Friday 28 January: A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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658 thoughts on “Friday 28 January: A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership”

  5. A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership. 28 January 2022.

    Stephen Brown
    Beverley, East Yorkshire.

    During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Boris Johnson argued that the lockdown parties investigation was a sideshow, as the build-up of troops on the border of Ukraine is more important. I disagree.
    If we have to commit troops to a war zone, they need to have trust in the Government to tell the truth and give an accurate assessment of the risks. Given the Prime Minister’s record, they could never trust him to tell the truth and lead them.

    Anyone who watched Boris answering questions about Petgate on last night’s BBC News will know that he has absolutely no acquaintance with the truth. It is not so much that he is a liar but that truth does not exist for him. He reminds me of someone I worked with many years ago who would tell you without the slightest qualm the most outrageous untruths and self- serving fantasies without exhibiting a glimmer of hesitation or guilt.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/01/28/letters-pm-compromised-integrity-unsuitable-military-leadership/

    1. There is a member of my family who did this. This person was completely indifferent to the truth and was totally unperturbed by being caught out in a lie.

      We all tell lies from time to time but I am an extremely bad liar and get rumbled very easily. Indeed, since I know I will soon be found out I have decided that in the long run it saves time and worry to tell the truth from the start. This is why I don’t actually lie very much!

      2. Sometimes even the pure have to lie sometimes…

        Park Ranger: *Looking at morbidly obese ducks*……………….. Was this you?

        Jesus:……. *trying to hide the rapidly multiplying loaves of bread*…….. No sir.. :@(

    2. It is not so much that he is a liar but that truth does not exist for him.

      Just like Blair, a man for whom anything he said became the truth because he’d said it.

      Followed by The Heir To Blair, ditto.

      Then Maybot, a woman whose relationship to the truth could be characterised as “No longer living at this address.”

      And now Johnson, a man whose trousers fall down so often they should be accompanied by a *Honk ! Honk !* the same way a clown’s are, and who’s apparently outsourced the running of this country to a toxic combo of his very own green-shaded honey trap and Bill Gates.

  9. ‘Morning All

    O Canada O Canada

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8cf5db696c9f629d9d34d219b42cb45d9b29ad783cf92bb593af6656b3dbb368.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/08cb2c14be4924997cb7a0ac70a656b45ef82d1f6dfcf3c5f03989eb55025b46.jpg

    https://twitter.com/canadiangirls99/status/1486481523977031685?s=21

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4278a36e03e84c075f5b166437f03025ae2508df009ca467440b147a918d00c.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/84dbe973eea6c5f52c71d192ca49df2b6a3aa0180413a5980f051a7d08207320.jpg

    Finally

    Brave Sir Justine,ran away,ran away…..

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7c093f8f202b6c0c842a483ea10d0a7323ee9dd673efb8c427b197870cabea94.jpg

    3. Actually I think it would be harder to explain that almost the entire population voluntarily carries around a tracking device with them.

  14. “The driver of a Mercedes Benz hybrid has been left stunned after

    being told to fork out £15,000 for a new battery for an eight-year-old

    car which is now worth approximately £12,850.

    When Ranjit Singh

    first bought the second-hand Mercedes he thought its lower C02 emissions

    would make it more eco-friendly and sustainable.”

    https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/mercedes-owner-horrified-after-15k-6560818

    A misprint I think,they mean it’s now worth fluck all

    Now about how recyclable the batteries are

    “What’s more difficult to recycle is the actual battery cells and the

    precious metals they contain, especially since these can be dangerous to

    access. “The electrolyte is flammable, explosive and highly toxic,”

    says Sattar. “It’s very sensitive to water and forms hydrofluoric acid

    (HF) on contact with water. These hazards must be dealt with in any

    recycling process before the rest of the cell components can be

    recycled.”

    https://www.drivingelectric.com/your-questions-answered/840/electric-car-battery-recycling-all-you-need-to-know

    1. Tell Carrion to put on her Marigolds and sort Ranjit’s problem out. She knows all about greeny things….doesn’t she?

    2. Hybrids don’t have lower CO2 emissions than a good diesel car. Where does the ‘leccy in the battery come from? Usually the gasoline/diesel engine in the car, and a tiny bit of regenerative braking – and then you carry around electric motors and the battery itself, making the car heavy, and they often drive by the engine generating electricity to charge the battery and directly power the motor that drives the wheels, as opposed to the engine driving the wheels directly. Thus, 2xlosses due to the generation and motor conversions.

      1. ‘Morning, Oberst. It is high time the whole-life cost was quoted, then the pious greenies who buy them might think twice.

    2. Lovely to see an inquisitive and excited youngster gambolling around – look at her ears to judge her mood!

      1. Something to look forward to! Warmer, too. Might even get some sunshine… Fingers crossed for you!

        1. Thanks- I spent hours yesterday struggling with the NHS app. A more pointless bureaucracy that is nothing to do with health but all for digital ID.

    1. As kids we would get the bigger kids to get it going as fast as they could while we hung on for dear life. Then there were the swings…trying to get them to go over the top ! I won’t even mention the zip wire we cobbled together on a steep railway embankment.

      Strangely enough, we survived.

  18. Liz Truss flew by private jet to Australia at cost of £500,000 to taxpayers. 28 January 2022.

    Foreign secretary Liz Truss flew by private jet to Australia at a cost of over half a million pounds to the taxpayer, rather than using scheduled flights that would have been faster and far cheaper.

    Instead of travelling from London to Sydney on one of the daily Qantas departures, Ms Truss flew the 22,000 miles to, from and within Australia aboard the private government Airbus A321.

    A mere bagatelle to a Political Class that plunders the people’s money without so much as a thought as to those who created it!

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/liz-truss-flew-by-private-jet-to-australia-at-cost-of-%C2%A3500000-to-taxpayers/ar-AATc4YT

    1. ‘Morning Minty. Thanks for the link. I note that the estimated cost of £500,000+ hasn’t been challenged by Truss or anyone else on her behalf, so presumably it is accepted. This will have damaged her leadership ambitions as she now appears to share Johnson’s cavalier spending of taxpayers’ money. (It is a bit rich of the Scottish Nasty Party to wade in though, bearing in mind the Fishwife’s reported spending of £700,000 on her fantasy of independence!)

    3. I wonder how large the whole entourage was? With advisors/secretaries/civil servants and other hangers-on it could be over 100.
      You could soon start hitting £500,000 when one considers they will all fly first or business class both the round trip and internal flights.
      These people don’t stint themselves you know.

    4. Was Truss the only passenger? Was it a regular government flight?

      My neighbour taught kayaking to the Falkland locals. As Commander Sea Cadets the role was legitimate and the cargo plane was on its normal schedule.

      Morning, Minty.

    5. Bill Deedes told the story that when he was in government he had to go to Africa on work. Of course he flew on a scheduled commercial flight.

      At the airport he met the president of Oxfam and they chatted as they walked to the plane. They went up the stairs to board together but when they got to the top Deedes turned right to go into economy class by the head of Oxfam turned left to go into First Class.

      Now how much a year does David Miliband get given for his ‘charity’ work?

      1. My family never contributed to Oxfam after my parents flew back to Nigeria from annual repatriation with BOAC Economy Class, and a whole bunch of Oxfam types flew first class.
        Both halves of the VC10 arrived at the same time, too.

  19. Morning all, a walk into town beckons this morning. I shall have to play count the nappy free face game.

    2. No problem!
      And good morning m’Dear!

      NHS officials took £70,000 drug company bribes, then ‘switched’ patients’ medication, court told
      Paul Jerram and Dr David Turner are accused of breaching their positions and acting as ‘paid influencers’ for pharmaceutical companies

      By
      Investigations team
      27 January 2022 • 9:28pm

      NHS officials who accepted £70,000 in bribes to promote prescription drugs visited GP surgeries to “switch” patients’ medication, a court heard on Thursday.

      Paul Jerram and Dr David Turner have been accused of arriving at surgeries claiming to be on official business and changing a patient’s medication – a practice known as “switching”.

      James Hines QC prosecuting, told a trial at Southampton Crown Court that the two men had used their positions with the medicine management team of Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and that if the doctors at the surgeries had known it was “not an official visit, they would have not allowed them to [make the changes]”.

      “They were effectively using their position with the NHS to farm out the services of the medicine management team and they received money to do so,” the court was told.

      “Switching” is a function carried out only by doctors or NHS professionals which relates to swapping the medication patients at a surgery are prescribed for a more cost-effective drug.

      It is “fundamental” switches are only carried out by trusted NHS officials, Mr Hines QC said, but Mr Jerram and Dr Turner breached their positions to promote the drugs they were paid to do so.

      ‘Paid influencers’
      The jury was told how the two men accepted close to £70,000 in bribes to promote prescription drugs to doctors and were compared to referees in the pocket of a football team.

      Mr Jerram and Dr Turner allegedly acted as “paid influencers” for pharmaceutical companies by recommending medicines to GPs in exchange for “secret” payments.

      Mr Jerram, of Shanklin, Isle of Wight, is charged with six counts of bribery and one count of corruption while Dr Turner, of Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, is charged with five counts of bribery.

      The defendants – along with two others also on trial – deny the charges.

      The case arose after an undercover investigation by the Telegraph in 2015, which exposed how senior NHS were being paid thousands of pounds and taken on expensive trips by drug companies lobbying to get their products used by the health service.

      Mr Jerram, who was the head of medicines management at the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group at the time of the investigation, told undercover reporters that he had recently attended a meeting in Germany, which took place at “one of the top 10 hotels in the world” and each delegate was paid £500 a day to attend, he claimed.

      Following the disclosure, the NHS Counter Fraud Authority launched an investigation, leading to the current prosecution.

      In court, prosecutor Mr Hines QC said that the men on trial had “used their expertise, their inside knowledge, their influence, and their familiarity with NHS systems to further their own, private interests”.

      ‘Vehicle for bribery’
      “They achieved this in a number of different ways, but the object was always the same: to line their own pockets. They took improper payments time and time again,” he said. “These defendants were each corrupt. They placed their own gain ahead of carrying out their important public functions properly.”

