Monday 12 May: New-build properties must be better equipped to handle power outages

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

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

425 thoughts on “Monday 12 May: New-build properties must be better equipped to handle power outages”

  1. Good morning. Now that's an interesting suggestion in the letters headline.
    I wonder what the suggestions are. Will they be stuff like solar panels linked to batteries, wells in the garden etc? Or will they be everyone living together in a 'smart' human hutch sorry block of flats where roof solar panels are shared and electricity can be centrally managed (and doors centrally locked)?

  3. Good morning all.
    A cloudy start to the say, but with the sun shining up the valley, it appears to be clearing.
    A bit of rain overnight, not a lot but enough to dampen the ground. Outside temperature is 12½°C.

  4. Good morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff, for today's NoTTLe site. Struggled with Wordle today, and had to look at the clue page to find the first letter.

    Wordle 1,423 6/6

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

    1. It certainly is one of 'those' words today!
      The people who make random guesses will probably do well at it!
      Wordle 1,423 5/6

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

      1. My 4th line was the key.

        Wordle 1,423 5/6

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

  5. This letter raised a smile:-

    SIR – When Charles Forte took over the Waldorf Hotel in the late 1950s I went in as part of the management. There was an elderly gentleman as a purchasing manager and it was explained that he could not be “retired” because at the outbreak of war he bought the whole stock of a whisky distillery (Letters, May 10).

    The Waldorf Hotel, by repute, was the only London hotel never to run out of whisky.

    Peter Favier
    Birmingham

  6. Morning Geoff and NoTTLers all.
    It's Monday again, so here are a couple of small Chuckles, though they certainly come with a 'poor taste' trigger warning. I shall count the upticks – if any.

    Carrying his policy, a man went to the office of his insurance company to ask if there was anything to collect on his wife, who had just died. The insurance agent looked at the policy and then told him that it was not life insurance, but fire insurance. “I know,” said the man. “That’s why I had her cremated.”

    In the course of a blazing row, a wife yelled at her husband: “It just shows how much attention you pay to me; you don’t even know that I’ve been sleeping with your brother for the past two months.” The husband said: “You disgust me!” “As a matter of fact,” she replied, “we didn’t discuss you at all!”

    A guy appeared in court for killing his wife after catching her in bed with another man. Passing sentence, the judge said: “Can I ask, why did you kill your wife instead of just killing her lover?” The defendant replied: “But, your honour, is it not better that I just killed her rather than a different man each week?”

  7. Morning Geoff and NoTTLers all.
    It's Monday again, so here are a couple of small Chuckles, though they certainly come with a 'poor taste' trigger warning. I shall count the upticks – if any.

    Carrying his policy, a man went to the office of his insurance company to ask if there was anything to collect on his wife, who had just died. The insurance agent looked at the policy and then told him that it was not life insurance, but fire insurance. “I know,” said the man. “That’s why I had her cremated.”

    In the course of a blazing row, a wife yelled at her husband: “It just shows how much attention you pay to me; you don’t even know that I’ve been sleeping with your brother for the past two months.” The husband said: “You disgust me!” “As a matter of fact,” she replied, “we didn’t discuss you at all!”

    A guy appeared in court for killing his wife after catching her in bed with another man. Passing sentence, the judge said: “Can I ask, why did you kill your wife instead of just killing her lover?” The defendant replied: “But, your honour, is it not better that I just killed her rather than a different man each week?”

  8. Morning Geoff and NoTTLers all.
    It's Monday again, so here are a couple of small Chuckles, though they certainly come with a 'poor taste' trigger warning. I shall count the upticks – if any.

    Carrying his policy, a man went to the office of his insurance company to ask if there was anything to collect on his wife, who had just died. The insurance agent looked at the policy and then told him that it was not life insurance, but fire insurance. “I know,” said the man. “That’s why I had her cremated.”

    In the course of a blazing row, a wife yelled at her husband: “It just shows how much attention you pay to me; you don’t even know that I’ve been sleeping with your brother for the past two months.” The husband said: “You disgust me!” “As a matter of fact,” she replied, “we didn’t discuss you at all!”

    A guy appeared in court for killing his wife after catching her in bed with another man. Passing sentence, the judge said: “Can I ask, why did you kill your wife instead of just killing her lover?” The defendant replied: “But, your honour, is it not better that I just killed her rather than a different man each week?”

    1. Hah. Beat you to it by nanoseconds.
      Morning, Supporter of the Losing Side.

  14. 405450+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    This is fully expected when you play open house,

    I repeat,

    🎵,

    O the strangers came and tried to teach us their ways, and seemingly making a bloody good fist of it in the department of successful invasions.

    On a one to one basis the majority vote will not take long in Ireland to set up, leaving the 52% of the English patriots fighting on one internal front and two external fronts on their home turf.

    https://x.com/Mick_O_Keeffe/status/1921506788148462051

    2. Britain is living in the same way now. People are living in 'nice' areas, ignoring the slums filled with recent arrivals, where muggings, shit on the streets, dead animals are a way of life and scarcely a white person is to be seen.
      But the people in the nice areas carry on ignoring the parallel society in the slums and voting liblabcon as they have always done.

      1. 405450+ up ticks,

        Morning BB2,

        I do not believe that the plague ( black death) recognizes county boundaries.

        1. I was in a not very nice suburb of Birmingham recently, meeting someone who had travelled out from the centre by train. I drove into a road near the station – there was a black girl just getting into her nice, clean, newish car, so I asked her if there was a station car park nearby. She answered in a very cultivated, educated voice ,in an open, friendly way, no there’s no station car park – you’d probably better park in this road – and then she drove off, leaving her space vacant.
          I felt sorry for her because the area was so dirty and hopeless, and yet one of those little houses or flats is so expensive it’s practically unobtainable on a normal salary – and she was clearly living there.
          But this grotty suburb was a paradise of orderliness compared to the area in the centre where the person I was meeting was staying. The rubbish strike was making things worse too.

    3. Awful. If not in your own town, soon will be. One answer could be stop paying all benefits. Another answer, deport.

  16. Yesterday I was asked if the Free Speech Union would get involved with the case of Julian Foulkes who received illegal treatment — including false arrest and imprisonment — from members of the Kent Police. The first thing this morning I got the answer:

    Dear … ……,

    Julian Foulkes, a retired Special Constable, was arrested and held in a cell for eight hours over a tweet warning about the threat to British Jews posed by the pro-Palestinian marches. Kent Police has now admitted it made a mistake, but we need to make sure the police stop arresting people for perfectly lawful social media posts. Julian needs your help. Please donate to his crowdfunder so we can help him sue Kent Police for compensation.

    In October of 2023, he responded to a tweet criticising Suella Braverman for describing the pro-Palestinian protests that were sweeping the country in the aftermath of the massacre in Southern Israel as ‘hate marches’. Julian’s tweet, which appeared underneath, said: “One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…” This was a reference to reports of an anti-Semitic mob storming an airport in Dagestan, Russia, hunting for people arriving from Israel.

    Someone complained about Julian’s tweet to the Met and Metropolitan Police Intelligence Command – a specialist unit set up to deal with terrorism and extremism – referred it to Kent Police, citing “concerns around online content”. The following day, six police officers turned up at his home, ransacked the premises, arrested him, detained him for eight hours and gave him a caution.

    Julian retained the services of a solicitor and, with his help, got Kent Police to admit they’d made a mistake and delete the caution from his record.

    However, we don’t think Kent Police should be allowed to get away with such appalling behaviour. At one point, a police officer searching his home pointed to books by Douglas Murray and copies of the Spectator and described them as “very Brexity things”, as though that in itself was suspicious.

