Monday 7 November: The situation in the NHS should be declared a national emergency

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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660 thoughts on “Monday 7 November: The situation in the NHS should be declared a national emergency”

    1. That goon Milliprat was droning on about ‘reparations’ yesterday. My rather forceful response was to suggest some sex and travel.

      Brief visit this morning, bus driving calls (some roads flooded, yuk!)

      Slayders

      Edit: Sorry JN, intended for B3!

  4. Britain opens the door to climate change reparations for poorer nations. 7 November 2022.

    Britain has opened the door to paying climate change reparations to developing countries by supporting talks on the issue at the Cop27 summit.

    On Sunday, at the meeting in Egypt, UK negotiators backed a last-minute agreement to address “loss and damage” payments to countries badly affected by climate-related disasters.

    Rishi Sunak will appear at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, where he will pledge £65.5 million for green technology in developing countries.

    This donation from the leader of a country on the edge of Economic and Social meltdown!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2022/11/07/cop-27-britain-opens-door-climate-change-reparations-poorer/

      2. We’re at the end of the current economic cycle where the US was dominant, so yes, we are on the losing side.

        In HUGE news this week that was completely ignored by the English speaking media as usual, Olaf Scholz (German Chancellor) paid a visit to China, in which he met with a senior party official (not Xi) and issued a statement saying that the world will be multi-polar in future.
        That is, he signaled Germany’s acceptance of BRICS as the new holders of the world reserve currency, not the US.

          1. TBF, that almost makes sense when the political dervishes spin out their latest virtue-signalling reason to give away our taxes.

    3. This is a sick joke, but probably only the first of many.
      The world is about to change, and the power will shift to the East, and the commodity-rich countries. What better way to keep the West down, than to invent imaginary sins and fine Western countries for them in perpetuity, while those same “victims” enjoy the prosperity brought about by Western inventions?
      We’re about to have the same trick played on us as the Allies played on Germany after the war.

    6. Sunak’s family could afford to pay that money into the future from their own pockets. The UK taxpayers shouldn’t be burdened by that giveaway pledge.

      2. Our mp has a Facebook opinion page. He’s getting it right in the neck.
        As all of them deserve. ‘King useless objects.

  6. A 2nd good morning to all. The sky is getting a bit lighter, but it seems reluctant this morning because of the cloud. Still 4½°C on the thermometer and still not raining at the moment.

    2. Strange it was never automated.
      I’ve always wondered why the fireman kept looking out.
      Nature still provides…..except when the wind has dropped.

  10. ‘Morning All
    Oh Bugger It appears reports of no ongoing medication were premature my discharge papers and what looks like half a ‘orsepiddle pharmacy have caught up with me Aspirin and buffers for a fortnight and multiple gunk for the rest of my life including statins(spit)
    My plans for a healthy life avoiding doctors and big Pharma like the plague lie in ruins mutter grumble…….

    1. Morning Rik. Are they really necessary? These people never miss an opportunity to peddle their nostrums!

    4. Be careful of the statins, they can cause horrible and painful cramps. I chop mine in half now. Sod the consequences.

        1. Ditto. Dr GP Sensible told me that the benefit is minimal and is frequently outweighed by the bad effects. I have stopped all prescribed medication except for asthma inhalers. And one small aspirin each morning.

  11. London Underground trains plastered in racist anti-asylum seeker posters. 7 November 2022.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/767860f1dc03f02fa0976a5eca380f151e013c07d60c3894723bf965518a51c1.jpg

    The stickers made unfounded and inaccurate claims about refugees and migrants suggesting those fleeing war and economic hardship are met with free food and ‘all-inclusive’ accommodation and are ‘not real refugees’. The stickers also used the demonising rhetoric depicting people seeking a better life for their families at great personal risk as ‘invaders’.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/40fb97ec1649944ef66ff803cac9560f12b438d47f53954344ab083d085cbb3b.jpg

    “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act,” Orwell.

    https://www.mylondon.news/news/london-underground-trains-plastered-racist-25445585

    1. “Someone’s challenging the narrative! Quick, reiterate, repeat the narrative and insult the challengers!”

        1. Inaccurate and unfounded? Bollox. They’re plain, evident facts. Deport them. Get rid. Remove the hundred thousand vermin and start shooting those who try. Then start on the 28 million loafing about on welfare.

    2. It’s good to see that people who are thoroughly pissed off, are at last getting a word in. Long may this continue, let’s hope it goes to the top. They can’t keep ignoring what’s happening. They set it up, obviously against the will of the British public, the evil coniving bustards.
      I hope there will soon be a huge March on Parliament to make a change to the ignoring attitudes of the self satisfied Westminster drones.

      1. Two million people marched against the invasion of Iraq.

        The Government took absolutely no notice at all, and the MSM quickly dropped reporting it.

        1. And subsequently the MEEJAH have become more subservient in following the official narrative.

        3. Millions marched against the Hunting Act, too, yet look what happened. It didn’t even get reported.

    1. If possible, we need to buy eggs directly from producers (if we don’t have chickens ourselves).

    2. Not entirely sure where the issue starts but with grain hideously expensive (because fertilizer is expensive) chicken feed is thus expensive, keeping chickens is now expensive making whatever eggs are sold for almost loss making.

      It’s deeply unfair. The fertilizer issue is because of the demented green agenda, grain ditto. Every politician, from fondalyingdown to the wet lefties infesting the HoP should be hanged.

  14. Morning, all. Weather brighter (not difficult) this morning but everything sodden after overnight rain.

    Found this on GETTR: is it related to the tweet re Milliband, that ogga1 put up yesterday or is it to be an additional funding stream thought up by a financially incontinent government to strip more money from this Country?

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b6c481c1962a5c7d5fb1f1c97e751da82105499ecc2a02e6827b1b60497e0149.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/08bb7697cc6dc0aedba4091b21d4be814773e7a916764b3c6ced2a27df1a0dac.png

        1. He can’t afford a jacket there’s a war on…….against everyone except the political classes.

    2. On basis if it rains in Africa we get a refund.
      The government is now planning to rob the public of their pension savings with a tax. I hope that includes the political classes pensions……..oh no of course not.

    3. Seeing as China and India are burning more coal than ever, will they be paying us reparations?

      1. It’s not just that Bob, when you see current footage of countries in South Asia the middle east etc. Even south America, the roads are jam-packed with traffic moving very slowly burning up millions of litres of fuel.
        It seems our efforts at climate change martyrdom are all in vain.

        1. They always were. The amount of hot air generated by these climate jamboree would keep an airline going.

          1. My own theory is, because billions of trees have been hacked down the clouds use to gather over these huge areas. Hence rain forests. Nature takes its own course and the rain falls anywhere the clouds gather. Except heated ground areas. Africa and deserts.
            There is no moreover less water in our atmosphere than at any others time. It just falls in different ways and different areas. Man made of course.

      2. Laffer’s Law dictates that the more we hold them to account, the more they will avoid paying for their behaviour. It’s called “Aspiration”.

    4. All part of the New World Order plan. The West must be kept down in order to minimise its challenges to the new top dogs.
      The elite won’t suffer.
      They are prepared to squeeze us til the pips squeak though. And Charles, William and Kate will be wringing their hands and pretending to care about the poor.

      The above is not hyperbole. I genuinely think that they want to manage the transition between economic cycles in what they perceive to be the most efficient way, and that is achieved by ensuring that the countries losing the top spot can’t challenge the new holders of that position.

      1. Lol i when i used to get the hard copy Terriblegraph, i used to go through it with a highlighter, colouring in every time they used the words “forced to”. It’s used extremely frequently and often instead of the more sover “will be required to” or even the humble “must”.

    7. If Britain is forced to why did it open the door?

      Pakistan built a city on a flood plain. They built no drainage. Stuff them. No one helped us when we had flood problems (again caused by Left wing green fanatic government). They caused this problem, they can fix it.

  17. A cowed Britain is fast becoming incapable of enforcing its laws. 7 November 2022.

    From anti-social behaviour and crime to illegal immigration, members of the public have one simple yet unanswered question. How do we, the law-abiding many, let them, the criminal few, get away with it?

    There is no “we”. Like the cowardice it is all the part of the political elites. Morally Corrupt. Sexually Decadent. Lacking any sense of obligation to the country or its people. The fault is all theirs!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/06/cowed-britain-fast-becoming-incapable-enforcing-laws/

    2. Nip out with a banner saying deport all muslims and see how quickly plod remove you. They won’t be nice, they’ll kick you off the street!

      This isn’t law, it’s farce. And as others have said – *we* have no say whatsoever. The state is at fault.

  18. Good morning all, it’s a wet morning on the Costa Clyde. Last night I was talked into playing walking football this morning but rain has stopped play, thankfully. There’s always next week.

      1. Good morning, Bill (and the MR and the terrible twosome). Some people even play walking cricket, but I have no idea how they score runs. Lol.

      2. I played a couple of times before the scamdemic stopped play. I was sent off for running. Former football and rugby teammates were shocked. They didn’t realise I could run!

  21. Headline today. If only the westmonster morons would stop handing out British taxpayers money to anyone and anywhere they like.
    The NHS would still be working well. But its become fairly obvious, that driving it into the ground is another of their dastardly plans.

    1. If you trebled the money paid to “run” the NHS – it still would not work as it i supposed to work.

      2. The government employed around 6 regional managers before covid.
        All paid around 250 k per year.
        The plan being bring it under control and reduce its effectiveness.
        With more private health care becoming available.
        I’ve had many conversations with staff during my recent treatment and most of them mentioned the issues with paper work, patients appointments being cancelled. Probably due to so many doctors and other operatives moving to the private sector and becoming part time NHS.
        If you try to ring an NHS number you might wait ages for a response or never at all. Ring a private health care number, and you’ll be in touch in minutes. Even seconds.

    2. RE, it’s not the funding, it’s the structure that has been allowed (encouraged even?) to evolve over time. Currently it’s an out of control, management top-heavy behemoth that requires a massive overhaul to make it more responsive to its customers i.e. the sick.
      I agree with your second sentence.

  23. Spiked

    “The second report

    of the inquiry into the bombing at the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017,

    in which 22 people were murdered, was published yesterday. It is a

    genuinely chilling document. It is almost difficult to believe. The

    failures on the night were legion. Greater Manchester Police did not declare the bombing a major incident until two-and-a-half hours

    after the blast. This means the thing that happens in a major incident –

    the commanders of all the emergency services meet near the scene to

    coordinate their response – did not happen. Fire crews took more than two hours

    to attend the scene. It gets worse. The local fire chief decided to

    mobilise his resources three miles from the arena due to ‘fears over

    safety’. The result, in the words of the inquiry’s chairman, Sir John

    Saunders – words that should sicken all who hear them – was that ‘the

    fire appliances at Manchester Central Fire Station drove away from, not

    towards, the incident’.

