Saturday 27 August: We have been left drifting rudderless towards the rocks of energy destitution

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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499 thoughts on “Saturday 27 August: We have been left drifting rudderless towards the rocks of energy destitution”

  3. ‘Morning All

    Wry Modern Life………

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cabb30378481a85b9b1dfca5d393df136182ce62a31735c5d9b3a9c72ae3e55f.jpg

    https://twitter.com/Rothmus/status/1563133161034240000

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fe8fc9cad647700b411bac3eef948a6a741ca0500bbe22add2b2b480bff56b7e.jpg

    https://twitter.com/tim_hidden/status/1563008306787934209?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/54d1b01420b6ac24f9a58b1671a1c5fbcf50a15f09c9ffad3fb2b8c36877ed9a.jpg

    https://is2.4chan.org/pol/1661532303059450.jpg

    1. We had a Jack Russell who was an expert limper.
      One day he wandered off; a group of children found him and took pity on him. They carried him a good mile or so back to our house.
      Once they put him down, he shot into the kitchen for his supper.

  6. Prince Harry takes private jet to one-day polo match and has kit transported in separate car. 27 August 2022.

    The Duke of Sussex flew by private jet for a one-day polo tournament 1,000 miles from his Californian home – with his kit transported in a separate car.

    The Duke, who played to raise money for his HIV charity Sentebale, was photographed arriving by electric car to board a Bombardier Challenger 600 near to his home in Santa Barbara.

    It’s always wise to remember that when they are calling on you to make “sacrifices” for the Greater Good. This doesn’t apply to themselves!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/08/26/prince-harry-takes-private-jet-one-day-polo-match-has-kit-transported/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr

    5. I saw that on Twatter – what amazed me was the number of sheep who think poor Harry [and his lovely wife] should be left alone!

  8. 355433+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Saturday 27 August: We have been left drifting rudderless towards the rocks of energy destitution

    Yet these same political governing overseers
    do run a treasonable illegal invasion campaign very efficiently on a daily basis.

    Mass uncontrolled immigration has found support & votes since beelzebub blair lifted the entry latch, the biggest act of treachery, ever recorded is my belief, still finding support, now in current times a mass controlled invasion is still finding favour via the polling booth.

    1. 355433+ up ticks,
      O2O,
      Is disqus via multiple
      signing in request playing up again, one on top of tother, when you comply & return to your partly finished post only to find it deleted.

    1. 355433+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      How about ALL the indigenous of these Isles
      I D’d as MPs ?

      It has more credibility than Bert wanting to be I D’d as Mabel.

    2. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/mps-shielded-latest-price-cap-spike/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr

      “MPs shielded from latest price cap spike

      Taxpayers face monthly bills of £500 but MPs are not incentivised to be conservative, campaigners warn

      26 August 2022 • 11:44am

      MPs will be shielded from the latest 80pc increase in energy bills as there is no limit to what they can claim on expenses.

      Some politicians have been refunded amounts far higher than the current or forecasted energy price cap on average energy bills. Ofgem, the energy regulator, today announced its cap would rise from £1,971 to £3,549 on October 1.

      This week Boris Johnson said the public should endure higher bills as the “Ukrainians are paying in blood”. However, MPs can claim back energy bills for either their London or their constituency home paid for by the taxpayer.

      MPs who live in rural areas have claimed back more than £2,000 for heating oil deliveries, which are far more expensive than gas or electricity, according to data published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

      Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock expensed £2,751 on oil deliveries last year, when the cap for the estimated annual household energy bill was below £1,200. Nick Gibb, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, also claimed more than £1,000 for heating oil.

      High utility bills were not exclusive to MPs using oil. Sara Britcliffe, MR for Hyndburn, used taxpayer money to cover a £1,600 electricity bill with EDF Energy. Paul Holmes, MP for Eastleigh, expensed £1,050 for a dual fuel deal. Others who claimed last year included potential prime minister Liz Truss (£508), shadow energy minister Ed Milliband (£456) and Labour Party deputy leader, Angela Rayner (£791).

      The Taxpayers’ Alliance, a think tank, called on the Government to limit MPs’ utilities expenses – as they have no incentive to be conservative with their energy use.

      John O’Connell, of the TPA, said: “While energy bills soar, taxpayers are bound to be concerned that their hard-earned money is being used to insulate MPs from the cost of living crisis.”

      Taxpayer money funded £149,000 worth of MPs’ energy bills, excluding water bills. Over the past three years, MPs claimed £420,000 for utilities, according to website OpenDemocracy. Figures were taken from the financial year 2020-21, when the price cap, which limits the amount providers can charge on a standard variable tariff, was much lower than now.

      In February 2020, the cap was set to £1,042, before rising to £1,138 in February the following year and £1,277 in August. On Friday, energy regulator Ofgem announced the price cap in October would increase from £1,971 to £3,549.

      Predictions by Cornwall Insight, an analyst, also published today, showed the cap could rise to £5,387 by January 2023, and again to £6,616 in April. This means households face an estimated monthly bill of more than £550 next year.

      A petition to prohibit MPs expensing energy bills was rejected earlier this month, as MPs’ expenses are controlled by IPSA and not the Government.”

      1. 355433+ up ticks,

        Morning Anne,

        It truly does bear witness to the fact that the looneys really are in majority regarding the electorate and financing their own downfall & destiny of their children.

  10. The West must hold firm in its war of will with Vladimir Putin’s crumbling empire. 27 August 2022.

    Killing people is something Putin’s armies enjoy. Ukraine admits to more than 9,000 soldiers dead. Informed guesses suggest that more than 50,000 Ukrainian civilians have died from Russian shelling and shooting.

    But how is the great Russian Empire doing? Its love of torture and murder has not got it very far. It was quickly defeated in its primary aim – the occupation of Kyiv and removal of President Zelensky. Its action was based on a misjudgment, not only of tactics, but also of the democratic, independence-loving nature of its victim – an error typical of arrogant but declining empires.

    This reads more like something from 1914 than 2022. A jingoistic call to arms. There’s the same bombastic lies and deliberate omissions of what is happening. I’m surprised that there isn’t a paragraph about bayoneting babies! There is no Russian Empire and armies of any description do not “Enjoy” what they are doing. They simply carry out the orders they are given.

    What is surprising are the comments Below the Line. Apart from a couple of 77 Brigade trolls they are not buying it either!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/26/west-must-hold-firm-war-will-vladimir-putins-crumbling-empire/

      1. Unfortunately, most of our dumbed-down population don’t recognise the concept of “blatant”…

    2. A reminder that the blame is not all one sided.

      godfrey Street
      28 MIN AGO
      Yet another piece with no reference to NATO’s expansion eastward breaking the Minsk agreement. What would the USA do if a hostile power encamped on its borders? Is NATO or the West hostile? Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Serbia and the many civilian- killing drones permitted by Nobel peace prize winner, Obama. How are we going to respond correctly to this dreadful situation if we exclude the above? The Russians issued numerous warnings about NATO’S movement east. As usual, the civilians pay the price for the inept, self serving, myopic politicians who – as in the 1930s – throw peace away but never get to face the consequences in their own lives. This is not to defend any savagery from anyone but to proceed as if the West has not acted despicably at times is unreal. Remember the inspector pleading for more time to establish the situation re WMD but – oh no- Blair at el moved on a lie and killed millions.