      The court heard Mr Jerram, 69, was head of medicine management and lead pharmacist at the Isle of Wight CCG from 2004 and possessed ‘great influence’ there.

      Dr Turner, 66, was a GP who worked as a consultant to the IoW CCG. He also chaired a care prescription committee that advised the CCG and comprised specialist nurses and doctors.

      Together, the men ran a company and used the company as a ‘vehicle for bribery’, prosecutor Mr Hines QC said.

      In total, they allegedly received or agreed to receive £68,760 in ‘bungs’ from January 2008 to July 2015.

      Jurors were told the NHS officials were paid by businessman Noel Staunton, whose consultancy firm represented pharmaceutical companies.

      As a result of their ‘corrupt’ seven-year scheme, the court heard the ‘integrity’ of NHS doctors making honest recommendations about prescription drugs was breached and medicines were improperly pushed to GP surgeries and advisory boards.

      ‘Handsomely paid’
      Health service pharmacist Cathal Daly – who is also accused of accepting ‘backhanders’ – is also part of the group now on trial.

      Mr Staunton, 60, was ‘very handsomely paid’ by his pharmaceutical company clients through his company 3i Consultancy and was long-term friends with Mr Jerram.

      Mr Staunton, who received tens of thousands of pounds from drug-makers, is accused of paying the pair to promote drugs manufactured by his clients, such as cholesterol drugs and ointments.

      Mr Staunton repeatedly contacted pharmaceutical companies to promise he could get their drugs promoted on ScriptSwitch in what was an “extremely lucrative” scheme for him.

      In one instance, Mr Staunton told Genus Pharmaceuticals that he would “secure a flag on ScriptSwitch highlighting (hydration cream) Cetraben as the most cost-effective emollient”.

      Other drugs were improperly endorsed on ScriptSwitch’s newsletter, the court heard.

      Elsewhere, the defendants also got other NHS healthcare organisations to sign rebate deals which benefitted them financially.

      Mr Hines QC said the defendants “effectively allowed pharma companies to buy the services of NHS staff”.

      ‘Backhanders’
      The drugs companies are not accused of any wrongdoing, Mr Hines QC said.

      Jurors heard that Mr Jerram asked, “sorry to be cheeky, is there a fee?” when Mr Staunton asked him to promote a drug.

      The businessman had asked the official to highlight a calcium tablet after successfully promoting another drug.

      Mr Hines QC said the response was “rather telling” and that Mr Jerram “clearly indicates his particular motivation”.

      After Mr Staunton replied “yes of course”, Mr Jerram suggested he would prioritise working on the drug promotion if Mr Staunton increased his bribe, the court heard.

      “If you have considered fees please advise – always stimulates faster response”, Mr Jerram said.

      Mr Staunton was paid over £25,000 for some deals with his clients and Mr Jerram and Dr Turner would get smaller “backhanders”, the court heard.

      He said the effectiveness and cost of the drugs are not relevant, but that the defendants abused the “integrity” of doctors honestly advising each other over drugs.

      ‘Acting improperly’
      Mr Hines QC said: “The prosecution case is that it is completely improper for an NHS professional secretly to promote a particular drug within the NHS to his fellow NHS healthcare professionals when he is in effect in the position of a paid influencer for the pharma company that manufactures that drug.

      “That is what was happening on the Isle of Wight for some years.

      “If it is your job within the NHS to review medication and drugs, and make recommendations or suggestions for alternative medicines to fellow NHS healthcare professionals, you are acting improperly if you secretly accept money from pharma companies, either directly or indirectly, to promote a particular medicine.

      “And it’s no answer to say ‘but the drug is cheaper or better’. That doesn’t permit or allow you to accept a bung, a bribe, a backhander – whatever you call it.

      “To use the old word, that’s corrupt.”

      Mr Staunton, of Seaview on the Isle of Wight, faces a corruption charge relating to a payment of £2,000 and a bribery charge relating to paying a £4,200 fee.

      Mr Daly, 51, of Norwich, Norfolk, faces a bribery charge relating to receiving £1,000. As clinical lead for primary care and prescribing at South Norfolk CCG, Mr Daly was said to have helped secure a dodgy rebate deal.

      The trial continues.

    3. No come back for the Pharma who were pushing the drugs and paying the fees. It could be argued that these men were suborned.

      Good morning. Spotted you and Maggie giving them hell BTL. :@)

  22. Morning all

    A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership

    SIR – During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Boris Johnson argued that the lockdown parties investigation was a sideshow, as the build-up of troops on the border of Ukraine is more important. I disagree.

    If we have to commit troops to a war zone, they need to have trust in the Government to tell the truth and give an accurate assessment of the risks. Given the Prime Minister’s record, they could never trust him to tell the truth and lead them.

    Stephen Brown

    Beverley, East Yorkshire

    SIR – Given the allegations that certain members of the Government and higher Civil Service may have broken the Covid lockdown rules, I wish to remind those involved of the 16 members of the Welsh Guards who in the summer of 2020, while garrisoned on Royal duties near Windsor, broke the Covid rules, were tried by their commanding officer and sentenced to 14 days’ detention.

    This may not seem much to anyone without military knowledge, but it means 14 days without pay, an entry on your regimental conduct sheet, which is permanent, and the possibility that you will not be considered for substantive promotion for two years.

    Such an adverse entry will also prevent the soldier from being considered in due course for long-service and conduct medals.

    In light of current events, should this punishment be referred to the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces or the Court Martial Appeal Court for a review?

    Dr John Black

    Bristol

    SIR – Boris Johnson trying to pin the blame on his advisers strikes me as the ultimate abdication of leadership (“Gray report will hang civil servants out to dry unless it is redacted, say unions”, report, January 27).

    As a surgeon, throughout my career, whenever my trainee was operating and there was a complication, I always explained to the patient that it was I who was responsible, but when the patient was very happy with the outcome, I always called the trainee to be present and informed the patient that the credit belonged to that person.

    I did this because my teachers set the same example to me.

    Arvind Singh

    Glasgow

    SIR – I gladly received a “Back Boris” badge when Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt visited Cheltenham during their contest for the Conservative leadership in the summer of 2019.

    The badge was worn again when the Prime Minister visited Gloucester as part of the 2019 general election campaign, and now makes yet another appearance to persuade our intelligent, energetic and humorous PM to remain in office.

    I have no doubt that this very badge will reappear at the next general election.

    John Bellwood

    Churcham, Gloucestershire

    2. Well said, Avind Singh. Today’s ‘leaders’ are third-rate pygmies by comparison. The principle of ‘lead by example’ is obviously dead in the water where our politicians are concerned.

      John Bellwood, if you want our country led by an incompetent, lying clown then you’ve come to the right place.

  23. The calculations involved in abandoning ship

    SIR – On British ships the code of conduct of “women and children first”, normally referred to as the “Birkenhead Drill”, is still followed by our seafarers, even though it has no basis in maritime law.

    ‘A few careless words may end in this’: a Second World War poster by Norman Wilkinson

    ‘A few careless words may end in this’: a Second World War poster by Norman Wilkinson

    Adhering to this method when boarding lifeboats can be counterproductive. During the sinking of the Titanic (report, January 22), some lifeboats were only half-full when they rowed away.

    When a ship is abandoned, it is up to the captain and his officers to maximise the number of survivors, but also to take decisions on who should be left behind if necessary.

    As chief officer of a troopship in 1982, it was my job to instruct our 600 soldier-passengers on how to board the lifeboats. However, when I mentioned the “women and children” bit, one lone female officer protested: “I refuse to go first because I am a woman and will go with my men.” I jokingly replied: “Madam, if you refuse to obey my orders, I will shoot you.”

    My statement had a precedent as at least seven men were shot by officers on the Titanic in the aft port boats for refusing to follow orders.

    Captain Peter J Newton

    Derby

    1. The father of a lad at school used to recommend French passenger liners if you were a poor swimmer.

      Traditionally the French used to shout “Sauve qui peut”.

  24. Persian baked beans

    SIR – Rebecca Seal’s article (Features, January 26) on choice in canned food brings to mind what in this household, which has maritime connections, we serve as Persian Gulf baked beans.

    This is a tin of the usual with added curry powder and dried fruit – such as sultanas, raisins and currants – and dark molasses sugar. Perfect, but even better on days two, three and four.

    Paul Ridgway

    Ketton, Rutland

    1. I make those myself. Very tasty.
      I noticed in the comments someone ask how they made a tin of beans last four days.
      They do come in catering sized tins too.

      1. All manner of dishes made with chillies benefit from re-heating a few times before they are at their best.
        Yanks (and Mexicans) make a large enough pot of chilli (Three-alarm chilli; chilli-con-carne; etc) to feed the family for a fortnight. It gets a deeper and more rounded flavour each day it is reheated and served. Whenever I make a pot of chilli for just one meal, I make it a week in advance to maximise its deliciousness.

          2. Problem is, we have one or two curry monsters in the house. Yesterday’s curry almost never lasts as long as today 🙁

          3. Sneakiness required. Cook the curry at the same time as something else. Serve the decoy dish and hide the curry.

          6. I’m just back from a visit to a local farm that slaughters and butchers its own lambs. Places such as this are a rarity in Sweden. I ordered some lamb shoulder; chops that have not been buggered about (i.e. “do not remove any skin, fat or bone from those chops”); and lamb liver. The owner told me that he can also source me some mutton (slurp!) if I need some. I told him that I love it but Swedes I know think it tastes like wool! He told me that Swedes are clueless when it comes to lamb and mutton. They are told not to like it by their parents, and on it goes. Mutton curry; roast shoulder of mutton; boiled mutton with caper sauce; and mutton chops will all feature on my menu during the next year.

          7. Free-range and farm slaughtered. Can’t get better than that.
            Same with Firstborn’s two pigs. Made the best English sausages I ever had, lovely dark, flavoursome meat – and, he kept the interesting parts from inside, plus the blood to make his own black pudding!

      1. I read elsewherehe ordered filling stations closed but the Truckers saw that one coming,plenty of tankers of fuel in the convoy

        1. It feel quite emotional when I see all the video clips of the convoy and the big crowds of supporters standing out in the snow and bone-chilling temperatures. Surprised there are so many little clips still on farcebook.