    Ambulances were not sent to the scene for 30 minutes after

    the blast. In the first 40 minutes following the explosion there was

    only one paramedic in the foyer where the slaughter occurred. One

    paramedic attending to scores and scores of people who were gravely and

    in some cases fatally injured. As I say, almost unbelievable. Eventually

    more paramedics attended the scene. Two more. That was it – three

    paramedics on the scene of one of the worst terrorist attacks in British

    history”

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/11/04/cowardice-kills/

    This shames us all,almost beyond belief,the rest makes bitter reading…………….

    2. What shames us all is that a criminal gimmigrant was here at all. If there were no Muslims, countless people would still be alive.

    3. So far, skimming the media reports on that inquiry, I see no mention of the perpetrator’s background?

  24. Any military experts here?

    Is there a better way of shooting down large numbers of cheap drones other than with extremely expensive guided missiles?

    The moment Ukraine runs out of the state-of-the-art Western missiles, the Russians intend to take advantage and totally destroy all their cities systematically, as they did in the Cradle of Civilisation. Never mind Climate Catastrophe by 2050; bombing 8 billion people to the Stone Age is so much quicker.

    I remember one cheap drone immobilised Gatwick`Airport. I think in the end someone took a pop at the thing with a shotgun.

    2. I don’t think there ever was a drone at Gatwick Airport.
      Someone said they thought they saw one, and a giant official panic ensued.

    4. Shotguns would only be effective up to about 200ft, they might be too small to be seen on radar or even by eye if they are high enough. I would suspect jamming the signals to them would be the only cheap way

      1. Jamming the GPS so that the drone doesn’t know its location? Or are they controlled over the mobile phone network?

        1. I’m not sure how they are controlled – the normal hobby ones are a direct signal from a person holding a controller. The big military ones are controlled from thousands of miles away via satellite. I can’t see a mobile phone network being used.

          1. Dredging up memories from developing a GPS simulator…you need a clear view to a satellite. Signal tends to be weaker than the phone networks. For GPS, you need a clear view to two or three satellites, but I suppose it would only need one for drone instructions, though if they were broadcast from two, you’d have redundancy.
            It’s hard to think that they would be getting constantly updated instructions without also getting constantly updated location information via GPS.
            Obvious implication is that the mobile phone network, if running, would be more useful in a city area (urban canyons, restricted sky view), and satellite communication would work best in the open.
            I’ve managed to avoid the defence industry for my entire career up til now.

    5. A single drone, even one like the Predator would only nobble a building at most. As those cost millions, it’s daft. Why not use their ordnance racks for far more effect?

      You can get radio scatterers. I take one with me on the train. They’re not especially long ranged though – they wouldn’t create an ‘anti drone dome’, as it were.

      If Putin wants to destroy people he has nuclear weapons – and some pretty nasty conventional ones. The surface to air interceptors such as iron dome in Israel would be ideal, but Ukraine hasn’t been under constant attack from barbaric savages who want them dead most of it’s existence.

      Fundamentally, if Vlad wants to wipe them out he can, and there’s nothing we can do about it. However, military arms is an expensive and inefficient way of destroying a country. Pour tens of millions of savages in to it, tax the workers to death, make work not pay, steal pensions, savings and destroy the currency, follow globalist policies for your own reward. That’s how you really destroy a nation. You can rebuild from conflict. You can’t rebuild from genocide within 50 years, from engineered economic collapse? That takes over 200.

    6. New Gear for Ukraine. 5 November 2022

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e784b50af9f89ccf607cba4903674e63a8149645be372866da1e74a9b8c82e43.jpg

      On 26 April 2022, the German government authorized Krauss-Maffei Wegmann to transfer 50 Flakpanzer Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine. The first three Gepards arrived in Ukraine on 25th July 2022. A test showed that a supply of ammunition manufactured in Norway could not be fired by the Gepard, with a subsequent test of improved ammunition scheduled for August 2022. By 20 September 2022 thirty Gepards and 6,000 rounds had been delivered. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces about 50,000 Norwegian made rounds for the Gepard had been received by 26 September 2022. Photos from the German tabloid Bild of the Gepard with a Ukrainian crew include high-explosive incendiary (HEI) rounds (where the projectile is yellow with a red band) made by e.g. Norwegian Nammo.

      Comment: Ukrainian soldiers who now have these say that shooting down drones is child’s play with them. IMO the problem will be to keep them in ammunition Pat Lang.

      The West is ever ready to ride to the rescue of this Fascist Regime.

      https://turcopolier.com/new-gear-for-ukraine/

    7. The reconnaissance drones we used 50 years ago reached 500 mph in less than two seconds from launch and, although they were several feet long and torpedo shaped, were extremely difficult to track by radar. in fact, they had to be fitted with a transponder to increase the reflection. I had thirty at one time and they returned and were refurbished, refuelled and reused. Not sure what the current ‘kamikaze’ drones can do but I suspect it will be equal to or better than the old technology we used.

      1. The HESA Shahed 136 is an Iranian loitering munition autonomous swarm pusher-prop aerial drone. At its core, it is designed to attack ground targets from a distance, fired in multiples from a launch rack (in batches of five upwards) to overwhelm air defences by consuming their resources during the attack. Geran-2 is the name given to the drone in Russian service.

        A completely different type of drone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Shahed_136

      2. The issue though is not their technological sophistication, but that they are cheap and can be mass-produced in large numbers at comparatively little cost. The kalashnikov is crude and cheap, but the preferred weapon of choice because they are cheap, reliable and plentiful. Likewise the American jeep, the molotov cocktail or the Vietcong warrior.

        It took centuries, and a lot of dedication and love to build that beautiful monastery on the rock, and to rebuild it now would cost billions and the skill of many artisans. Just a few cheap rockets reduced it to rubble and fragments of gold off the broken domes in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost to build it, Why then do we keep building these monuments to civilisation, rather than just live in dust and rubble like Syrians escaping Aleppo for Dover?

  25. Modern Life…..

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6221d5c49bd513a1ddfab1f1d0ef684eee43f36697688ecc20d73975db599714.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dc13c85cc3639a8cc239cb101f9d700db6cf6914e9c29ebbd2c9250ae3b14441.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4315311ec54e5c604add1bcda218ee558aae9f5c433ce0c0a439cc351075efc5.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bafd34cbe56404d06c4ae942992e23881a25cbdb9aa314eccb2b69a8cb114a24.jpg

    Plus Ca change…….

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/519cf724ea9c3a0403b0fd54c2bd1e161426ce39545f746922fee9305bb010e0.jpg

      1. Especially the supporting the nazis one. Doing roadside placard demonstrations, I was shocked by the venom directed at us from some car drivers. About 10% of the population would have thrown us into concentration camps with no problem at all during the height of the hysteria.

          7. Fame is The Spur.

            [Title of novel by Howard Spring borrowed from Lycidas – John Milton]

            Plum likes the novels of Howard Spring many of which were set in Cornwall. Does anyone have any news of Plum?

  26. OT. Just been reading (in today’s ‘virtual’ Daily Telegraph), a report about the direness of BBC daytime television. This report garnered a number of BTL comments, and here is one reproduced that will no doubt be of interest to one of ours:

    “I’ve never had a TV since I became a householder in 1979 – and I don’t miss it. I used to listen to the Jimmy Young Show on Fridays to hear what the Legal Eagle and Legal Beagle had to say, but once that folded I gave up Radio 2. I listen to Radio 4 for news and Radio 3 for (proper) music, but the latter is not what it used to be because it rarely plays complete works – it is always a movement from a quartet or whatever.”

    1. Good man.

      Thoughtful of him not to mention the gushing totties that R3 now parades as “hosts”…..

      1. …with their ‘Shows’.

        It’s no wonder Radio 3 Audiences are down by 25% according to a recent survey….

          1. I very occasionally listen to the Saturday opera and – when I am feeling VERY strong – to Choral Evensong.

          3. We were on our way to Weymouth for fuel yesterday , I like listening to Desert Island discs ..

            OMG .. Richard E Grant was the guest .. I won’t say anything else , except it was the first time I have ever heard anyone weep on the radio…. (towards the end )

    2. Good morning Grizzly and everyone.
      The commenter overlooked any mention of the late Tony de Angeli, aka the Grocer.

        1. He was the consultant at the old Charing Cross Hospital (opposite the station) when my elder son was born. A smashing chap – who pioneered participation by fathers in the whole process.

          2. It was Hugh Jolly’s childcare book that gave me the confidence to phone the doctor at 2.00 am with the words ‘if your child complains of a tummy ache during the night, phone the doctor. You are not a doctor.’ I had my husband saying to me from the depth of sleep ‘you can’t phone the doctor at this time of night!’ So I did. A locum arrived promptly, within half an hour. We were in A&E Addenbrooke’s by 3.30 am. It turned out to be appendicitis.

  27. OT – good news on Dripgate. Trusty builder arrived at 8.30 – will return later today with long ladder and see if he can sort it all out.

  28. Good morning all

    Wet , windy and horrible here.

    This is definitely a Notttl moment , okay?

    Because my older spaniel is now deaf and not too great on his pins , although he is still alert . I have mastered the art of requesting him to poo with in minutes of stepping outside in the garden , he used to wander around sniff and procrastinate … in the pouring rain… Dogs don’t mind rain no matter how old they are .

    My spaniels have always been hand signal dogs .. so what I have taught him is .me spiralling my left hand ( similar to a royal wave ) and voila.. he performs .. as you know a dog usually circles before they do their business.. but my way cuts out the procrastination .. especially when I am in the garden in my jim jams shivering .

    4. As a puppy Mongo would not know where to go or how to ask to go outside. However, he was always a really good boy and tried to go near the door.

      But… the front door. Which has (had) a carpet. He would always look sheepish and frightened and we’d do lots of comforting and so on until there came one day when his sire caught his shuddering by the door and let out that Newfoundland bark, I came running, let the little beat out and lo! From now on, he lets me know – these days not by a bark but by blatting his huge feet on my face at 5am.

    1. I hope that’s their own house. And why on earth can’t they just wander round the garden scattering handfuls?

    2. Morning Grizzly

      Interesting , people are idiots .

      Aircraft contrails that seem to increase in vapour pathways , and frozen toilet contents that fall to earth , could they also possibly be responsible for spreading stuff ?

      2. Aircraft toilets are emptied when on the ground. I flew out to Malaya in a Britannia and on landing at Gan a native attempted to connect the ‘shite bowser’ to the offload valve which had frozen during the flight. He didn’t connect it properly and the contents of a 6 hour flight of airmens bowels descended on him. The last we saw of him was the fire section hosing him down. Oh how we larfed

      1. I care not a jot nor a fig what happens to my carcase after all signs of life have passed from it. You may feed it to the bears in a zoo for all I care.

        My body and mind did not exist for billions of years before I was born. It will not exist for further millions of years after I die. The atoms and molecules that make it up now are not the same atoms and molecules that made me when I was born. All those atoms and molecules will be redistributed as they have always been. It is a circle of existence.

        When William Shakespeare died, if he had not jotted down the thoughts that came from his active brain for posterity, then no trace of his thought processes would have survived. They are as long-gone as his brain and body are. Everything is ephemeral.

