to them and thinks about the world differently. He is paralysed in the face of their challenge and has no clue what to do. He cannot change and, for this reason, his Government will continue to fail in the face of it. While reasonable to assume Reform’s attraction will wane, this will be because of their own errors, not because of a Starmer-led Labour fightback.

    Starmer is said to have been shocked by the weakness of the civil service. He is clearly disappointed in his chosen advisers’ performance. He is apparently in despair that it takes so long to get anything moving in Government, let alone completed. What on earth did he think Government was going to be like?

    There is a final point to consider in all this: what will all those very angry people do that he has fired, if and when a rival moves against him. He has a lot of enemies.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/02/starmers-many-enemies-are-closing-in-on-him/?recomm_id=dfc95866-944f-4881-9e84-0c993104ec1e

    1. That analysis only goes part of the way to explain 2TK's failures so far. He is a rigid and unbending man and doesn't understand that when things go wrong he himself is to blame. Instead he blames everyone else.

      He blames the British public for disliking him and not doing what he thinks they should. He is determined to replace the British population with his preferred demographic.

        1. It's odd how no-one will admit to voting for him. Die-hards, wimminslibbers, union leaders/members, and no Grooming Gang Enquiry…Ukrainian boys case date April next year.

    3. Many of his enemies are living in the provinces and they are legion. He should be reminded that in his job the buck stops with him.

    2. Give it time.
      There will become a point where all doctors must also be able to speak Polish, Arabic or Urdu.

    3. And to think they won’t train enough home-grown doctors. We’d rather pilfer from the third world. I don’t know if this is misguided altruism or just penny-pinching. But it’s unacceptable.

  36. Good morning, 14°C, brightening up after a damp night. I thought I had been woken up by thunder about 04.00, but it was just a USAF C-17 clambering into the sky in a tight turn over the coast before heading off to the SE.

    1. Feargal , but we have heard that down here , we hear deep late engine noise in the early hours , sometimes at midnight , and later ..

      So where Is the aircraft heading for ..as you know we are South Dorset under most flight paths .

      1. I’ve ‘followed’ various military aircraft on FlightRadar 24 to the Baltic countries, Belarus, Kuwait, Sicily, Brize Norton, and Newquay!

  37. Morning all 🙂😊
    I'm a tad late this morning, no excuses I just slept exceedingly well.
    starmer still there ? No change will ever happen. He's been set on his course by the terrible hate filled creature's in the dark places.

  38. Good morning all, Rain here is West Sussex, with intervals of drizzle. It is getting autumnal out there. How quickly too after all that heat.
    I listed, this morning, to another Tommy Robinson interview this time with Harris Sultan. I always learn something new from Tommy in his interviews, he is full of information.

    I had not heard of a man called Afzal Amin who ran to be a Conservative MP some years ago because I was still in the USA at that point. Apparently he was exposed by the mail as a corrupt politician, huge scandal, I assume most of you know who he was? Well it turns out that it was Tommy that exposed him and he was the individual to go to the mail to expose him. Apparently the Daily Mail then made Tommy sign a non-disclosure before they would report. But their duplicity was that they implied that Tommy Robinson was involved in the scandal and then used him as a whipping boy. He says that he has tapes that the mail is not aware of and that will bring the whole story out. So he intends to do a short documentary exposing the Mail and exposing the politicians that were complicit. He alleges that Afzal Amin was and is a Jihadi who's intent was to infiltrate and become a member of the government and through bribery, become PM.
    Anyone interested in the story, here is the interview which is wide ranging because it is rather long but worth listening. Tommy has much to say of interest concerning the establishment and their corrupt behaviour. Aziz becomes a subject around the 40 minute mark or thereabouts because the conversation is about Zia Yusuf whom Tommy suspects as being in the same vain as Amin.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBO0-M2fQGg
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBO0-M2fQGg

    1. Altogether now. Diversity is our Strength. The journalist formerly known as SL-Y is Islamophobic and way-cist. Wah! Wah!

        2. Sounds a fairly decent chap, according to Wikipedia, served in Afghan (three tours), Iraq, 11 years as an officer.

    2. I would say that the university of Leicester is racist and exclusive of the majority of people, since we are in the European zone and so necessarily white, lack of melanine being essential for health in these latitudes.

    3. I’ll suggest this to the landlord of my local when I pop in for tonight's quiz. Pub culture is no more exclusionary than mosque culture.

        1. There used to be Snugs for the ladies. Not many left, I imagine. The Rovers Return had one where Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst would sup milk stout and be judgemental about Elsie Tanner.

          3. Ena…I can't sit around gossiping with you all day Minnie Caldwell. I've got pots to scour and clinkers to riddle.

        2. I do. There was a pub in Tewkesbury (can't remember which one) – in 1966 I went there with my then boyfriend and another couple – we got told in no uncertain terms that women were not allowed in, except in a particular area, and not the bar.

      1. Once, yes,but I'm not sure you're still correct, judging by the number of alcohol free drinks that are available in the pubs I visit.

          1. I might have thought so, had the link not stated:
            pub culture is "exclusionary", which was clearly slanted towards Muslims, given the other statements.

          2. Yes, I was quite aware of the direction of travel, which was why I suggested a different group who were clearly not being alluded to.

        1. Lots of zero alcohol drinks now. I often buy one when I am having a meal out and I have to drive.

    5. Muslim in rural England: ""Where's the mosque? I demand a prayer space."
      Briton in a Muslim land (I know, I know, just go along with it for the moment): "Where's the pub? I need a pint."

      What's the difference?

  40. 412189+ up ticks,

    I am led to believe that the shortage of daisy chain third members is critical, could very well be tbe reason.

    Michael Deacon
    This ‘visas for drag queens’ farce proves our immigration system is truly broken
    Yes, Britain has skills shortages. But are we really running low on men who wear dresses?

  41. Morning everyone. I am having a lazy day today because I don’t have any commitments until I chair a meeting tonight and that’s in walking distance.

    The only thing that might redeem this government is if they reversed everything they have done. On the flag front, there are circles on the road with St George’s crosses on and the pedestrian crossing has been embellished on the way back from Shrewsbury and one of the bridges ha a union flag. I couldn’t see if it was upside down. A couple of the circular flags had black crosses through them. Probably the people who have 70 registered cars with the sphincter of stars on their number plate.

      1. In Wales yes. As I show my passport I go under a banner that reads “here be dragons “ in both languages 😀

  42. Good morning Sue E.

    I trust you had a reasonably good night and that progress is as you would wish for yourself.

  44. Failed miserably – too many options:
    Wordle 1,536 X/6

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    ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
    ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
    ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

  45. Good morning all from Lynwood & Co's cafe in Letchworth.
    The DT & self got a mere £75 off ERNIE, She got £50 I got £25. Better than a poke in the eye I suppose.