      2. The little shit has caught a dose of coward-19. He claims to have been exposed to covid and is following health department guidelines by isolating for five days. Another lie, guidelines are to carry on as normal.

        The media and establishment are out in force vilifying the protest and stirring up resentment.

        2. But it doesn’t seem to have stopped the big crowds of supporters. More and more people are seeing the light.

  28. We watched a tolerably interesting programme about Robert Burns – in which a black American lady poet was the presenter. She clearly knew her Rabbie. However, she kept on and on about effing slavery…..

    England did away with slavery 250 years ago; the US, 160 years ago. When are these people going to give it a rest?

    I reflected that it is all a bit like a well-off middle-class, home-owning person today saying that his great-great-great-great-grandfather was sent up chimneys – therefore ALL chimneys must be sealed off and chimney sweeps put out of business.

    1. The real reason chimneys must be sealed off and sweeps put out of business is that they interfere with the profit margins of the select energy providers that have survived the cull of the market. The Russians are a bit of bother right now, but bombing Nordstream and shutting off the Ukraine pipeline will sort them out.

      Now that we’ve left the EU, American corporate lawyers have the right to demand compensation for such loss of profit from vassal foreign nations such as the UK. US Law is paramount over English Law, which is why we have a Supreme Court, rather than law lords, and why a British prince is being made answerable for having a selfie taken with an American hooker in Britain, where the young lady was over the age of consent at the time.

        1. In the UK it’s 16.
          It’s possible it may also have occurred elsewhere where there is a different age, but the claim, as far as I’m aware, was that it happened in the UK.

          1. Here is the table giving the age of consent in various countries: https://www.ageofconsent.net/world

            Nigeria has the lowest at 11 but many Muslim countries get round the ‘problem’ by having laws that state that sexual intercourse outside marriage is illegal but within marriage there are no age restrictions.

          2. Well of course they must do.

            Allegedly the Prophet, married Aisha when she was six or seven and they had intercourse when she was nine. He was in his mid 50’s.

          3. The Sexual Offences Act 2000 may apply if the alleged offence took place in this country:

            Amonst other things the Act introduced a new offence where a person aged 18 or over has sexual intercourse or engages in any other sexual activity with or directed towards a person under that age, if the person aged 18 or over is in a position of trust in relation to the younger person in circumstances specified in the Act. A person convicted of such an offence, unless they are under 20 years old, will be subject to the notification requirements under the Sex Offenders Act 1997. Any person convicted of the offence may also be made the subject of an “extended sentence” by the court.

          4. I doubt Andrew could possibly be considered to be in a position of trust given the circumstances described.

          6. I repeat my response to Tim:-

            Under the sexual offenses legislation in the UK AS IT STOOD AT THE TIME, Giuffre, being over 16yo, was considered old enough to ply her trade as a prostitute.

            The age for being considered an adult for the purposes of prostitution was not raised to 18 until two or three years later.

          7. Why repeat it to me? I’m not contradicting that.

            I believe she also claimed she wasn’t a prostitute per se.

          8. “I believe she also claimed she wasn’t a prostitute per se.”

            But her subsequent actions gave the lie to that.

          9. Absolutely.
            I’ve read somewhere that she was paid $15,000 to sleep with Andrew.
            That’s one Hell of an expensive tart.

          1. It was also considered old enough to ply her trade as a prostitute as the UK’s sexual offenses legislation STOOD AT THE TIME.

            The age for being considered an adult for the purposes of prostitution was not raised to 18 until two or three years later.

        3. Under what law Tim or are you deliberately applying current legislation to a historic case?
          Under the sexual offenses legislation in the UK AS IT STOOD AT THE TIME, Giuffre, being over 16yo, was considered old enough to ply her trade as a prostitute.

          The age for being considered an adult for the purposes of prostitution was not raised to 18 until two or three years later.

        4. In the UK, a minor can be over the Age of Consent (16), as well as over the Age of Criminal Responsibility (10). Responsibility for minors rests with the parent or guardian, and I would certainly have questions to ask of Virginia’s parents over the matter. Those with a Duty of Care are acting in loco parentis, and where this exists, the effective age is indeed 18, but I am not convinced that Prince Andrew was acting in that capacity.

          If there was any coercion, it came from Epstein and Maxwell, and they have both been held to account for it. There may well have been an element of entrapment and/or blackmail involving a number of celebrities with reputations to lose. Prince Andrew may himself be as much a victim of this as unwitting (and frankly witless) accomplice.

          The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an appalling piece of legislation cooked up by the Blair Government (I take issue with the emotive definition of “child” when referring to minors, since I myself fell victim to the Children Act definition defining someone as making important decisions “within the capacity of age and understanding” which denied me a relationship with my son when he was eleven), but I read into it that Prince Andrew’s defence may be that, while he was under English jurisdiction, he did not knowingly pay for the services of Virginia, and that any favours he owed to Jeffrey Epstein cannot be so open-ended as to include suggestions of impropriety with any of Epstein’s employees he caught photographed with. No doubt this will all come out in court.

          Another defence may be over consent. If Virginia willingly gave herself to the Prince regardless whether she was being paid for it, then the Duty of Care clause which sets the age of consent at 18 does not apply. If she later regrets the encounter (and who wouldn’t?!), then it is the circumstances of the time that must be taken into account. Even by studying that photograph suggests that she was not unhappy about the prince putting his arm round her waist, nor was this a professional engagement. It looks to me like the sort of malarky one gets up to in parties, and no more than posing for the camera.

          If Prince Andrew turns out to be innocent of any crime, but merely stupid enough to get caught up in bad company through his own arrogance and self confidence in his attractiveness to teenage women, then he may well have a case for a counterclaim for loss of reputation that led to him losing his official royal status.

    2. Perhaps it’s time these ‘effing people’ realised that they probably wouldn’t exist in the modern world in as many and such modern comfortable lives, if it hadn’t been for slavery.
      I’m hoping one day to see an indepth and reasonably (not holding breath) honest programme where this whole bandwagon of continually complaining and moaning section of modern society actually do go back and discover their real roots. I’ve got a strong feeling they might be severely shocked, hopefully into long lasting silence.

  30. The Disarray of the West. Spiked 28 January 2022.

    Representatives of the ‘West’, from the US and NATO to the European powers, all dialled in to Monday’s confab to discuss the Ukraine crisis. US president Joe Biden emerged afterwards determined to put on a united front. ‘I had a very, very, very good meeting’, he said, adding, ‘total unanimity with all the European leaders’.

    It is not so much that the West is in disarray but that it is dying. Biden ironically is actually a personalised representation of it. He is himself a corrupt nepotist, a pederast wallowing in his own senility. The lie in the text above is typical. There is no “total unanimity”; in fact there is no unanimity at all!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/01/28/the-disarray-of-the-west/

    1. I didn’t know that there are degrees of unanimity… like uniqueness, that seems to come in gradations as well.

  31. Good morning all. The most important topics of the day follow…

    Posh paper

    SIR – If posh people have lavatory paper hanging near the wall (Letters, January 27), why does my “posh” Christmas loo roll, with a pattern on one side, have to be hung the other way to get the full effect?

    Tim Hoyle
    East Hanney, Oxfordshire

    SIR – If a loo roll is positioned with the hanging sheets next to the wall, the wallpaper gets scuffed by fingernails.

    Philip Corp
    Salisbury, Wiltshire

    SIR – In the 1940s my mother used to cut old copies of The Daily
    Telegraph into neat squares, which were hung on a string. Her
    sensitivity was such that none of her recycled sheets ever included an
    image of the King.

    Cameron Morice
    Reading, Berkshire

    3. As you seem to have so much time on your hands Mr Hoyle perhaps you should unwind the whole roll and stack it face up. Perhaps in an old tissue box. I’m sure that would eventually go down well.

    4. Indeed, Philip. Only the anally-retentive give a toss about which side a bog-roll hangs. They should get a life.

    1. They probably have sponsorships and grants that pay for their education, but only if they are on the team.

  33. Bleugh.
    good morning all. Did not want to get out of bed this morning!
    However, it’s a bright morning, dry and a tad under 0°C in the yard and a dry day forecast.

    After the damp start yesterday it actually dried out to a lovely day and I got a lot of wood chopped & stacked. I plan carrying on with that today.

    1. I think you are still abed. We need photographic evidence if you expect us to believe you !

      Good morning. :@)

  34. Great stuff from a Dutch politician!

    We live in a society of lies. Our democracy is no longer a democracy, schools are no longer centers of education, the media no longer inform but spout propaganda, health care no longer focuses on curing people but on injecting them with experimental vaccines. Our governments do not protect us but have only one goal: to frighten us into submission so that they can obliterate free markets, individual liberty, and free will.

    https://www.takimag.com/article/my-political-duty-fight-the-wef/

    2. Morning all.
      Excellent, perhaps Marine Le Pen and others need to be encouraged to drain the stinking political swamp. It’s been slowly rotting the core values of many established Western traditions, cultures and long established and safe social structures.

  35. I told you there was a stitch up over Sue Ellen’s report:

    “The senior civil servant investigating Downing Street parties has been told by the Metropolitan Police not to publish key passages from her report in case it prejudices a criminal investigation.

    Scotland Yard said Sue Gray’s report should make “minimal reference” to the events it is investigating. In a statement this morning the Met denied it was trying to delay publication but confirmed it had been in talks with the Cabinet Office about how much of Gray’s inquiry could be made public.

    The intervention grants Boris Johnson a welcome reprieve after two senior Conservative backbenchers said yesterday the report must be published in full amid speculation that key information could be redacted.”

    1. I wonder – how can you write a report on an issue while only making “minimal reference” to the facts??

    2. I heard just now that it is not within Gray’s remit to investigate malpractice by civil servants or senior Government ministers. Dilyn can be safely scapegoated though.

      It’s how they let the bankers and the hedge fund operators off the hook after 2008. They have now declared that it is not even a crime any longer to fiddle interest rates, as ordered by the US legal system.

    3. “███████ ███ ███████ ███████ ███ ███████ ███
      ██ █ ███████ ███ ███████ ███████ ███ ███████
      ███████ ███ ███████ ███████ ███ ███████ ███ !!”