        1. Yet that’s not strictly true. In your every word, deed and what not you influence other people and they carry their memory of you into their lives and so on and so forth. This is why White Christian society flourished as better men presented better ways to live and those ways were adopted.

          It’s why we don’t reinvent the wheel every day and instead are looking at nuclear fusion. The exception, of course, is government, where they repeatedly reinvent the wheel because their attitudes are so incredibly self serving and antagonist nothing gets done.

          1. Those people who carry their memory of me in their lives will not be around in two hundred years’ time, not to mention in 10,000 years’ time. What happens to those memories then?

            Quite probably there was a bloke called Syd Higginbottom who lived around the time of the Peasant’s revolt. What is remembered of him today? What happened to his thoughts? What happened to all the lives he ‘touched’ who are as long gone as he?

            As I said, everything is ephemeral. There is no getting away from that irrebuttable fact.

          1. That DNA is made of the same atoms and molecules that get blown to the wind every time an organism dies.

          4. That is all as may be; however, both you, Jules, and BB2, are completely digressing from the point I’m making. The passage of DNA down generations and the writing of stories has absolutely nothing to do with my main point: which is the fact that when an organism dies, it dies. All its constituent parts (i.e. its atoms and molecules) transmogrify and become part of something else, just as the atoms and molecules exhaled in your breath become part of something else.

            Your answers to my main point are non sequiturs and would form a salient part of another topic, but not the topic I am talking about.

            Yes, your DNA may live on in your offspring (and the stories you tell may be published) but I wasn’t talking about that. Think about my point this way: how many people do you suppose will remember (or will even have heard of) Nvodu and Blackbox2 in 500 years time? How many people, in 500 years’ time, will recall any of the things you two have said (or thought about) in 2022? The answer is not a single one. You, and your memory, will have long been consigned to history. You are just one of billions of anonymous humans who have been born and died within your personal microcosm of allotted time. Very few of those billions are remembered, and those that are it is by dint of things they wrote.

            The points that I made in my original post still remain valid; but adding irrelevant and unattached sub-topics to the discussion do not add to it, they simply detract from it.

  30. Just a few of the highlights from the CVs we’ve received:

    ‘Want job’ – Abdul Khan
    ‘Give job or sue racist’ Mohammed something unintelligible, signed with loo and a snack bar.
    ‘I’ve no qualifications or skills but I will work hard’ A Lithuanian whose name would take too long to type in. I liked this bloke and wanted to help and got told off.
    ‘I can do job when start’ – another foreigner (no qualifications, no experience listed, no work history.

    I despair. I’ve dozens of these the state forces me to wade through and evidence. Worse bit is there might be someone truly good in here but I’m unlikely to give it the time. Oops, can’t say that, the state can fine and jail me.

      1. There is a story by Somerset Maugham called A Friend in Need about a chap who gives a job to a chap who needs a job and whose only talent is that he is a good swimmer. Worth a read:

        Somerset Maugham “A Friend In Need”

        “For thirty years now I have been studying my fellow-men. I do not know very much about them. I
        suppose it is on, the face that for the most part we judge the persons we meet. We draw our conclusions
        from the shape of the jaw, the look in the eyes, the shape of the mouth. I shrug my shoulders when people
        tell me that their first impressions of a person are always right. For my own part I find that the longer I
        know people the more they puzzle me: my oldest friends are just those of whom I can say that I don’t know
        anything about them.
        These thoughts have occurred to me because I read in this morning’s paper that Edward Hyde Burton
        had died at Kobe. He was a merchant and he had been in Japan for many years. I knew him very little, but
        he interested me because once he gave me a great surprise. If I had not heard the story from his own lips I
        should never have believed that he was capable of such an action. It was the more startling because both
        his appearance and his manner gave the impression of a very different man. He was a tiny little fellow,
        very slender, with white hair, a red face much wrinkled, and blue eyes. I suppose he was about sixty when
        I knew him. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and station.
        Though his offices were in Kobe Burton often came down to Yokohama. I happened on one occasion to
        be spending a few days there, waiting for a ship, and I was introduced to him at the British Club. We
        played bridge together. He played a good game and a generous one. He did not talk very much, either then
        or later when we were having drinks, but what he said was sensible. He had a quiet, dry humour. He
        seemed to be popular at the club and afterwards, when he had gone, they described him as one of the best.
        It happened that we were both staying at the Grand Hotel and next day he asked me to dine with him. I
        met his wife, fat, elderly and smiling, and his two daughters. It was evidently a united and loving family. I
        think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. There was something very pleasing
        in his mild blue eyes. His voice was gentle; you could not imagine that he could raise it in anger; his smile
        was kind. Here was a man who attracted you because you felt in him a real love for his fellows. He had
        charm. But there was nothing sentimental about him: he liked his game of cards and his cocktail, he could
        tell a good and spicy story, and in his youth he had been something of an athlete. He was a rich man and
        he had made every penny himself. I suppose one thing that made you like him was that he was so small
        and frail; he aroused your instincts of protection. You felt that he would not hurt a fly.
        One afternoon I was sitting in the lounge of the Grand Hotel. From the windows you had an excellent
        view of the harbour with its crowded traffic. There were great liners; merchant ships of all nations, junks
        and boats sailing in and out. It was a busy scene and yet, I do not know why, restful to the spirit.
        Burton came into the lounge presently and caught sight of me. He seated himself in the chair next to
        mine.
        “What do you say to a little drink?”
        He clapped his hands for a boy and ordered two drinks. As the boy brought them a man passed along
        the street outside and seeing me waved his hand.
        “Do you know Turner?” said Burton as I nodded a greeting.
        “I’ve met him at the club. I’m told he’s a remittance man.”
        “Yes, I believe he is. We have a good many here.”
        “He plays bridge well.”
        “They generally do. There was a fellow here last year, a namesake of mine, who was the best bridge
        player I ever met. I suppose you never came across him in London. Lenny Burton he called himself.”
        “No. I don’t believe I remember the name.”
        “He was quite a remarkable player. He seemed to have an instinct about the cards. It was uncanny. I
        used to play with him a lot. He was in Kobe for some time.”
        Burton sipped his gin.
        “It’s rather a funny story,”, he said. “He wasn’t a bad chap. I liked him. He was always well-dressed
        and he was handsome in a way, with curly hair and pink-and-white cheeks. Women thought a lot of him.
        There was no harm in him, you know, he was only wild. Of course he drank too much. Fellows like him
        always do. A bit of money used to come in for him once a quarter and he made a bit more by card-playing.
        He won a good deal of mine, I know that.”
        Burton gave a kindly little chuckle.
        “I suppose that is why he came to me when he went broke, that and the fact that he was a namesake of
        mine. He came to see me in my office one day and asked me for a job. I was rather surprised. He told me
        that there was no more money coming from home and he wanted to work. I asked him how old he was.
        “Thirty five,’ he said.
        ‘”And what have you been doing before?’ I asked him.
        ‘”Well, nothing very much,’ he said.
        “I couldn’t help laughing.
        “‘I’m afraid I can’t do anything for you just now,’ I said. ‘Come back and see me in another thirty-five
        years, and I’ll see what I can do.’
        “He didn’t move. He went rather pale. He hesitated for a moment and then he told me that he had had
        bad luck at cards for some time. He hadn’t a penny. He’d pawned everything he had. He couldn’t pay his
        hotel bill and they wouldn’t give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn’t get a job he’d
        have to commit suicide.
        “I looked at him for a bit. I could see now that he was all to pieces. He’d been drinking more than usual
        and he looked fifty.
        ‘”Well, isn’t there anything you can do except play cards?’ I asked him.
        “‘I can swim,’ he said.
        “‘Swim!’
        “I could hardly believe my ears; it seemed such a silly answer.
        “‘I swam for my university.’
        “‘I was a pretty good swimmer myself when I was a young man,’ I said.
        “Suddenly I had an idea.
        Pausing in his story, Burton turned to me.
        “Do you know Kobe?” he asked.
        “No,” I said, “I passed through it once, but I only spent a night there.”
        “Then you don’t know the Shioya Club. When I was a young man I swam from there round the beacon
        and landed at the creek of Tarumi. It’s over three miles and it’s rather difficult on account of the currents
        round the beacon. Well, I told my young namesake about it and I said to him that if he’d do it I’d give him
        a job.
        “I could see he was rather taken aback.
        ‘”You say you’re a swimmer,’ I said.
        ‘”I’m not in very good condition,’ he answered.
        “I didn’t say anything. I shrugged my shoulders. He looked at me for a moment and then he nodded.
        ‘”All right,’ he said. ‘When do you want me to do it?’
        “I looked at my watch. It was just after ten.
        “The swim shouldn’t take you much over an hour and a quarter. I’ll drive round to the creek at halfpast twelve and meet you. I’ll take you back to the club to dress and then we’ll have lunch together.’
        “‘Done,’ he said.
        “We shook hands. I wished him good luck and he left me. I had a lot of work to do that morning and I
        only just managed to get to the creek at half past twelve. I waited for him there, but in vain.”
        “Did he get frightened at the last moment?” I asked.
        “‘No, he didn’t. He started swimming. But of course he’d ruined his health by drink. The currents
        round the beacon were more than he could manage.’ We didn’t get the body for about three days.”
        I didn’t say anything for a moment or two. I was a little shocked. Then I asked Burton a question.
        “When you offered him the job, did you know that he’d be drowned?”
        He gave a little mild chuckle and he looked at me with those kind blue eyes of his. He rubbed his chin
        with his hand.
        “Well, I hadn’t got a vacancy in my office at the moment.”

          1. One could argue the opposite, that it was a story of hope. The man died doing something he was good at, for a good cause – his future – hoping that his own effort would result in a positive outcome.

          2. I agree. What is kindliness?
            Handouts in perpetuity?
            Or handing the man a revolver?
            Of course, there is a third way, which would involve him surrendering his status as a privileged white man in that society, and getting a menial job. But perhaps the man himself would prefer the revolver to that.

        2. Bet the guy was laughing when he wrote it, thinking “my benefits are safe, there’s no way they will employ me with this.”

  31. Britain is no basket case – just look at our neighbours’ economies. [Roger Bootle, chairman of Capital Economics, Daily Telegraph, 07/11/22]

    Inflation is higher in Germany and Italy, the US and Japan are suffering a shortage of workers as well.

    ‘Brexit is an irrelevance compared with the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine’

    We all know that we are in one hell of a pickle and there is going to be a good deal of pain ahead. But how does the UK’S plight compare internationally?

    Some commentators have referred to the UK as a basket case. This was the thrust of a recent article in The New York Times. It noted the symbolism of the recent death of Her Majesty the Queen and suggested that this marked the end of the second Elizabethan Age in more ways than one.

    There is one respect in which the Man from Mars would look at Britain and conclude that it was indeed a basket case, namely the political shambles that have engulfed us over recent months. That has surely been unbecoming.