  11. Bore da pawb.
    I’ll add to the list of irritating answers to question with ‘a hundred percent’ which crept in under the radar a couple of years back and ‘Absolutely’ instead of ‘yes’.

    1. Yes, the ‘hundred percent’ I find particularly irritating, and I wince every time I hear it.

      ‘Morning, Stormy.

    1. They charge extra for those.
      As submit my own meter readings on line can I charge the company for my use of electricity, time and effort ?

  14. Morning all 😃
    Our country has been rudderless since Heseltine and his ‘nasty’ (splg) friends threw Mrs Thatcher out of number 10.

  16. Good morning all, a glorious sunny day on the Costa Clyde – unlike the driech nonsense yesterday – just right for releasing golf balls back into the wild. …and there he was, gone…

  18. Good morning, everyone. Just walked the dog and it was quite chilly. The sun is up now and another fine day on the way.

      1. One or t’other. Then t’other. Lots apples, but the roof really needs fixed, so I’d like to get it done before rot sets in.

          1. Inspection of the apples suggests they won’t be properly ripe until next week, possibly the week after. So, roof it was. Now sitting in the shade wih beer, having done enough to be really tired. Quit whilst ahead is my motto.

          2. So far i have only half of one large bucket of apples ready for the process. I picked up three free bags walking back with our dog yesterday out side someone’s house, please help your self it said……….I’ll need about 4 25 ltr containers of apples to make it worth while. One of our local farm shops and animal food stores sells barrels of apples, I can get some from there later.

  20. ‘Morning, Peeps.

    Here at Janus Towers we are standing by for The Invasion of the Grandchildren at around 9am, so time here is limited today.

    Headline for a DT article:

    ‘Electric care will be more expensive to run than petrol

    Cost of travelling long distances will be much higher under the new price cap’

    Gosh, whoda thunkit? First you have to pay a shed load more just to buy one. And as for “long distances” you will need to budget for a hotel or two as well…

    Smiles are being wiped off some rather smug faces by this news, and this is only the first (badly-named) ‘price cap’!

  21. 355433+ up ticks,

    Just pondering,

    If you consider ,being English, france to be your friend you have surely been living in the wrong Country for a few hundred years.

    1. They must have very long trousers under their shirts, to wear their golden belts so high! Lol.

  23. Today’s leading letter:

    SIR – With Ofgem declaring the October energy price cap at £3,549 for the average household, and Cornwall Insight forecasting it will reach £6,616 in April, millions now face destitution not seen since Dickensian times.

    This is an appalling dereliction of duty to the nation by the Conservative Party, leaving the country rudderless for two months as we head into a cataclysmic cost-of-living crisis.

    Patrick Tracey
    Carlisle

    Well said! History will not judge our idiot politicians kindly…

    1. They will cap the cost oif electricity, but what about the costs of the cables? Mother’s went up shockingly this year, and maintenance isn’t that expensive suddenly.

    2. BTLs:

      Brian Quinn
      6 HRS AGO
      I work in the energy business. Have dove since deregulation. So only the 26 years now. Everyone who knows the industry has known that we needed to start fracking November 2020 when Putin started his shenanigans. We did have an energy minister in this country. His name is Kwasi Kwateng.
      I’m stunned that he is getting away Scot free on the back of this shambles.his job is to foresee any problems and steer the ship through tough times amongst other things. Nope. What did Kawasi do? Nothing, he was given a few choices and chose to do nothing. Why you may ask? Well the safe move(for his political career) was to wait and see. Well you were told what was going to happen, you did nothing and now we can see.
      So your all aware this idiot(yes I genuine mean idiot) is in line for being the next chancellor.
      Oct/Nov 2020 he was advised to start fracking. Nope, nothing.
      We will all pay the price for his political career.

      Gregory Tanner
      6 HRS AGO
      My brother worked for the pre-privatised Electricity board in a department devoted to modelling future demand for electricity and planning the appropriate power station building to meet it. With privatisation this department, instead of being subsumed into the Civil Service was disbanded. Since then no one in government or anywhere else has had a grip on this. We are beset by politicians with no strategic vision, no initiative and without executive ability. They are merely very dangerous, ambitious people who simply want power.

      1. Power and of course the money (our money) that finances the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

  24. SIR – The Treasury is reported (August 25) to be drawing up plans for fracking to be allowed in response to a crisis generated by demand for gas exceeding supply and a major energy security problem facing us this winter.

    I read online that to build a well-pad takes four to eight weeks; to drill the well a further three weeks; and two weeks, including three to four days of fracking, to complete.

    But planning applications, inquiries and appeals take three to five years, and the eco-mob will wish to take the Government to court. Isn’t it time for a new government, in the national interest, to streamline procedures with an Act of Parliament to provide more gas within months, not years?

    Appropriate compensation for those residents directly affected could be half-price gas and electricity bills.

    Michael Staples
    Seaford, East Sussex

    And this time we need an Emergency Powers Act with good cause. Problem is, the government has gone AWOL…or is hiding behind the sofa in order to avoid the inevitable wrath of the electorate perhaps?

    1. No chance Mr Staples, anything that is likely to be of benefit to those currently being severely overcharged and rip-off i.e. the British public, is not going to happen.
      I still don’t understand why the cost of electricity has gone up. There is no change in production or and other materials or other reasons, except the usual great British rip-off.

    2. It appears most of the protestors come from the middle classes. Obviously not from a class that has to work 9 to 5. 5 0r 6 days a week. Perhaps when their or their parents fuel bills triple they might begin to shut up.

  25. SIR – “There are no bad soldiers, just poor officers” is a commonly held belief in our Armed Forces and, as a former soldier, I think it’s true.

    The same could be said of our police, especially in our cities and large towns. The force – note the word – has been systematically and purposely undermined for years.

    In many ways, I feel sorry for them. But the consequences are now being seen on our streets as a worrying spate of violent crime appears in the news.

    The police have two tasks: to catch criminals and prevent crime. Nowhere are they instructed to dance and kneel in our streets. That sort of behaviour is the result of poor or non-existent leadership.

    It’s time for root-and-branch reform, from training to the appointment of senior officers.

    Richard Drax MP (Con)
    London SW1

    1. Keep your eyes 👀 open in London this weekend Mr Drax. I think you may see some dancing or bobbying around.
      Maybe you could pop out and ‘ave a word.

      1. Last night I mentioned Estelle Morris who resigned from being Minister of Education during the Blair government. She admitted that she was not up to the job and deserved respect for being so honest.

        Boris Johnson and Jacob Grease-Slime both voted in favour of May’s disastrous, humiliating EU Withdrawal Agreement on its third parliamentary reading. So did Richard Drax – but within 24 hours he realised what he had done, bitterly regretted it and apologised to the British people. This shows that Drax can admit his mistakes and show the humility that so many politicians lack completely.

        Of course the Johnson WA was virtually identical to May’s which is why Johnson was at such pains to conceal what was in it and refused to be interviewed live on TV by Andrew Neil before the general election.

        Brexit is a failure – the reason is simple : The May/Johnson WA.