    The emotional fallout has been devastating. Julian lost one of his daughters in a hit-and-run 15 years ago and his surviving daughter now lives in Australia. His greatest fear while he was being held in police custody was that a criminal record might prevent him from visiting her — which is why, despite having done nothing wrong, he felt compelled to accept a caution. “My life wouldn’t be worth living if I couldn’t see her,” he said.

    With our help, Julian, who has now joined the Free Speech Union, is going to sue the force for wrongful arrest, as well as unlawful interference in his right to liberty. After the ordeal he was put through, he deserves to be given a substantial sum in compensation. But to hold Kent Police to account he needs your help. Please donate to his crowdfunder so he can get the justice he deserves.

    Kent Police's actions point to a broader institutional failure. The authorities need to stop policing our tweets and start policing our streets.

    The money raised by this crowdfunder will be used to cover the legal expenses Julian has run up so far, as well as the additional cost of suing Kent Police. Any money raised above what’s needed will be used by the FSU to fight other, similar cases.

    Thank you for your support.

    With kind regards,

    [signed] Toby Young.

    Lord Young of Acton
    General Secretary
    The Free Speech Union

      3. See Free Speech Union website, and there's a link on today's Daily Sceptic. Edit: apols to Ndovu & Grizzly, hadn't opened your posts before I replied. Should really learn to walk before I run …😆

      4. See Free Speech Union website, and there's a link on today's Daily Sceptic. Edit: apols to Ndovu & Grizzly, hadn't opened your posts before I replied. Should really learn to walk before I run …😆

    2. I thought that was a joke about the Spectator being suspicious!
      Next year, the presence of any books at all will be grounds for arrest of course – especially if the suspect admits to not having a smartphone.
      Joining the FSU has been on the back burner for a while, but I really must do it now. Not that it will save us, as it is the very definition of controlled opposition (run by a member of the House of Lords), but at least it will give us a bit of satisfaction along the way.

      1. I used to subscribe to a quarterly called Right Now! Good job they went out of business, really.

    3. No discussion. You can't argue with a bunch of lunatics in charge.

      Peter Hitchens: The Police Are A Pathetic Failure And A Dark Menace.
      Peter Hitchens explains why he would disband the police and what would replace it

      1. Free speech crackdowns could finish off what trust remains in our leaders

        Frantic police raids over social media posts hardly speak of a country at ease with itself and its politics

        The Daily Telegraph 12 May 2025 SAM ASHWORTH-HAYES

        A Soviet and an American meet in a bar. After a while, the conversation turns to the Cold War, and the American loudly insists that democracy is the superior system: “If I were to stand outside the White House and yell ‘Nixon is an idiot’, nothing would happen to me,” he says. The Russian shrugs. “So what? If I stand outside the Kremlin and yell ‘Nixon is an idiot’, nothing happens to me either.”
        Trying to discuss free speech in Britain is like having this conversation over and over again. When J D Vance, the US vice-president, criticised the UK’S repeated “infringements on free speech”, Keir Starmer felt compelled to contradict him, insisting “we’ve had free speech for a very long time”.

        This is simply untrue. This week, The Telegraph unearthed another reminder that the British state considers monitoring social media to be one of its most important functions. Julian Foulkes, a retired special constable, dared to criticise the pro-palestine marches in London. His post was viewed 26 times in total. Unfortunately, one of those views came from a Metropolitan Police unit specialising in extremism.

        Two days after sending the post, six officers with batons and pepper spray arrested Mr Foulkes at his home, handcuffed him, searched his property for Right-wing material – rifling through his wife’s underwear while criticising his “Brexity” bookshelves – threw him in a jail cell for eight hours, then released him to accept a caution.

        This is not appropriate behaviour in a democracy where the political system is supposed to allow for dissenting views and criticism of the Government. It is, however, very in keeping with Britain’s unique understanding of how free speech works, and the state’s approach to managing its population. Take the CPS decision earlier this year to charge Hamit Coskun with harassing the “religious institution of Islam” after he burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish consulate. When Robert Jenrick attacked the Crown Prosecution Service on social media, the charges were rapidly revised to charge him with disorderly behaviour instead.
        But changing the name given to an action doesn’t change its substance. The CPS was caught out in what was effectively an attempt to enforce Islamic blasphemy laws, and as a result has attempted to settle on an alternative charge which will have the same effect without the same incendiary wording.

        Complaints about “two-tier” policing of actions and speech sting our politicians because they are plainly true. When West Yorkshire Police sit in on a meeting in a mosque as a headteacher, mother and imam beg the “community” not to carry out the death threats sent to a child who scuffed a Koran, then record the scuffing as a “hate incident”, when the Batley grammar school teacher is in hiding for his own protection while those who threaten him walk free, when police officers and councillors in Rotherham and beyond insist that rape gangs preying on children need to be covered up to protect “community cohesion”, the state is showing you how it carries out its function of keeping the peace.

        As Britain has become more diverse, the state has reordered itself around this new reality. Nation states, homogeneous and governed as such, slot neatly into cultural and institutional frameworks that allow for luxuries such as policing by consent of a singular community. The incentives given by this model are perverse. If you set out with the goal of minimising the risk of conflict between groups, then you will tend to police those who are easily policed, rather than those who infringe on the rights of others. Peaceful pro-israel protesters are arrested for holding signs stating the official position of the British state – that Hamas is a terrorist organisation – for their own “safety”. The same police force will tie itself in knots attempting to explain why calls for “jihad” at a Hizb uttahrir protest are fine.

        Your rights, in other words, are directly related to the perceived threat your group poses. If you are largely peaceful, you will face the full force of the law as it attempts to avoid clashes between groups. If police officers are worried that a riot will result from confrontation, an offender will likely walk free. And the wider war on free speech results from the same dynamic.
        There is a complacent idea that restricting speech for political ends is the sort of thing that happens in dictatorships, the act of rulers who fear that common knowledge of dissent might lead to revolt. Now think, briefly, about how Britain
        Prof David Betz has warned us how this might end. Our country already has the perfect conditions for civil conflict
        restricts speech around migration, around diversity, around “community relations”.

        Britain’s ruling classes did not make Britain diverse with the consent of the governed. They did it despite repeated demonstrations that the population wanted nothing to do with half-baked dreams of an American-style melting pot. They suppressed discussion of issues of integration, covered up crimes and scandals, buried data, and insisted over and over again that the project was working, terrified of what might happen if they were proven wrong.

        This was very rarely explicitly stated. Politicians have generally managed to elide cracking down on harsh words with fighting violence by talking in vague terms about instigators or tensions; they have pretended that granting a stateenforced veto on speech to the sensibilities of one group or another is simply the act of a decent, kind society rather than a state running scared of the tensions it has allowed to grow.

        Prof David Betz at King’s College London has warned us how this might end. Our country is already splintered, factionalised, polarised and economically moribund, the perfect conditions for civil conflict. And politicians who raged at Elon Musk for suggesting this was a possibility now behave as if the slightest spark will light the tinder.
        That is not the behaviour of an elite confident in the stability of the country they have built. Read between the lines of the speeches on diversity as strength, and migration as lifeblood, and the message is clear: they are terrified of what might happen, and have no idea how to fix things. Clamping down on free speech is their last roll of the dice. If that fails, what next?

          1. I remember 1984 for two very different reasons.

            1. Being heavily involved in the miners' stirke and often working 12-hour shifts.
            2. Taking the first steps towards becoming a serious birdwatcher and dedicated field ornithologist.