      Sue Gray

          5. Confirmed tonight on BBC News at Six with accusations that No 10 and the Met are colluding in frustrating the publication of Sue Gray’s report.
            Be that as it may, I gather that the public sighting of a redacted report may still be legally considered to have been published in full!

            Our legal eagles may wish to comment.

    5. In any other walk of life a senior person would be suspended from duty until the facts became crystal clear. This would apparently possibly include most of the cabinet and a cadre of senior civil servants and policy wonks. However, I’m reminded Belgium managed to survive for decades without a government (probably a bloody good thing in the case of the UK).

      1. I expect the one ending up suspended will be Sue Ellen.

        Remember what Parliament did to Elizabeth Filkin…..

  37. Wonderful Barry Cryer joke

    A woman walks past a petshop and sees a magnificent parrot in the window.

    She rushes inside and says, ‘How much for the parrot?’

    ‘£5,’ says the shopkeeper.

    ‘Only £5? I’ve got to have it,’ says the woman. ‘Why’s it so cheap?’

    ‘Well, I must confess, it was brought up in a brothel,’ said the shopkeeper. ‘And, to put it politely, it has quite an extensive vocabulary.’

    ‘Never mind,’ says the woman. ‘At that price, I’ll take it.’

    So she takes the parrot home, puts its cage in the living room and takes the cover off.

    ‘New place – very nice,’ says the parrot.

    Then the woman’s two daughters walk in.

    ‘New place, new girls – very nice,’ says the parrot.

    Then the woman’s husband walks in, and the parrot says, ‘Oh hello, Keith!’

  39. 1. Andrew Windsor to be forcibly extradited to the US for Trial, for committing an act which legal in the UK

    2. Mike Lynch to be extradited to the US for Trial, for on Fraud charges

    Mike Lynch faces imminent US extradition order after legal defeat

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/01/26/mike-lynch-fails-high-court-bid-delay-extradition-usa/

    3. Harry Dunn, the motorcyclist killed outside RAF Craughton, by allegedly Anne Sacoolas whowon’t face UK court next week as planned

    https://news.sky.com/story/harry-dunns-alleged-killer-anne-sacoolas-wont-face-uk-court-next-week-as-planned-12515696

    It seems, that Americans are above the Law.

    Should we not begin a ” Brit Lives Matter” campaign to get Sacoolas extradited?

    2. If Harry Dunn was killed outside an RAF base, how can he face UK court trial next week in any case?

  40. “Nicola Sturgeon relies on Bank of England amid record deficit”

    Britain’s record peacetime deficit of 15.2pc of GDP was dwarfed by Scotland’s implied borrowing of 23.5pc, said David Phillips at the
    Institute of Fiscal Studies.

    A spokesman for the Scottish Government said an independent state would have more powers to control its spending. An MRD Qote

    Will Krankieland pay its’own way, I doubt it

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/01/28/nicola-sturgeon-relies-bank-england-amid-record-deficit/

    1. Let them have financial independence & own currency. Stand on their own two feet, prove that poor, wee Scotland isn’t a perpetual victim.
      The short version: Put up or shut up.

  41. Welcome to the Free Speech Union’s weekly newsletter, our round-up of the free speech news of the week. As with all our work, this newsletter depends on the support of our members and donors, so if you’re not already a paying member please sign up today, or encourage a friend to join and help us turn the tide against cancel culture.

    Nurse to sue NHS trust over “racist” Christianity training

    Nurse Amy Gallagher is to sue an NHS trust after having been made to take training that said “white people are unconsciously racist, that Christianity is a racist religion, and that the Bible can be blamed for racism because it contrasts ‘darkness’ and ‘light’,” the Mail on Sunday reported. Our founder Toby Young was quoted in the report:

    This is a prime example of the wokeness that’s endemic across the higher education sector, depicting whiteness as the root of all evil. All publicly funded institutions have a legal duty not to create a hostile environment for people in virtue of their protected characteristics, including religion and belief, so I suspect Amy has a strong case. I applaud her courage.

    You can support her Stand Up to Woke crowdfunder here.

    Kate Clanchy speaks out about attempts to cancel her

    Author Kate Clanchy has written for UnHerd about her experience of being cancelled. In an interview with Freddie Sayers, Clanchy told him her life’s work has been taken away by the campaign against her. Perversely, a compilation of her students’ poetry has also been taken out of print following the furore. The Times reported her comments.

    Sonia Sodha said the campaign targeting Clanchy was a witch hunt:

    What has happened to Clanchy is a sad tale for our ages. No individual is to blame: it is the product of brittle and cowardly institutions, and the collective social media frenzy that prizes heads on a platter over change. But what I cannot understand is the lack of humanity at Pan Macmillan. One of its authors writes about feeling suicidal, as Clanchy has done recently, and, rather than offering her support, it walks away.

    Maria Albano wrote in Spiked that fiction was being killed off by identity politics.

    Trigger warnings for 1984 and Harry Potter

    Northampton University has given 1984 a trigger warning. The University of Chester has done the same for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Brendan O’Neill lambasted the decision in Spiked.

    Durham University has published a statement saying the investigation into events in December, when students walked out of a talk by Rod Liddle, has been concluded. Student protestors are now demanding the report be made public. One activist was quoted in the Daily Mail saying that the university needed to be made “safer”.

    An academic at the University of Bristol was told to remove the words “woman”, “she” and “her” from a maternity policy, and was investigated by university authorities when she said that only women can give birth.

    Albert Eisenberg wrote about the wider consequences of the stifling orthodoxy now prevalent in universities and the need for an alternative academy.

    The death of academic Peter Newbon is to be probed by the coroner. He had been hounded on social media by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn after posting a doctored image of Corbyn in which the ex-Labour leader is seen reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to children. In reality, he was reading We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Corbyn supporter Michael Rosen. In response, Rosen accused him – bizarrely – of anti-Semitism. This led to Newbon being investigated by his employer, Northumbria University, and being given a final written warning. Professor Newbon was Jewish.

    More draconian version of Online Safety Bill expected

    Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is expected to announce a more draconian version of the Online Safety Bill, which will propose that social media bosses should be jailed if they fail to remove “harmful” content. Meanwhile, the legislation could still fail to remove the illegal content it is targeting, the BBC reported. You can read our latest briefing on the Bill here.

    A Finnish MP is on trial for a tweet quoting the Bible, and risks being imprisoned for two years. Our laws on freedom of speech are not much better in the UK and the Government is intent on making matters worse, wrote Lois McLatchie.

    Vindication for women silenced in trans debate as EHRC tells Holyrood to pause self-ID plans

    The EHRC has called on Holyrood to pause plans for gender self-identification. “It is difficult to see how these developments do anything less than vindicate the concerns of women across the UK who have been threatened, silenced, and bullied for speaking out in defence of their sex-based rights,” wrote Olivia Hartley for the Critic.

    Gwent Police arrested a disabled woman in Newport after she put up posters saying “humans never change sex”. Police held her for 12 hours, raided her home, and seized an academic book about transgenderism by two feminist academics as “evidence”.

    Brendan O’Neill warned about the increasing trend of laws criminalising parents who don’t “affirm” their children’s claims of gender dysphoria. Thirty Tory MPs have warned the Government against plans to rush through a ban on conversion therapy without due consideration of the unintended consequences the law could have. Primarily, they’re concerned about the banning of legitimate therapies for children who say they are trans.

    Exeter Chiefs retire Native American branding

    The Exeter Chiefs are to “rebrand” and retire their 25-year-old Native American-themed logo.

    The Crown Prosecution Service has warned Tottenham Hotspur fans they face prosecution for using the term “Yid”.

    BBC censoring classic shows

    The BBC is editing classic radio programmes to meet “changing audience expectations”, the Times reported. Episodes of Dad’s Army were among those quietly edited to remove politically incorrect material. Libby Purves decried the “sneaky” censorship, and urged the BBC to leave the programmes alone. Judith Woods wrote in defence of fairy tales, after actor Peter Dinklage criticised Disney’s live action version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

    TV chef Jamie Oliver has revealed that he has “offence advisers” and “teams of cultural appropriation specialists” to vet his recipes.

    Other news

    A Pakistani woman has been sentenced to death for “blasphemous” messages she sent on WhatsApp.

    David Davis MP has warned that libel actions by the ultra-wealthy, including Russian oligarchs, are undermining free speech and freedom of the press in Britain.

    The battle continues over the name of The Black Bitch pub. Five hundred people joined a recent protest in defence of the traditional name.

    Camilla Tominey spoke about the “virtual sewer” of social media that has produced cancel culture, and of the damage it has done to free speech.

    Videos and podcasts

    You can watch our ‘in-depth’ about the Equality Act with our founder Toby Young, Exeter lecturer Dr Wanjiru Njoya, Professor James Allan and Dr Anna Loutfi here. And you can hear Toby being interviewed by Brendan O’Neill about the second anniversary of the Free Speech Union here.

    We’re hiring!

    If you’d like to get involved in our work, we currently have three new posts available. Join our communications team as our Director of Digital Content and Marketing, or as our Communications Officer. We’re also looking for a Director of Data and Impact to help expand our membership base. We’re keen to fill the positions quickly, so will begin the interview process on a rolling basis.

    Sharing the newsletter

    As with all our work, this newsletter depends on the support of our members and donors, so if you’re not already a paying member please sign up today or encourage a friend to join and help us turn the tide against cancel culture.

    You can share our newsletters on social media with the buttons below to help us spread the word. If someone has shared this newsletter with you and you’d like to join the FSU, you can find our website here.

    Best wishes,

  43. 334722+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Friday 28 January: A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership,

    I do believe him and his party are ideal if a war situation arose, in the
    surrender department.

    They have proved beyond doubt their pro eu feelings are very strong and their intentions ARE to return to the odious bosom of brussels, and their previous rubber stamping,care taker stance.

    No party in such a short space of time could bring a country DOWN to such an odious level the United Kingdom has reached without it being intentional,orchestrated.

    With the lab/lib/con coalition engaged in Country stacking illegal immigrants via DOVER, & acting as the political supply wing of PIE,
    what do the electorate find exactly to continue to support & vote for ?