    But is there a case for regarding the UK as a basket case purely on the economics? Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, recently said that whereas the UK economy was some 90pc of Germany’s in 2016, the year of the Brexit vote, it is now less than 70pc, with Brexit the obvious leading explanation.

    Exchange rate changes make inter-country comparisons of GDP perilous. The pound fell after the Brexit vote, reducing the size of the UK economy compared with Germany’s if you use market exchange rates. Yet, on a constant price basis, since 2016, the UK economy has grown slightly faster than Germany, at about the same rate as Spain and much faster than Italy.

    This should not be surprising. Project Fear was always a gross exaggeration of the losses that would be experienced if we left the Union. Admittedly, Brexit has brought hardly any economic advantages. Really big trade deals – principally with America – remain elusive and the Government has undertaken hardly any of the deregulation that was supposed to be made possible by Brexit. Meanwhile, trade with the EU has been made more troublesome by the extra paperwork and inspections at borders. Moreover, business investment has probably been somewhat lower than it would have been if we had stayed in the EU.

    This does not cause me to recant my earlier support of Brexit. I always recognised that there could be an immediate economic price to pay for the recovery of sovereignty. And I argued that economic gains would only materialise over the medium term. Even then, they were dependent upon us taking the right decisions over trade policy and regulation.

    Brexit is an irrelevance compared to the two big shocks that we have suffered over recent years, namely the pandemic and the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both of these were global in nature. Accordingly, virtually all countries have suffered similar problems.

    At 10.1pc, our inflation rate compares adversely with America’s 8.2pc. But the latest flash estimate for inflation in the eurozone is 10.7pc. In Germany, that supposed paragon of anti-inflationary virtue, the latest figure is 11.6pc.

    One notable feature of the UK economy is the shrinkage of the workforce. It looks as though the labour force is about a million people below what could have been expected on the basis of past trends. Although this is widely attributed to Brexit, in fact this is also a global feature.

    It is true that our shrinkage is much larger than what has happened in Germany while in France there has been no shrinkage at all. But our degree of labour force shrinkage is only slightly greater than America’s, about the same as Japan’s and well below Italy’s. This shrinkage is related to the effects of the pandemic and associated lockdowns with differences in countries being caused by the interaction between their various pandemic experiences and their different health, social security and pension systems.

    Another canard is that our interest rates are going up because of Brexit. Yet last week’s increase of 0.75pc followed immediately after a similar increase from the US Fed. Presumably that wasn’t caused by Brexit? Indeed, US rates are already higher than ours and their peak seems set to be higher than ours as well.

    It is true that official interest rates are lower in the eurozone. They are currently at only 1.5pc and they will probably peak at about 3pc, well below our peak rates. But euro rates have been well below rates in both the UK and the US for ages now. That has been the established norm, going back well before Brexit.

    But isn’t our fiscal position worse? Actually, at 98pc, our debt to GDP ratio is the second lowest in the G7, behind Germany. Italy’s debt ratio is currently about 150pc, and France’s is now 113pc. Admittedly, we are more exposed to the vagaries of international confidence as we rely on foreign investors to fund our debt to a greater extent than other leading countries which rely more heavily on domestic savings.

    This is partly why, unlike any other G7 country, our government seems to be about to embark on a major fiscal tightening. This will mean that over the next couple of years disposable incomes will be under more pressure here than in the other leading developed countries. But we don’t know how this will pan out. We may be overdoing things and/or our fiscal tightening may improve matters enough to allow a loosening in a few years’ time. Meanwhile, other countries may be forced to take this route a bit later than us.

    The upshot is that even though the next year is going to be grim, with the economy here probably contracting by about 2pc, there will be similar contractions elsewhere. Germany may fare a good deal worse. And there is scope for a bounceback here in 2024. Putting the next two years together, the UK may be able to manage growth of about 1pc, roughly the same as the US and ahead of the eurozone. That would be a pretty poor performance but it hardly marks us out as a basket case.

    NO country is suffering a “shortage of workers”; it is a brain-dead suggestion to even think that is the case. At a time when the world is awash with around 6 billion surplus humans there is more than plenty among that lot to fill the positions of ‘workers’. Millions upon millions of wastrels who refuse to work, despite being mentally and physically fit, should have their benefits removed and told to work or die.

    1. Millions of people don’t have the mental capacity to work in a technologically advanced economy, or a cold climate where you die in winter if things aren’t done properly. “What to do with all the stupid people” is a great problem, but the Bilderberg/WEF’s anti-Christian solution is not the answer.

      “Both of these were global in nature. ” – and totally artificially inflicted upon us. Neither of these catastrophes occurred spontaneously.

      1. “Millions of people don’t have the mental capacity to work in a technologically advanced economy …”

        Maybe they can’t; however, they can shovel snow and shit, sweep roads and pick spuds and apples.

        1. There aren’t enough of those jobs to go round, and TPTB are busy eliminating them with apple-picking drones and similar.

    2. Global in nature, but the damage they did was exacerbated by local political arrogance: vis, contracts for difference and a useless forced reliance on green, an over taxed economy and massive state debt.

    3. Saint Paul to the Thessalonians: For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

  32. Here we Go!

    As our reliance on LNG grows, the ‘green lobby’ comes up with the environmental impact that importing LNG brings to meeting ‘targets’.
    Tice is correct, the UK needs to start extracting whatever energy riches we have and make the UK self-sufficient. Reform must not be shy about politically exploiting the hardships people might suffer this Winter: the morons supposedly in charge have to be held to account. Clearly, Al-Beeb will maintain their stance but that stance must be used as another nail in its coffin. Time to come out swinging, and hard.

    https://twitter.com/TiceRichard/status/1589542921317109760

    1. Ah, but it doesn’t count when it comes from somewhere else. It only counts against net zero when it’s from here.

      Same for drax.

      Yes, it’s absurd. Yes, it’s utterly hypocritical. Yes, it is far worse to ship it leaving us vulnerable and exposed to higher costs. The state does not care..

  33. Rishi Sunak may be a Hindu but he must have been reading The Holy Bible.

    “From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
    [Matthew 25,29]

    Britain opens the door to climate change reparations for poorer nations
    No 10 could be forced to pay out aid cash to countries hit by global warming disasters
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2022/11/07/cop-27-britain-opens-door-climate-change-reparations-poorer/

    Britain is bankrupt with nothing to give – so come on Sunak, scavenge in the cess pits and see what you can scrape up to give away for no good reason.

    Can’t we give Sunak away? Impose a 100% tax on everything he has and send him back to his ancestors in India.

    1. You mean they have to PAY for their food? Seriously?

      Perhaps the “$” is actually £Egyptian….

  36. I’ve heard all now. Jasmine alibi Brown on Vine.
    Under Boris Johnson payments/financial help, to other countries have been severely cut. Not if you take in to account the billions British taxpayers are forking out to make comfortable multi thousands of people from other countries living in luxury hotels.
    And still 13 billions go in forgien aid. Much of it to countries like India and Pakistan both with nuclear weapons. And Not of course nuclear energy.
    Talk about daft.

  38. That is what we see with the sudden rise of paranoid anti-anti-Semitism over what amounts to trivial offenses. The old moral order is coming apart. Famous blacks are questioning the old relationship to Jews, and Jews are worried that the old arrangements are coming unglued. Whites are late to the party, but there are signs that the old moral framing is failing with whites as well.

    In other words, this moral panic about anti-Semitism is really about the collapse of the old moral order. The people who benefited most from the old order naturally feel this collapse more acutely than those who suffered from it. Panic is always a feature of societal collapse, so these waves of moral panic, rooted in conspiracy theories, suggest the old moral order is in serious crisis.

    https://www.takimag.com/article/29647/

    1. Private Eye still does these, they are hugely amusing. The other I believe is a famous chef – I’ve forgotten his name , he’s lost a lot of weight.

      2. I stopped reading Private Eye when Hislop gave up satire and became trans man. (i.e. he still was a total twat!)

        1. I used to know (slightly) a lady who taught him at school when he was a small boy; she said that he was exactly the same character as he is now; well, 20 years ago.

      3. Tom Kerridge.

        War queen and I had a talk about him yesterday eve, specifically with the weight losing thing. .

        1. Yes, a very nice and down to earth man. A huge amount of weight loss, I’m not sure its deliberate but maybe too much .

          1. Apparently he was some 30 stone and has lost 12, taking him to 18.

            Given that I’d like to lose about another 40 kilos myself that’s about me. I want to see a dietician because my life is sedentary then mad frantic exercise, so I’m eating the wrong things at the wrong time but if I don’t eat (and I’ve tried 2 meals a day) then I have no energy for my training.

            Gah, to be 25 again and 108 kilos and fighting fit.

          3. Excellent advice. Plus no cake, no biscuits and no crisps. Cut out chips and have salad with steak. A big bowl of homemade coleslaw made with a vinaigrette and chopped herbs makes a good accompaniment and it goes towards your 5 a day.

          4. I’m not obese but inactivity of old age had expanded my waistline somewhat. I reduced the amount of carbs (but not wine) and most of that excess has disappeared. I feel better for it too.

  41. Good morning from a Saxon Queen with longbow in handbag, blooded axe and marmalade sandwich.

    It’s a murky and dull day but not cold .

    1. Even being found in possession will likely only result in a warning.
      Until the punishments meted out reflect the severity of the potential offence the hackers and stabbers won’t stop.

        1. It’s sickening.
          Just WTF is going on ? They are allowing the streets to become unsafe for anyone. They are being ‘nice’ to the offenders in case they themselves are offended. But as long as it’s not a member of their family stabbed and murdered. With sincere apologies to the average copper on the beat. They would probably take great pleasure in beating the crap out all this shite we have growing up in our country but would face the sack and probably jail for even kneeling on one of them. This disaster has been aided and abetted by our stupid football players.

    2. Quite right too. Plod should be harassing law abiding people in the name of “diversity, equity and inclusion” (sic)

  43. GP we saw last week referred OH for an echocardiogram. He received a letter from the hospital telling him to phone for an appointment. This morning he was told there was a six month waiting list. Just received another phone call – appointment this Wednesday at 09.10. Wish us luck!!

    1. I discovered our main branch of our GP practice has a machine now I had the examination within a few days of being told to make an appointment. the only problem is the nurses are not trained to communicate the results. Although I’m quite sure they are aware of the outcome.

        1. I have a big metric adjustable spanner, bought for plumbing jobs, that you can borrow to tighten him up a bit.
          😉

        4. Poppie also has a leaky valve (mitral) valve. She has responded so well to her treatment, put new life into her 13 years, but sadly there is another problem in that during her emergency examination it was found she has a lymphoma, (cancer) we don’t know if it is aggressive or not. Tests are underway.

      1. It was surprise when the call came soon after he’d been told there was a six month wait. We’ll have to get our skates on on Wednesday morning just at rush hour.