    Wen for a slightly longer than planned walk this morning. Some pictures:- https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/34477828b348a4ebba3233b0606a6960cf934212fcab365ea040bd5ff4e60de7.jpg Old gravel pits being developed with some very posh looking places https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/73ea9c3d10c3b3704c94be100a1b246ecc5ddd512bb746e6cca39655ca179007.jpg And a lot of security https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/371027c138222d262d9be0d169428dce48d018159726c52c201bcac27f627b5f.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/88c759d1588864df292093a277b9ef7a98d5c0f65843a7a86b1608d825356f15.jpg Except for a few places, the tracks through the lakes are landscaped to deny the walker views of the lakes https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/805c94283b6f48a424ed12c67dac5b83a337bc6f7c3818ec9183056c6a0330b4.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2c82c795f212311c0465f2d596312843a2d87ccf3761450159c6d0cd484e4a54.jpg And waterfowl abound https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/084976308cf0cff2cd79abe75a11b27870ee5d95c48353c164708555c34d2a73.jpg

    1. Morning Bob! My late cousin lived in Letchworth and her widower still does. Have you seen the black squirrels which are quite common in that area?

        2. SHOCKER.
          Disturbing rumours that King Charles converted to Islam in Turkey by grand mufti of Cyprus in 1993.

    2. As I have said before the Idiot King provides the 'poop' for the word 'nincompoop'.

      He speaks of "…. the unfailing work to broaden our understanding of the Islamic world" without having any understanding of it at all himself.

    3. Post 'blackspider letters' plain to see the King he would become. Probably still talks to plants – some basis for that, breathing out CO2.

    4. "..And so this year we know what he's doing. He's picked a side. And it seems to me effectively announced he's on the side of the state against the people. The trouble is.. they're his people. The monarchy rules to protect his people. Parliament ought to rule to protect its people. Now it isn't.
      "The Church of England churches are now a series of community social services centres.
      "Diversity of faith provides strength, not weakness? No, King Charles.. Diversity Inclusion Equity are the waepons they've brought against us to destroy our society to turn it into a new form of cultural communism. If you come to us as The King of Diversity then you are not our King.
      "There isn't anyway back from this. That was a very serious moment. A very serious shift in the allegiance of the one agency in our country for historic reasons ought to be on the side of the people."

      Gavin Ashenden. Supreme Governor of the Church of England

  47. Racism row erupts at US Open after ‘no class, no education’ insult
    American Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko exchanged words post-match after the latter took her second round defeat badly
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2025/08/28/ostapenko-hurls-insults-townsend-after-loss-us-open/

    BTL

    Why does everything have to be racist?

    Yes, there are people who have no class and no education regardless of their race. Indeed isn't there a term used by black people to describe lower class, ill-educated white people as 'white trash'? If this term is acceptable I suspect that the term 'black trash' would not be considered appropriate.

  48. I am listening to the YouTube wth The Harris sultan and TR which someone kindly posted earlier. I am planning on going to the event and thought I would make a donation to cover costs and/or buy a ticket but am struggling to find information on the event. If you search on “Unite the Kingdom” then you get a lot of links to counter-protests being planned by the “Stand up to Racism” yobs.

    can anyone help?

    1. Urban Scoop usually have more information on the day and collection buckets are passed around by the stewards at the event. I’m cowardly about bank transfers so have preferred cash donations.

    2. Go to Urban Scoop which will be giving updates. Also Tommy Robinson on X will be posting info as well.

  49. "These proceedings are closed." (General Douglas MacArthur, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, eighty years ago today)

  52. Well, well. I have my hearing aids. Don't clothes make a noise? And the keybopard? And as for gravel…..

    The MR is very pleased. And so am I because the Specsavers NHS deal cost me not a single penny.

      1. Couldn't stand the noise. Anyway, my innate curmudgeon does not allow me to do such things. Ever.

        1. We promise to behave ourselves.
          As long as your sight is still good enough to dodge the odd flying bread roll; and we won't burp because now you can hear us.

          1. It's not the burping you should be concerned about:-

            A wife in a church pew leaned over and whispered to her husband, "I just let out a silent but deadly fart. What should I do?"

            He replied, "Change the batteries in your hearing aid."

          3. That reminds me of the ballerina who goes to the Doctor;
            'Doctor, I have a very embarrassing condition, every time I pirouette I fart – it doesnt smell of anything but it is a really loud noise!'
            'I see that could be very embarrassing in your line of work, can you show me?'
            The ballerina gets up, pirouettes and farts, a thunderous noise….
            'See what I mean Doctor – do you think I'll need an operation?'
            'On your bloody nose if you cant smell that!!

            I'll get me tutu…..

          4. Winston has become notorious for his silent but deadlies. He seems to reserve them for when we’re out in company.

    3. Turn the telly down, Bill. My dear mother always had it on too loud and when it was suggested that she needed hearing aids she insisted, “No. I don’t – my hearing is just not as acute as used to be”. She loved that word “acute” and put the emphasis there.

    5. Good.
      When MB first had his fitted, his voice changed and he sounded like he was announcing the dog had died.
      He did adjust, but life sounded very odd to him at first.

      1. The third choice – which no Western state is prepared to take – is to have a new Crusade and drive Islam out.

    2. This is clearly a message to us all that Islam plans to take over.

      But the Idiot King is grateful to Muslims. He speaks of "…. their unfailing work to broaden our understanding of the Islamic world."

      He seems to have absolutely no understanding of it at all himself. He cannot see that they are already invading us with the avowed intent of destroying Christianity and replacing our Christian philosophy and moral and legal framework with their barbarism

    4. Typically they are pressurising western beliefs and religions. If the west showed as much disrespect as they do riots leading to war would be imminent.

  54. Has Richardl been around lately? I remember him telling me that one of the things you have to do after chest surgery is learn not to leverage yourself with stress through the arms and when the physio came this morning, I stood up out of the chair without using my hands. Got a brownie point for that!

    7. Here late tonight.

      That deserves a big brownie point!

      What was really hard was getting out of bed without stressing my chest. I was taught to wrap my arms round a pillow, roll over onto one side, drag my legs off the bed and then struggle upright from there.

      Sod that, I rented an electric lift chair for a month, it reclined flat but by pressing a button it would move me to a seated position and then to standing.

      Sounds like you are making good progress, stay with it but don't push yourself to hard and give your body a chance to heal!

    1. Ooooo lucky you, try China. Lidderally no shop, no transport hub, no nothing takes ca$h. Only AliCCPay Union Pay all linked to a Chinese Bank account that non-Chinese can never attain.
      It's when they get to next level.. then another level.. where they start monitoring your water usage and ask you who visited you for that cup of tea.

      Whitehall is positively salivating at the power coming its way.

