Saturday 27 February: The family left the house after 400 years but now the public can’t visit

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/02/27/lettersthe-family-left-house-400-years-now-public-cant-visit/

727 thoughts on “Saturday 27 February: The family left the house after 400 years but now the public can’t visit”

  2. Lack of sanctions for crown prince shows weight Riyadh holds. 27 February 2021.

    After two years of blanket cover from Donald Trump, a new US president has officially blamed Mohammed bin Salman for the most savage political slaying of modern times and brought the Saudi heir’s unchecked run with Washington to a humiliating halt.

    But the decision to avoid penalising the crown prince was seen in Riyadh as a validation of the weight it still holds even with officials hostile to it. Despite being a pariah, it remains a key player and given what could have transpired, the mood in the Saudi capital on Friday night was one of relief.

    Morning everyone. The refusal to sanction Salman shows not just the hypocrisy of the West but its moral collapse. There seems little doubt that he is not simply a murderer but an unhinged psychopath as well. It must also be borne in mind that the leader of the country judging him here is himself a paedophile and serially corrupt, a dealer with his country’s enemies. Such things would have been inconceivable in most of my lifetime. Churchill, Truman and Eisenhower, those Warriors who served their countries through its wars, while having their faults did not even approach this nadir of depravity. The West is like Rome under Elagabalus; a cesspit of decadence and corruption. Its attempts to shut down the internet have no more purpose than to shield its leaders from criticism. Its Wars are for the enrichment of the globalists. Soon the decent will have to protect themselves from their own rulers, their children from the attentions of pederasts shrouded in government authority. Depravity will become the norm!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/relief-sweeps-saudi-capital-as-crown-prince-evades-sanctions-for-khashoggi-report

    1. First of all, I admire your courage in reading anything in the Guardian. It upsets me so much that I rarely even read the headlines these days!

      We have had this discussion before. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case, Khashoggi was a darling of the left, especially the Washington Post, and he was a member of that malevolent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. He was no angel! I met him in the mid-1980s.

      The left-wing MSM in the west are all on the side of Khasoggi, of course. I wonder if Saudi Arabia, which I know very well, unlike most of its detractors, is allowed to tell its side of the story – not if the Guardian has its way!:

      “The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

      “The Ministry reiterates what was previously announced by the relevant authorities in the Kingdom, that this was an abhorrent crime and a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values. This crime was committed by a group of individuals that have transgressed all pertinent regulations and authorities of the agencies where they were employed,” the foreign ministry added.

      Khashoggi was murdered on October 20, 2018, after a fistfight broke out at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor had said at the time. He was visiting the consulate to complete paperwork related to his divorce.

      At the time, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested 18 Saudis for investigation in connection with events surrounding Khashoggi’s murder.

      The statement added that the “relevant authorities in the Kingdom took all possible measures within our legal system to ensure that these individuals were properly investigated, and to ensure that justice was served. The concerned individuals were convicted and sentenced by the courts in the Kingdom, and these sentences were welcomed by the family of Jamal Khashoggi, may he Rest In Peace..”

      The sons of the late Khashoggi said last May said that they have pardoned the killers of their father. A Saudi Arabian court in December 2019 sentenced five people to death for the murder of Khashoggi, and three others were sentenced to a total of 24 years in jail.

      Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the release of the US intelligence report was “truly regrettable” and that it included “wrong and unjustified conclusions.”

      “It is truly unfortunate that this report, with its unjustified and inaccurate conclusions, is issued while the Kingdom had clearly denounced this heinous crime, and the Kingdom’s leadership took the necessary steps to ensure that such a tragedy never takes place again,” the statement read.

      The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United States in its statement released on Friday.

      “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America is a robust and enduring partnership. This partnership has thrived for nearly eight decades on the basis of mutual respect, and the institutions in both countries have worked diligently to deepen these ties in all aspects, through increased cooperation and consultations to bolster security and stability in the region and the world. We look forward to maintaining the enduring foundations that have shaped the framework of the resilient strategic partnership between the Kingdom and the United States,” the foreign ministry said.

      Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told CBS “60 Minutes” in 2019 that he takes “full responsibility” for the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi but denied allegations that he ordered it.

      “When a crime is committed against a Saudi citizen by officials, working for the Saudi government, as a leader I must take responsibility. This was a mistake. And I must take all actions to avoid such a thing in the future,” he said at the time.

      I make no judgement but I do think that both sides of the story should be heard!