      1. 334700+ up ticks,

        Morning AOE,
        I have yet to see a sheep in one, they are the innocents finding regular blame via the lab/lib/con coalition voters AKA buck passers.

        NO, tis the loving contents of the booths, the romancers, with their regular Judas kiss X, that really do have a lot to answer for.

        1. Afternoon ogga1

          “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know who the hell they are voting for!”
          Luke 23:34 Revised UK Democratic Version (RUKDV)

    2. Theodore Dalrymple. Essayist without peer. An expert on the realities of crime and punishment (He was a doctor and psychologist in the prison service) which was why no one in UK politics ever consulted him!

      1. I enjoy most of his pieces. He was excellent writing on crime criminals etc. for the Spectator (I think).

    1. So, why are we doing it?
      I wonder is it because Russia is against the ‘global reset’ taking place before our very eyes and wants to retain it’s independence and cultural differences.As it seems do Poland and other eastern European nations.
      The Ukraine hardly qualifies as being in the north Atlantic. As in NATO.
      I have always suspected quite a lot of skulduggery by any one but the soviets when it comes to strange actins outside their domain such as poisoning. Why would they bother ? It’s far too easy to point the western finger and there is never any real proof of what actually happened only lost of media hyped speculation.

      1. Also though Russia has a very large moslem population, some 70% of Russians are Christian. The Orthodox Church is very strong and Patriarch Kirill and Vladimir Putin are close allies.

        There’s talk of the EU scuppering Nord Stream. Wouldn’t that be cutting off their collective nose to spite their face?

  49. A fleeing Taliban terrorist, desperate for water, was plodding through the desert when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he hurried toward the mirage, only to find a very frail little old Jewish man standing at a small makeshift display rack – selling COVID protection masks.
    The Taliban terrorist asked, “Do you have water?”
    The Jewish man replied, “I have no water. Would you like to buy a mask? They are only $5.”
    The Taliban shouted hysterically, “Idiot Infidel! I do not need such an over-priced western adornment. I spit on your masks. I need water!”
    “Sorry, I have none, just masks – and only $5.”
    “Pahh! A curse on your masks! I should wrap one around your scrawny little neck and choke the life out of you but . . . I must conserve my energy and find water!”
    “Okay,” said the little old Jewish man. “It does not matter that you do not want to buy a mask from me, or that you hate me, threaten my life, and call me infidel. I will show you that I am bigger than any of that. If you continue over that hill to the east for about two miles, you will find a restaurant. It has the finest food and all the ice-cold water you need. Go In Peace.”
    Cursing him again, the desperate Taliban staggered away, over the hill.
    Several hours later he crawled back, almost dead, and gasped, “They won’t let me in without a mask!”

        1. A good story – but a predictable one. I told it to Caroline over lunch and she saw the punchline coming well before it did.

  50. Brussels sets its sights on British wind power
    EU demands access to UK wind farm contracts as figures show that wind energy has fallen to four-year low
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/01/28/brussels-sets-sights-british-wind-power/

    BTL

    We are paying the price for having a botched Brexit deal – we would have been far better off with WTO terms from the word go.

    If we cannot sort out Northern Ireland, fishing and the ECJ and the ECHR we might as well go back into the EU and destroy it from within.

    1. EU demands access to UK wind farm contracts as figures show that wind energy has fallen to four-year low

      I think i can see where that one is going, meet or demands because if anything at all goes wrong, there will be hate filled reprisals.

    2. False reasoning; we tried reforming it (aka destroying it) from within before we voted to leave. That went well, didn’t it? Accepted back into prison, the doors will be locked and the key thrown away; then the punishment regime will really begin.

  51. https://twitter.com/RyanRallyOh/status/1486425637757804547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1486425637757804547%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefaultf%3Dgoingpostalcomt_i%3D7460520https3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F3Fp3D74605t_u%3Dhttps3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F20222F012Ffish-ships2Ft_e%3DFish202620Shipst_d%3DFish202620Ships207C20Going20Postalt_t%3DFish202620Shipss_o%3Ddefaultversion%3D4474eb952b0ac3bafd98c3224c1d140c

    1. It’s a bit ideal really:

      An inquiry is called into whether PM and other ministers broke the rules.

      The first bloke chosen to do it has to recuse himself as he was equally as rule breaking.

      – Can gets kicked down the road.
      Another woman picks it up and finds the bleedin’ obvious.
      Now plod get involved and suddenly, the internal inquiry has to be delayed until the police investigation finishes – and we all know how speedy those are.

      – Can kicked permanently down the road, into the gutter and run over by the bus of state.

      People forget as the next manufactured crisis comes along.

      When it eventually does report, sometime next year, it will be an utter whitewash as chances are police protection were also involved.

      All nicely convenient, no consequences, all the interested parties protected.

      1. The chaps on the Left are the Chinese.

        The bloke on the right is a corrupt, bent, back hander taking Labour man.

  54. Good afternoon. We already know that the ONS statistics have been nobbled by:
    *Delayed or non-reporting of vaccinations.

    *Systematic underestimation of the proportion of unvaccinated.

    *Incorrect population selection for Covid deaths.

    And now a FOI response from them to GBNews gives us the following:

    The total deaths from cause of Covid alone for 2020 and 2021 together total 17,331.

    As many have observed influenza deaths have for some reason dried up for the last two years, but we know that deaths from influenza with pneumonia for 2018 and 2019 were 29,000 and 27,000 respectively. All-cause mortality runs in the range 450,000 – 510,000 for scale reference.

    This is the excuse to trample our ancient democracy and assault and injure our people. It’s time to remove these people from public life.

    https://www.tarableu.com/ons-admits-uk-covid-death-toll-for-last-2-years-totals-17331/

    1. When is a death purely of covid and when does it become with covid? There is enough leeway in that distinction for a politician for a politician to make statistics say what they want. That before you start misclasifying flu as covid.

        2. Yes but when a definition not allow for obfuscation?

          In our little area, they announced the first flu cases of the year today – be cautious, get vaccinated!!

    2. Technically not true.

      The question was ‘with no co-morbidities’. Now, as an asthmatic, with a duff knee, being overweight and what not I have three co-morbidites. If I got covid is it the last thing, or the combination?

  55. Nicked

    Saw this comment on Breitbart the other day

    According to OGUK, that is the UK’s Offshore Oil and Gas body for the year ended June 2021 the UK paid:

    Russia £524 million gas, £3.2 billion oil

    Norway £5.2 billion gas, £6.1 billion oil

    Qatar £675 million LNG

    USA £2.8 billion oil.

    Step forward Minister for Energy Greg Hands.

    Now Greg here’s a hint- the North Sea.

    Jackdaw and Cambo are two of many, in your file and forget folder the UK could drill.

    Imagine
    what £18.5 billion, instead of being paid to those outside the UK as a
    balance of payments deficit, for a demand that isn’t going away for
    decades, was actually in the UK GDP figures if the UK drilled the fossil fuels instead.
    Greencretinism

    1. It does make me laugh when I hear European politicians threatening Russia with sanctions, don’t they realise how easily Putin could cause chaos by shutting down oil and gas exports?

    3. Greg Hands is a dual national US&British citizen, with a German wife. His children are or were presumably entitled to American, British and German passports. As the Hands family is 66.6% foreign, why should he worry about the UK balance of payments?

  56. Not one of our officials is suitable for military leadership. The only one I grudgingly dislike slightly less is Brown for using an emergency budget to buy proper armoured vehicles at a time when the MoD was obsessed with FRES – a pointless, proven useless, utterly inappropriate, woefully underarmoured, powered and armed flat bottom (and thus mine vulnerable) wheeled vehicle suitable for the cold war, not the current.

  57. Further to my first post this morning I have had my walk into town. I have to report the place is full of sheep still wearing their face nappies. What have we become?

      1. Mrs VVOF keeps giving me digs in the ribs when I walk by them muttering Bah out loud.

        1. 334722+ up ticks,

          VVOF,
          I looked at the prices of lamb in morrisons and to reassemble one it would cost just shy of £30K.

  58. BBC News at One

    Sir Keir says Sue Gray report must be released in full.
    Surely as a former Director of Public Prosecutions he must realise that this would seriously undermine the independence of the police investigations and pejudice any possible prosecutions proposed by the CPS (if he knows what that means!).

    2. It kept freezing after 25 secs but using my VPN it played all the way through.
      Are you reading this MI5?

      1. They could crack VPN if they wanted to. It’s just a case of resource allocation. Like with cracking any code. They have bigger fish to fry.

    5. I’ve been following a group on farcebook, ‘2020: What’s the Real truth.’ Lots of little video clips, quite moving to see the big crowds of supporters out in the snowy bone-chilling cold, and the long line of trucks. Unbelievable numbers involved too – I reckon they could line every street in Ottawa and still be lining up outside the city tomorrow.
      I won’t bother mentioning it to the family over there – can’t be doing with the lecture! They certainly never mentioned the well supported march last weekend which went right by their apartment block.

  62. Report from the Shopping Front:
    Lidl – 30% staff and 50% customers still wearing face nappies.
    Sainsbury (for one blasted item!!!) – 50% staff and 95% customers still nappied up.

    2. More people in Asda were wearing masks after Boris announced restrictions would be lifted.

        1. Seems that too many people can’t manage without being told what to do. I’ve never liked being told what to do which is why a career in the military wasn’t for me 😉

          1. Me too, LotL,

            At school was a right pain in the arse to my teachers…I was always asking….WHY?
            |No answer came the reply.
            Just do as you are told!!!

          2. Imagine if we’d been in the same class! What fun;-)
            I spent most of my time at primary school in the corner. They should have put a plaque on the wall.

          4. I suppose it was similar for me, although my parents stayed together, arguing frequently. I enjoyed learning. As I was pretty good at it, it gave me a sense of achievement, too.

          5. I not only incessantly asked why, but corrected their spelling. I wasn’t very popular with many teachers 🤣

          6. I argued with the History teachers! They always got their Henrys, Richards and consorts mixed up.

          7. Do you remember that grimly compelling song by Harvey Andrews, The Soldier, about a young soldier in Northern Ireland during the troubles? There is a telling phrase – ‘ten years in the army being paid for being bossed.‘ The song was banned by the BBC – I wonder why?