      1. I'm aware of what goes on in China. It seems to be the model for this government, doesn't it?
        But, by the way, do you keep track of what is going on in China? It seems to be hitting the buffers. Xi, despite appearances, is not in charge and economically it is collapsing. Apparently they are now having difficulty paying both the police and army. So their little parade (Wednesday) when the Communist regime pretends it defeated the Japanese when in fact, they hid and let the Kuomintang do the dirty work may well be the last. People are rebelling all over China. It's called 'The Toilet Revolution'. People go into public toilets and are writing anti-CCP slogans and opinions on the walls. It has gotten so bad you now have to register to go to the loo! But also anti-communist diatribes are being plastered all over the place calling for the end of the CCP. So perhaps all that surveillance is not such a good thing if it makes people so resentful that they end up plotting your downfall.

        1. Yes, someone with relatives in China saying similarly. Seems quite a number lost investment in Evergrande. Large marches against government, a number of people disappeared.

          1. But if XI (who must be obeyed) goes – he'll only be replaced by some other oppressor. Nothing will change as far as the West is concerned.

          2. There are three factions. Apparently one of them wants a careful dismantlement of the CCP because it has come to the point it is devouring even the elite. In short they want to do a Gorbachev. Lets hope they win. The other two factions are the status quo and the military.

          4. Whatever CNBC says is going to be a bunch of…
            A friend of mine intimately connected to China recommended this lady for commentary on what is going on. Her virtue, besides having mainland links, is that she explains the symbolism of Chinese behaviour and what it means. For example. Xi no longer dyes his hair black. This means he is on the outs because the grey showing demonstrates he is old and for the knackers yard. No longer permitted to pretend he is fit and virile. Also recently, in his visit to Tibet he was accompanied by a man who's surname means spring blossom. So a headline in the Peoples Daily read, "The spring blossom has arrived while the plum is ready for picking." Which, apparently translates as Mr Spring Blossom is in the ascendent and Xi is for the chop. But, in the meantime Xi will be used as the facade until all the internal power struggles are sorted out.

            Here she is the wonderful Lei.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHpZg6YT9mo&t=2235s

          1. Bookmarked it and will read it tomorrow. But in the meantime, thank you for sending it my way.

          2. Thank you for this BB2. It actually isn’t a wish list for the Americans about China. It is exactly what is happening. As I pointed out yesterday the party is now split into three factions but with all those factions Xi has definitely lost power and is now only being kept as a figurehead. I mentioned the guy that went to Tibet with Xi who’s name means ‘spring blossom. Well Xi was only in Tibet for lass than 24 hours and then flew out. Mr Spring blossom stayed and filled in for Xi. But there was no explanation about why Xi had gone while Spring blossom followed the itinerary exactly as laid down for Xi and all tribute was given to him as if he were Xi. In other words Xi was erased as if he never had been there.

            As for the economy it is collapsing. I will post a video today for you that demonstrates how rotten the economy is in China. But I don’t think this video remarks on the most dangerous thing about the collapse of the Yuen, which is they are now having trouble paying the police and army. That tells me they are on the edge of revolt. There has also been a mass flight of the rich from China that is so bad that the government has put in measures to prevent such people leaving the country as they drain their money from China to put it elsewhere.

          3. Bet the Americans are mixed up in it somehow…
            With our extremist government, the rich Chinese won#t bring their money to Britain.

          4. They are mixed up in it because of the tarrifs that Trump has imposed. He should make them higher!

          5. Don’t tell me that the CIA has given up meddling in foreign countries! Nothing like giving an organic process a helping hand…

  57. My father did lovely watercolours and the chap who prints our course books for us each year has an excellent photocopying machine which can produce copies of a very high standard.

    One of my father's paintings, which hangs in my library, is of a beautiful old Brixham trawler aboard which my childhood friends used to live with their parents during the summer months when she was moored in St Mawes. I decided that I would have 2 copies made for my friends as a reminder of our childhood days.

    The copies were made and I bought 2 special tubes in which to place each copy so that it did not get creased. I then sealed the tubes and put on the addresses to which they were to be sent. Caroline took them to the local post office which informed her that they could do nothing without a customs form which we had to print out ourselves from the internet as it could not be done at the post office.

    Custom, forms for sending a cardboard tube with just a photocopy of an amateur's watercolour in it with no commercial but only sentimental value requires this absurd palaver!

    What a dismally pathetic world the bureaucrats – not just in the UK but also in the EU – are determined to make for us!

    1. I have a few customers for hedgehog calendars – which I produce for our little rescue charity – living in the USA and a good customer in Italy. I have to jump through those hoops to post their calendars out. This year, with the taxes raised again will probably be the last time.

          3. To which I say ‘good news’….seriously, if you do decide that – hope you pass it on, because we all love them. I actually order half a dozen different calendars each year, the large ones with artwork or Japanese photos and so on…a really inexpensive way of collecting art images (especially if ordered in following January).

          4. I've been doing them since 2011………all the photos in all those years were cared for at the hospital. I have thousands of photos in the archives……… as well as thousands more of lions, elephants…….etc.

          5. Compilation?….and celebration 🙂 seriously, whatever you go for, I’ll buy two (one for me, one for grand’un) are they all animal ones?

          6. The hedgehog photos are all hedgehogs………. I haven’t made up any calendars from my other wildlife pics – I usually produce a photo book when i sort through after a trip.

      2. All very interesting, but where does one get hold of one?

        Around this time of year, I buy next year's calendar for my wall, which is where I put all my appointments and reminders. I don't use a tablet, since once I've scrolled off it, I've already forgotten what was on it, whereas something on the wall I can see at all times.

    2. Dawn Departure
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/58343cd3b2d562745c2d2e988c3e74b6db39e4842e98e91f437a55ea7eaa922a.jpg
      This is a painting of the boat my parents had called Atahualpa. She was built in 1910 and we did not want to change her name even though we had no connections with South America.

      Family boats continued the Peruvian theme and we called our boats Inca – the boat in whom I sailed around the South Coast of England, Normandy, Brittany and the Channel islands and then Raua who was an Inca princess, who took us to the Caribbean and back.

      Mianda, in whom we sailed from the Baltic to Cornwall and Brittany and around the Mediterranean, was a play on words – meander and Prospero's daughter Miranda.

  58. Since we now have laws against hate crime and for incitement.
    Should randomly calling someone a racist or islamophobic now be considered a hate crime?
    How can people get away with calling the countryside racist for merely living their lives in their customary way.
    Does that unfairly label and insult millions of people and stir up hatred against them?
    The Left talk about reclaiming our national flags, well it’s time they are prosecuted for claiming and weaponising defamatory words and language.

    1. When hordes of Muslims willingly gather to pray in obviously politically chosen spaces to "show the British who's boss", why should they be given any permission to build mosques in future?
      They can clearly pray anywhere.

      1. I would rather they prayed back home- and I don’t mean Bradford, Luton, Telford and other places they’ve colonised.

    2. I was wondering. If a Muslim happened to be nearby and I ordered a full English breakfast with extra bacon and extra pork sausages. Would that be a hate crime if the Muslim heard me?