  26. SIR – I almost fell off my chair laughing at Emily Maitlis’s suggestion that there is an “active agent” of the Tory party at the BBC.

    If there is such a person, they are an abject failure in the role.

    Steve Black
    Keyworth, Nottinghamshire

    She’s a mad Leftie, Mr Black!

    2. She’s referring to Robbie Gibb, a former adviser to No. 10 in May’s days, appointed to the BBC board last year. I haven’t heard her mention the appointment of Muriel Gray, openly left-wing and a Labour supporter.

    3. She’s referring to Robbie Gibb, a former adviser to No. 10 in May’s days, appointed to the BBC board last year. I haven’t heard her mention the appointment of Muriel Gray, openly left-wing and a Labour supporter.

    4. Wasn’t a former Chairman of the Governors the Chairman of the Conservative Party once?

  27. For decades people were steered into all-electric homes. Not the homes of the future featured on “Tomorrow’s World” but tower blocks and wee boxes crammed onto vast estates. For some years we have been steered to all-electric transport, trains and cars. Now electricity has become more expensive than diamonds, rarer than radium, and will run out this winter, despite being totally within the control of those who steered us towards total dependency on electricity.
    Nothing “rudderless” at all. Skilfully navigated by our enemies.

    1. For about a decade, I have consciously been steering away from dependence on electricity! It was obvious where this was leading.

  28. Good morning all. 10½°C on the yard thermometer, overcast and a bit damp after overnight rain.

  29. Oh well I guess I’d better get up and cook my breakfast, homemade white crusty bread, Cornish farm shop cured bacon, a large fresh brown egg. And a dash of daddies sauce.
    Slayders. 😊🤗

  30. Russia to build two nuclear reactors in Hungary. 27 August 2022.

    Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom will begin constructing two new nuclear reactors in Hungary in the coming weeks, Hungary’s foreign minister said.

    The deal, reached between Russia and the EU state in 2014, aims to expand the existing Paks nuclear plant.

    Perhaps if we asked Vlad nicely he would build two for us? Some cheap Russian Gas and Oil wouldn’t go amiss either while we are at it!

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62695938

    1. I’ve couple of spare plastic boxes for the oil.
      Hurry, hurry; before I fill them with books.

  31. Good morning all

    Calling all Landlords
    Serco provides asylum accommodation and support services in the North West of England, Midlands and East of England. Our purpose is the provision of accommodation, transportation and subsistence payments for asylum seekers whilst their claims are being processed.

    We are looking for landlords and investors across the North West, Midlands and East of England.
    All types of properties are required.

    We are responsible for over 30,000 asylum seekers in an ever growing portfolio of more than 6000 properties. Our operating model is based on leasing properties from a wide network of landlords, investors and agents with Serco acting as a Tenant.

    We are confident that our lease provision, offers an attractive and competitive proposition within the industry:
    Long term lease (5+ years) with no void periods
    Rent paid in full, on time every month, with no arrears
    Full repair and maintenance lease (excluding latent and structural defects)
    Utilities and Council Tax paid by Serco
    Full HMO and property management (inc. monthly property and periodic safety inspections)
    No letting or management cost
    Prospective Landlords – Get in touch
    If you have property and you would like more details on the scheme please get in touch using the form:

    For more general information:

    Email AASC.properties@serco.com

    Sounds like existing tenant’s days are numbered!

    1. One of my work colleagues is suffering due to the cottage adjacent to hers having been taken over for this purpose. She’s spent thousands in legal fees trying to fight the hell she and her daughter are being subjected to but of course the system is stacked against them.

    2. Good morning!

      Off topic – I am (I think!) in your neighbourhood this weekend and would love to say hello and buy you a drink. If you fancy it, just drop me a line (Hertslass has kindly forwarded my email address). No worries if you’re busy.

    3. And I’ll bet that none of the landlords who take the money will be living next door to the properties they rent out..

    4. It’s tempting. All I need do is to chuck out the existing elderly couple, with the husband disabled, and who have kept the place spick and span, got on with the neighbours and always paid their rent on time.

      `i’m sure they won’t mind.

  32. Yorkshire Rose
    @YorksRose_84
    No stopping this nightmare any time soon…….Asylum seekers will be sent to provincial towns and cities under new immigration rules as Priti Patel removes councils’ veto power

    https://twitter.com/YorksRose_84/status/1563287021967134723

    Dizzylizzie
    @Dizzylizzie19
    ·
    4h
    Replying to
    @YorksRose_84
    @GBNEWS

    @Nigel_Farage

    @danwootton

    @PatrickChristys
    700% in rise in student visas from Nigeria! Also Pakistan, India & China. The student visa scheme is another abused system to get into the UK. Once here they get sponsored then route to citizenship! a disaster!!
    @pritipatel

    1. This is one area where Canada has beaten the UK. The visa system is so backlogged that students cannot get visas!

      PTB are bragging about more applications being processed than two years ago.

  35. How Britain is helping Ukraine clear Russian sea mines from Odesa. 27 August 2022.

    Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said: “Russia’s cynical attempts to hold the world’s food supply to ransom must not be allowed to succeed.

    “This vital equipment and training will help Ukraine make their waters safe, helping to smooth the flow of grain to the rest of the world and supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine as they look to defend their coastline and ports.”

    They just can’t help themselves! If Russia had intended to hold the world’s food supply to ransom it would not just have agreed for safe passage for Grain Ships. Oh! And by the way. The mines are Ukrainian not Russian!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/08/27/how-britain-helping-ukraine-clear-russian-sea-mines-odesa/

    1. We could do with a few of those mines in the Migrant Channel (well it is hardly the English Channel any more).

  36. Asylum seekers will be sent to provincial towns and cities under new immigration rules as Priti Patel removes councils’ veto power
    Priti Patel is trying to prevent local authorities getting out of housing migrants
    Previously town halls could insist entire areas were unsuitable for migrants
    Now they will just be able to lodge objections over specific streets and areas
    Designed to slash number of migrants being kept in hotels – currently 37,000

    The move is designed to slash the number of migrants – including thousands arriving by small boat from northern France – being kept on full board in hotels at the taxpayers’ expense.

    Currently, the Home Office has 37,000 people in hotels as they await decisions on their migration status, costing the taxpayer £4.7million a day.

    This includes 9,500 Afghans who had worked for British authorities and were forced to flee after the Taliban takeover last summer.

    The Home Office believes the new rules will help spread asylum seekers more evenly across the country, easing pressure on London and the South East.

    A source said: ‘Under the old system, local authorities can raise a “flag” which means asylum seekers can’t be dispersed to their area. But under the new system that can’t happen. The local authorities have to be involved unless there are very specific issues about a specific area.

    ‘That could be a particular street or neighbourhood, but not a huge area or a whole town.’ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11150583/Asylum-seekers-sent-provincial-towns-cities-new-immigration-rules.html

    I feel as if I am at heart attack status .

    1. This woman, an immigrant running a department staffed by immigrants, for immigrants, needs to GO and hand over to a real conservative.

      1. It has been suggested that she will get the chop in a few days’ time.
        TBF – she had the apartment from hull and, I suspect, no support from Johnson and his cronies, but ultimately, such a position winnows out the chaff.

      2. Who? I can’t see a real conservative on the horizon. Apart, maybe, from someone like Suella Braverman. Perhaps. Not putting money on it, though.