          5. Thanks, but that is nothing ‘new’. I’ve gone back to my original avatar that I had used on the old DT letters’ forum as ‘grizzly’ (lower case initial) since 2010.
            I also had it when this forum kicked in after the DT one was discontinued.

          7. 3. Joining in with a Morris dancing bunch of Plods using their truncheons.

      2. I still have an admiration for police officers at or near the bottom of the hierarchy. It is those at the top who must shoulder the blame for police failures, but they seldom seem to do so.

    4. Thanks, Grizzly. Same here. (and good morning x) and have you seen the (b&w grainy) video of Mertz, Macron, Starmer sitting at a table with a small bag of white powder and a spoon, apparently taken from a camera in the light fitting. Probably a spoof…..

  17. Morning, all Y'all.
    Almost sunny.
    Plumber crisis: plumber says he agreed to meet my wife to get her to agree bathroom layout, so plumber is at home whilst wife is travelling North for a 2 days meeting! We asked for a set of key dates by when things needed done, and never received it – otherwise, we'd have rescheduled the layout planning. And taps et purchase would have happened at the same time as tiles purchase.
    I even sent a mail asking fo teh schedule, but answer came there none…
    Oh, well.

    2. Is there no Norwegian equivalent of Wickes or B&Q to employ a designer and do the planning?

      1. Yes, but it's SWMBOs design. The company do the planning, just their coordination & communication is a bit lacking.

      2. We’re in the process of doing that with Wickes. Amazing software they use to show what it will look like.

          1. I did contemplate getting a friend who was good at woodworking to make one for the dogs but I never got around to it.

    2. "Tightened up.."

      Um…isn't it possible simply to refuse applications? Are we missing something?

    3. The only thing that needs to be “tightened” are the ropes on the lampposts.

      Edit, for the benefit of Plod. Disclaimer. This is what is described as “black humour”, or, if you prefer, “gallows humour”, recognising the state of the UK and the fact it is dying. It is not intended to be taken literally. It is a joke.

      1. 405450+ up ticks,

        N,
        The invasion “iake over plague” travels simple minded peoples are taken dangerous
        advantage of everywhere.

    2. There are obviously many different ways and different reason's in the way some election counts are carried out in modern Britain.

        1. Exactly, I had to show my driving licence as a form of ID when I voted.
          What form of identification do people with covering over their heads an faces have ?

          1. morning all, why don’t voters have to show polling card and ID? Seems odd to me

          2. Ah, but as you may recall, there no checks on postal voting. In fact, you don’t even need to know your date of birth or be able to sign your name, and once you’ve got it, they don’t take it off you.

          3. We did, my wife had to go back home to get her driving licence before she could vote.

          4. How would it work if, like Second Son, you don't have a driving licence?

          5. I took my passport for ID but I do have a driving licence as well. Apparently there are other suitable documents, and cards issued for just that purpose if you have nothing else.

          8. When I lived in Maryland, testing for and issuing of driving licences was by the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). It was common for people to ask for a “driving licence” where no vehicles were specified but the licence could be used as a means of identification. Without either a proper driving or a pseudo licence, it was all but impossible to pay by cheque, get a bank account or join a club, gym or society.

          10. We did they can check that address is genuine with that as well. But anyone can turn up with one of those.

        1. Blackout blind….eye mask (Lone Ranger look, how cool is that)…I have both. Seriously, always find it harder to sleep longer daylight hours, sympathise x

          1. So what you're saying is that fiddling about with the clocks twice a year has no effect on how much daylight we get.

          3. No there are the same number of hours of daylight; just the time has been messed with.

        2. I woke for a couple of hours during the night, and then again just before 6 and got up shortly after.

      2. Before I retired from the railway industry, I was under a fairly strict drug and alcohol regime.
        Isn't it about time our leading politicians were too?

        2. Most of them should be shown the ropes Bob. The only qualifications that they actually hold is that of being non achievers and being totally useless.

  24. Morning All 🙂😊
    Sunny start again, the overnight rain forecast didn't come to much. In fact it came to nothing at all.
    Who's going to be making the checks on new builds ? Mr Bung ?
    It seems somehow simple common sense no longer exists in any shape or form.

        1. Sadly, I have to agree about the faking. Starmer and Merz are both far too boring for the claimed orgy!

        2. Indeed, but do you think the camera man would have been allowed out with the film, when they clearly knew they had been filmed?

          1. I thought it was filmed from a static concealed camera within a light fitting which filmed the whole debacle, the journalists arrival. Perhaps they thought they had got away with it, and to order it to be removed would draw attention to the fact that something nefarious was going on? Who knows.

      2. Fairy Nuff!
        But let's have all our leading politicians drug tested on a regular basis to confirm that.

      3. It may not be true but the testing for illicit drugs in the house of commons showed nine out of ten lavatories tested positive. Some one in parliament is using the stuff.

  26. That's a load of washing done and hung up the "garden".
    Still rather cool though, about 14°C just now.

    Now to get dressed and start the heavier work!

  27. You hung the washing up outside before you got dressed? I’m going to shift myself in a few minutes and go to work. I’ve sent the NHS my blood pressure, pulse, weight and ECG readings via their Doccla app. Still doing that three times a week.

  28. 405450+ up ticks,

    Morning Bob,
    Good question, but I believe they would snort with derision if ever brought up in the current HOC.

  29. We had a downpour in the night, about 1am, lasting about 30 minutes. It gave our artificial grass a good wash.

        1. I had a potter in the garden just now (in reality, sitting on a bench looking at all the things that need to be done). I came in because it started to rain, but it didn’t amount to anything.

  30. The national troll bots of Indian & Pakistan are in overdrive on social media claiming all kinds of victories as their Gen 4 and a half fighters slogged it out last week. Hard to sift through the propaganda, lies & news.

    One thing stands out..
    Dassault Aviation SA DOWN 5%
    AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Co. Ltd. UP 20%

    1. The good news..
      the Indians have got their hands on a few of intact top of the range PL-15 hypersonic missiles that failed to detonate.
      The US & French & BAe await eagerly for their chance to unpack the goodies.

  31. 405450+ up ticks,

    Decades long overdue, down to tribal voters self harming via the polling stations, the longer it has been left to fester the harsher will be the retaliation, that without doubt has to come.

    Sam Ashworth-Hayes

    Britain’s politicians are terrified of a revolt. Free speech crackdowns won’t save them
    Frantic police raids over social media posts hardly speak of a country at ease with itself and its politics

      1. The one in the middle looks like Keir Starmer – is there no beginning to the talents of this man? (Great track, btw!)

      2. This song — along with It's All Over Now (by The Rolling Stones) — was at the top of the charts in July/August 1964. They were the most repeatedly-played discs on the juke box in the common room of the educational cruise ship, M.V. Dunera, when I cruised the Baltic along with a couple of hundred other schoolchildren from Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Canada.

      3. Had just graduated as a newly minted mechanical engineer. Only a few years later, I switched to a career in computers, starting off writing CAD software.

    2. Well, OLT, the BMI chart simply tells me how many lbs there are in a stone (14 lbs, but I already knew that). No idea how to find the No. 1 song on the day I was born, nor how many days I have now been alive. Am I doing something terribly wrong?

  34. Good Morning!

    Today James Gatehouse ponders on the significance and thinking' behind abandining BAME for Global Majority, Read his Who are the Global Majority? to make some sense out of it. Please do leave a comment.

    Christianity is under attack and the Established Churches seem to be unconcerned, so in his WHEN THE CHURCH WAS VERY YOUNG Graham Wood reminds us of the faith and energy of the early Christian Church that shaped western civilisation.