    3. I was wondering. If a Muslim happened to be nearby and I ordered a full English breakfast with extra bacon and extra pork sausages. Would that be a hate crime if the Muslim heard me?

  59. Joe Bugner, British heavyweight boxer who twice took on Muhammad Ali and beat Henry Cooper in 1971

  61. It is with great sadness i have to tell you our friend Garlands died on the 25th August.

    Funeral is Tuesday 25th September at 10.45
    St Mary's Church, Wollaston

    Edit …Thursday 25th September.

    6. Oh – I'm very sorry to hear that. And she was very kind and good to you. I was sorry when she withdrew from commenting here.
      Will you be going to her funeral?

      1. I'm not sure i will be able to make it. It's a four hour train with three changes.

        Jill also said no flowers but her friend told me there are a couple of places if someone wants to make a donation. More to follow when i hear more.

    7. Oh… That piece of news has taken the shine off the day.
      Thanks for making it known, Phizz. Another good one leaves the mortal coil.
      RiP.

        1. That is so kind. You made me cry. The card her friend sent mentioned lots of things that Jill liked about me and Dolly. It became difficult to read.

          I shouldn't post anything else tonight as i have had a drink.

      1. The lady died peacefully. She hadn't been well for a while.

        Her neighbour and friend requested me to not go into details.

        Which is asking a lot as Jill knew i'm a blabbermouth.

      1. Thank you.

        The journey for me even with Max and Tine offering to help will be just too much.

        Seek out her friend and neighbour Victoria, if you can make it. Jill spoke to her a lot about this site.

    16. Oh Phizzee, John and I are really really sorry to hear that. A lovely lady she was. She was an enormous comfort to us both when our son was critically ill in hospital.

      RIP Jill.

    18. She used to organise gifts for Nottler celebrations and I used to send small cheques towards her costs.
      She eventually stopped doing so, and didn't cash my latest cheque.
      I thought that that was the sign of a genuinely honest individual.
      RIP Garlands

    19. Very sad to hear that Phil. She was a great comfort to Maggie and me when our son was critically ill in hospital 4 years ago.
      RIP Jill. x

  62. 412189+ up ticks,

    ALL indigenous keep in mind that these issues are seen through the eyes of allah followers great in number,also remember that the way Christian churches echo with emptiness.

    On the occasion of the missus being raped the husband MUST observe the " rule of starmer"with royal seal, any anti allah thoughts or rhetorical utterings will be awarded with a long term porridge diet,mandatory.

    https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/1962603530688098446

    3. Wadda loada absolute bolero. Just clear (polite) off and go back to the place of your origin.

    4. Notice. She doesn't say rape because it would require two male witnesses to testify that the woman was raped and beside a woman captured in war or a slave cannot be raped to the Islamic lack of values.

    5. "Female Islamist scholar: “Allah allows Muslim men to rape non-Muslim women to humiliate them.

      If we fight infidels, we can take their women as sex slaves and rape them.”"

      And save our poor goats and camels, not to mention our bottoms!

    1. Despite lodging several caveats as protection..

      He pointed out that this country is built on immigration,
      and he was grateful to all of the migrants who have come to the NHS for helping support his mum,'
      and it's a settled science that Diversity is our Strength..
      of course, genders are in fact infinite..
      and lastly, it's unfortunate that the English Flag wot we all love has been co-opted by the homophobic, transphobic, islamophobic far right..

    2. Despite lodging several caveats as protection..

      He pointed out that this country is built on immigration,
      and he was grateful to all of the migrants who have come to the NHS for helping support his mum,'
      and it's a settled science that Diversity is our Strength..
      of course, genders are in fact infinite..
      and lastly, it's unfortunate that the English Flag wot we all love has been co-opted by the homophobic, transphobic, islamophobic far right..

    3. Had to metaphorically speaking, pick myself up from the floor from laughing. Bit camp isn't he?

      1. Only as much as a row of pink army tents.

        He is gay and has a boy friend but from the little i have seen of him he seems like a nice guy.

  64. My word it's going to be an expensive start to the month. A haircut this afternoon and a trip to the local pub this evening with two old friends.
    I hope we don't get arrested for enjoying ourselves……

  65. Truly the lunatics are running the asylum.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/02/graham-linehan-claims-he-was-arrested-for-tweets-heathrow/
    Graham Linehan was arrested by armed police officers at Heathrow airport for writing gender-critical posts on social media.
    The Irish comedy writer – who came up with TV sitcoms Father Ted, The IT Crowd and Black Books – has become a vocal critic of the trans rights movement in recent years.

    “In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet. I promise you, I am not making this up.”

    Linehan said he had been “arrested at an airport like a terrorist, locked in a cell like a criminal”, adding: “[I was] banned from speaking online – all because I made jokes that upset some psychotic cross-dressers.

    “To me, this proves one thing beyond doubt: the UK has become a country that is hostile to freedom of speech, hostile to women and far too accommodating to the demands of violent, entitled, abusive men who have turned the police into their personal goon squad.”

    1. Reacting to the arrest Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “The police only send an officer to one in five reported shoplifting offences, but somehow think it’s appropriate to deploy five armed officers to arrest a comedian over three tweets.

      “It’s ridiculous and a complete waste of police time. We desperately need a return to common sense policing, where officers go after actual criminals.”

    2. Great News.. Starmer's Stasi arresting foreign nationals.
      Classic overreach.
      What next.. Trump arrested by Met on instruction of The Mayor over 34 counts of misogynistic Tweets.

      Graham Linehan holds an Irish passport.

    2. From 2020
      Twitter’s decision to ban Linehan came after he reportedly tweeted “men aren’t women tho” in response to a Pride post by the Women’s Institute in support of its transgender members. Twitter says it permanently suspended Linehan’s account, @glinner, for “repeated violations of our rules against hateful conduct and platform manipulation.”

      Linehan has, in recent years, made several transphobic remarks, comparing trans activism to Nazism in a radio interview in 2018.

        2. Musk said the reason for his acquisition I think, Ndovu. Plus to stop posts about himself, or so some say.

        1. Well I don't have a phobia…….except for spiders………but I don't think a man becomes a woman just because he puts on women's clothes. I used to have a trans client when I was working – I got to know him quite well. He wore high heels and tight skirts and even had his Adam's apple removed and larynx altered, but he still wasn't female.

          1. University challenge had a doubtful contestant on , was it this week or last , can't remember , but we are probably viewing more trans youngsters than ever ..

            Is trans a birth problem , how and why do small children become confused ?

          2. It’s the parents and media that have made them confused. Children have always explored their own bodies and found out what’s what in their own good time. Nobody is ‘born in the wrong body’ and vanishingly few are “intersex” but many are confused and a lot of those are gay.

          3. Nvodu, I had a school friend who was "Intersex". It is an entirely different circumstance from these deluded souls who have been coached to believe that they are born into the "wrong body".