            This song should make one’s flesh creep when one thinks of Tony Blair.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNAXVeocUaw

    3. Tesco and Lidl yesterday seemed about half of staff still muzzled but around 3/4 of customers still hidden. I suspect more and more will ditch the muzzles as the days go by. Some will notice that lots are free then feel ‘brave’ enough to be likewise.
      We were in a local business today. No masks. Very refreshing.

    4. I walked Oscar into town for a coffee (me) and a flapjack (both of us) and just about everybody walking in the street was masked! What!

  63. 334722+ up ticks,

    She would be a prize for any of the lab/lib/con overseeing party’s and a role model surely for the party member / voters,

    Jihadi Bride Shamima Begum Now Claims She Could be Valuable Counter-Terror Asset for UK

    1. She can be a valuable counter-terror asset in Syria or whichever hell-hole it is that is kind enough to take her off our hands.

        1. She can sing AND I bet that she loves her gran, just like every other terrorist/ knife murderer.

  64. Now colour me cynical but we seem to be being prepped for major increases in heart problems

    “Now even sticking to medics’ alcohol guidelines is bad for your

    health! Risk of heart problems could be increased even if you drink less

    than NHS weekly units, study suggests”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10450185/Drinking-NHS-alcohol-guidelines-increase-risk-heart-problems.html

    And

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9c40faf37fff16e81c5dfea4ca2b0cbce623ebf6f94c227da38cc93079149d74.png
    Nothing to do with toxic jabs,no siree

        1. I once knew a Richard and I asked him, “May I call you ‘Dick’?”
          “Not if you expect a response!” was his terse reply.
          This reminded me of the tale about Richard Burton, who once informed someone, “My name is Richard. ‘Dick’ is an appendage!”

    3. I didn’t think the NHS guidelines could get any lower, so it would be hard to drink less than them!

    2. I’d love to put that on Faecebook but it wouldn’t last long and I would be on the naughty step

      1. Memory isn’t what it was, VVOF, and that’s setting the bar pretty low, I’m afraid…

    2. What a wonderful and compelling documentary, Paul, from a time when the BBC were, indeed, the best journalistic television company on the planet. It was quite heartwarming being able to travel back to a more sensible time in our (my) history and see things how they were.

      One thing that delighted me was their routine reference to their flying machines, properly, as aeroplanes. This sounds so much more natural than having to listen to all and sundry, these days, calling them aircraft or, even worse, “airplanes”.

      Thanks very much for that.

      1. My pleasure, Grizz. I enjoyed it, too.
        The past is another country. They do things differently there…

    3. Blimey! It reminded me that I had just turned 20 when she made her maiden flight! A magnificent aircraft. I only wish I’d had the chance to fly in her, rather than just take a tour of the experimental version at Hendon and the Concorde experience at Brooklands.

      1. Design started just after the 707 and VC10… now there was a brave punt, superbly creative and confident in all the difficulty and developments needed. Total and utter respect from me. I’m blown away by the step forward they made, taht men & women in lounge suits could sip champagne as they crossed the Atlantic, at similar speed and height to the Lockheed Blackbird, where the crew had to wear spacesuits… and pee in a tube.
        Greatest technical achievement I ever saw.
        EDIT: How wonderful it would have been to have been even a tiny part of it, never mind the test pilot!

          1. I have a lot of time for the French.
            They don’t seem to have any worries about putting themselves first and acting robustly in accordance, a trait the Brits need to adopt.
            Their food is pretty average, though.

          2. The French individually are fine (I spend a lot of time in France, or I used to) and I have many French friends. The government not so much.

  68. Some of you may recall that three weeks ago I celebrated my 30th birthday. My friend in GA USA mailed a card to me at the end of December. It arrived today! So, one small card has taken a month to get here…reckon it came over on the Mayflower.

    1. We’re still waiting for Xmas presents to arrive… international postage has gone to Hull in a handcart. Lost, slow, delayed…

      1. Are you sure you were a good boy in 2021 and are getting any presents? Just asking for fellow Nottlers…..

      2. I love that line from G&S’s Trial By Jury

        “She might very well pass for forty three
        In the dusk with the light behind her.”

          1. I was 41 when I got married and did not become a father until I was 47 so 43 was a pretty good age to be!

    4. Pessimist! An optimist would think that the card is an early delivery (for when you will really be 30)

    6. We had two!!! Christmas cards arrive one April on the same day here.
      The extraordinary thing was that they were from 16 months previously.

      1. I thought it was 40;-) How are you, Mr. Prez? Well I hope.
        Edit… Sophie Tucker song, Life Begins at Forty. I don’t recall it but it was on the first episode of The Good Life.

        1. 10 years to go before you find out! ;o)
          Yeah, not bad, thanks. All 3 parents trundling along so no worries there for now. Just booked a nice cruise in 2024 so life’s good. You?

          1. Carrying as best we can. We had good news with our utility bills thanks to winter payments- always helps.
            Good about your parents…must be a relief.
            Where are you cruising to?

          2. Puerto Rico, Antigua, St Barts then across the Atlantic, Bermuda, Azores, then Cadiz, Seville and finally Barcelona before flying home. Looking forward to it.

          3. Bermuda is great fun, stayed at the Elbow Beach Hotel once. The ocean is so clear- amazing.

  70. Barry Cryer’s erudite translation of Et in Arcadia ego… “I had an omelette down the shopping precinct.”

    1. Good Lord! (no, not Blunkett). A pity he didn’t know how many immigrants were coming when he was HS.

        1. Definitely! If anyone was a poster boy for not promoting people because they suffered from disability, he was the one 🙁

  74. There is a frightening clip on Stew Peters where Dr Ruby questions an embalmist. The embalmist has photographed worm like threads of blood clotting from the veins and arteries of bodies extracted during the process.

    This is not going to end well for the injectate pushers to say nothing of the life chances of the poor sods walking around with the clots growing by the day.

    1. That video is so gruesome, I only managed a few minutes. I got the gist of it, but all that detail of huge clots coming out of dead people was horrific!

    2. Over on The Slog, Mr Ward doesn’t think the words ‘Rt & Hon’ sit well with this MP….

      Our very own BT isn’t enamoured either….

  77. More woe for Olaf Scholz as Germany braces for recession
    Economy sinks in final quarter of 2021 amid latest Covid wave
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/01/28/woe-olaf-scholz-germany-braces-recession/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr

    BTL

    I fear that behind his bland appearance there lurks an extremely nasty person which we shall not have to wait long to see.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1bbfc61aeeaec2dd5de3150c7d6581cd532fb3b18e3696db86e760ee2aa866a9.jpg

  79. Waitrose 25% off roasts.

    Bought two chickens. They didn’t have the ones i ordered so replaced them with even bigger ones at the same price.

    Broke down the joints and made Hunter chicken. 2 bottles of red. 1lb of shallots. 1lb wild mushrooms. 2 tins chopped tomatoes. Chicken stock from the carcasses. Liberally finished with half a bottle of Marsala. That’s a dozen home made ready meals for the freezer when it cools down. Works out around £2 per dinner portion.

    1. Well done. It makes me feel sick when I see the rubbish that people fill their shopping trolleys with – and the whingers who complain that they “can’t afford” food….

      1. It does help that not only can i do it i also enjoy the process. Took me about 5 minutes to portion those 2 chickens. You need a sh sh sh sharp knife.

          1. Wish i knew how to do video’s now on Whatsup or Antisocial media. I could be new Delia or even the new Julia Childs.

      2. Was behind a woman in the supermarket last year and she had half a dozen packs of frozen toad in the hole. Opened my mouth to say, buy a couple of packs of sausages, some plain flour etc and you can make it for much less. Husband saw what was coming and gave a nudge in the ribs. Each packet she’d bought was 4.99- they were small and only had two bangers . Utterly daft. And I bet they tasted rotten!

        1. We are lucky enough to have a really good butcher near us, so great sausages for a home made TitH with onion gravy – very good!

          2. ASDA’s range of posh soss is surprisingly good. They are always cheaper for two packs, so I stock up the freezer.
            Have just bought a pack of Lidl posh soss; will report back when we’ve eaten them.

          8. Sent fermented fish to Peddy a few years ago.
            Missy enjoyed it, apparently.
            Anyone seen anything of him, by the way?

          11. I’ve emailed a couple of times- suspect he has summat going on…he’ll return when he/if wants to.
            Do hope he’s OK though.

          13. Home made sausages are a doddle. I’ve always made mine, since I moved to Sweden, out of necessity. Swedish sausages are ugh!

        1. Indeed, but my steed is currently inadequate. Once I ger my paws on a car that can drag it, watch out world!

    3. The only picture I have of my Father cooking is of him preparing Hunters Turkey, after Christmas. That’s the only time I saw him cook – and he was good, too.

      1. Those were days where man and wife had more designated roles. And woe betide a husband that mucked up the kitchen !

      1. Always been in catering so for me it’s a doddle.

        I did 200 x 3 course Christmas lunches for the old folks in my town a few years ago. The only help i had was in serving it. Given it was a charity event i at least didn’t have to pay them !

        Just think how rich i would be if i had chosen to be a forensic accountant? :@)

          1. As i say it is my fortay. I had the use of the Club premises and all the equipment.

            All meticulously planned down to portion control, temperature and timings.

            My brother who was also in catering arrived at 11 am to see how i was getting on in case i needed some help.

            I was drinking coffee and reading a book. He said aren’t you serving at 1pm? I said yes.

            Even got my photo in the local rag.

          2. Well done.
            Best I ever achieved was a church barbecue for 200.
            On the plus side nobody was ill.
            What was really annoying was that people insisted on loading their plates instead of taking less initially, so that everyone got started and those who wanted to could come back for more.
            There are some really selfish bastards in the world.

    5. Today after I finished doing some pre-painting prep over at the restoration project, I shoved the ingredients into the bread maker and produced a 40-60 loaf and stocked a chicken. Some of the stock will be used in a thick onion gravy for Lambs’ liver & bacon tomorrow evening…(The pack of liver was just £1)

      1. Excellent. Not so keen on lamb liver. Texture of pate. I prefer Calf liver. The flavour is intense.

          1. A good butcher should have it.

            The great thing about it is you don’t need to use very much. About 3oz per person and you get a terrific gravy.