      3. Who? I can’t see a real conservative on the horizon. Apart, maybe, from someone like Suella Braverman. Perhaps. Not putting money on it, though.

    4. Already costing us an admitted one billion a year, probably 3 or 4 times that in reality.
      Send them back we don’t need or want any of them. F%ck their ‘human rights’, which they had in France.

    5. I wonder if a Christian Scientist could invent a vaccine that killed all non-Christians!

    1. Given what delights they may be carrying and likely to pass on, I should have thought the quicker they are seen and removed from the hospital the better for all concerned

      1. Now that the politicians decided that Britain has joined the Third World we must expect the return of previously dire but controllable diseases to return.

    2. Well as they are all doctors , these new arrivals should know their way around hospitals and know how to navigate the system.

      Only a seven hour wait? Many of our A&E departments are closed at night and we Don have the option of going private.

      1. One of the pharmas (Moderna?) had a ‘vaccine’ ready before Covid burst on the scene.

      2. Happily, while our surgery was all into jabbing, once I rang and said I was not interested, they did say “well, thank you for telling us – we will make sure that you are taken off our list and not sent anything further.” And to their credit, they didn’t.

    2. Well I knew, because I was listening to industry experts like Peter McCullough and Mike Yeadon, so there is no excuse for any highly paid and qualified officials not to know.

    3. Our lovely doctor – a very highly qualified doctor – saw clearly that the faux vaccination could be dangerous for both Caroline and me as she knows our medical history gong back over 20 years. She got sacked for not toeing the line.

      Schwab, Gates and Fauci have succeeded in corrupting the PTB throughout the world and suppressing the truth. Some hope that the day of reckoning is coming – but I am not very optimistic.

      1. I’m sorry to hear about the lady. I am quite optimistic – public fury is hard to measure in a world with the MSM, but when it breaks out, God help the bad hats, and noone is more terrified than they are – rightly, I believe.

  39. Mornin’all,
    When I read this title and when I know how gung-ho DT has been for the EU to wage war on its energy provider – while we still deprive ourselves of fracking and North Sea gas, thereby keeping the prices high… I’m just grateful I don’t buy this dishonest rag anymore.

  40. I’ve just witnessed Fergel Sharkey (a 70s pop singer) on BBC breakfast. He ripped into the useless and abhorrent bosses of the water companies and its well worth watching and listening to what he was saying. As it applies directly to most things our useless political classes have effed up on.

  41. Wordle 434 5/6

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    1. Ha, in three today.

      Wordle 434 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
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      1. Well, I got the answer by a process of elimination but really, is that even a word?
        Wordle 434 3/6

        ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨
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        1. A more rude comment! (Don’t click if you are doing wordle and don’t know the answer.)

    2. I wonder, I expect there are people about, people like Alan Turing, who, knowing the answer, could look at someone’s green and yellow squares and work out what word they started with.

    3. Par 4
      Wordle 434 4/6

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  42. Prince Harry takes private jet to one-day polo match and has kit transported in separate car
    The Duke of Sussex has previously defended the use of private aircrafts for security reasons
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/08/26/prince-harry-takes-private-jet-one-day-polo-match-has-kit-transported/

    “The conversation is now closed” – No more BTL comments allowed

    But it would be interesting if Prince Charles commented on this and gave us all one of his hyper-tedious monologues on the subject of: Hypocrisy in the Environmentalists’ World.

    1. No it wouldn’t! PC commenting on anything is likely to make one’s eye glaze over.

  43. Daily Quordle 215
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    1. Only just
      Daily Quordle 215
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    2. Daily Quordle 215
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      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  45. Time to fight for a better future. Spiked 27 August 2022.

    The public have been consigned to the role of passive spectators, left watching our own car crash in slow motion. Meanwhile, the political class gives no indication of having any serious plan – of having any ideas, even, as to how to get us out of this mess in the longer term.

    Just as they can’t seem to look forward – beyond this winter, or even just beyond the next news cycle – nor can they apparently look back to the decisions they made and the decades of Whitehall idiocy that got us into such deep trouble.

    Lol! They are all beginning to sound like Nottlers!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/08/26/time-to-fight-for-a-better-future/

  46. And when this all ends, almost certainly in tears, does anyone honestly believe that energy prices will revert to pre-Ukraine war levels?
    Rationing by price.

    3. And here too, Spikey! Just about to attack the bluddy ivy, for what I’m hoping will be the final time! Wish me luck!

      1. What’s Ivy ever done to you Sue? :o)
        Managed to put 1/2 hour in with the chainsaw, I’ll do some shredding later when the sun gives me maximum electricity (it’s a 2.5 Kw shredder) and I’ll be doing it in the shade

        1. If I never, ever see ivy again, I will be happy! 2 hours hacking, pulling, chopping, swearing and sweating! If only Alan could tell the difference between ivy, clematis and honeysuckle…! Never mind, he’s been shredding the blasted stuff! Unfortunately, the dump is closed (thanks Nikeliar..again!) so it’ll need to stay here!

          1. My fence was pulled down by next-door’s ivy. I had to pay for concrete posts to be put in – did they contribute? NO. Did they take any responsibility? NO. They are reputedly rich (they own both halves of the semi next door, don’t ask why) – they are certainly very selfish people. We used to get on OK but I now realise that was when (and because) I was doing everything they wanted.

            I recently had to send them a solicitor’s letter after their overgrowth in the front garden pulled down an old low dividing wall of mine. I don’t particularly want to make things legal, but some people just won’t accept responsibility for anything. She is one of the spoilt Afrikaan types. Grrrr!

          2. Ah yes! The entitled ones! Blooming annoying, aren’t they! That’s exactly why they’re well off – they get everyone else to pay for stuff!


  48. “Outrage as Ursula von der Leyen SILENT after Brexit Britain sends EU energy lifeline
    URSULA VON DER LEYEN has remained silent about Brexit Britain sending gas to help the EU out of its energy crisis.

    Brexit Facts4EU.org reports the UK played a key role in supplying the fossil fuel to the bloc in the first quarter of the year.

    It quotes the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: “Gas exports to the EU more than doubled in Q1 2022, as interconnectors with Belgium and the Netherlands were used to export gas to mainland Europe.”

    The media outlet accuses the EU of not thanking Britain for the energy boost.

    Daniel Hodson, whose Twitter bio states he is Gresham Professor of Commerce, lashed out at the bloc, tweeting: “It’s called being a good friend and neighbour. How about a little reciprocity? Think NI Protocol, or illegal channel crossings, for instance.”

    If this is true (and it sounds about par for the course), why is anyone surprised? The EU are the most greedy, grasping, ungrateful bunch of gits that this country has ever had the misfortune to help out. Again and again. About time we stopped, isn’t it?

    1. Well don’t look to us for help. The black faced village idiot has announced that there is no business case for exporting gas to Europe.

      A year or so ago he did announce that he doesn’t concern himself with fiscal policy, this latest outpouring of BS justifies him being called an idiot

      Even with a minority government we cannot get rid of him and his followers unless a few MPs look beyond their pensions and start speaking out.