            My friend had genuinely ambiguous genitals (and genes) and it was not easy for that person, who did decide on being "her", which meant having concomitant lengthy and painful surgery (which would have applied the other way, too).

            An existential choice thrust upon her, not a fashionable lifestyle whim.

            NB: This was something that was extremely private, and I am only sharing it because nobody who doesn't know already will ever know who she is or was. It is possible, and sometimes desirable, to be anonymous on the internet..

          4. Yes – those people exist – and life must be very difficult for them. But they are a world away from the ones who decide they don’t like the sex they were born with and want to change it.

    3. One from April 20 said: ‘If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.’

      A second tweet, on April 19, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: ‘A photo you can smell.’

      The third was a follow-up to the picture of the rally that read: ‘I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.’

      The Met Police told Metro: ‘On Monday, 1 September at 13:00hrs officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.

      ‘The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.

      ‘After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital. His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

      ‘He has now been bailed pending further investigation.’

      The spokesperson added: ‘The arrest was made by officers from the MPS Aviation Unit. It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest.’

      The laws surrounding 'inciting violence' in the UK

      In the UK, incitement to violence falls under a mix of criminal law and specific legislation around hate speech, terrorism, and public order.

      Penalties: Conviction can lead to fines or imprisonment, with severity depending on context (e.g., terrorism offences can carry lengthy prison terms).

      General principle: Encouraging or assisting others to commit crimes — including violence — is itself a crime under the Serious Crime Act 2007. This applies even if the violence does not actually happen.

      Public Order offences: Under the Public Order Act 1986, it is illegal to use threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up violence or hatred, or if it is likely to cause such outcomes.

      Terrorism-related incitement: The Terrorism Act 2006 makes it an offence to directly or indirectly encourage terrorism, including the glorification of terrorist acts, which could incite others to violence.

      Threshold: Courts look at whether the speech or act was intended, or was likely, to encourage violence. Importantly, actual violence doesn’t have to occur for the offence to be committed.

      https://metro.co.uk/2025/09/02/met-police-confirms-graham-linehans-arrest-at-heathrow-on-suspicion-of-inciting-violence-24055552/

  68. Just takes 1.. that's all just one Leftie to feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel offended.

    Someone didn’t like his comment – complained so armed police arrested him at Heathrow – after which he had to be taken to hospital with blood pressure issues – shocking
    @metpoliceuk
    again – or thought police – or Starmers Squad.
    Rob 🐝🎗🔰
    @robspitzy
    ·
    2h
    Not like the British to falsely imprison an Irishman

    1. We need to stop pretending we have free speech in UK. Its seems that although the Right to Family Life is allowed for criminals, the Right to Free Expression is not if our masters do not like the content.

      1. The right to family life is only allowed under strict rules if you are law abiding, but if you rock up illegally and undocumented no problem bringing in dependents.

    2. Why the need for an arrest? Whether or not his posts were offensive is a matter of opinion. As such, surely the police are not best placed to make that decision. It would appear that anyone can make an unfounded complaint just in order to procure the arrest of someone who holds a different opinion.

      2. That’s exactly it. That’s exactly the point. The Leftards weaponise it. The Right-Ons aren’t so mean or petty or spiteful or nasty and it wouldn’t cross our minds to act like fascists in the way the Leftards do.

    2. People underestimate the dangers of going against the EU project.
      You may find your career comes to an abrupt end. Just ask:
      Daphne Caruana Galizia.
      Irish journalist Veronica Guerin
      Dutch crime reporter Peter de Vries.
      Veteran Greek journalist Giorgos Karaivaz.
      Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak.
      Another 30 journalists are known to have been killed daring to dig deeper into the CAP do$h schlopping around.

    1. He shudda gone up to the ladeee polis officer and lamped her on the nose.
      At least he'd be free until trial sometime never.
      Which reminds everyone when is Psycho going to get sentenced?

  72. As I was picking five pounds of damsons (gosh – the noise as they fell into the bucket!), I reflected.

    At the very same time as European governments are welcoming with open arms the millions of Frau Merkel's invaders – arriving with no papers, no ID, no background – the rest of the civilised, properly behaved world will be required from 12 October to submit fingerprints and eye scans on arrival in the EUSSR.

    Funny old world, eh?

        1. We have an elderly neighbour who has been notorious for not hearing properly, and she's been famous for saying "SORRY DEAR" ? for years. She rang our doorbell a week ago asking me if I would like any apples. It was only as she turned to leave when I noticed a huge hearing aid in one of her ears. ….I don't remember saying anything I shouldn't have. Only no thanks, I was already over whelmed with apples.
          The zyder is bubbling away nicely at the moment. But more to process over the next couple of days.

        2. I found that I heard bangs and clatters very loudly after mine were fitted.
          I assume they were noises that had been muffled for years.

          4. Same here.

            My hearing was damaged when I was surveying the Belfry of Norwich Cathedral. I had no ear muffs and took shelter behind a pillar when the counterweight dropped unexpectedly and the bells rang.

    1. a) Cui Bono? b) Cui Malo?

      The answer is simple

      a) illegal immigrants and criminals; b) the indigenous British people.

        1. Thanks, sos…JKR more of an anti-luvvie. Love the photo of her smoking a cigar, glass in hand, on her yacht….

    2. This is appalling.

      I suggest that Musk, Trump and Vance take immediate action to punish the UK for crimes against free speech.

    3. Kick in the balls.. that's got to be two years for each of the 96 felonies & embedded crimes.
      Crime 1; just because he has testes the size of rugby balls doesn't make him any less feminine.
      Crime 2; inciting a pogrom (credit: James O'Brien assessment of Lucy Connolly).
      Crime 3; thunking something brexity or suchlike that could appear in The Spectator.
      Crime 4; failure to produce a state approved comedy Licence.
      ..
      Crime 96; doing something legal but unlawful.

    4. When I first saw this elsewhere, I thought it must be fake, but it was on Radio 4's World at One today.

  77. Plumber has just left. Can now, finally, have a shower in the refurbished bathroom!
    Demolition rubble removed a few days ago.
    Old bath sold, and collected this afternoon.
    Things are, finally, returning to normal. Finally!

        1. Drat and double drat. I agreed to subscribe to enable me to read the article before I saw your post. So now I'll probably be inundated with Green emails.

          2. Standard.
            As the Telegraph article starts to open, hammer at the esc key as fast as you can until the page is loaded. That usually defeats the paywall.

  80. Just had a wish washy email from Lichfield about the flags. About it being divisive. I emailed back to say there seemed to be no problem with Palestine or BLM flags which were really divisive or Welsh or Scottish flags and I was beginning to feel like a second class citizen in my own country. I expect I shall be persona non grata at the next synod meeting.

  83. Wordle No. 1,536 4/6

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

    Wordle 2 Sep 2035

    Power for Par Four?