  44. We used enjoy watching ‘ Upstart Crow ‘ the series based on the life of William Shakespeare ( with a modern twist) David Mitchell was brilliant. I do hope a new series will appear, but more then that I wished we saw it live at the theatre – where Shakespeare should always be viewed , well most of them.

  45. I have just had a great experience with Amazon. In May I Bought some car battery terminal clamps for my Van and under pressure one of the clamps has broken in half it looks like metal Fatigue.
    I contacted customer service online conversation, a bit of typing. And within 5 minutes they had refunded the money into my bank account.

    1. Last year we bought a Vax cleaner. I was never very impressed with the performance but we’re not fanatical about cleanliness…… the other day the battery wouldn’t charge. OH thought the charger was faulty so ordered a new one. Same problem. This morning he phoned them and they are going to send a new battery! Also to send back the extra charger for a refund.

      1. Getting ‘to’ Amazon support is often tricky, but the reality is that not arguing and giving the customer what they want gets repeat business.

        1. I’ve never had problems with Amazon. Refunds have always been easy and mostly told to keep the item too. I ordered a tyre inflation device and it failed to recharge and the USB connector for charging didn’t fit. I got an immediate refund and told to dispose of it. The company who made it then said they’d send me a proper USB cable but instead sent me a new unit. A week or so later Amazon sent me TWO new units. I then found I’d mistakenly tried to use the wrong USB cable. I’ve kept quiet about that so I’ve ended up with four items and not paid a penny for them.

          1. I posted a parcel insured for £100. Though it had tracking they still managed to lose it. I complained and they refunded me £100. It got delivered the next day. I kept quiet too. :@)

          2. I put in a complaint to the Royal Mail last year for Hedgehog Calendars not delivered to a customer in Italy. They arrived eventually. Then some weeks later I got a cheque from the RM to refund the postage.

        2. It wasn’t Amazon – it was Vax. They sent a free postage label as well to send back the extra charger.

    2. I bought a greenhouse shelf unit. It arrived with one piece of plastic assembly damaged. I asked them to send a replacement PART – they sent a whole new UNIT! Barking. So a slightly overpriced single unit for £20 became a good value double unit!!

      1. Poppiesdad bought a padded, waterproof jacket last winter. It cost £200. He was unhappy with some of the stitching, only a pedant would notice! – he sent photographs to the retailers and asked if he could have a replacement. They refunded his cash, and told him to keep the jacket. He is, of course, still wearing it.

      2. A few years ago we bought a light oak modern TV stand. That was damaged. It was from JL. They sent us a replacement but didn’t bother to take the damaged one away. I sold it on ebay. It knocked off two thirds off the original price.

    3. Somebody in Chester is probably less happy about Amazon support.

      I keep receiving email messages about their orders. Try what I may, I cannot get Amazo UKn to track down the customer and have them correct the problem – it cannot happen they say.

      I keep waiting for a refund but all I see are order confirmations and delivery notices.

      1. Go on the website and into customer services and you can converse with one of their employees.

    1. But of course it’s not about the planet or the weather. It’s about social control. The less money the individual has, the more power the state has, the more control can be forced to achieve the aims of those wanting to control.

        1. !984 “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”
          Geroge Orwell. Aka Mr Blair.

      2. The end game isn’t even taxes, it’s food rationing and restricting how far we can travel – all done with the fraudulent “carbon footprint” excuse.

  47. Talking of “social control” (see below, passim)- another way is the “timed entry” for places/exhibitions etc. No longer – apparently – can one rock up and buy a ticket at a gallery or museum or place of interest. A “compulsory” time-ticket has to be purchased online……no entry before or after.

    Completely destroys the spontaneity of being away on holiday – or just catching sight of something that looks interesting.

    Soldier neighbour is going to Stratford on Avon. EVERYTHING she wants to see HAS to be booked in advance….

    1. I hate this pre-booking – it all goes on databases about you as well. It is the main reason why I have completely lost touch with the mainstream culture that I used to take part in – Royal Academy exhibitions, Proms and so on.

      1. To be fair(ish). Last year we wanted to go to the Mall Galleries – Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition – (it is one of things we do on our annual trip to London). Pre-booking. I rang and said I had no idea what time we’d get there – trains and all that. The woman said – “Don’t worry about it. Turn up. Pre-booking is nonsense”…… I expect she was sacked….

        Hope to go there THIS year – we haven’t stayed in London since Nov 2019….

        EDIT: And this year the website says “NO booking required”.

        1. What’s with this Pre booking? Surely it is just “booking”. Pre booking implies a two step process, you book before you book.

  48. Glastonbury tickets went on sale today at £350 a ticket and were sold out within an hour to mainly lefty woke Labour & LibDem voters. You know, the ones that can’t afford to feed their own kids

    1. I don’t understand how people can wilfully NOT want to pack their litter and take it home. It takes no effort to have a big bin bag along into which all the rubbish goes – clothes in one, waste in another. The only things left behind should be organic matter, such as apple cores (and I’d be annoyed if those were not biffed into hedgerows so birds and insects get some habitat protection.

    2. I expect the cycle parking areas will need to be increased enormously.
      I have to say that I hope, it chucks it down. 😎🤗

      2. The Young Farmers Club is holding its bonfire night celebration this Saturday. I had exactly the same weather thought. It was bad enough last weekend. I’m not looking forward to going through it again.

  49. 367376+ up ticks,

    May one say it really is narrowing down to two options
    a general strike, or a general uprising.
    The governing bodies, their direct / indirect employees ie councils, police, etc have been openly running a closed eyes policy against the very peoples that are paying their wages.

    To carry on supporting these political treacherous charlatons is surely an act of gross heinous insanity,the pinstripe clad @rseholes are openly brazenly telling you what their intentions are, and the herd majority are
    in compliance via the polling booth.

    https://twitter.com/RogerHelmerMEP/status/1589549393061072896?s=20&t=szK9jmHWO76mujDKuqdZIw

    1. There’s a difference between ignorance and compliance. Ask people why their bills are high and they’ll say ‘energy companies make them.’ No mention of contracts for difference, unreliables funding, expensive socialised cost of grid upgrades, high taxes, energy generating capacity run down and deliberate lack of provision. People repeat what the BBC has said and what the government blames and repeats that.

      They don’t ‘understand’ the problem.

  50. I have an article from The New York Times International Weekly Saturday October 17th 2015
    Headed Deforestation Linked to Severe Droughts. Sub heading Researchers say clearing trees may be altering the climate.
    About 20% of the Amazon rain forest is gone and a similar area degraded. (probably for cattle farming) Wheat is grown on the land cleared.
    It’s a long article i cant type it all. Antonio Donato Nobre says “We have a moral obligation to take care of creation and make sure coming generations have a good place to live”. Try telling that to our political morons and the leaders in corporate greed.
    My own thoughts.

    1. 2015-10-17 03:13:15.561278+00:00
      Topics news, homepages, screenshot
      Publisher The International New York Times
      Contributor pastpages.org

    2. Fear not, black face Trudeau to the rescue. In the election campaign he promised that Cto help fight climate change, anada will plant another 2 billion trees.
      Hardly a dent in the 350 billion that are estimated to be here. Not that it matters, the great planting program has not started yet!

      1. “…the great planting program has not started yet!”

        …and probably, never will. More Turdeau pie in the sky.

  51. From the DM:

    Downing Street’s reported plan to extend the freeze on the lifetime allowance for retirement funds could undermine the whole thrust of the pensions system.

    It represents a stealth tax on middle income savers. By refusing to increase the maximum limit on pension funds for at least five years, until 2027, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt could force an estimated two million more people to pay tax penalties of up to 55 per cent on pension withdrawals.

    Anyone who doubts that politicians of both sides and some civil servants are corrupt and self-serving has only to look at the treatment of private pensions. Brown started the great larceny over 20 years ago, Gideon Osborne continued it and, of course the Repulsive Hunt is about to do the same.

    Would it not be possible for the CBI to stick up for workers in the private sector and run a campaign that Public Sector pensions are brought more in line with Private Sector pensions?

    Every time a hit is made against those with private pensions those in the public sector should suffer the same blow.

    1. I’m going to see if I can ‘steal some’ from my Annuity today. Before those greed ridden bustards get their hands on it.

        1. Reminds me of Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tale about the aunt whom nobody must offend!.

          AUNT JANE

          “Mamma” said Amanda “I want to know what
          Our relatives mean when they say
          That Aunt Jane is a Gorgon who ought to be shot,
          Or at any rate taken away.

          “Pray what is a Gorgon and why do you shoot
          It? Or are its advances refused?
          Or is it perhaps a maleficent Brute?
          I protest I am wholly bemused.”

          “The Term,” said her Mother, “is certain to pain,
          And is quite inexcusably rude.
          Moreover Aunt Jane, though uncommonly plain,
          Is also uncommonly good.

          “She provides information without hesitation,
          For people unwilling to learn;
          And often bestows good advice upon those
          Who give her no thanks in return.

          “She is down before anyone’s up in the place –
          That is, up before anyone’s down.
          Her Domestics are awed by the shape of her face
          And they tremble with fear at her frown.

          “Her visiting list is of Clergymen who
          Have reached a respectable age,
          And she pays her companion MISS ANGELA DREW
          A sufficient and regular wage.

          “Her fortune is large, though we often remark
          On a modesty rare in the rich;
          For her nearest and dearest are quite in the dark
          As to what she will leave, or to which.

          “Her conduct has ever been totally free
          From censorious whispers of ill,
          At any rate, since 1903 —
          And probably earlier still.

          “Your Father’s dear sister presents, in a word,
          A model for all of her sex,
          With a firmness of will that is never deterred,
          And a confidence nothing can vex.

          “I can only desire that you too should aspire
          To such earthly reward as appears
          In a high reputation, at present entire,
          After Heaven knows how many years.

          “So in future remember to turn a deaf ear
          To detraction — and now run away
          To your brothers and sisters whose laughter I hear
          In the garden below us at play.”

          “Oh, thank you, Mamma!” said Amanda at that,
          And ran off to the innocent band
          Who were merrily burying Thomas the Cat
          Right up to his neck in the sand.

        1. I discovered that I can’t do this on line. I’ve emailed, hopefully they’ll send me a form.

    2. Agree. But until the private sector goes on strike, it will continue to be ravaged by the public sector, some of which are parasites on the private sector.

    3. The trouble with pensions is that they are in the system.
      What the government giveth, the government taketh away.
      I have a small pension plan, the rest of my saving is fully taxed now, and fully independent.

  52. While everyone is occupied by the farce of COP27 and the money crisis the BBC has spent more than a million pounds sending James Naughtie, Justin Webb and a dozen others to the USA to canvas for the Democrats in the up-coming election. Most of it is in the form of denigrating Trump and the Republicans but there is much open support for the left-wing ‘Jackass Party’ as some call it. (Its symbol is a donkey). Why are pensioners and working women of the UK paying a licence fee to watch TV, which is being used for political posturing in the USA and elsewhere? The BBC needs defunding and erasing from the biased UK media. D Fail.