      1. MPs never look beyond their pensions – even when they are independently rich. They are simply sewer rats.

      2. The old answer – pathetic politicians and MONEY! Why are we paying for the third world to live here?

    2. A man and woman will appear in court on Saturday charged with terrorist offences following an investigation into right-wing extremism, police said.

      Darren Reynolds and Christine Grayson, both 59, have been remanded into custody ahead of the hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

      Reynolds, of Newbould Crescent, Sheffield, is accused of six counts of possessing material containing information likely to be useful to a person committing a terrorist act.

      He is further charged with one count of encouraging terrorism, three offences of disseminating a terrorist publication, and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

      Grayson, of Boothwood Road, York, faces one count of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and one charge under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

      They were detained after pre-planned and intelligence-led arrests at their home addresses on Monday following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East (CTPNE).

      Warrants of further detention were granted on Tuesday, CTPNE said.

      They will appear via video-link before magistrates in London on Saturday.

      2. Reynolds, of Newbould Crescent, Sheffield, is accused of six counts of possessing material containing information likely to be useful to a person committing a terrorist act.

        Oh God! He bought a copy of The Anarchists Cookbook didn’t he?

      3. I’m still unsure whether or not I have a report, dating back to the early ’70s, on 60 Squadron’s trials on using ANFO to blow craters in roads.
        Carried out on Salisbury Plain, it was intended to see if ANFO could be used to crater minor tracks and roads on the Northern Ireland border, the report goes into some detail on how to mix ANFO for best effect.

        To be honest though, I probably discarded it years ago!

    3. Actually got to the court already.

      The leaders of the Freedom convoy in February have not had their cases tried and are still subject to onerous bail restrictions that restrict their movements and freedom of speech. That’s Trudeaus malevolence for you!

  50. Good Moaning.
    Sky looking rather Constable.
    Oh, for a traditional Bank Holiday washout.
    (Though this weekend will probably be the last time most small businesses will make a living.)

  51. https://alilybit.substack.com/p/what-the-fuck-is-going-on
    Another article linked by Delingpole – long, but makes a lot of sense.

    “So, do they? Do they really know? Or are they just assuming? Just like you assume things about people you do not know all the time. Or are they just trying to explain the nonsense to themselves? That is completely understandable. At least they are trying to find answers. But here is the thing:

    We are not experiencing a ‘Marxist Uprising’ in the US—at least not in the classical sense.
    We are not experiencing a terrifying pandemic.
    What we are experiencing is monetary reset.
    .
    A monetary reset historically lasts about six to ten years. We are about two years into it now, and I think that it is highly likely that it will conclude around 2030. So, when you are asking yourself “What the fuck is going on?” just view everything through monetary reset. ”
    .
    .
    “If you look at previous long cycles, the way by which they got torn down was by creating a conflict, some sort of fear event or chaos large enough that people would be so preoccupied with their fear and safety that you could basically excavate the productive capital of the last 60 to 80 years using money printing. So, you hyper inflate the currency, you take as many hard assets as you can and people would be so preoccupied with sheltering in place and all this “We are all in this together, at least we are going to make it through” crap that afterwards they would simply say “It couldn’t be helped.” If you are looking at WW1 and WW2, people were just grateful to be into the next chapter of society, no matter how it looked.

    But what is different now?
    Nuclear weapons have proliferated heavily, so the old model of causing chaos to keep people distracted while they extract their wealth and completely reshape society because they are ‘the only ones’ with a cohesive narrative of what the next monetary order will be based on, does no longer work. The weaponry is too strong and too broadly distributed for giving them any opportunity to wage war like they have done 80 years ago.

    And so, you might look at the past two years, and you will find a new model of tearing down the long cycle. Trump, race, wokism, Covid-19, vaccines and now Russia have been the biggest drivers of distraction and division in the past four years. The power structure has been using a divide and conquer tactic…”

  52. Good afternoon, all – from the seaside ….

    Not stopping. Just a message for GRizz – seeds posted today

    2. We didn’t passively give up. They were forced on us. When we pushed back and said no, the state machine jailed us, arrested us and harrassed us. The muslim invasion was protected by the state machine.

      1. We could all tick along nicely , but we are being bullied into accepting their medieval threatening idle Halal eating lifestyle .

        They are stepping into a ready made culture and civilised country that they have not contributed to .

        ( Having said that , yes they have not had the will nor the intelligence to protect the country of their grandparents birth .. their tribal instincts are to squabble and slaughter each other , there is no aggreement nor love for each other .. )

        1. …and, Maggie, they are not even a religion. I would class them as an idedology, akin to Marxism.

  57. 355433+ up ticks,

    breitbart,

    Sanctions War: French and German Electricity Prices Up by 1,000 Per Cent over 2021

    The lab/lib/con/current ukip coalition party members voters are asking what part they can play.

  58. My car insurance with Liverpool Victoria has gone up from £404 last year to £554 this year. and they want me to pay this amount. I will have to look elsewhere. Any suggestions – I would be grateful?

    1. There are a few online sites you can look at, they all try it on i managed to get ours for about the same it might depend how long you have been with the same company.
      You can get a list of free quotes from Compare the market.com

    2. I had this situation with LV a few years back. I rang them and asked why were they penalising a long-standing customer when at the same time offering better deals to attract new business? I received an apology, a transfer to “new business” with the result of a reduction of over £100 pounds on my premium. Worth a try.

      1. Thank you Korky and all who have given the same advice. I am very weak at haggling but I think in this case I will try harder.

      2. Apparently they can no longer treat existing customers differently from new business (I suspect that means that they all get a raw deal).

    3. I would ‘phone them, as KtK says. I think the sales people all have it in their remit to reduce the premium, if you query it. I’ve done it a couple of times with the RAC.

    4. Find a lower quite elsewhere then tell your provider you are canceling unless they match it or do better.

    8. Use a comparison site (confused.com/comparethemarket.com for example). I’m with the AA now because they were cheaper than my existing insurer.

  59. DT is suggesting that the following will be in Adultera Truss’s government.

    How Liz Truss’s Cabinet could look: Who’s in and who’s out?
    As we near the formation of a new government, ministers are jostling for position – but where there are winners, there must be losers…

    Gordon Rayner : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/08/27/how-liz-trusss-cabinet-could-look/

    BTL

    Squalid Jawdrip as minister for Northern Ireland? Would he manage to scrap the NI Protocol immediately – if not he will be a waste of space.

    2. Just posted this BTL:

      Why are so many needed? A good manager should have just 6 reporting to him but this is the result of such a bloated parliament. Parliamentary reform is needed now, more than ever, and that includes the Lords with ONLY the hereditaries sitting, as they will take the long-term view to protect their assets.
      While you are at it dissolve all the assemblies and particularly, the wee pretendy parliament.

      All of which will save loads of tax-payers’ money.

  60. Knowing that the shamelessness of politicians knows no bounds is it conceivable that the current CINOs (in power for 12 years with their disasters appearing on a regular basis) will campaign on the premise that they remain a better choice than their opponents, will get it right next time and deserve another chance?
    Asking for a country.

    1. De-Dollarisation! I noticed he left it till last. Enough to make the Fed have kittens!

  62. There’s an article in the DM about Elinor Glin today. Reminded me of a limerick;

    Would you like to sin with Elinor Glin
    Upon a tiger skin?
    Or would you prefer to err with her
    Upon some other fur?