    1. I did it today! Bogey but all the same…

      Wordle 1,536 5/6

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

      2. Hi Sue! Weren't you due to be sent home today? Or are you posting from home? Either way, I hope that your post-op pain is easing.

        1. Still in the hospital until the fluid retention – fluid on the lungs problem is resolved but playing with my phone is encouraged! (Charity WiFi permitting.)

    2. I was fortunate that I have the key letter ( M ) in my second starter word – there are a lot of options otherwise!

      Wordle 1,536 4/6

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

    4. Managed a 3 today. Lucky choice though.

      Wordle 1,536 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Edit for smelling.

  84. Not-So-Fun-Fact..
    Since lockdown an additional 700,000 people work in the public sector.
    At the height of the British Empire there were only 40,000 serpents worldwide!

    At the height of the British Empire, around the turn of the 20th century, the number of civil servants directly managing the empire's administration was estimated to be around 40,000 people, a small number given the empire's vastness.

      1. You have to have lived it to remember the;
        Fire dept, police & army bands outdoing each other on the quayside seeing off The Canberra.
        smell of govt accommodation, the parquet floor & damp emulsion.. list goes on.

        1. Yes, and Mommy tuning in to Victor Sylvester playing his music on the crackling radio . My parents enjoyed that . and of course Daddy reacting to Lili Bolero and the news , he always wanted to know how the cricket was going , and the football results , and I cannot remember anything else sadly .. nothing but a crackling radio .

          1. I remember Lilli Bolero on shortwave, the intro to Radio Newsreel.
            Bong! This is London! (music, fading in and out…).
            That takes me back…

  85. Not-So-Fun-Fact..
    Since lockdown an additional 700,000 people work in the public sector.
    At the height of the British Empire there were only 40,000 serpents worldwide!

    At the height of the British Empire, around the turn of the 20th century, the number of civil servants directly managing the empire's administration was estimated to be around 40,000 people, a small number given the empire's vastness.

          8. The only DM articles I post links to are free.
            I'm guessing your ad-blocker is stopping it.
            Unless, of course, you're a snob like Grizzly…

      1. Wogs the matter with you?
        Feeling browned off?
        [Guy Gibson’s dog] —— mind, go black home and maybe you’ll feel all white

        [edited by moderator – it seems our blank banned words list isn’t enough for free speech. Mind you, it’s OK for those on the continent; some of us are living under this oppresive regime}…

    2. The IT system will be rubbish as usual. It will be hacked and ID's sold like sweets. Just like national insurance numbers.

      The authorities already have trouble differentiating between Mohammed and Muhammed.

      1. The authorities already have trouble differentiating between Mohammed and Muhammed.
        Like sheep and goat?

      1. Oh dear, Conwy – you just don't get it. The valuable new arrivals will NOT be faced with the indignity of ID – digital or otherwise,

  88. Graham Linehan has just published this in the Spectator:
    Something odd happened before I even boarded the flight in Arizona. When I handed over my passport at the gate, the official told me I didn’t have a seat and had to be re-ticketed. At the time, I thought it was just the sort of innocent snafu that makes air travel such a joy. But in hindsight, it was clear I’d been flagged. Someone, somewhere, probably wearing unconvincing make-up and his sister/wife’s/mum’s underwear, had made a phone call.
    The moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow, five armed police officers were waiting. Not one, not two – five. They escorted me to a private area and told me I was under arrest for three tweets. In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for these tweets (and no, I promise you, I am not making this up)
    When I first saw the cops, I actually laughed. I couldn’t help myself. ‘Don’t tell me! You’ve been sent by trans activists.’
    The officers gave no reaction and this was the theme throughout most of the day. Among the rank-and-file, there was a sort of polite bafflement. Entirely professional and even kind, but most had absolutely no idea what any of this was about.
    ‘Kind’ because the officers saw how upset I was – when they began reading me my rights, the red mist descended and I came close to becoming one of those police body-cam videos where you can’t believe the perp isn’t just doing what he’s told – and they treated me gently after that. They even arranged for a van to meet me on the tarmac so I didn’t have to be perp-walked through the airport like a terrorist. Small mercies.
    At Heathrow police station, my belt, bag, and devices were confiscated. Then I was shown into a small green-tiled cell with a bunk, a silver toilet in the corner and a message from Crimestoppers on the ceiling next to a concave mirror that was presumably there to make you reflect on your life choices.
    By some miracle – probably because I hadn’t slept on the flight – I managed to doze off. After the premier economy seat in which I’d just spent ten hours, it was actually a relief to stretch out. That passed the time, though I kept waking up wondering if it was all actually happening.
    Later, during the interview itself, the tone shifted. The officer conducting it asked about each of the terrible tweets in turn, with the sort of earnest intensity usually reserved for discussing something serious like… oh, I dunno – crime? I explained that the ‘punch’ tweet was a serious point made with a joke. Men who enter women’s spaces are abusers and they need to be challenged every time. The ‘punch in the bollocks’ bit was about the height difference between men and women, the bollocks being closer to punch level for a woman defending her rights and certainly not a call to violence. (Not one of my best as one of the female officers said, ‘We’re not that small’).
    He mentioned ‘trans people’. I asked him what he meant by the phrase. ‘People who feel their gender is different than what was assigned at birth.’ I said: ‘Assigned at birth? Our sex isn’t assigned.’ He called it semantics, I told him he was using activist language. The damage Stonewall has done to the UK police force will take years to mend.
    Eventually, a nurse came to check on me and found my blood pressure was over 200 – stroke territory. The stress of being arrested for jokes was literally threatening my life. So I was escorted to A&E, where I write this now after spending about eight hours under observation.
    The doctors suggested the high blood pressure was stress-related, combined with long-haul travel and lack of movement. I feel it may also have been a contributing factor that I have now spent eight years being targeted by trans activists working in tandem with police in a dedicated, persistent harassment campaign because I refuse to believe that lesbians have cocks.
    The police themselves, for the most part, were consistently decent throughout this farce. Some were even Father Ted fans. Thank God the Catholic Church never had with the police the special relationship granted to trans activists. The male officers were mostly polite but clearly nonplussed by the politics of it all – just doing their jobs, however insane those jobs had become. The female officers seemed more tuned in to what was actually happening. One mentioned the Sandie Peggie case in a certain way, and I realised I was among friends, even if they couldn’t admit it.
    I looked at the single bail condition: I am not to go on Twitter. That’s it. No threats, no speeches about the seriousness of my crimes – just a legal gag order designed to shut me up while I’m the UK, and a demand I face a further interview in October.
    The civility of individual officers doesn’t alter the fundamental reality of what happened. I was arrested at an airport like a terrorist, locked in a cell like a criminal, taken to hospital because the stress nearly killed me, and banned from speaking online – all because I made jokes that upset some psychotic crossdressers.
    To me, this proves one thing beyond doubt: the UK has become a country that is hostile to freedom of speech, hostile to women, and far too accommodating to the demands of violent, entitled, abusive men who have turned the police into their personal goon squad.