          1. North doesn’t meet south in this instance.

            Oh how i would like to subject you to my cooking !!!

    6. You share my philosophy on buying and cooking meals for the future. The lamb that I ordered today (a whole shoulder, 12 untrimmed chops and a whole liver) will serve me well.

      I shall roast half the shoulder (knuckle end) and then use the rest for stews or Indian curries. The liver will be sliced into portions for having with liver, bacon and onions. The chops will be roasted whole and enjoyed (especially since they are not bollocksed up by that silly, infernal “French trimming” nonsense). The meat and fat still on those bones will be nibbled off at leisure!

      1. Lovely.

        I do hope when i eventually get an invite you might have something freshish. And iced Vodka? :@)

    3. Mild today, which was useful.
      I’ve almost got the formerly empty woodstack filled and should be able to finish the job at the weekend. Would have filled it today, but I had to resharpen the electric chainsaw.

  81. Barry New
    18 HRS AGO
    At the end of one of Barry Cryer’s many books is the following verse.

    A handsome young plumber called Lea,
    was plumbing a maid, by the sea.
    Said the maiden, cease plumbing,
    there’s somebody coming.
    Said the plumber, don’t worry – it’s me.

    RIP

  83. Evening, all. A slight amendment to the headline: “A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership.”

    1. Apologies:

      Evening, all. A slight amendment to the headline: “A PM with compromised integrity is unsuitable for military leadership.”

      1. Boris Johnson is a bumbling mendacious buffoon. May is the embodiment of sheer evil.

  85. That’s me gone until Sunday. Just hoping trip to London is OK travelwise.

    Play nicely tomorrow.

    A dimanche

    3. Yes. But after brexit is completed and we have defeated covid and the Russians, i still say he needs to be crucified. He can have some wine and nibbles before we start.

      1. And with a bit of luck, Ferguson can do a Judas and Vallance and Whitty can be the thieves.

      2. ‘…after brexit is completed..’

        Never will be with Bojo in charge. He’s become adept at can kicking.

        1. If Royal Executive powers were to be restored, HM could enjoy making a very few profound decisions to improve the State of the Realm :)) !!!

          Please add your Wish List!

          5. No, banishment for him, heads off for just about all the current govt and all those fools who glued themselves to the roads.

    5. When you look at the possible replacements, he may have a point. Doesn’t mean he’s any good, though 🙁

          2. The whole planet is a busted flush. I cannot think of any individual, in any country, who has the “stuff”.

          6. It will be interesting to see whether Candace Owens goes further in American politics.

            In my view she crosses boundaries and can can draw right of centre groups together.

          9. Well, I think we have got a government, but they are picking up their salaries under false pretences.

        2. I, personally, would suggest Lord Frost.

          Yes, he may have to give up his lordly title but, did he ever believe in it?

          As a successful PM, he could retire with an Earldom

    6. Despite Sir Kier claiming that the Conservative Government is now paralysed pending the full publication of Sue Gray’s report, the BBC has been screening Ukrainian troops being trained by UK military to fire UK anti-tank missiles.
      Business at usual then.
      The only thing we need a PM for is to press the red button but I think Carrie’s got it!

    7. I don’t now about being the Best Man. I believe he has been the Groom on several occasions….

  88. Sad story in BBC about a husband who caught covid & died from a brain clot, leaving Dr Wife and two wee bairns.
    I hesitate to make a point, but surely, if he had been unvaccinated, the BBC would have delighted in telling us? Maybe I didn’t read it fully…
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60163550

    1. It would have been the first thing you read: “Unvaccinated doctor leaves wife and two small children….”

    2. I got the impression, perhaps incorrectly, that he’d been a victim fairly early on and she was only now publicising it as an example of how one handles death with young children; rather than making any point about Covid other than that young fit people can die.

  89. Oh bugger!
    The Pig of Lead, over the road has a car on it’s side in front of the building.
    A lad heading towards Buxton missed the bend, thinking the road went straight on, and lost it when he tried to correct his mistake.

    No injuries and police on the scene now.

    3. You’ve never told us about a pub ‘over the road’; I always imagine you trundling miles o’er hill and dale for a pint, Bob 🙂 !

  91. ‘Night All

    Posted on the FreedomConvoy FB page:

    A letter from a trucker in the Freedom Convoy who wanted to share his story:

    Hello everyone. We made it to Thunder Bay today. I have a hard time finding

    words to express the momentum on this convoy. The convoy is 100kms long

    and growing all the time. The support people have is overwhelming.

    Coming into Winnipeg yesterday was pretty emotional, the com radios went

    pretty quiet because no one could find words to express what we felt.

    There were people packed on the shoulders of the streets. Cars parked

    and people for miles and miles on the ring road around the city. The

    horns never stopped honking! On the four lane going out of Winnipeg, we

    thought it was hammer down time but ended up driving 5 to 20 km/hr for

    hrs and hrs. People had camp fires going in the ditches, fire works, a

    sprayer with booms out with big Thank you! Signs on the booms. Crane

    trucks with the booms up with signs, lights flashing, and flags. The

    shoulders of the four lane packed with people and cars. Overpasses

    packed with people. Tons of families little kids all bundled up.

    Everyone was jumping, dancing, waving signs, flags, and flash lights.

    All in -30. Seeing how happy kids are, their smiles makes you a little

    emotional at times. This is how Canada is suppose to be. This morning

    going into Ontario, the support is amazing. The laneways, cross roads,

    little towns same things happening. Contantly speeding up and slowing

    for groups of people. I feel like I am cheating with adaptive cruise 😉.

    When we came to Thunder Bay they had a big area plowed Off. Tents put

    up, big fires and a insane amount of food. Beef on the bun, spaghetti,

    sandwiches, coffee, donuts and you name it. They brought pallets of

    windshield washer fluid for everyone. Very humbling how kind everyone

    is. This is what freedom feels like. I felt normal for once not alone

    like the last two years. Thanks for all the support it is much

    appreciated!! Well I hitting the hay. Cheers. Thanks

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0a0069b5e876eefbdb65d182e47d726f163129357bdc09631b9d9101ba228462.jpg
    Edit
    Bob Moran
    https://twitter.com/bobscartoons/status/1487134844605841408?s=20&t=B9LzZ6Fr89ObPkbd_Jn5zA

    1. Michelle Dewberry has just been showing footage of it on GBNews. She said it’s more than 45 miles long and repeated what Trudeau said about it being just a few people with extreme views, adding, “But they always say that, don’t they”.

  92. https://t.me/officialcharliewardshow/42906
    Not sure if you have to be a member of telegram to watch this; it’s some rebel news footage about the truckers in Canada. People crowding onto bridges to wave Canadian flags as they go by, people standing at the side of the road with banners, waving and cheering.
    This is all the love and admiration that the elites want us to give them, but it is being given to working class men who represent Canada – which is as it should be – while Trudeau cowers in his bunker.
    How is this going to end?

    5. I have just a little niggle of doubt about this. Who exactly started it off, and have decent people unwittingly got involved? Is this really designed to cause the food and other goods shortage that have been mentioned in the cabal’s game plan to cause chaos? Especially as Australia and Italy are joining in (and the US sending trucks to Canada) – I hope they’ve left enough of their mates back home to get the necessaries transported.

      1. it will have these effects, I think, but enough is enough. It was a vaxx mandate on truckers. That’s a red line.

      3. I don’t think it’s very much to do with food shortages, more a stick two fingers up to the juvenile dickhead who thinks he’s in charge!

        1. I think that’s what the cabal may want us to think that’s what its about, Sue, but as part of the chaos and anarchy they want to visit upon us, food and goods shortages have highlighted – so I wonder if this started off with some union leader in the know, given the nudge, to get the ball rolling. And the decent souls have been sucked into the process under a false pretence. I am sure that almost all of these people on the convoy have good hearts, but I have heard that, like all well-intentioned protests, it has been infiltrated by those on the far left with ‘half-trucks’, out to cause trouble. I do hope that Trudeau gets routed. And if it was started off with bad intent, the size and enthusiasm of the convoy protest may well lead to the law of unintended consequences kicking in for the cabal.

      4. The supply chain problems in the US are a result of both east and west seaboard states mandating conditions according to the age of the logistics trucks. Only newer vehicles are permitted to cross state lines. This caused a backlog of container ships at the ports, unable to dock and unload cargo.

        This is in part illustrative of the interweaving nature of vaccine mandates and the coming green tyranny. It has all been designed years ago and is now being implemented.

      1. Only concerns the little people. Would annoy the people who pay our newspaper/website/broadcaster large amounts of money. Would ruin one’s career if one became known as a trouble-maker. Besides, they’re all just right wing extremists anyway, probably should all be in jail.

      2. Never mind the UK, why don’t we hear about this in canada?
        A few bloggers on Facebook and YouTube but as for the media, they are earning the $600 million bribe they received from the liberal government.

        Any coverage in the msm is following Trudeaus line and really playing fear and hatred of anti vaxers running riot.

        1. It has been reported, Richard, that Trudeau has dismissed the truckers as “a small number of extremists” (small, indeed!) and I have seen a screenshot of highway cameras where a vast majority are not showing any images at all because of a “technical fault” which is a way to “prove” that minimal numbers are headed down the highway.

          1. Trudeau called the objectors a small ‘fringe’ group whose views are ‘unacceptable’.

            Where have we heard the word ‘fringe’ before. Fauci’s boss from memory when vilifying the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration.

            Edit: The actual fringe are the medicos and politicos pushing dangerous injectates, lockdowns and all manner of other restrictions on our freedoms.

            The sooner folk wake up to the fact that these evil people are the ‘fringe’ and that the rest of us are the majority, the sooner this lunacy will be brought to an abrupt halt.

          2. 50,000 truckers, Elsie and 1.4 Million supporters – yep, a ‘small’ number of extremists.

            Suck it up, Trudeau. You’re done.

  93. Letters from America.

    In Baltimore in the first 25 days of 2022 the city experienced 31 homicides (and to date no arrests).
    A BTL comment. “perhaps they should rename the city Baltimorgue…..”