    1. Don’t worry, Ped – the licence fee payers will pay for it. Even if they only need to buy a licence to allow them to watch live TV excluding the BBC’s “content” (sic) and “talent” (sic)

    3. Justin Rowlatt last night spreading climate fear was enough to make me switch off. Unfortunately OH still likes to watch some programmes so I haven’t managed to cancel the telly tax yet.

  53. Morning all, blood pressure up and still rising!

    Let me get this right, the UK (fishi) is about to cave in and agree to Climate reparations whilst at the same time pleading poverty and planning another raid on amongst other things, private pensions contributions, tax payers and pensioners in this country.

    Apologies to Ogga if I start to sound like him but all those that plan to vote for any of the main 3 parties next time round need their heads examined and their frigging arses kicked!

    Rant over, going to watch highlights of Wales being given a rugby lesson this past weekend.

    2. Rumour has it that our esteemed finance minister (fully qualified for the role with her degree in medieval Russian literature) was in New York last week to negotiate a 5900 billion dollar loan.
      We expect that the village idiot will be making endless commitments to the money grabbers.

      2. Actually I am probably wrong to call him an idiot. He is evil and he knows what he is doing. He is determined to destroy Britain completely.

      1. He is only wading in with criticism because he is not in No10. If he was I’m sure he would be all for it, bloody hypocrite that he is.

      2. If we can’t afford to stop pensioners freezing in the winter we certainly can’t afford to pay anything to other countries.

  54. 367376+ up ticks,

    They certainly are very much still among us, rats are no more than 6 foot away from the cretins,

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    56m
    Kurten is a windbag, don’t join his party.

    When I defended political prisoner Tommy Robinson, Kurten, along with Peter Whittle, deserted UKIP – but they DID NOT give up the London Assembly Seats, handed to them on a plate by UKIP.

    Don’t give him your support now – still less your money.

    https://gettr.com/post/p1x88p5701f

    ·

    Gerard Batten

    The lockdowns brought out the latent thuggery in so many. I hope this thug was done for aggravated assault if not worse.

    This kind of Gestapo & KGB thug exists under the surface of civilisation waiting their opportunities.
    TommyRobinson1
    @TommyRobinson1
    ·
    13h
    November 2020.

    Melbourne security guard chokes a teenager unconscious and carries him out for not wearing a face mask.

      1. It’s something I didn’t know. If you are in danger and can’t talk – if for example an abusive partner is standing over you – if you dial 999 and don’t say anything they will give you the option to dial 55 and then the police will try and trace your call.

        There’s also a scheme in pubs if you are being harassed you go to the bar and ask for ? Amanda (not Amanda I don’t think can’t remember the name you are supposed to use).

  57. Todays bogeyman – crossword puzzles. Apparently they are not inclusive and clues are constructed around the experiences and beliefs of white men. Or so claim a bunch of crossword experts.

    Well this false outrage does distract from the latest idiocy by the incompetent government.

    5. Apparently, yer blacks keep putting the answer to “missionary position” as “in the pot” rather than “on the top”….

    6. One for the BAMES

      – – T – – E / – – – – K / – A – – O ( 6, 5, 5)

      Pancake Enthusiast and Tiger Tamer?

  58. Fair comment.

    COMMENT on A week that will live in infamy –

    A week that no British politician should be allowed to forget, and one in which many senior citizens will have compared it with the late weeks of September 1939, only to realise to their horror, that there is no Winston at the helm, just a rag tag bunch of ‘ British ‘ bames, elected to our Parliament, by the descendants of the post ‘ Indian independence exodus ‘ .

    They began arriving here in their thousands on discovering, almost immediately, that their vociferous ethnic leaders, who had expelled the hated British from the lands of their immortal ancestors, actually didn’t have the ability to organise a ‘ piss up ‘ in a brewery.

    In fact the moment we left, they were more interested in settling old scores ( real or imagined ) much as they are in Leicester today.

    My generation could never have imagined that it would have to live out it’s retirement years, in the ruins of a country whose indigenous elected leaders had allowed themselves to be pushed aside so easily.

    Moderately intelligent individuals perhaps, but combining after being elected, into an : overstaffed, woke deluded, bunch of losers, ministering to an Electorate shamelessly conditioned, since primary school, with wokeist conforming, do- gooderist crap. – .

    Meanwhile the B.B.B.B.B.C Badly Biased British Bame Broadcasting Corporation continues to churn out its propaganda message, and we learn that the Dover incident was a terrorist act, and NOT some very pissed off indigenous Brit who had more than enough of ten years of invasion across the Channel.

    Reported with less elation, is the news that : despite having an expensive Environment Ministry since Edward Heath’s days as P.M. our : seas, rivers brooks and streams, which we were told were returning to a crystal clear purity, are actually open sewers, under heavily subsidised, foreign owned, water authorities.

    Don’t despair however Westminster’s woefuls will be hard at it again this week, on your behalf, but unlike 1939 there will be no Winston, and none of the blue skies optimism of Vera Lynn’s : We’ll meet again – and There’ll be Bluebirds over the White cliffs of Dover ! .

    Just our useless Government Agencies scurrying to make sure the reception centres are up to scratch ! ! .

    Bromsgrovia. 6/11/22
    ——————–

  59. Just heard on BBC Essex that there has been another demonstration at the Dartford Crossing. Tail backs on the Essex side all the way back to the M11 and on the A12 to Mountnessing. These cretins are nothing less than domestic terrorists and should be treated as such.

    1. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so keen to disrupt people’s livelihoods if they were made to pay compensation to those who lose money as a result of the their illegal disruptions.

      1. I expressed the hope (forlorn, no doubt) that the London shops where these terrorists had caused criminal damage – would sue them in the civil courts for many thousands of pounds of damages.

    2. Tch tch, you must get up to speed. Domestic terrorists are people who oppose the Government’s pandemic policies.

    3. I read, “Tall blacks on the Essex side all the way back to the M11”, and thought the Zulus had turned out their impis.

      2. I remember that Bertie Wooster was discussing Bingo Little’s love life with Tuppy Glossop. Bertie remarked that if all the girls with whom Bingo Little had been in love were laid out in a line they would stretch all the way from Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus because some of them were pretty tall.

        (This was before Bingo met and married Rosie M Banks the well-known writer of romantic fiction.)

  60. A dog walked into the telegraph office, took a slip of paper off the
    clerk’s window, and wrote out a telegram that said, “bow wow, bow wow,
    bow wow, bow wow.” He handed the paper to the clerk, who read it and
    said, “You’ve written an eight word telegram here. Did you realize that
    the minimum charge of £9 covers ten words? Would you like to add another
    ‘bow wow’ to your message?” “I suppose I could,” replied the dog, “but
    then it wouldn’t make any sense would it?

    1. Talking of telegrams I remember a friend of mine who was an army captain getting married at the time of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. His best man had the job of reading the telegrams and this one from his fellow officers who were not able to get to the wedding because they were on duty shocked some of the wedding guests.

      “Congratulations Mike. Hope you’ll have a smoother entry into the No Go areas than we are having.”

      1. Sounds about right. I have been to a few forces weddings myself. Not for the shy retiring types.

        1. Apparently amongst the wedding presents on display when one of my Troop Commanders married was a box of Army issue condoms acquired from the MRS by the Squadron medic.
          The Officers’ Wives got the joke, but the civvie wives were disgusted!

  61. Good morrow, Gentlefolk, just back from a three day sojourn in Dumfries & Galloway General Hospital, having fallen (it seems) out of my chair and, finding myself unable to rise, I used the red button I have on my wrist and summoned an Ambulance. The horses Piddle were unhappy for me to leave but I discharged myself, even if it cost £42 for a taxi ride. I was lucky, two District Nurses appeared on the doorstep as I arrived. They fixed the mess-up a nurse at D & G made (it was pouring blood) and then proceeded to very ably fix the dressing on my leg.

    Anyway, today’s story:

    Speeding

    A senior citizen out in West Texas drove his brand-new Corvette convertible out of the dealership.

    Taking off down the road, he floored it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little grey hair he had left. “Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-40, pushing the pedal even more.

    Looking in his rear-view mirror, he saw a state trooper behind him, lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for this,” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.

    Pulling in behind him, the trooper walked up to the Corvette, looked at his watch, and said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a reason for speeding that I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you go.”

    The old gentleman paused. Then he said, “Years ago, my wife ran off with a State trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.”

    “Have a good day” the trooper replied.

      1. Poor you. Wear a seatbelt next time. I almost fell out of my wheelchair because it doesn’t handle uneven pavements very well.

      2. Bollocks did you fall off a chair, you’ve had a blooming punch-up!!

        Seriously though, glad you appear to be ok and, hopefully on the mend.

        1. I’m definitely not one for punch up, BoB. It took all of 3 days before round-up I could make any sense of ehat of what I thought, I was swwing.

          1. Well, it’s a bonny face you have and I think I speak for all when I say we’re glad you’re ok.

      4. That looks awful, so painful. Is it possible you had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack) whilst you were asleep in your chair? Did you get checked at the hospital for this? My mum used to get these, she would lose consciousness for only two or three seconds and found she had pitched forward head first and ended up full length on the floor. This happened quite a few times during her last 10 years, several times outside (a broken arm twice, and a dislocated shoulder, then she fell against a table and bruised the side of her face, looking very much like your injury there). I hope you are keeping warm, Lakeland do heated throws which are not very expensive to run. Oh dear, you look as though you need a hug,

        1. A brain scan was done and nothing even minor detected though a very, vert small one was detected. Who knows? Maybe. Thank you for your concern, Mum.

  62. BBC made ‘significant editorial failings’ in report into antisemitic bus attack: Oxford Mail.

    They lied about the cause of the attack. The BBC’s reports claimed that an audio recording made during the incident included anti-Muslim slurs – which it later changed to the singular ‘slur’ – which came from inside the bus. Shortly afterwards, it received evidence which disputed this interpretation of the audio.- they ignored it and continued repeating the lie.

    The BBC has been found guilty of biased reporting – Holy Smoke!!! The have grudgingly apologised and said it will not happen again – apologise, that is.

    1. Everyone thinks beavers are really cute, pulling those twigs and sticks back and forth.

      As soonn as you look away, the cry goes up ‘Oi! Gerald! The hoomans have gone! Break out the concrete! Geoff, get that JCB out from behind the hedge!

  64. On a bus, a priest sat next to a drunk who was struggling to read a
    newspaper.

    Suddenly, with a slurred voice, the drunk asked the priest:

    “Do you know what arthritis is?”

    The parish priest soon thought of taking the opportunity to lecture the
    drunk and replied:

    “It’s a disease caused by sinful and unruly life: excess, consumption of
    alcohol, drugs, marijuana, crack, and certainly lost women,
    prostitutes, promiscuity, sex, binges and other things I dare not say.”

    The drunk widened his eyes, shut up and continued reading the newspaper.

    A little later the priest, thinking that he had been too hard on the
    drunk, tried to soften him.