    1. As I said earlier I hope that Trump, Musk and Vance decide to do something really nasty to Starmer to punish him for the UK's violations and criminal attacks on free speech.

      2. Real American jock initiation stuff with some good rugger bugger bog washing.
        Except he might enjoy it.

    2. all because I made jokes that upset some psychotic crossdressers..
      In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing..
      targeted by trans activists working in tandem with police in a dedicated, persistent harassment campaign..

      Hermer, Starmer, O'Brien, Farage, Badenoch, and every single Leftie alleged comedian should be ashamed.. but they're not.. it's a fight to the death.

    3. The male officers were mostly polite but clearly nonplussed by the politics of it all – just doing their jobs, however insane those jobs had become. The female officers seemed more tuned in to what was actually happening. One mentioned the Sandie Peggie case in a certain way, and I realised I was among friends, even if they couldn't admit it.

      Maybe it's time for some middle-ranking officers to take a stance and organise their own operational priorities, such as protecting life and property rather than the hurt feelings of the inadequate, and to tell senior officers to find another job.

      1. 'Evening, pet. A colleague on the Lanes development in the Great Border City went to school with Mr Rea. He (no, not Rea) lodged in my Mum's spare bedrom for a while.

        The song resonates these days. More's the pity.

      2. Luvvit Mola, ta! Love the song and love his voice. I wish i were a bloke with a voice like that.

    5. Let's just face it, there is no freedom of speech in the UK because anything you say might offend someone. The BB Barrister makes the point that to break the law you have to pass a high level of offence. But I really dont want to be dragged off to a cell and all the attendant worry when it is the police who set the level to initiate an action. How TR ever sleeps I dont know, with plod trying to throw him in jail and the slammers wanting to murder him, life must be a nightmare. He acts for the rest of us decent Brits which is why I admire his campaigning.

      2. He is exceptional, KP, I agree. He has the kind of grit that only appears maybe once in a generation.

    6. Two points.

      The police were not armed for this arrest in particular. At airports, they are armed as a matter of routine. They don't discard their firearms just because the arrested person poses no violent threat to them or the general public.

      As for refusing to believe that lesbians have cocks, I am perplexed. True lesbians do not claim to have one. Male-to-female transsexuals do not ordinarily identify as lesbians, although I suppose it's possible for the anatomically intact to still be sexually attracted to women, even after self-identifying as a woman. As for female-to-male transsexuals, if they are anatomically intact, they will not have cocks, regardless of which sex they are attracted to. However, if they do have a surgically created cock, I suppose they might be thought of as lesbians if they remain attracted to women after surgery, although they would deny the tag of lesbian as they no longer consider themselves to be women, even if others think of them that way. This is most confusing. Perhaps Linehan can put some meat on the bones of his comment.

      1. A third point: if he thinks his tweets amount to jokes, his sense of humour has taken a steep dive since the days of Father Ted, Black Books and the IT Crowd.

        1. Buggered up today – thought I'd signed off halfway through (I dont like the 20 levels, takes too long!) but clearly hadnt as I came back and finished and was presented with a time of 4 hours plus! Did quite well up to levels 19 and particularly 20 which took me ages….

          1. 19 and 20 I flew through.
            I got caught on the easy ones.
            Yesterday’s I was in top 3000 over all.
            Currently 4th on 52.10

            It really annoys me when it carries on counting even before starting.

          2. Sounds good, well done! One thing I've noticed is that I no longer get a time for each leveI which used to be helpful – can you advise?

          3. At the end of each game there is a finish box.
            You should be able to move the RHS slider down to see the time and whether it is standard or better.

          4. I couldnt see it but I’ll check again next time – I’m sure you used to be given the time for each level when you finished it, whatever….

          5. It did.
            They’ve changed the “finish box” so that you have to use the slider to see the time.

          8. Apologies. Both sosraboc and I like the Microsoft Solitaire suite of games (they come as standard with Windows), particularly TriPeaks.
            Each day there is a competition event (just for fun, no prizes) for one of the Solitaire suite.
            When its a TriPeaks day, sos lets me know and we compare notes on how we did. We usually do that the day after when traffic has died down on the site, but I mistakenly responded yesterday so the incomprehensible exchange was visible to all!
            I’ll try not to do it again (but if you do see it again at least you will have some sort of inkling of what it’s about!).

    4. With that facial shape i would bet £100 she has been taking large doses of male hormones or the fucked up shit they give to Trans.
      Which also happens to make them homicidal.

  92. That's me for this exciting day. The hearing aids have advantages and disadvantages. The pluses are that I can hear things – and, better still, the MR is happy. On the negative side, there doesn't appear to be an "off" switch. This arvo, one of the two jets left in the Royal Air Force came over low – and the noise nearly blew my head off. Also one does pick up all sorts of extraneous – and often inexplicable – noise. This arvo, I was in my
    gardening trousers and was aware of a low-level, sporadic "clicking". I assumed that that just happens with hearing aids. After three hours, I realised that it was my bunch of keys rattling against each other as I moved about….

    Anyway, we have endive and bacon for supper and a glass or four of an agreeable (and inexpensive) Corbières..

    Have a smashing evening.

    A demain.

      2. I have a squeaky foot. At least, I think it's the foot. But there's no obvious reason why a moulded soft plastic foot with a marine plywood core should behave differently from normal.

        Guess I need to swap to the old legs, while I investigate. I'll be shorter, and need more stump socks…

        1. Perhaps some Teredo worms have got into the marine plywood cores. Perhaps a drydock is in order.

    2. If it's any consolation, many of such noises eventually start to be ignored by your poor brane.

    3. Your ears will relearn how to ignore the extraneous stuff.

      My know my Aunt had problems with hers if i got too close with all the metal in my head. Even i could hear the whistling.

  93. Making dinner and listening to Talk, and have just heard Peter Cardwell taking apart the lunatic ex-green party leader Natalie Bennett! In fact, he said she was being ‘completely disingenuous’! The spluttering from the dim woman was an absolute joy!

    2. For those of a nervous disposition, stand by for the scary siren from your phone. Apparently it is to be tested this week (unless you have turned it off in settings). Nothing like the gov inducing paranoia into the population..

      2. I suspect that my mobile phone is classed as obsolete, so not worth sending a siren to. I think it's a 2009 model, only good for 2G and 3G networks. Almost antediluvian.

    1. Silent keyboards are a thing. More or less. Few modern laptops have a proper keyboard with a number pad. Besides, even when illuminated, keyboards on silver coloured laptops are difficult to see, with any visual impairment. Laptop keyboards don't like accidental liquid* spillages, either.

      My solution, following much trial and error, requires a "convertible" laptop. Commonly denoted as "X360", the screen folds all the way back (incidentally forming a large tablet). I bought a laptop stand from Mr Bezos, which raies the 'pooter around 4" above the desk.