    Ford have stopped taking orders until summer 2023 in the US for this new truck at $19950 (or approx £15,000)….

    https://www.ford.com/trucks/maverick/

  94. To add to my list of beheadings…Wee Crankie in Scotland, Duckfart in Wales and Piers Morgan.

      1. Great minds and all;-) MH went to Asda this evening and has reported that hardly any people were masked. Which is encouraging as on Monday more were masked than not.

        1. Same in Sainsbury’s yesterday. And at the u3a meeting of the wrinklies this afternoon (usually a rather fearful lot) there were only a couple out of one hundred attendees who wore a mask. The tide is turning at last.

          2. Blooming autocorrect, Sue Mac. It also changed my “wore” (past tense of “to wear”) to “ware”(synonym of “goods”). Now corrected.

          3. I hope you don’t think I’m having a dig, Elsie! Sometimes when you type things the thought behind it doesn’t come across.

          4. I didn’t think you were having a dig, Sue Mac. Only yesterday I pulled Johnny Norfolk’s leg when he posted that some criticism was directed at “my not wearing a mask”, and the post changed from “my” to “ma”. I asked if he always took his ma shopping with him. I added “(Only joking, Johnny)” and I often add Lol when I post a “funny”. I don’t see anyone on here as being mean and nasty, and that is a credit to our wonderful moderators. However, they never seem to censor me when I post some really rude phrase such as “you are a Very Silly Sausage” despite Geoff claiming that “rudeness will not be tolerated”. I seem to have got away with it for some time now. Lol.

          9. Lang may your lum reek! If your chimney is smoking- i.e. reeking, it’s wishing you a long life.

          10. I thought that “Lang may yer lum reek” meant “Long may your fire burn”. I need to buy a “Learn Yersen’ Scotch, yer bampot” book! :-))

          12. Just wait, Elsie, until you try ‘The Doric’ as spoken in North-East Scotland, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire. A totally different language in which I had to become proficient.

          13. Tom, I have just joined the Aberdeen branch of The Dickens Fellowship. Their magazine is called “Little Doric” (a pun on “Little Dorrit”) and I have been asked to write an article for it. Fortunately, it is published in English!

          14. I didn’t think you were having a dig, Sue Mac. Only yesterday I pulled Johnny Norfolk’s leg when he posted that some criticism was directed at “my not wearing a mask”, and the post changed from “my” to “ma”. I asked if he always took his ma shopping with him. I added “(Only joking, Johnny)” and I often add Lol when I post a “funny”. I don’t see anyone on here as being mean and nasty, and that is a credit to our wonderful moderators. However, they never seem to censor me when I post some really rude phrase such as “you are a Very Silly Sausage” despite Geoff claiming that “rudeness will not be tolerated”. I seem to have got away with it for some time now. Lol.

          15. I didn’t think you were having a dig, Sue Mac. Only yesterday I pulled Johnny Norfolk’s leg when he posted that some criticism was directed at “my not wearing a mask”, and the post changed from “my” to “ma”. I asked if he always took his ma shopping with him. I added “(Only joking, Johnny)” and I often add Lol when I post a “funny”. I don’t see anyone on here as being mean and nasty, and that is a credit to our wonderful moderators. However, they never seem to censor me when I post some really rude phrase such as “you are a Very Silly Sausage” despite Geoff claiming that “rudeness will not be tolerated”. I seem to have got away with it for some time now. Lol.

          16. I sincerely hope all this nonsense is coming to the end. When one reads about the rise in child abuse, domestic abuse, childhood obesity and etc etc. This cannot go on and, if this asinine government tries to continue it, there should be revolt.

          1. Honestly Mola, I really hope it continues. Sanity needs to prevail. I am sick to death of hearing and reading about all this BS.
            Devolved governments were a huge mistake. This is the United Kingdom and there should be one government, one monarch and no “first ministers” in any other country.
            Duckfart and Wee Crankie are power mad and not going to give up any time soon.

          2. I’m afraid, LotL that that includes Best Beloved, who says that she will continue masked. Madness rules the whole UK.

  95. Some silly cow on Mark Dolan right now… supposedly a professor…saying that at least people are washing their hands more often right now. Ye gods. I was a teacher and librarian and I washed my hand several times a day. MH commented when we first met how often I washed my hands. I still do and I do not need some stupid bitch telling me about it. Has she ever been in a classroom or even interacted with her students on a personal level? I do not care and I pay no attention to these nutters.

    1. I once took part in research about how often one washed one’s hands. I was top of the class for hand-washing!

    2. She might not be wrong. Piss flavoured peanuts on the Bar were discovered to be de rigueur.

        2. What about bar, bar black sheep sheep of colour? And the hideously white Milky Bar kid?

          1. We like to go to the pub occasionally. The bars in the US are another matter, no way would I go into one. Nasty places and nothing like our good old pubs.
            And, even in the pub, if snacks are on offer on the bar… no way.

          1. I wonder why on a train to our supposed capital he is the only one in the carriage.

            I can recommend other forms of transport where people go about their day to day business. I’m sure there was a spare seat on the Gov Airbus to Aus that had to suffer Liz Truss.

          2. The government Airbus was the first sign that the fat bastard Johnson was preparing to match the global elites. Even Blair hires his Lear jet.

            I once worked for a millionaire who travelled internationally via Nicky Lauda Airlines.

          5. Sorry John. Is that a euphemism for something ruder than what is in my mind? Don’t answer that !

          6. Truss has a very high opinion of herself. It is not widely shared.

            She is a weak and shameless adulteress as we all know. She has no idea about realpolitik and spouts dangerous and provocative nonsense.

            She seems to think that she is worthy of ridiculously expensive meals in restaurants and extravagant travel costs which would bankrupt a lesser country.

          1. *shocked face*…About to launch Missiles. *How very dare you !… We are now officially about to go to war over fashion. Watch yourself !!!

          4. The jacket? More likely from a second hand shop in Islington.

            On second thoughts you may be right. Look at that awful scrunching of the shoulder.

    2. Well doctor. My question is…why don’t you wear a mask that would stop the transmission of a virus as opposed to idiots catching your mental health disease? You can answer me later when you have come back to reality.

    3. I have long thought that ‘doctors’ are often undereducated, overpaid, underworked and generally incompetent. It takes longer to train a vet.

      1. Then we have to put up with people qualified in a different country that has different standards which we are supposed to accept. Lorry drivers being a poor example.

      2. Doctors can ask where it hurts and get an answer, Vets cannot do that. I think I would rather be treated by a vet nowadays.

        1. Agreed. Which of your paws are troubling you?

          Come on…GP’s might ask the question but all they do unless you insist on a referral is to prescribe painkillers or antibiotics and now apparently if you are obese to get a free bicycle.

          1. As I weigh 8 stone, I am hardly obese. I won’t take any pills at all- Gaviscom is as far as I go.
            I cook healthy food also. Lots of veggies.

          2. It seems we will always be at loggerheads.

            Okay.

            I’m five foot six.

            I now in the last year now weigh one stone less than i did. As per cardio vascular review i now weigh nine stone four.

        2. Our vet kisses his patients on the top of the head….. their treatment is so much more sympathetic.

      3. The trouble with medicine is that you can keep on practicing it without learning anything new. Software developers, on the other hand, have to reinvent their careers every four years or so. It’s very badly seen to be behind the times. Plus we have open source alternatives to the big companies, that keep our field fresh and innovative, and aren’t looked down on.

  97. Well, that’s it for now. I’ve had a good few laughs reading the newest posts on here tonight. So a very good night, to everyone.

  98. Good evening. It seems that the Ukraine is not keen on the Bide regime warmongering. Biden’s rep is at pains however to make Ukraine accept protection for its sovereignty whether it likes it or not it would appear!

    Biden is a puppet but the puppeteers have seriously misjudged this one as well as the Virus Fraud. Americans are on to them now, and the effort to defocus popular fury is pathetic as well as highly dangerous.

    BTW I feel a bit ashamed to have experienced so much schadenfreud at Trudeau’s abject display of cowardice!!

    https://youtu.be/S4X_iVjFsqM

    1. The voices of Ukrainians are beginning to filter out and they are not concerned about the Russians. They like each other. They have a shared history. Just look at the food they enjoy.

          2. It’s all about the spicing. When they could get them. Things like Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Cloves.

            Babette’s Feast?

          3. I have a VHS of Babette’s Feast.

            We need to buy a disc. A great film and a lesson in gastronomy. Babette won the lottery and used the winnings to indulge her love of providing magnificent and distinctive food to a different clientele.

          4. I only became aware of this film after watching Stanley Tucci searching for Italy and his recent appearances and of course his book

            My opinion after watching the version i downloaded with subs and underlying languages was brilliant.

          5. You should have asked. It was a great film and appeared at about the same time as Manon and other related films featuring the French guy with a big nose. Gerard Depardieu?

          11. The Poles have a cabbage and meat (sausage) dish called Bigoscz. (not sure about the spelling).

            When I worked in South Kensington in the seventies we ate at The Daquise, a Polish restaurant near the office and near to South Kensington Station Arcade.

            The men running it were muscular and the women ballet dancers. I reckon they would have been circus performers at some point.

            I preferred their pastries to the main courses which included dishes as mentioned and an absolute horror : tongue.

            The Daquise was decorated with paintings of London scenes by Felix Topolski.

          12. Your horror at being served tongue, reminds me of the Lady, appalled at being served tongue, demanded of the waiter,

            ” I cannot eat something that has been in an animal’s mouth, bring me a boiled egg!”

          13. The Poles have a cabbage and meat (sausage) dish called Bigoscz. (not sure about the spelling).

            When I worked in South Kensington in the seventies we ate at The Daquise, a Polish restaurant near the office and near to South Kensington Station Arcade.

            The men running it were muscular and the women ballet dancers. I reckon they would have been circus performers at some point.

            I preferred their pastries to the main courses which included dishes as mentioned and an absolute horror : tongue.

            The Daquise was decorated with paintings of London scenes by Felix Topolski.

  102. If we shadows have offended,
    Think but this and all is mended…
    I am off to bed with my sexy OH- !!

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