        2. A limerick is usually five lines.
          The first two rhyme with each other
          The third and fourth also rhyme wit each other
          and then the last rhymes with the first two

          Our Richard’s a bit of a poet
          He places them here, dont’cha know it
          They might be quite hasty
          But they’re ever so Tastey
          The one guarantee: he won’t blow it.

  63. The CPI this month is 9.4%. I have an Index linked saving with NSI and I got this rate on my tax free saving. I have another 2 such saving accounts with NSI , one on RPI which matures at the end of the year. These Index linked savings are not available now but have been renewable.
    This will help me survive the energy rises for a little while.

    1. And no small print? Any indexed linked savings that I can get always n the restrict the payout to some minimal amount.

      1. My savings are 0.01% + CPI. NSI have honoured this. The banks are offering around 3% but restricting the deposits to small amounts such as up to £50 per month with the interest taxable. Cash ISAs have low interest rates in most banks/

      1. I remeber Largs, quite well, Ann, as I lived just down the road in Irvine.

        There is/was a fabulous Italian ice-cream shop there. I can only remember that its name started with an ‘N’.

        1. I used to stay with my uncle and aunt on their farm and when the weather obliged we went on outings; Largs was a popular destination. Never got haggis as my aunt always made a picnic of Scottish rolls filled with ham, hard boiled eggs and other goodies. She was a wonderful cook and baker. The weather wasn’t always warm but the trips were great fun.

    4. Lovely stuff.
      I might get back into ‘training’ for a knock soon. My eldest is a member of Mid Herts, where i was a member for 25 years.
      Off out now, to my sisters for cocktails. I’ll be James Bond………..

  66. 355433+ up ticks,

    Any truth in there will be five million of them
    and their families & their families friends, & their friends.

    Channel Crisis: Albanian Police to be Stationed in Britain to Help Deport Illegal Boat Migrants

  67. My younger cousin, in his late 70s, who lives in West Yorkshire and who has not had Covid had the two Astra Zenica vaccines when first available but 4 days after the Pfizer vaccine he developed a severe headache plus tinnitus and was seriously affected. He has not yet fully recovered. I haven’t heard this as a Covid vaccine problem but it certainly bothers my cousin.

    1. The headache was normal with the vaccines, but tinnitus might have a different cause.
      Spend fifty quid on ear wax removal at Speksayvers, or there are DIY solutions and gadgets available.
      He really should consult a professional to inspect his ear canal(s).
      To cheer him up, there is also the possibility of a benign tumour or acoustic neuroma.

      Whilst I am not a fanboy for Covid injections, I doubt that they are as risky as conspiracy theorists reckon.

    2. A recent article , published in the online peer reviewed ‘Annals of Medicine and Surgery’, has tentatively explored the complex link between the COVID-19 vaccine and tinnitus.
      So it’s not an unknown adverse reaction.

      It’s another adverse reaction that would probably have been investigated if ! as is the general rule, longterm trial data had been available.

      1. I doubt I’d believe any ‘truth’ that emanates from that pit of socialist sleaze, Bristol. Only worsened by Brighton.

    3. I have heard of it before now, Rik. It may well be true and, if so, I can only wish him well.

  69. Well, thats as much roofwork I can be arsed to do today. 2 flashings remaining, so not much more left, but I’m getting tired & don’t want to mess up and fall off. That would make it a bad hair day in spades, so it would. Now enjoying a desperately needed cold beer! Cheers!

    3. My goodness, your family are lucky to have someone who is so good with his hands (so to speak). My very much loved husband is pretty useless at anything like handywork so I have to pay for someone to come in and do anything like that (or even less than that, but never mind – I love him to bits).

      1. Good? You should meet Firstborn, who seems to have inherited Morfar’s abilities to do almost any damn thing. Except climb on roofs, so his old Dad does that. Still some use in this sack of bones, I think!

  70. 355433+ up ticks,

    How about a second shot Gerard ?

    Post
    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    1h
    Of course it bloody wont! It’s like putting a
    sticking plaster over a cut artery. If we had a government with any brains, integrity or guts they would say:

    * We are in for a rough ride BUT we are now going get back on the right track. We will:
    * Ditch all the man-m ade climate hoax legislation.
    * Secure our domestic energy supplies as much as possible by exploiting our reserves of oil, coal & shale gas.

    * Look at nationalising energy & water companies as National Resources.

    EVERYTHING we do will be from the perspective of protecting our national interests.

    Tory MP tells voters help with soaring bills ‘isn’t going to happen’ — The Mirror

    Sir Desmond Swayne said the notion that the government can “wrap its arms around us and save us from every vagary of the modern…..

    https://gettr.com/post/p1oihuw5d4f

  71. Peter Purves has decried the invention of tubeless toilet rolls as a “complete catastrophe” as it deprives the public of a key component of amateur arts and crafts.

    Loo paper brand Cushelle has become the first company to remove the cardboard inner tube from its packaging in an attempt to reduce waste.

    But the former Blue Peter presenter said the innovation would stymie creative craftspeople.

    Purves, 83, told the Sun he was “horrified” by the decision.

    He added: “In all my years on Blue Peter loo roll was always the most essential element in doing all the makes on the programme.

    “It appeared in about five out of every 10 things we made on the show. We used them all the time. It’s a complete catastrophe.”

    While the inner tubes of toilet paper are recyclable and biodegradable, they are made from cardboard, which ultimately contributes to deforestation and an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

    Cushelle’s new rolls have 360 sheets, rather than the standard 180, and are packed so they no longer need the supporting tube.

    Barry Read, the chief executive of the Paper Industry Technical Association, said: “The great British bog roll has moved into the 21st century. We’re a market leader and we’re showing the world how it’s done.

    “This welcome development shows how the paper industry is reacting to consumer demand.

    “Our existing toilet roll cores were perfectly recyclable as they were but the market is adapting. It’s onwards and upwards for the toilet roll.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/26/no-country-for-roll-men-tubeless-toilet-paper-a-catastrophe-says-blue-peter-star

          2. That’s the sticky stripe which allows the last few sheets to stay on the roll tube – that would be glue of course! 😉

    2. No matey, what you’ve done is cut out a cost you didn’t want to pay and spun it as ‘green’.

      The cost cutting I agree with. Good economics. The marketing BS I don’t.

      And yes, cardboard is screaming out to be recycled. However, the government would far and away prefer the taxes from energy – stuff whether that’s actually good for the environment or not.

    3. I can’t take anyone seriously who uses the phrase “Great British…”
      It usually means that they think they understand how the little people think.

      1. Sadly, no room. The same applies to dishwashers. Ideally, I’d like to relocate my washer/dryer to the former cylinder cupboard, and put a dishwasher in the washing machine space in the Kitchen.

        I suppose a Turkish-style WC would work…

          2. Flounces off stage left…realises the pub is nearer to stage right…falls down stairs. Hic.

  74. Private pensions face £25,000 lifetime hit from surging inflation
    Four million people will miss out on £1,200 a year over the next two years
    Szu Ping Chan : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/08/27/pensioners-face-85bn-hit-retirement-pots-surging-inflation/

    BTL

    The parasitical politicians and the civil servants must be gloating over the misery they have caused to the people in the private sector who actually produced the wealth to pay their salaries and pensions.