    The Globalist enemy wants you dead. Much of their destructive dogma is based on the theories of Thomas Malthus. Read The Malthusian Malarkey and find out why it’s all dangerous nonsense.

    Energy watch 08.00: Demand: 28.99 GW. Total UK Production: 23.46 GB from: Hydrocarbons 28.6%; Wind 15.6%; Imports 19.7%; Biomass 10.3%; Nuclear 13.8. Solar: 7%.

    1. They have abandoned the term BAME
      because it was becoming a perjorative term.
      "Global Majority" will go soon too for the same reason!

        1. People will merge into the general population over time unless they have a very strong ‘community’ like islam telling them explicitly not to integrate.

          2. Unless the evolutionary principle is completely wrong, if they stay in the Northern Hemisphere long enough their skin will become lighter. Whether their IQ will increase is another matter but with intermarriage, Kalergi Man will probably be just bright enough to serve his elite masters?

          3. Mixing people from lower average IQ countries is only one of the ways average IQ is being targeted. The benefits system encourages the least successful in society to have more children, and the free NHS keeps alive children whose parents could not in nature keep them alive (eg damaged children of drug-taking parents, who then go on to reproduce their genes). Culture and education dumbing down and poor quality food complete the picture.

            If these latter factors were taken out of the equation, IQ would right itself in a couple of generations, I believe.

  37. I was wearing a Smart Navy Blue Suit and doing my ONC in Aeronautical Engineering

        1. It is, thanks Rastus…tell by my spine tingles….Joni always brings back such a lot of memories for me, as does Dylan…wondering where all those people are now, the ones I knew then in that different world.

  39. Fun fact: Mickie Most released this hit hit on Columbia Records.. and when it came to do$h rewards it was assigned to the 'Song Arranger' which was all members of the group. Unfortunately all their names wouldn't fit on the label.. so he just went with the first alphabetically = Alan Price = enormous feud which eventually broke up the band.

    1. Fun fact: When Hilton Valentine was 'reminded' that the guitar chord sequence in that song had been taught to him by Alan Price, he exploded: "Hadaway and shite, man! Pricey taught me nothin'. I worked that oot aal by meself, man!"

      1. Most of us who dabble with the guitar worked out the chord sequence for ourselves. The emphasised bass note followed by arpeggios is of importance.

        The A at the beginning of the Am chord stayed in my head and I could rely on this when tuning my guitar'

        1. And that Animals bassist was Chas Chandler (sadly no longer with us). He was the man who brought Jimi Hendrix to the UK and managed him. He also managed Slade.

  40. Fun fact #2: The Vox Continental featured at 1:44 was made by the Jennings Musical Instruments factory in Dartford, Kent. And as a gimmick reversed the keyboard colours.. which caught the eye of The Doors.. The Monkees and The Lovin Spoonful.

  42. Good morning, all. Welcome rain overnight followed by blue sky and that irritating breeze from the east.

    Renewing my car insurance almost got the point where I was losing the will to live. All day yesterday it failed due to "technical difficulties" and today it seemed to be working online until payment verification returned "technical difficulties".

    Then, I had to revert to the telephone and listen to option after option along with the instruction don't select your option until you've listened to all of the options: followed by the 'musak' interspersed with repeated announcements, one of which kept informing me that it was easier going on line. Oh, the irony.

    The eventual human, Kyle, was very helpful but reaching Kyle was quite a trek.

    Starmer is beyond help. Meaningless verbiage in an attempt to calm the people. His performance to date has been abysmal with lies, U-turns etc. Does he really believe that the people haven't seen through his false promises and absurd pledges?

    https://x.com/TalkTV/status/1921845991516369379

      1. You eat what you want but be aware all living things have defence mechanisms against being attacked. Animals may run or fight. Plants cannot so they arm themselves with an array of toxins to deter being eaten.

        Just think why weaned babies enjoy eating meat, fish and eggs, but instinctively refuse to eat vegetation. To force a child to eat such crap goes against its innate instincts and logic. Telling it that it "will develop a taste" for such things is exactly the same as telling a tiger to eat carrots, or a squirrel to eat rabbits. Only the innate stupidity of modern humans performs that atrocity.

  45. Why does he say such things?
    I know the script writers put into joined up writing what he should be doing.. but seriously.. does he really expect anyone to believe this?

    "Today, this Labour government is shutting down the Lab. The experiment is over.. We will deliver what you've asked for.. time & time again. We will take back control of our borders."

    1. Is this your niece? In any event she seems a very healthy and pretty girl.

      1. I wish. No she's simply another advocate of the carnivore lifestyle who has here own YouTube channel on health, diet and proper nutrition.

        By the way: I have recently discovered a smallholding, nearby, that breeds and farms its own sheep and pigs. I bought some wonderful lamb and will now order a whole leg of pork (for Christmas) that I intend to cure into a ham. I was wondering, has Caroline ever cured her own pork into ham, or does the one you have at Christmas come ready-cured?

        1. My mother used to get our local butcher to put a leg of pork into pickle each autumn. Caroline discussed this with her and decided to do the pickling herself and she has been doing so ever since.

          Incidentally we now smoke most of the ham in our smoker and it is delicious. I shall ask Caroline to get in touch with you to describe what she does.

          2. Here you go, Grizzly!

            Old-Fashioned Ham

            Buy a whole ham at least 7 weeks before the intended date of consumption and start the brining process immediately.

            The day before brining:

            Prepare a pot with a capacity of at least 15 litres (or more, depending on the size of the container in which the ham will soak).

            For each litre of water:

            170g of curing salt (with nitrite) (without the nitrite your ham will be grey and there will be a risk of botulism)
            ½ teaspoon of juniper berries
            ½ teaspoon of whole black pepper
            ½ teaspoon of whole allspice
            45g of brown soft sugar

            Generally, you’ll need between 13 and 15 litres. It’s better to prepare a bit too much than not enough.

            Place all the ingredients in the pot. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.

            Let the brine cool completely before proceeding to the next step.

            Next, you’ll need:

            a) a container with a lid large enough to completely submerge the ham (I use an insulated plastic cold-box of about 25 litres capacity)
            b) a weight to place on the ham to keep it submerged in the brine, as it will otherwise float
            c) a cool place to leave the container undisturbed for at least 6 weeks

            Thoroughly clean and sterilize both the container and the weight; it is crucial to eliminate as many bacteria as possible.

            (A tip: work directly where the container will stay during the brining period, as it will be very heavy.)

            Place the whole ham in the container, pour the cold brine over it through a strainer to remove the whole spices.

            Place the weight on top of the ham to keep it fully submerged.

            Close the lid and forget about it for at least six weeks.

            Four days to one week before the intended consumption date:

            Open the container. There will likely be some mould floating on the surface of the brine—remove as much of it as possible.

            Take out the ham; empty and wash the container. Return the ham to the container and cover it with fresh water. Leave it for at least 4 days; you may want change the water on the second day to encourage the excess salt back out of the ham.

            On the day of cooking:

            Remove the ham and place it in a large pot, covering it with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently, about 30 minutes per kilo.

            After cooking, pour the water out and place the ham in a very large roasting tin. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

            Remove the skin from the ham—wear rubber gloves and slide your fingers under the skin, which should come off easily. Score the fat into a diamond pattern and stick a clove in the center of each diamond. Bake for about an hour and a half.