    “How long have you had arthritis?” said the priest.
    “I don’t, the pope does” said the drunk.

    1. When I left school at the Leavers’ farewell address we were told not to wear the Old Boy’s Tie when going into a brothel and that the only people to get VD from a lavatory seat were the Pope and The Archbishop of Canterbury.

  65. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11397083/ROSS-CLARK-caused-damage-British-economy-Ed-Miliband.html

    He didn’t want to use the ‘R’ word, and he didn’t want to think it would mean the UK taxpayer sending billions off to China
    – although China is one of the countries that has been demanding
    payments from the West for historic carbon emissions. Even so, he told
    Laura Kuenssberg that Britain had a ‘moral responsibility’ to pay up, on
    the grounds of its historic emissions.

  66. 367376+ up ticks,

    Monday 7 November: The situation in the NHS should be declared a national emergency

    If this be the case then substituting on average 500 a day non paying
    invaders over & above the indigenous working people is a crime in itself.

    This will not hit home until the lab/lib/con/ukip coalition member / voter
    realises that Mo who has just abused the indigenous persons
    son / daughter is also in front in ALL societies queues, mo has no need or intention of queuing

    1. The government can’t declare a national emergency in this case ogga. They are the reason why we have so many current and dangerous problems.

  67. Married white man on Radio 4. Three quarters of an hour of his life and music. Has the Beeb taken leave of its left-wing, lesbian loving, LGBT senses?
    Worst music I have heard for years and ‘ears and a continuous stream of ‘look-at-me waffle.
    It’s OK though, it turns out he hates religion and Roman Catholics in particular and is an LGBT activist.

    Phew!!! I was getting worried.

          1. Like Norfolk and – as a fellow Nottler observed a few days ago – like Lincolnshire.

    1. It sounds as if he’s angry at not being given other people’s money to spend on his life choices.

        1. Yes, I thought the same, but it’s an orchestra. There isn’t any money going spare so cuts have had to be made. If his work isn’t commercially viable then it has to go.

          However, this is a screaming example of the state intentionally punishing people for the need for cuts. Instead of shredding the department for CMS, it simply keeps more for itself.

          1. Orchestras give pleasure to a lot of folks and are deserving of some funding. The fact that most composers are old white men is the real reason which is why people should be annoyed. Just more cancel culture by any means.
            In the scheme of things subsidising orchestras costs very little.

          2. It would be interesting to see the difference, if any between, the amount of Arts Council Grant given to this (and other orchestras) and the amount of VAT paid by each orchestra to Inland Revenue along with the total income taxes and NI contributions paid by the musicians employed.

        2. Britain has become a nation of ignorant Philistines led by the incompetent buffoons in government.

          1. Maybe I am one of those philistines. I prefer to think of it as ‘it’s my money to spend on what I want, not what other people want.’ I’d apply the same attitude if the cash were given to football or cricket.

            I am not saying abolish orchestras or such like but why is the tax payer forced to pay for something he may not enjoy? It is not the government’s money to give away.

          2. That’s why funds are set aside to the Arts Council to subsidise loss-making arts. We would all be much the poorer without musicians.

          3. Yes, but this cancellation highlights the problems with that system. Who gets to decide which group of musicians should get the money?

      2. So you would rather government funds went to punish Britain for the Industrial Revolution which caused the mythical global warming?

        You would rather billions were spent housing illegal immigrants most of whom despise us?

        I think our priorities are rather different.

        1. No, no, not at all. I would much rather the Dept CMS were shut down entirely and the monies saved given to arts bodies.

          Rastus, I’ve been very clear on my disdain for government of any sort. I do not believe in the myth of climate change and I think the dept. for it should also be abolished. As for the gimmigrants, I have made it a mantra – get rid of them.

          Stopping funding to an orchestra is how the state punishes the public.

        2. I’d rather money wasn’t taken from taxpayers at all. Government is incapable of spending it properly.
          Private patronage used to work well.

          1. If taxpayers kept more of their own, they might well be disposed to bung some of it to cultural pursuits.

          2. Exactly.
            People who earn a lot of money tend to do more good with what the Government allows them to keep than that same Government does with the vast sums it steals from them.

      1. Did the Ethiopian Spice girls ever make it, maybe they were just pussy Kats. Something to chew on..

        2. I think once it was exposed the funding was dropped. I’m sure after the hubbub died down they found myriad ways to keep wasting our money.

    5. It’s a sad day when a country does not promote its cultural heritage by helping to funding orchestras, museums and art galleries.
      I have seen the way ‘the proms’ is slowly being stripped of any traditionally English musical enjoyment in the name of diversity.
      We don’t have a good classical music station on either radio or tv (BBC radio 3 is now like its counterpart radio 2) Classic FM does try, especially after 20:00 hrs and at the weekends. But we have nothing like the classical music representation European countries broadcast.
      Culture for some reason in UK is in sad decline.

        1. I think it’s more basic than that, although it is certainly a contributory factor. We are reaping the benefits of an education system that over the last 30 or more years has denigrated our culture, heritage and history, so that decision makers these days, don’t even realise how culturally destructive their decisions are.

          1. And just why has
            an education system that over the last 30 or more years has denigrated our culture, heritage and history, so that decision makers these days, don’t even realise how culturally destructive their decisions are.?
            in a word:
            diversity

          2. An education system following the doctrine of Karl Marx and, to a lesser extent Friedrich Engels.
            Diversity has its part but left wing indoctrination as an overriding concept has been far more destructive.

          3. Yet the USSR and Soviet Bloc did maintain high standards in music and culture. China is producing excellent orchestras and opera singers. Cultural Marxism seems to destroy the arts in a way that economic Marxism didn’t.

          4. It’s a strange conundrum that I have never understood.
            You’re absolutely right, China (after Mao Zedong’s purge) and Russia after Stalin, still seemed to keep their literary and musical heritage.

          5. Up to a point.

            Diversity has been the tool used to achieve those ends.

            Without that timebomb the leftist agenda would never have got remotely as far.

          6. There’s not a great deal of diversity in China. Nor probably in the USSR apart from the countries that were under it.

      2. It is in decline, deliberately so, because it improves the mind of the nation. All part of the general destruction of the UK. Culture is that which binds a people to their nation state, and each other.

        1. It’s the destruction of English culture: like Rome, were we as a nation, so successful, that the rest of the world fear our continued success?
          We have been in steady decline since 1945 and have America to thank for that.
          Unfortunately so much of the ‘bedrock’ of English patriotism was lost during WW1 & 11 that we have never really recovered.

    6. “The orchestra said on social media: ‘We never took our NPO status for
      granted, but like many of you we are mystified by the 100% cut’; …
      There was, however, good news for the Chineke! Foundation, which
      supports Black and ethnically diverse classical musicians, and which was
      added to the Arts Council portfolio and will receive a grant of £700k
      per year.”

  70. Trusty builder DID return at 11 30 – went up ladder and replaced two broken tiles. Good man.

    1. Talking of builders, the cladding for my shed / lean-to arrived late last week so the walls and floor are finished. However, as it is now NoVember it’s also No Dryweather! I need a dry day to get the roof panels on and the flashing cemented into place. In the meantime the roof rafters have been covered with a couple of sheets of hardboard to keep most of the wet weather out….

      1. Is it ? Ah thank you . I should keep an eye on the such more . Shall check it out .

        1. I saw it at the Geilgud. All the theatres closed the following day ! Mark Heap is as mad in real life as he is on the stage.

          1. It must be amazing to see on the stage , even if they closed down soon after . Mark Heap does come across as somewhat eccentric, so I’m not surprised.

          2. I don’t know what the staging at the Apollo will be like but at the Geilgud it was very minimalist. Very good though as it didn’t distract from the acting. Loved every minute of it.

          3. Sounds wonderful, the acting is the main thing, pleased that you enjoyed it . I’ll check it out online .

  72. It’s already getting dark. Time for a lot of tea with some buttered toasted crumpets and a book to read.

    1. Ahhhh – I have the tea and book, but now I fancy crumpets and it’s too murky to venture out… 🤣🤣 Enjoy them!

      2. I really, really fancied toasted teacakes with lashings of butter and strawberry jam, this afternoon, I really did. I wanted to sink my teeth into them…! Poppiesdad wanted some of the tea bread/barm brack that I make. Unfortunately we had neither in the pantry. We try to keep the carbs down to a minimum but on dark autumnal days cravings develop.

        1. Yes; I generally avoid unnecessary carbs too, but in this weather…

          (Finding it hard to concentrate on my book because my stomach is rumbling. 🤣)

          1. The problem is, if you give in one afternoon and decide to treat yourself, the next day your body says “hmmm, I rather liked that! Let’s do it again today!” and then you are trapped in a craving for carbs. It is easier to resist the first gentle demand than the demands which follow thereafter!

        2. I really fancied fish and chips. Fortunately, now the Rayburn is lit, it doesn’t cost me a fortune to oven cook them. They were VERY tasty!

    2. Still a good ½ hour of twilight left here.
      Enjoy your crumpets. I’m going to have some leftovers tonight, something I concocted t’other day with bits of chicken, stir fry vegetables, korma sauce and noodles.

      1. Sunset is very beautiful . Thank you and enjoy your supper tonight, it sounds delicious.

        1. Wasn’t bad!
          Will probably drag something out of the freezer to defrost for the DT & S@H to have when they get back from work tomorrow.

          It’s fully black outside now, so I need to draw the curtains!

      2. We’ve got the black pot simmering away with stewing beef, veggies etc. Left over roasties from last night to go with it. And a glass of something.

        1. I have to make a point of ensuring there is nothing lurking at the back of the fridge that ought to have been used up a month ago as the other two in this house never seem to think of it!

  73. Well, Blessed People, during your sojourns nightly, please think of me and mutters an vocation – now matter how brief – mutter an imprecation for me that I might find again my lost love.

    Goodnight, Gentlefolk; with the loss of two consecutive nights sleep, I shall now retire, with my book and hopefully, sleep the night away.

      1. Yes,but it seems not to have softened her heart one jot or tittle. Thank you for being considerate, J.

        1. I think you may have to heal your own heart by writing her off as a lost cause. Take care Tom. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to know.

    1. It doesn’t matter where they work. It matter what they do there.

      I’m still convinced the state is deliberately using massive uncontrolled immigration as revenge for Brexit.

      1. I would draw a distinction between a self employed professional or tradesman working from home and a foreigner attached to a bloated government civil service agency claiming to do the same.

        This is because the civil servant is paid a salary come what may whereas the self employed have no guaranteed income and have to work for their money.

        I make these remarks having worked on several government buildings and experienced at first hand the bone idleness and general uselessness of the civil service.

          1. We have worked from home since moving to France in 1989 and we are still doing so and have started taking bookings for our courses in 2023 so we are almost up with you.