    END PENSION APARTHEID NOW

    Sit Osborne and Brown to the stocks and let us hurl rotten vegetables at them!

      1. My longest employer had a final salary scheme. As I lay in bed at Frimley Park, having just had much of my left foot lopped off, I remembered that retirement due to ill health was permitted. So I called the administrator. “You can retire tomorrow, if you like, but you won’t get the lump sum”.

        Since there was no guarantee that I would survive the next eleven years, and working out that the pension on offer over those years would be roughly equivalent to the lump sum anyway, I took my pension.

        Unfortunately, it’s only index-linked to a point, so it will reduce in real terms.

        The good news is I qualify for the State Pension next March. I’ll prolly need it to pay for my energy. At the moment, I’m on a fixed tariff with British Gas (which I hate with a passion) till September 2023. After that, I’ll be burning furniture for heat…

        1. I looked forward to qualifying for my state pension a few months ago, which would have been quite nice when combined with my Army pension.

          Unfortunately…………..

    1. What on earth makes you think that there will be enough energy available for coffee shops and bars?

    2. What’s not to like? Unfortunately, where I am now is devoid of pubs. Wasn’t always the case. Given the energy crisis, on the tail of the lockdown madness, I confidently predict that ‘no pubs’ will become the norm. Sadly.

  79. Sitting outside with a glass of red, and there’s a green woodpecker pocking away in the tree above me! Love woodpeckers, me.

  81. One for the blood pressure:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/08/27/ed-davey-proud-have-stopped-fracking-despite-energy-crisis/

    “Ed Davey: I’m proud to have stopped fracking, despite energy crisis

    Lib Dem leader says party will run on anti-fracking platform against Conservatives in by-elections and at next general election

    27 August 2022 • 5:30pm

    Sir Ed Davey says fracking across Britain’s countryside will not mean lower heating bills

    Sir Ed Davey has said he remains proud that he was the person who “basically stopped” fracking in the UK, despite the current energy crisis.

    Sir Ed, the Liberal Democrat leader, served as energy secretary in the coalition government between 2012 and 2015.

    He told The Telegraph his party would run on an anti-fracking platform against the Conservatives in by-elections and at the next general election if the next Tory leader tried to resume the drilling as prime minister.

    In 2012, he introduced a strict regulation that means companies have to halt work if they trigger tremors over 0.5 magnitude.

    Shale gas firms have said commercial fracking cannot take place under the rule. Appearing on Channel 4 in 2019, Sir Ed said the rule had “actually meant that the fracking industry has not developed in this country at all”.

    “I’m very proud that you’re looking at the person who basically stopped the fracking industry in this country,” he added.

    In the same interview, he said fracking was not needed because of the “success of our renewable policy, particularly in offshore wind, means we’re not going to need anywhere near the amount of gas we did before”.

    Sir Ed told The Telegraph he stood by what he had said in 2019, saying: “Fracking across Britain’s countryside would not mean lower heating bills as gas prices are set internationally and would not provide energy security now or in the long term.

    “The real problem is this government’s failure to continue Lib Dem policies to insulate homes and invest in renewable energy, which has meant people’s bills are higher and we have to import more gas now.”

    The Lib Dems have attracted accusations of nimbyism by waging successful by-election campaigns, such as in Chesham and Amersham, in which they vocally opposed planning reforms and new developments.

    Sir Ed indicated that his party would also seek to weaponise fracking against the Tories if Liz Truss follows through on her pledge to lift the “moratorium” on the practice, which has been in place since 2019.

    “If the Conservatives change their anti-fracking policy of the last seven years, Liberal Democrats will campaign against that,” he said.

    Craig MacKinlay, a Tory backbencher who is backing Ms Truss against Rishi Sunak, hit back by claiming the Lib Dems bore “a unique responsibility” for the current crisis because they had “prevented any sensible energy policy during the coalition years”.

    “I hope that Sir Ed Davey will publicly apologise for stopping the potential for domestic shale gas, which could have made a decent impact in delivering energy security, lower costs and CO2 savings compared to imported liquefied natural gas,” he said.

    Despite the rule he introduced, Sir Ed spoke in support of fracking when he was energy secretary before later changing his mind. In 2013, he said it was “not the evil thing that some people try to make it out to be” and could bring “jobs, tax revenue and greater energy security”.”

    1. “Lib Dem leader says party will run on anti-human platform against Conservatives in by-elections and at next general election”

      Fixed it for you…

    2. Sir Ed is a LibDem devoid of vision, intelligence and common sense.

      He has already earned a legacy of ridicule.

      1. Richly deserved ‘legacy of ridicule’! Remember his fabulous Eid cock-up when he tweeted he’d had a bacon roll before fasting? Hilarious!

    3. “Fracking across Britain’s countryside would not mean lower heating bills as gas prices are set internationally…”

      Isn’t it time to challenge this idea? How are prices set internationally?

      EDIT: By OPEC? Are all gas and oil producers members?

    4. It seems that the idiot Davey, is hell-bent on losing any coming election.

      Obviously a NOTA candidate and his silly Lib-dem candidates, none of whom might be seen as either Liberal or Democrats.

      1. Davey The Dolt was the replacement for the criminal Chris Huhne in Cameron’s government and he confirmed everyone’s expectations by being even worse.

    5. ‘Craig MacKinlay, a Tory backbencher who is backing Ms Truss against Rishi Sunak, hit back by claiming the Lib Dems bore “a unique responsibility” for the current crisis because they had “prevented any sensible energy policy during the coalition years”.‘

      And you, Craig MacKinlay, think the current government has carried out a sensible energy policy since it has been in power?

  82. And here is a BTL comment (not mine); they are racking up at quite pace:

    “Just sent this to him: edward.davey.mp@parliament.uk

    Feel free to copy & paste and send it for yourself. £1 to the first to get a reply.

    Dear Mr Davey,

    I was interested to read that despite the burgeoning energy crisis, you are proud to have effectively stopped fracking in Britain in 2012, and will stand on an anti-fracking platform in future elections.

    I also understand that you, as recorded in the HoC Register of Members’ Financial Interests, earn £18,000 per year for 48 hours consultancy work with Next Energy Capital, an investment and asset management company with interests in solar power.

    What can you say to assuage my fears that this represents a great conflict of interest? Can you convince me that you are not putting the lining of your own pockets above the poorest in our society, who as a consequence of low energy supply and the consequent spiralling costs, won’t be able to heat their homes this coming winter, and will, in some instances, die as a result?

    I look forward to your reply.”

    1. That’s such an excellent BTL comment that I took the bait and sent it to him, with an extra request that he could confirm the entry!
      The peasants are getting uppity.

    2. According to the automated reply, he won’t read it if you don’t live in his constituency, so you have to re-send it to leader@libdems.org.uk.

      I expect they know that Lib Dem voters regard frozen corpses as collateral damage, so they are free to ignore us because clearly we’re not Lib Dem voters, otherwise we would be nodding our heads and saying the sacrifice is worth it.

      1. Automated reply from the LibDems:

        “Liberal Democrats
        Thanks for getting in touch with the Liberal Democrats!
        Thank you for getting in touch with Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Your message has been successfully received and we will do our very best to respond.