            Take the ham out and, still on the tray, use a small brush to apply a glaze of your choice onto the fat, such as:

            Orange marmalade
            Mustard and apricot jam
            Mustard and brown sugar
            Mustard and honey (our favourite)

            (The jams should be heated and strained to remove any bits.)

            Return to the oven for about 15 minutes to set the glaze; watch carefully to avoid burning.

            Remove from the oven and let rest for at least half an hour before serving.

            Smoking (optional)

            Let the ham cool completely before cold smoking.

          5. Hello, Caroline,

            And many, many thanks for your kindness in letting me have your wonderful ham recipe. It is very much appreciated.

            I have cured (and smoked) my own bacon for a number of years now and I already possess some potassium nitrite in the form of Prague powder #1. I'm currently curing some back and streaky bacon using some of it.

            I do not own a container of 15 litres capacity (my largest is a 10-litre stock pan) so that will certainly be the next item on my shopping list. I have a number of large, lidded, plastic containers.

            I have owned a large charcoal barbecue/hot-smoker for the past decade but it is not really any good for cold-smoking. To that end I built my own cold-smoking unit, last summer (pictured, below), and I have successfully used it a number of times.

            I use oak sawdust, hickory sawdust or beech sawdust for cold-smoking. [For hot-smoking and general barbecuing I still have a large supply of well-seasoned cut branches from when I last pruned the cherry tree and they impart a wonderful flavour. I might attempt to saw some up on my table saw and try out cherry sawdust for cold-smoking also].

            I'm also going to buy some Prague powder #2 for use when I attempt to make my own salami. Charcuterie is such a fun hobby and the results — if done properly — are more than worthwhile , as you well know.

            Thanks again, Caroline. I shall report anon on my degree of success with the ham.👍🏻😊

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dc244fd3c85ddf439618ea10d0973c207c8a03cdbe7c53165ed3abafedb74690.jpg
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ff8bebd6cbdc5c7165ce18863d5e82553f2302f90cff6781d1682ab4ccfe6f50.jpg
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2d471afcaf7f17c509ab59ee4187cf7f6394d968a0fad687bb198fe9a21e9341.jpg

          7. I haven't yet, but it is certainly on my list. I also intend to salt and hot-smoke an Arbroath smokie (haddock) for immediate consumption.

  47. Police face lawsuit after former officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
    Julian Foulkes handcuffed at home by six officers in 2023 after replying to pro-Palestinian activist on social media

    I saw Toby Young on GB News last night. Apparently his Free Speech Union is going to finance Mr Foulkes's case.

    The fact that Julian Foulkes was formerly a member of the force which went after him makes one wonder if there was an element of vendetta and personal animosity directed against him.

  48. From Coffee House the Spectator

    10 May 2025

    Coffee House
    Lara Brown
    What is the Tate Modern for?
    11 May 2025, 6:30am

    Tate director Maria Balshaw has presided over the institution losing over 1 million visitors since 2019.

    Twenty-five years ago today, the Tate Modern first opened its doors to the public. The main attraction: a nine metre-high steel sculpture of a female spider which towered over visitors to the Turbine Hall. In its first year, the Tate Modern saw twice its projected number of visitors. London’s first museum of modern art was an unmitigated success.

    Say what you will about contemporary art, but it is undeniably true that the Tate Modern succeeded where others failed. While Manchester’s Municipal Gallery of Modern Art and Centre Georges Pompido struggled, the Tate Modern thrived. Riding the wave of Blairism, Britpop and pre-crash confidence, the thematically organised gallery, housed inside a derelict site on the banks of the Thames, attracted five million visitors in the millennium year – doubling the numbers of the Museums of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco combined.

    As the Tate Modern marks its 25th anniversary, those running the gallery must ask themselves: what is it for?

    Today, that story could not be more different. While the British and Natural History Museums have recovered after the pandemic, the Tate Modern has not. In 2024, a million fewer people entered the gallery once hailed a ‘cathedral for art’ than before the pandemic. The dire performances of their venues has forced the Tate Group to slash 7 per cent of its workforce to reduce costs – just five years after they offered 167 voluntary redundancies.

    Have the public simply tired of art? It seems not. The National Gallery has seen visitor numbers grow by 14 per cent since 2022. But while they have undergone a rehang and rebuild, the Tate Modern has committed to the same increasingly tired tropes for a quarter of a century. Visitors are exhausted.

    The Tate Modern’s avant-garde aspirations have driven it, sleepwalking, towards decline. Art that was once new and exciting has been replaced by the monotonous and constant banging of the social justice drum.

    In celebration of Women’s History Month in 2022, the Tate Modern organised a screening of Marin Håskjoldand’s film What is a Woman? The 15-minute show platformed a heated debate between actors over the question of who should be permitted to enter a municipal swimming pool changing room. Whatever your answer to the question, is this really the sort of thing that will attract new and excited audiences? Is it even art at all?

    The truth is the gallery has drifted as far as possible away from its radical intentions. Perhaps Toni Morrison is right that ‘all good art is political’, but at the Tate, only one kind of politics is allowed. Migration is always good; colonialism is always bad. The climate is always in a state of crisis; the West is always responsible. Gender will always be a construct; notions of the immutability of sex will always be condemned.

    The winner of the Tate Modern’s prestigious Turbine Hall commission this year is Máret Ánne Sara. Her art seeks to preserve Sámi ancestral knowledge and values to protect the environment for future generations. Karin Hindsbo, the gallery’s director, waxes lyrical about her work, claiming that ‘by addressing the major social, ecological and political concerns of her community, Sara hopes not only to increase interest and awareness, but also to effect real change.’ Is this sort of agit-prop really the programming that will bring in audiences? The visitor numbers speak for themselves.

    Curators now exist in a state of terror at the prospect of any criticism from their audiences. It took the gallery three years to pluck up the courage to display Philip Guston Now, due to concerns some of the artist’s work might offend. Guston’s work, much of which focuses on the Ku Klux Klan, offers a critique of racism, antisemitism and fascism. But at the Tate, where staff fear that visitors could be offended by even a negative depiction of white supremacy, a decision was taken to postpone ‘until a time we think that the powerful message of social and racial justice that is at the centre of Philip Guston’s work can be more clearly interpreted’.

    Difficult topics are always avoided – in favour of projects like Embassy, ‘a space for activism and dialogue in support of Aboriginal land rights in Australia’, focusing on ‘challenges that Bankside communities are facing, particularly questions around gentrification, social justice, and community organising’. The Tate Modern has no faith in their visitors. In turn, visitors have lost all faith in the gallery, and they are voting with their feet.

    As the Tate Modern marks its 25th anniversary, those running the gallery must ask themselves: what is it for? If curators cannot find it in themselves to put on the sort of art that attracts visitors, then why should they be allowed to continue, propped up by taxpayers’ money?

    Written by
    Lara Brown
    Lara Brown is The Spectator's Commissioning Editor

    2. I haven't been to London since 2019 and I can't think of any reason to go there again. I used to visit friends in Islington (now both dead) and also many times for demos against poaching, trophy hunting, ivory etc. We had some good times, but all now in the past. We went to Covent Garden a couple of times ( at vast expense) but now we can see the RHO live at the local cinema for a fraction of the cost.

      2. "I haven't been to London since 2019…"

        Snap!

        "… and I can't think of any reason to go there again."

        Double snap!