  76. If global warming or climate change is down to mankind, here the real problem:

    Earth’s population will hit EIGHT BILLION next week: Key milestone for humanity as life expectancy increases… with headcount already triple the 2.5 billion of 1950
    By 2030, the world’s population will reach 8.5 billion and by 2100, 10.4 billion
    Population growth was growing at its slowest pace since 1950, figures show
    A key factor driving global population growth is increased live expectancy

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11398347/Earths-population-hit-EIGHT-BILLION-week.html

    2. If our standard of living is driven back to what it was pre-industrial revolution then life expectancy may also keep pace? Alternatively AI driven trans-humans can just be switched off and discarded when they start to wear out.

      2. Add to that the “medicines” that also reduce life expectancy in the “West” and just perhaps, after eliminating all the evil white people, the rest of the world will prosper?
        Actually the rest of the world as in planet, probably will; because all the non whites will be so busy killing each other that world populations will plummet.

    3. The youngish people who have been part of the recent excess death numbers didn’t have increased life expectancy. The clot shots appear to be working.

  79. Well, enough apples crushed to fill the press twice and a gallon and a half of apple juice produced.
    Enough apples left for another two presses.
    Took the cover off the bit of wall I did t’other day and it looks ok, Perhaps another two mixes of mortar then I’ll have to dig out and get another section of base laid.

    Felt a bit knackered earlier after my stupid o’clock wake up, so went back to bed for an hour!

    Now sat listening to some David Munrow with the New London Consort.
    https://youtu.be/3tJkILKs12s

  80. Par Four today!

    Wordle 506 4/6
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
    ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
    🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. And me.
      Wordle 506 4/6

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

  81. Afternoon, all. This is just a flying visit before I have a meeting, but at least I’ve managed to get here when most people are still about today! Yesterday was another very late computer switch on. At RAFA today we had a talk on what it’s like to be a prison chaplain. When the chap said prisoners had a right to medical treatment, somebody voiced what I was thinking; “does that mean prisoners get a better chance of seeing a doctor than the rest of us?”

      1. I’ve not actually seen her about to point it out. She’s in the papers a lot, but nothing has improved.

      2. Sorry, I’ve just twigged you meant the reply from the chaplain. He was non-committal (strange for one who worked for the prison service )

  82. So, Sunak is going to throw even more money at yer French to stop illegal crossings. Along with handing over ‘reparations’ to Third World countries because of climate change, you’d think the UK had surplus money to waste.

    1. People criticised the Conservative Party members’ choice of prime minister but it looks as it the Conservative Party’s MPs’ choice was very much worse.

      How much damage will this odious man be able to do before we are rid of him? I am beginning to think that he is determined to wreak as much damage on Britain as he possibly can.

      And can anybody explain why the Conservative MPs have not rebelled against the man Hunt being appointed chancellor when he was the first to be voted out of the leadership elections by these MPs this summer?

      I am beginning to wonder if Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab are so determined to get the Great Reset that they have bribed the Conservative Party’s MPs to keep quiet until the next election to give Sunak as much time as possible to work his poison. Why else have they not already deserted their parliamentary seats and joined the Reform Party?

      1. These politicians are really poor negotiators. Someone throws out a ridiculous demand and they all cave in and say OK.

        You want a billion? How about you give us a million and we will allow you to use some of the tools invented by western civilization – cars, electricity, phones and so on.

      1. 367419+ up ticks,

        Morning NtN,

        When he said that the camera at the rear showed his fingers being crossed.

    3. The child welfare thing was an afterthought. In the summer the man was found guilty of animal cruelty and was sentenced to a few months in a clean cell.
      He seems to have been familiar with cannabis and car fires, so I wonder if he was a foster parent.
      Looking after someone else’s neglected child is worth £400 per week of the ratepayers’ funds, and the fee attracts minimal taxation.

  85. Cracking essay from John Ward:
    “https://therealslog.com/2022/11/07/pay-attention-or-pay-with-your-life/

    1. Was the internet invented specifically by cats for cats?
      Felines have never had so much attention since the days of Ancient Egypt.

  87. We have had an incredibly busy day, rain stopped golf … tee hee , and Moh and I sorted out the utility room .. We found tins of stuff that were 15 years old .

    Cleared everything out bar the new washing machine and drier and Moh painted the walls once the shelves had been cleared . Then a trip to the tip again /
    .

    We feel exhausted .. the trip to the tip then the dogs in the back of the car had a good run near Arne . The sun came out , it was very windy , some mizzle , but we had a nice walk , detoured to Corfe Castle and bought a couple of very tasty warm sausage rolls and slices of lovely moist Dorset Apple cake from the cake shop in the square. We ate in the car , when we found a view point .

    Baked beans on toast for supper later .. yum

    3. Sounds like a very successful day.

      Enjoy your beans on toast, we like them with a fried egg on top .

    5. Lucky him if it is only rain that stopped play. Our course closed for the season yesterday so that they can prepare for winter.

      Needless to say, it’s a beautiful sunny day today, perfect for golf.

    6. I’ve got a little bruvver
      ‘E only came today
      Mum got ‘im fron the ‘ospital when she was away.
      She says ‘e’s got an appetite, I dunno wot she means
      ‘e’s the only one in our ‘ouse who don’t eat Heinz baked beans

  88. That’s me for this exhausting day. Builders, AGA man, plumber….

    Still – I am still here, just. Have a jolly evening COPping out.

    A demain.

  89. Par 4 here

    Wordle 506 4/6

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

    1. 3 today but took way too long. Stared at it nonplussed. That sort of day.
      Wordle 506 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  90. COP27: Highway to Climate Hell?

    How can 3 degC be that much worse than the original target of 1.5 degC?
    I turned our hot water down from 50 degC to 45 degC – it was just too cold!
    Turning it back up to 48 degC might have just been acceptable but I put it back up to 50 degC anyway.

    2. Believe 60C is recommended to be sure of boiling those pesky Legionella bacteria to hell and gone.

      1. I’m glad you raised this issue because all hot water tank controls are preset at 60C.
        However the ideal setting for hot water storage tanks depends on a large number of factors and this video explains why it all deoends on the scenario:

        https://youtu.be/oJeyc_cGIMU

  91. Goodnight, Folks. That’s me for tonight. I may not be around until too late tomorrow, as well. I’ve got yet another meeting to attend. November is a very busy month.

  92. For more than 20 years, BBC Radio 4 has been running its series ‘Soul Music’ – not Philly or Tamla (although there is some in there) but ‘pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact’. Yesterday I listened again to the edition featuring Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’. One of the speakers was Margaret Evison, whose son Mark was killed in that pointless campaign in Afghanistan. As she just about contained her emotions I felt my bile rising at the thought that seven days later, a line of ex-PMs would be standing at the Cenotaph, solemn-faced, some of them responsible for sending almost 600 British servicemen to their deaths in Iraq and Aghanistan, each of them responsible in part for the calamity of Britain today.

    In any year past I would have been appalled at the idea of protests of any kind at any Remembrance Day service (especially if it came from the Peace Pledge Union) but if any of the public were to make a stand with their backs turned, not to the march-past but to this parade, I’m afraid I might not be able to find it in myself to criticise them.

    Nimrod: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b06ry20g
    All episodes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008mj7p/episodes/player

    2. If they are at the airport, why not just throw them onto the next flight to wherever.

      Don’t announce it until after they are gone.

  95. Algeria (oil producer) has applied to join BRICS…Saudi application already in.
    I would like to hope that the US response will be more intelligent than starting another war, but …

    1. Which book were you looking at, Belle?
      I got quite caught up in looking through them – some of the prices were unexpected though – and I’d never buy from Oxfam anyway…

      1. Stanley and Africa

        February 1902. £19.99

        The only thing is , I have a quite a few books about Africa that belonged to my father , and we are trying to de clutter our house , so another book could be a mistake .

        1. Another book will be a mistake, Belle! I speak from experience. I cannot bear to part with any of mine.

        1. Loads! All the “Bumper Book For Girls” annuals that I used to buy from jumble sales for 10p as a child to read (still got them!), the Worrals book, the Ladybird books.

  99. It’s a great pity that the world can’t suddenly lose everything that the evil white British did.

    8 billion population this week, 4 billion next year, 2 billion the year after, what’s not to like Gaia?

  103. I know it’s early but I’m closing down for today.
    I’ve hurt my back now, on top of my knee problem. Ain’t it funny how time (things) just slip away. Willie Nelson.
    But in my case, why does everything fall onto the floor when you have back problems.
    Good night all. 🙄😒

    1. Must be the day for backs, Eddy. SWMBO just put hers out by changing a used toilet roll… how, we don’t know.
      She’s trying a 10kg warm cat poultice to see if that helps. Maybe if she irritates the cat enough. he’ll give her acupuncture?
      Sleep well!

    2. You can get fairly cheap grabbers to pick up things you drop. I have 4 after my hip replacement , 2 upstairs and two downstairs I drop things often these days. This morning I got 2 letters from South Tees-side Hospital. One a letter cancelling an appointment for an appointment for a Knee replacement consultation in January and one for a similar appointment this month . I think it is to decide if such an operation is a good idea at my age

    3. They should have taken it home, found adequate recipes and cooked and eaten it. Then get on with detecting, pursuing and catching REAL criminals. Start with the mosques.

  105. We were watching Masterchef the Professionals, they were told to cook a bunch.
    I was thinking oh lovely Eggs Benedict etc , they had a full range of ingredients, kippers, smoked mackerel, salmon, sausage, bacon, various meats and other ingredients, fruits, well most food items to chose from. But they were told ” not boring old bacon and eggs, brunch can be anything” . I was disappointed to see Thai, Indian and all manner of concoptions being cooked – not that I have an issue with those foods but they were more of a dinner.
    Not brunch- or more to the point – a classical English brunch, of course it must all be multicultural now .

    1. A kedgeree dish is sometimes tasty for breakfast ..or was …

      Years ago we used to like a quick kidney dish on fried bread .. that was a long time ago, these days we prefer something simple , half a paw paw and lime , moh likes porridge and I will eat one of those crunchy fruity muesli mixtures .

  106. Moh turned channels on the box to look at I’m a clebrity get me out of here

    He has nodded off.. and I am wondering why people on TV volunteer to be humiliated horribly , for money ?

    1. I think they do it out of the goodness of their hearts to take the minds of the viewers off the train wreck that is the current state of things…..

      2. Bread and circuses. Strictly Come Circus. I’m a circus clown, get me out of here. Etc.

        1. It would be a real shame if that nice Mr Hancock were to die (a la Henry 1) of a surfeit of Kangaroo Testicles….!

        2. Not that I watch much TV these days, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some half-wit hadn’t devised a programme on Dwarf Tossing (including all senses of the verb)!

    2. To keep themselves in the public eye. If I could be bothered to watch it (which I never have), I doubt that I would be able to name most of these ‘celebrities’.

    3. In Spain they have a saying ‘Dame pan y dime tonto’ which translates as ‘Give me bread and call me stupid’.
      Although I have no evidence, may I hazard a guess that most of those appearing on that show will be high earners.

  108. Wonderful openmic this evening. Made myself a black coffee (decaff). Far too much Guinness consumed, but WTF.

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