        If you are a member of the Liberal Democrats, please resend your email with your membership number included. However, please note that the best way to contact the Liberal Democrats is through our main contact page, which can be accessed here: https://www.libdems.org.uk/contact.

        If you are a constituent of Kingston and Surbiton, please redirect your query to edward.davey.mp@parliament.uk.

        If you are looking for updates from Ed personally, he is on Twitter every day at https://twitter.com/EdwardJDavey.

        Thank you for your patience.”

        Am I being too suspicious to read into the above “OMG, dirty voters! Please, just f*k off and stop sullying our inbox with your vile racist opinions!”

    1. Quite right too.

      It reminds them of how they sold their own people into slavery under the white folk and the Arabs

  85. Sorry, folks, I must away to bed now. Today has been a totally exhausting one for me, but I’m not sure why. A very good night to you all, and I’ll be back with you all in the morning.

  86. Evening, all. Contrary to the view expressed in the headline letter, we have, in fact, been steered full steam ahead into the rocks of energy destitution. It’s been quite deliberate.

  87. The BBC are crucifying the Proms .

    I DON’T want to hear that sort of stuff ..just feel the BBC are promoting too much black stuff.

    My husband is a total philistine … from football this afternoon to this .

    1. I agree and if they bugger up the Last Night again, that’s it. I do like the John Wilson Orchestra and the show tunes but all this rock and pop is out of place. Well, to me anyway.

      1. I guess they’re trying to make it more ‘inclusive’ and ‘relevant’ and ‘diverse’, when all people want is to hear good music.

      2. Yes it is out of place.. should never ever be in the RAH… there are other music venues for concerts like that ..

        I feel that the RAH is a sanctum for something more splendid than bods with nose rings and screaming audiences .. I don’t want to hear shallow stuff.

        1. I like some Aretha Franklin, as I like Gladys Knight, Etta James & etc but there is a place for this music and it ain’t the Proms.
          Ndovu says below it’s about being inclusive- most of the young people today will never have heard of Etta James or Gladys Knight.
          Leave well alone I would say, but the BBC can’t leave anything alone. Always trying to make a point and shove something into our faces.

    2. I went to the Earth Prom this afternoon. An obligation really, as I did the rights clearances for the archive footage in the video presentation and the producer wanted me to see the finished product.
      Chris Packham and a girlie in a glittery frock were on stage spinning the climate change agenda and the BBC Scottish played theme music from BBC natural history programmes. Musical junk food.
      The next generation were in the audience. It felt like sitting in a giant nursery and watching a Natural World special with the sound turned up full blast.
      After two and a half hours, the next generation were starting to cry and I was bored.

      1. What you do for the sake of your art, Sue….wasting a sunny afternoon listening to that garbage. I am in awe

      2. Have told MH to silence GB news and watch his James Bond….
        I am listening to Handel’s Coronation Anthems- much better.

    3. They’ll be playing (c)Rap before long to be inclusive and diverse. I don’t listen to it anymore.

      1. South African jazz tomorrow, maybe not yet into rap.

        There is some Bach choral music on Monday.

    1. I’m grateful for my civil service pension – and it was linked to my final salary when I retired in 2011. They are not so good now. But after 21 years service, just over a quarter of my salary was not a huge amount. It does go up each year by the CPI.

      1. It was part of your contract when you were hired.
        In those days CS people were paid much less than the private sector in exchange for better terms and conditions.

        The pendulum has now swung and CS salaries compare well with the PS and the terms and conditions are much better.

        1. Try the Canadian Civil servants. Still working(?) from home, collecting pay rises, allowances to pay for home office space and despite no department performing well, they collect bonuses for their sub standard performance.

          All to bloody scared of the lurgy to go into the office but quite happy to go to the supermarket / concert or go on holiday. Hypocrites who wil vote for the village idiot if it keeps the gravy train going..

  89. People have commented on Nottle on rugby becoming THUGby.
    It was interesting to see that NZ got beaten because of how many penalties they gave away

    1. It began with the ‘Spear Tackle’ of Lion’s Captain, Brian O’Driscoll, in 2005.

      IMHO, ‘deliberate injury’ must be eliminated by heavy penalties – and disqualification in extreme cases.

  93. I’d be tempted to contribute to this:-

    Rick • 2 minutes ago
    Pitch meeting for a modern revenge movie.

    A young boy going through puberty is persuaded that he would be more comfortable in his body if he was a girl and eventually agrees to transition.

    But after the ‘successful’ process he realises that he has made a huge mistake and the resulting depression lasts for years.

    Eventually he is befriended by a former special forces warrior who teaches him the horrifying martial arts that will enable him to seek revenge on everybody who took part in the conversion of a small boy into a mutilated adult.

    The primary school teacher. The general practitioner. The social worker. The NHS Transgender Consultant. The surgeon.

    All brutally murdered one by one as the Common Purpose Police Service race against time off from pride marches to catch him before he can kill again.

    “Oh, murdering cultural marxist child-abusing scum is TIGHT!”

  95. Listening to My Heart is Inditing by Handel and then off to bed.
    Made home made tomato soup today for the first time in ages; home made stock and home grown Basil. House smells wonderful.
    Sleep well Y’all and try to be good.
    If MH survives the night he’ll be lucky- been irritating in the extreme today. Oh well, that’s married life. I, of course, am totally angelic;-)))

    2. A lot of tomatoes ripened while I was unwell last week – and this week I had little energy to deal with them – anyway today I picked quite a few and used the MR’s recipe to make a couple of jars of “tomata”. Might do some more now I know what to do – though it was quite labour-intensive for only two jars.

          1. Thanks. I think my way is easier. Throw all the tomatoes in a big saucepan. Some garlic and oregano. Add water to just cover. Boil. Stick blender and then a fine sieve. Freeze in bags.
            Just received my dehydrator. When summer fruits are on sale i will bulk dry then vac pack. Lasts for years.

          2. I didn’t add any water but the mixture was quite wet, just from juice. I thought about adding garlic and oregano or basil but decided to leave it till I made use of the jars sometime in the winter. I didn’t sieve it either so it has some texture. Skinning is a bit labour intensive, especially with the smaller ones, but it’s ready for use as it is. Nothing nastier than those coiled up bits of skin!

            My attempts to do sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil last year failed – they fermented. I used a kilner type jar but clearly it wasn’t airtight.

    1. Betsy Ross who supposedly made the first flag….the colours are red, white and blue because that’s all she had in her cupboard. So it is said.

      1. We’ll be a textbook example of a culture that grew so decadent that it destroyed itself.

  101. A stupidly early Good morning to all.
    Woke up to pump bilges just before 1 and unable to get back to sleep.
    A clear starry morning with 7½°C outside.

    Oh, Jesus wept:-

    Meet the world’s youngest transgender model: Born to a mother who is now male, Noella became a girl aged four and is now tipped to make MILLIONS of dollars on the catwalk. But her biological father who raised questions has been airbrushed from her life

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11152913/Meet-worlds-youngest-transgender-model-Noella-McMaher-10-set-make-millions.html

    1. I saw someone who is transgender on Twit writing that family is just assigned to you at birth. These people accept a complete breakdown of family and identity.

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