      3. I haven’t been to London for a long time either. My wife paints and loves going to the Tate.
        The walk from London Bridge station past the Cathedral along the Thames is enchanting. We often used to have lunch in a pub there, ale and steak pie, the kind of food you can only find in England. Last time we were there it was mid August and everything was too crowded ;these places are best visited in winter or spring.
        I always liked the Tate because the exhibits are accompanied by explanatory notes unlike other galleries such as the Reina Sofia in Madrid or the LACMA in LA where these abstract pieces are simply thrust upon you, if you don’t understand it’s because of your own stupidity.
        The Tate is user friendly.
        I’m sorry to hear things are not going well.

    3. They have a fabulous collection of American and European art of the 20th Century. Display it well and shove everything else on a Bonfire of the Vanities. Add fireworks and sell tickets.

      1. Or slides! I LOVED those huge spiral slides. Spent a ridiculous amount of time whizzing down them. 🤣

        2. Known as a "Slip" to showmen.
          I used to help with Dr. Tony Marchington's fairground when he had the steam rallies up on Hartington Moor and the slip he had was one of several made from substandard aluminium sheet and extrusions rejected from the V Bomber programme!

    1. Our grandfathers would never have fallen for that but, then again, they were 100% more intelligent than today's generation.

  50. That made a nice change!
    After working on the steps up the "garden" for a couple of hours, I came in for a tea and then decided that, as we have some double cream to use up, I would do myself a caffetierre of coffee.
    Coffee duly drunk, now it's back to work!

  51. Not bad:
    Wordle 1,423 4/6

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  52. Reintroducing elk can help restore England’s natural balance. 12 May 2025.

    After a 3,000 year hiatus, the mighty elk could soon return to England. Plans to reintroduce this towering creature were announced last week, as part of a growing movement to bring back lost species and help restore our natural ecosystems. But the uncomfortable truth is that restoration doesn’t just mean bringing certain animals back, but taking some away.

    Personally I think that there are far too few lions in the countryside. A couple of Prides should soon cut the vandalism problem and restore some balance to the Pakistani sheep rustling.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/reintroducing-elk-can-help-restore-englands-natural-balance/

    1. Well you are in trouble because i am lobbying for the reintroduction of tigers, pumas and jaguars, who will give your lions a good run for their money.

    2. What utter nonsense. Comes from the same stable of ideas as "crimes against nature".

    3. It won't work. Neanderthals were reintroduced into the British political system and it is a cosmic failure. Will they never learn?

      1. Elaine Bookbinder of Vinegar Joe.

        One of her elder brothers is Anthony Bookbinder, aka 'Tony Mansfield' of Billy J Kramer & `The Dakotas.

  53. Well the Car Crash repairers will welcome them with open arms…God Elk us!

  54. 405450+ up ticks,

    The same goes for cold weather, moderate weather, power cuts will be down to very inferior energy infrastructure organised by very inferior treacherous peoples.

    Dt,
    Hot weather brings thunderstorms and power cuts
    Met Office yellow alert covers much of the south of England, all of Wales and parts of the Midlands

    A real heat / health warning would be birmingham is a NO GO area unless one has a yellow fever / black water fever / cholera jab

  55. Is this the Scandi elk or North American one? Different creatures, and both can be very dangerous, especially when they have calves.

    1. They are talking moose, Paul.

      That North American 'elk' is more closely related to our red deer.

        1. Agreed. If the American elk (aka 'wapiti') is so-called to distinguish it from the moose; I think it makes more sense to also call the European version a moose too. I can't bring myself to refer to it as an 'elk' (or älg, in svensk).

  56. The rain forecsast overnight did not materialise. The Rain forecast late morning and due to stop as 12:45 hasn't got the message – it's dry as a bone out there.Still if the forecast is to be believed (very unlikely) we are o be treated with Thunderstorms and showers tomorrow afternoon. Just to make certain it will happen Im planning to drench the garden this evening!

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/963f6ed725e2a6ddc907a796e3350995cef3d23ccffe5079867b5d03a22f900f.png

    1. Haven't seen a cloud all day, thankfully the breeze is keeping us cool

  58. Ref the "letters" headline – I suggest they install treadmills – which can be operated by illegal economic migrants.

  59. This one, Katy?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR_qtYHPeiw When Charles Manson was on trial in the USA for the murder of Sharon Tate, he complained that it was by listening to this song by the Beatles that caused his aggressive paranoia.

    The judge subpoenaed John Lennon to attend the trial to give evidence. When Lennon was asked what the lyrics meant he replied, "I don't know, your honour. Paul wrote it!"

  60. This one, Katy?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR_qtYHPeiw When Charles Manson was on trial in the USA for the murder of Sharon Tate, he complained that it was by listening to this song by the Beatles that caused his aggressive paranoia.

    The judge subpoenaed John Lennon to attend the trial to give evidence. When Lennon was asked what the lyrics meant he replied, "I don't know, your honour. Paul wrote it!"

  61. JH-B, for some reason or other, doesn't believe a word Starmer utters.

    What the…? Stab proof vests being advertised?

    https://x.com/WilliamEWi83035/status/1921904157012701513

    Protect your chest and they'll go after your neck or lower abdomen. I do not see total body suits of chain mail catching on – where would the steel come from? – anytime soon.

    1. The stupid, squeaking rodent should start by deporting the imported parasites that infest every urban neighbourhood but he won't. "We're in danger of becoming an island of strangers", he said. We have been for more than 20 years, you dumb ******!

      1. Remind me how he earned enough conga to buy a pad in North London?
        hint: it wasn't through wiping people's bums at 3:0am or stacking shelves at Tesco.

        1. I wouldn't like my bum wiped by such a person, anyway, nor that of anyone else either disabled or in their dotage or both. Why are these horrors being put forward as "care sector workers"? No.

          Also, please note, that the preferred stabbing site is IN THE NECK so body armour will do no good. I believe these absolute charmers also go for the anus (per Trevor Philips, no less. Full blackman credentials, too). Same applies

  64. In the case being brought by Toby Young's Free Speech Union against the Police who arrested Julian Foulkes for a tweet warning us about Anti-Semitism I conclude:

    That from the Police's point of view:

    i) Anti-Semitism is quite acceptable;
    ii) Expression of fear of Anti-Semitism is ipso-facto Islamophobic and should be severely punished.

    I would like to know the relative percentages of Muslims employed as police officers in the UK compared with the number of Jews employed as police officers.

      1. Wow. Knock me down with a feather and label me a far right fascist racist bigoted thug. But we know what we see.

    3. Yo Mr T

      To fiddle a bit

      I would like to know the relative percentages of Muslims employed as police officers in the UK compared with the number of Jews employed as police officers.

      1. Jihadis in suits apparently. Trump is a pragmatist. Once the vehicle has been fully checked he should give it to Macron.

          1. It could simply be where sensors are placed leaving them vulnerable to coherent beams which then wouldn't set off the alarms and the plane would crash.

    1. I thought they kept telling us that the Russian army has all been killed in Ukraine and Putin has no more men left?

    2. A crosscheck with ChatGPT is interesting! I asked "Are the Finnish newspapers reporting Russian forces massing on the border?"

      As of May 2025, Finnish media are not reporting a significant massing of Russian forces along the Finnish border. In fact, recent intelligence assessments and satellite imagery indicate a substantial reduction in Russian military presence in the region.([Euromaidan Press][1])

      ### Key Developments:

      * **Troop Redeployment to Ukraine**: According to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, approximately 80% of Russia's ground forces previously stationed near Finland have been relocated to support operations in Ukraine. This includes the withdrawal of both personnel and equipment from bases near the Finnish border. ([The Kyiv Independent][2])

      * **Limited Military Activity**: While there have been some expansions of military installations, such as maintenance facilities in Petrozavodsk and training camps in Kamenka, experts suggest these developments are primarily aimed at supporting Russia's efforts in Ukraine rather than indicating a buildup near Finland. ([Euromaidan Press][3])

      * **Official Statements**: Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has noted that, despite Russia's announcements of forming new military districts near the Finnish border, there has been little tangible action to increase military presence in the area. She emphasized that Finland does not perceive an immediate military threat from Russia at this time. ([The Moscow Times][4])

      ### Contextual Factors:

      * **NATO Membership**: Finland's accession to NATO in April 2023 has altered the strategic landscape, potentially influencing Russia's military deployments and rhetoric in the region.