      So the screen is folded not quite all the way back, with the laptop keyboard facing down. I use a Logitech MX Keys Bluetooth keyboard, which has clear backlighting, a positive feel, and (providing you don't use the keys as a percussion instrument), almost silent. Depending on how hard you hit the keys. Not cheap, and the backlighting can fail. Research suggests that the translucent plastic layer which illuminate the keys is, er, oenophilic. Bugger…

  98. Last post (between refilling glasses)

    It is reported that Cur Ikea Slammer (aka the Nasal Knight) has "attacked" the Metropolitan Gestapo after the Irish chap's arrest – and told the perlice to "concentrate on crime".

    Makes a change for him (allegedly) to say something almost sensible. Won't make the slightest difference, of course.

    1. Probably suggested by one of his backroom staff. I doubt it would occur to him to say such a thing of his own accord.

        1. "Read this, Prime Minister."
          "OK, I've read it. So what?"
          "No, I mean as a statement to the public."
          "Why? It doesn't make any sense."
          "It does to the public."
          "Are you on their side?"
          "Well, yes, er, no, um, yes, but I mean it'll sound good if you say it."
          "Why?"
          [Sigh]
          "Just read the message, Sir."

        2. No wonder he needs free suits from Lord Alli:- his entire clothing budget is spent on replacing smouldering underwear.

          Say what you like, though, about Lord A. – where dressing our lovely DPM is concerned, he obviously has a sense of humour…

          1. I've long held the view, Geoff – they're completely irrelevant and powerless. CS is our real and permanent gov't no matter the vote. Check out Chris Wormald, Senior CS – that's the chap….even Thatcher couldn't crack 'em into shape.

      1. Of course not – but as he usually remains completely silent in the face of national opprobrium – it is interesting to see him react differently. For a brief moment.

        It’ll be interesting see whether the Pencil Monitor has anything to say…

    3. I think this one's on Darren (babies, children & women) Jones. The Nasal Knght neither writes, nor reads his own speeches before speaking. It would be fun to hack into his advisers laptops, before the speeches are actually printed. `I, your Dear Leader, am a lying See You Next Thursday of the highest order". Someone would eventually have to take him to one side and explain what he had just read.

      1. Well that’s you done for, Geoff. I really appreciate all you have done for us…

        Let us know visiting hours…

      2. Good one, Geoff…puts me in mind of a Spitting Image character, just can't recall which one, possibly Gove? What larks, eh xx

      4. The country is falling apart around him and his Chancellor is about to have a nervous breakdown so what dies Starmer do? The silly sod goes off to Paris to talk about Ukraine with Macron, Merx and Meloni plus Ursula.

    4. On Tuesday afternoon the Prime Minister’s spokesman suggested police should be concentrating on issues that “matter most to their communities”.
      Cur Kweer has been noticeably schtum

      1. Opaque as usual. Said in such a way as not to offend anyone.

        Does that suggest that the stealing of copper is important to the thieving Pikey community and that they should provide assistance?

        How about Police concentrate on the prevention and detection of actual crimes !!!

      3. I wonder what those issues might be? Crime springs to mind, but clearly that is not a priority

      4. I think he's finally realised that everyone in the UK hates him and what he's created. Hence the silence and reshuffle.

    5. Not something he's come across before shirely Bill. He's totally out of contact with reality.

          1. We were discussing another newer local brewery Farr brew. There’s another pub just out of our village the Elephant and Castle we use to visit, but the three of us don’t particularly like the flavours of the beers. We believe that they use imported dried American hops.
            That have a predominantly bitter taste. Crazy when you think of the huge amount that use to be grown in Kent.

  102. Written by Richard Osman. The Thursday Murder Club. Film on release.

    If any of you liked the film 'Quartet' with so many British actors who we all have loved then this is for you.

    1. Watched it a couple of nights ago. Was ok, if a bit predictable. I don't usually watch new stuff. Cakemaker was my favourite.

      1. I have Amazon Prime Movies and about a thousand or two on file. I'm enjoying this because of the people.

        1. As I posted a couple of days ago, having read the books the characters are in my head, and I can’t stand the Mirren woman! Also Ron appears to be miscast!

          1. My biggest surprise in the film was the florist at the end. His daughter and mine were in the same class at the Vineyard primary on Richmond Hill.

    1. I did subscribe to that site, Jonathan. It shares some interesting things, but it's blind and vicious anti-semitsm sticks in my craw. The same applies, for me, to many other "truther" sites (eg UK Column) that have it as axiomatic that an evil cabal, composed exclusively of hook-nosed Jews, is destroying the world.

      I get the Evil Cabal bit – but they are not composed of nor confined to Jews, although a few Jewish players may be involved. Not proper Jews, mind, I speak of Soros types – greedy grifters who happen to be of the Jewish race with no moral compass, just a thirst for money and power..

      The Rockerfellers, for example, are not Jews.

      1. I think you may have missed that this post was first put up on RT.com. You are quite right that Jews have no monopoly on evil, I agree….

  104. 412189+ up ticks,

    Tommy Robinson as a personal advisor, NOT a UKIP member link to Gerard Batten was also used to bring down Gerard Battens succeeding leadership in 2018/19, vie the party NEC with farage input declaring Gerard was not of good standing so was unable to stand for a second term

    At the next GE we could be on course for creating the biggest unintended omelette ever.

    Strongly advise we cover our sorry arse's with a safety net party.
    https://x.com/LeilaniDowding/status/1962956548432429145

    1. Reform UK has calculated that more votes will be lost than gained by associating with Tommy Robinson. I'm in no position to judge whether or not that is a wise move, but my gut feeling is that it's the correct one. We will, of course, never know, as we cannot run parallel "presents" in which every other condition is identical, allowing us to compare the two outcomes and choosing the one we prefer before progressing into the chosen future.

    1. Garlands death was a bit of a shock, Phizzee? Thinking of you, pet and sending you a hug.🤗

    3. Don't know what I can say, Pip. Give Dolly and Harry a hug and be grateful for small (ha ha) mercies.

    4. Sending huge hugs and a swish of totally inappropriate glamour across the either. Scoop up Dolly and Harry for cuddles, and put the glass down while you're doing so.

      Thinking of you x x

    5. It gets that way, Phizz. That's when you (re)discover who your friends are.
      Thinking of you, old mate. SEnding warm thoughts, and a hug or two as well.

      2. Sympathetic lawyers and consultants, without any scruples, exploiting all the loopholes. The sort of person, knowing that their client is as guilty as can be, using every trick in the book to ensure that punishment is as minimal as possible, then sitting there with a smug grin of satisfaction on their face, knowing that the system is decrepit and more fool those who allow it to remain so.

  108. Well, chums, another day ends and I head for bed. Good Night, sleep well, and I hope to see you all early on Wednesday morning.

Comments are closed.