      * **Hybrid Threats**: Finland has faced various non-military pressures from Russia, including the orchestrated movement of migrants toward its borders, leading to the temporary closure of border crossings. ([AP News][5])

      In summary, current reports and intelligence do not support claims of a significant Russian military buildup along the Finnish border. The focus of Russian military efforts appears to remain concentrated on Ukraine, with limited activity observed near Finland.([Euromaidan Press][3])

      [1]: https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/06/19/finnish-intel-russian-bases-near-border-stripped-for-ukraine-war/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Finnish intel: Russian bases near border Stripped for Ukraine War – Euromaidan Press"
      [2]: https://kyivindependent.com/russia-has-moved-almost-all-forces-from-finlands-vicinity-to-ukraine-media-report/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Russia has moved almost all ground forces from Finland's vicinity to Ukraine, media report"
      [3]: https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/01/12/russia-expands-military-installations-near-finnish-border-yle-reveals/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Russia expands military installations near Finnish border, YLE reveals – Euromaidan Press"
      [4]: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/04/04/ukraine-justified-in-striking-targets-inside-russia-finnish-fm-a84739?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Ukraine Justified in Striking Targets Inside Russia – Finnish FM – The Moscow Times"
      [5]: https://apnews.com/article/finland-russia-border-migration-313b2a1846f4aa4b349fa577ce8c39a4?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Finland closes last crossing point with Russia, sealing off entire border as tensions rise | AP News"

      2. Anti-Russian loonies now claim ChatGPT is manipulated by Russia and Israel.
        /sarc

  68. Wordle No. 1,423 3/6

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    Wordle 12 May 2025

    Flexor for Birdie Three?

    1. Well done, I thought that was a tricky one! I was convinced I had it in 4 but my recent run of good fortune appears to be over…..Bogey!

      Wordle 1,423 5/6

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    2. Took me 5.

      Wordle 1,423 5/6

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    5. Me too.

      Wordle 1,423 3/6

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    6. Pars are good

      Wordle 1,423 4/6

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  70. Currently giggling over a review of last night's performance of the rather alternative theatrical performance I am lending my voice to (generally surprising the audience, as intended). The pertinent phrase is 'Canto lírico de put4madre', which roughly translates as 'f**ing awesome opera singing'. 🤣🤣

  71. Afternoon, all. Had an indoor street party to celebrate VE Day today. Very enjoyable. Lots of sausage rolls left over for the dogs so they were happy. There has been a slight rumble of thunder just now. No rain. The local rag is warning of half a month’s worth in an hour or so.
    New build properties should have working chimneys and not be built on flood plains but I doubt that will happen.

  72. "Police investigating fire at Keir Starmer’s north London home
    A fire damaged the door of the prime minister’s £2 million home early this morning. No one was injured" (The Grimes)

    Prolly Comical Alli gently reminding about unpaid clothing…..

  74. I am within earshot – as is the next town – of one of the loudest and most coarse women it's been my misfortune to hear. I'm sitting in our town's Wetherspoon's and this woman at the next table can barely utter a sentence without effing at a rate and volume to make a navvy blush. She's old enough to be a grandmother and ought to know better.

    2. To be fair, whatever the weather and whether you like it or not, being in a Wetherspoons means you brought it upon yourself.

        1. Were they spelt correctly?

          I once knew a bloke who'd lost a little finger in a work accident – he had 'LOVE' and 'HAT' tattooed on his remaining fingers….

    1. The goalless draw against Manchester City at the weekend at least spared the club the lowest points tally in a Premier League season.

    2. Oh when the Saints, oh when the Saints, oh when the Saints go crashing down……

  77. That's me for this summer's day. Apart from watering the veg and the greenhouse and praying tat the tomatoes don't collapse because of global boiling (we are going to plant them out tomorrow) – I have just sat in the sun and read. Bliss. Now time for a glass of medicine.

    Have a jolly evening – A J P Taylor is on t'telly (BBC4 – late). They don't make 'em like that today.

    A demain.

    1. My dad used to watch AJPT on the telly. He disagreed with everything the esteemed historian said. That was all part of the fun.

  78. So someone's set fire to TTK's front door.
    Comes to something when it's even odds as to whether the fire was started by a Left wing or Right wing nutter.

    1. Since the Beeb informed us that "the Prime Minister, of course, at No.10 Downing Street", but still owns the N. London house, I assume the incident was more immediate for Lady Victoria Sponger.

    1. Then stop watching porn…
      But let Phizzee know which channel you're watching

  80. Thought for the day.

    After conviction in a British court, under British law, strict Sharia law should then be applied to all Muslims in the UK.
    It would cure a lot of our problems and reduce the prison population substantially.

      2. I've made a donation this evening.
        There's not much else we can do at the moment.
        I now view my FSU subscription as essential insurance; like the car and the house.

  83. husband tells me tha a big boat, full of faeces and rubbish, was found tethered to the pontoon of the Helford River Sailin Club this morning. No sign of the illegals. 110 miles from France apparently.

    2. One wonders why any illegal gimmegrant would do this, unless they mean us harm.

      Arrive "the normal way" and it's free accommodation, food and spending money for years.

  84. What a busy day it's been. More tidying in the garden. Getting rid of a huge amount of scrap timber. Then 22 months (going on 12 years) old Grand daughter came to stay for the afternoon. Never a moments rest where do they get all that energy from. Daddy came to the rescue at 6pm as I cooked our (nanny and granddad's) chicken and vegetables tray bake.
    Just one glass of red……
    Is it bed time yet ???

    1. I envy you a little Grand-daughter, whatever the energy levels required.

  85. Ha ha ha, deep breath HA HA HA.
    What kind of moron tries to keep a lion as a pet in the garden?
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14702985/Man-mauled-death-EATEN-pet-lion-days-buying-beast-garden.html

    A man was mauled to death and eaten by his pet lion just days after buying the beast to keep in his back garden.

    A resident of Najaf, southern Iraq, was horrifically attacked by the predator before it consumed most of his body on Thursday.

    'Today in a garden in the city of Kufa in Najaf, a citizen was attacked by a lion in his own garden and died immediately,' Mufid Tahir, spokesperson for the Najaf Police, told local news site Rudaw.

    1. "What kind of moron tries to keep a lion as a pet in the garden?"

      A dead one.

    2. I expect the lion was shot as a result of it's new owner's stupidity.
      Poor lion.

    3. Here Kitty, Kitty..burp! I guess at least the poor animal ate well before its execution.

  87. BREAKING NEWS Police are probing TWO fires linked to Sir Keir Starmer as it's revealed terror cops are looking into late-night blaze at his £2million north London home

    If at first you don't succeed?

      1. Err…
        Wonderful world has me in tears every time, as after a very difficult birth for Firstborn, I went home and played it and cried like a baby. Still has the same effect. Louis is the man with the voice.

  89. Why does nothing work these days, particularly if you try to do things on line? I've just tried to pay my TalkTalk (spit!) bill; first the link didn't work, but I got round that by logging into my account. Filled in all the details and payment was declined. I am NOT trying another card. I'll go down to the bank tomorrow (while we've still got one) and pay it at the ATM.

    The other thing that didn't work was the app to access my tickets for Goodwood races (bought before Winston came into my life). I apparently already had an account (but no idea about any password), so I had to go and reset the password. All well and good (eventually) but then, the tickets I have already purchased, and which the app is supposed to let me access were nowhere to be seen.

  90. 'Fisherman' is my job – even though I'm a woman

    Brooke Lamond calls herself a "fisherman", saying: "I feel like that's the name of the job role."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq542jj9ed8o

    Stick to your gunwales, lass, and don't let the bottom-dwelling feminists reach up and pull you under.

    In other news, the BBC told us today that top Indian batter Virat Kohli is giving up Test cricket to concentrate on the slogathon.

    1. Dame Sarah Mullally is our Lord Bishop of London. That’s the title for that job.

    1. haven't heard that before, Obers, and it was not the sentimental pap I was expecting. A bloody good song, well sung"

        1. I think Chas died a few years back…. they were always good fun! Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit…

          1. We lived back then in an apartment ready for demolition, by the side of Milwall dock, and had exactly enough money for one only pint on a Friday evening, no other extravagances. The next-door apartment block had Krays in it.
            Simple times, and we were young. Wonderful times.

          2. Chas lived in the nearby village of Aston. As you say, he died some years ago.

      2. One of the very best love songs.

        Humour can often express love in a song better that something more soppy and sentimental.

        Jake Thackray's Lah-di-dah does this :

        When we're off on our own
        No more lah-did-bloody-dah
        We won't have time for such
        Such fancy pantomimes
        I love you far too much.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK3eaaANVU8

  94. Oh well all locked up, bins out for collection in the morning. Nothing more to be done.
    Eye appointment in the morning to see if the cataract removal back in January has been entirely successful. I'll only need a newer pair of reading glasses. No need for a prescription.
    We'll see eh.
    Good night all. Sleep well 😴

    1. I've a bloody great chunk of hill between me and the moon just now.
      The rising full moon does tend to be red as the extra atmosphere the light has to get through filters out the shorter wavelength blue light.

      1. I've seen red ones a few times, this one is literally like an orange here, and it's the first such that I can recall seeing.

    2. It's an hour later and the moon is now a normal "white".
      The visibility is excellent, so I guess it was all down the angle of the last of the sunlight or, much less likely where we are, to pollution

  97. Interesting observation today;

    I waited in all day for an Amazon delivery (a new treadmill, stop laughing at the back!) but it didnt arrive. I rang Amazon and kicked off, they were massively apologetic, rescheduled the delivery for a convenient date, and credited me with £100 for my inconvenience (I didnt actually ask for any credit and suspect I might have got more if I'd stuck to it).

    Bottom line, I know Amazon has its detractors, but until today I had only received first-class service and I was impressed with how they dealt with my complaint.

    1. I've had a few issues with them which they dealt with quickly and efficiently to my complete satisfaction

      1. I copy a line from their mail to me;

        Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.

        Not a bad Corporate Vision and Mission Statement!!

      2. I've been a customer since they started up UK, early 2000s. Prime is useful, we have a family ticket. Are you painting, Alec….still a dry patch here….😩

        1. Evening Kate , I don't have Prime because it wouldn't be worth the subscription. Been to art class today but not pleased with my picture (feathers difficult especially white ones on white paper) – off to louse trap now g'night Kate sleep well x

          1. Evening Alec 🙂 we only have it because it’s a family thing. Is bird art your thing? I have a book by Alan Woollet (‘Bird Art’) he doesn’t paint, uses coloured pencils (what we used to call crayons)…I’m not painting, starting to go back to drawing (I hope, still not doing anything other than drag an old pad out of a drawer). Off to my louse trap too:-D vet with dog tmrw am but see you later…g’night Alec sleep well x

          4. Thanks Kathie x…UTI is the diagnosis, now on antibiotics – should sort him out 🤞

          6. Antibiotics – miracle of the 20thC…he’s asleep in his bed since we returned, apart from a mouthful of food (with embedded meds). Thanks again for good wishes x

    2. I was one of Amazon's first UK customers, buy everything I need online..always good service. How are you today….Vladimir?

      1. Straswutsche Tovarisch!

        I do actually speak Russian, KJ, but pretty bloody badly ……I worked in Moscow for a few months, loved the place and the people!

  98. Goodnight, all. Managed to stay up slightly later tonight, so I must be on the mend, but I'm still whacked after doing not very much.

    1. Sorry to read you're not 100%, Conway….rest up, sleep well, hope feel better tomorrow.

  99. Just had a walk over the road to see if the full moon was over the shoulder of the hill, but looking back up the hill behind the house I was amazed at how much horse chestnut there is up there plus a mass of holly and hawthorn blossom.
    A bit dark for photographs so might try tomorrow evening.

    1. Y'all can be singular or plural, but the proper plural version is All y'all.

    1. He was lying.
      The real pledge was:

      The west beggared and the whole world under technocratic rule by a small elite

    2. He was lying.
      The real pledge was:

      The west beggared and the whole world under technocratic rule by a small elite

  103. The six pledges written on the stone are now:

    Any strong economic foundation ruined
    Higher living standards for gimmegrants, paid for by working families
    An NHS with the time to care for itself but not for its patients
    No controls on gimmegration
    A country where the last white generation WILL pay for the next diverse generation
    Hotels to buy and house gimmegrants.

  104. Husband has been quite a few times on business, loves it..he would live there, follows a young Canadian family who’ve emigrated to Russia. Don’t think I know anyone happy to continue living UK.

    1. I was sent out there by my company (late 90s) – a big American IT multinational – to set up a direct presence in Russia (we had previously only dealt through third parties).
      Everything was going swimmingly – we had a really nice set of offices just off Red Square – when we were paid a visit by the local Mafia – two enormous goons in ill-fitting suits with massive guns bulging ostentatiously through their jackets – who, and I kid you not here, threatened us with the line that 'things could get broken' albeit in gravelly Russian.
      I managed to defuse the situation by saying we'd get back to them (I also had a couple of armed security guys which made it a little easier…) and reported back to my US management.
      Unfortunately they shut us down instantly, deciding the hassle just wasnt worth it…. such a shame…..

        1. We actually thought that would make us a little more secure -it was such a Wild West out there, however, that nothing could isolate you from the general lawlessness….

    2. I'll happily continue living in the UK. I cannot think of anywhere else where I'd be happier.

  106. I’ve seen one orange full moon. Pittsburgh May 1970. Suspended over the then still active steel works.

    1. I wish I could have taken a better picture.
      It was like looking at a fruit, and craters etc. were very visible it is such a clear night.

  107. Well, chums, sleep beckons, so I am now off up the stairs to Bedfordshire. Good Night all, sleep well, and I hope to see you all tomorrow morning.

  108. ”An ACCOUNTANT who defrauded a business out of more than £600,000 contributed to more than 125 of her colleagues losing their jobs, a court has been told.
    Jolene Groves, 47, may have stolen as much as £1.6 million from a medical devices manufacturer over six years, a judge was told. Such was the scale of her fraud the company got into financial difficulty, leading to the closure of one of their sites and mass redundancies.
    She has now been jailed for four years, with the judge saying her behaviour had a “considerable impact” on her employers. Winchester Crown Court heard Groves started working at the manufacturer Nolato Jaycare in 2007…”

    Yet Lucy Connolly and Peter Lynch both got 2 years 8 months.

    World gone mad.

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