    2. While I agree that SA politicians are pretty awful, diplomacy/realpolitik has always involved working with some ghastly characters.
      Reality meant we had to reach an accommodation with Stalin. Going back through history, Britain has had shifting alliances based on what was good for this country at the time. Once we got entangled with the USA’s somewhat selective desire to be the world’s policeman, we lost our focus.
      Morning, Minty.

    3. Morning Minty et al.

      Thank you for introducing me to young Elagabalus. I’m sure he must be a household name in Nottler households. But just in case anyone has missed learning about this bu@@er here’s a brief synopsis:

      Elagabalus[a] or Heliogabalus[b] (c. 204 – 11 March 222), officially known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222. His short reign was conspicuous for sex scandals and religious controversy. A close relative to the Severan dynasty, he came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa (Homs), Syria, where in his early youth he served as head priest of the sun god Elagabal. After the death of his cousin the emperor Caracalla, Elagabalus was raised to the principate at 14 years of age in an army revolt instigated by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, against Caracalla’s short-lived successor, Macrinus. As a private citizen, he was probably named Varius Avitus Bassianus. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and only posthumously became known by the Latinised name of his god.

      Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence, zealotry, and sexual promiscuity. He suffered one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors. Edward Gibbon, for example, wrote that Elagabalus “abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures with ungoverned fury

      He married four women, including a Vestal Virgin, and lavished favours on male courtiers thought to have been his lovers.[5][6] He was also reported to have prostituted himself.[7] His behaviour estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and the common people alike. Amidst growing opposition, at just 18 years of age he was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander in March 222. The assassination plot against Elagabalus was devised by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard. Wiki.

      Clearly he was a happy go-lucky sort of lad who loved his Nan to bits….

      2. His remaining relatives fled to Bradford and established a chain of Elagabalus service centres in the North of England with branches in every Brothels Brittanicus Companie office throughout the land. Still active to this day.

  3. Lack of sanctions for crown prince shows weight Riyadh holds. 27 February 2021.

    After two years of blanket cover from Donald Trump, a new US president has officially blamed Mohammed bin Salman for the most savage political slaying of modern times and brought the Saudi heir’s unchecked run with Washington to a humiliating halt.

    But the decision to avoid penalising the crown prince was seen in Riyadh as a validation of the weight it still holds even with officials hostile to it. Despite being a pariah, it remains a key player and given what could have transpired, the mood in the Saudi capital on Friday night was one of relief.

    Morning everyone. The refusal to sanction Salman shows not just the hypocrisy of the West but its moral collapse. There seems little doubt that he is not simply a murderer but an unhinged psychopath as well. It must also be borne in mind that the leader of the country judging him here is himself a paedophile and serially corrupt, a dealer with his country’s enemies. Such things would have been inconceivable in most of my lifetime. Churchill, Truman and Eisenhower, those Warriors who served their countries through its wars, while having their faults did not even approach this nadir of depravity. The West is like Rome under Elagabalus; a cesspit of decadence and corruption. Its attempts to shut down the internet have no more purpose than to shield its leaders from criticism. Its Wars are for the enrichment of the globalists. Soon the decent will have to protect themselves from their own rulers, their children from the attentions of pederasts shrouded in government authority. Depravity will become the norm!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/relief-sweeps-saudi-capital-as-crown-prince-evades-sanctions-for-khashoggi-report

  4. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/14db67d48b4a8949fcfcf24d7c3903d1eac65202ac0e5a73d5d761dcb2b057cb.png
    You are, Bryan, without a doubt, the weirdo-of-the-week. Please explain to us how you know that the dog food you buy for your mongrel is ‘bland’? Did it tell you; or have you sampled it?

    If, however, you merely suspect that it is devoid of flavour, then why not simply buy a better quality meat product for your animal! Giving cheese to a dog is criminally insane!

    1. I met someone who was a manager at a dog food factory. The humans carried out routine tasting of the products.

    2. Dogs love cheese, but the high fat content isn’t good for them, especially given on a regular basis.

      1. Dolly goes absolutely ape shit if get the cheddar out. If i don”t give her a little piece she tries to trip me up.

        *sorry for killing you daddy but you forgot my cheese. It’s okay now though as there’s a cheese sandwich sliding down the window…

        1. When I’m grating cheese, I will flick a couple of gratings onto the floor. Otherwise, no.
          Fatty stuff is just so bad for them.

          2. Not every dog. They can develop an intolerance just like people.

            If worried there are gluten free dog foods.

      2. It’s as bad as giving milk to hedgehogs. It plays havoc with their digestive systems and can cause severe diarrhoea and the concomitant dehydration.

        1. Morning Grizz, same with cats – you should only give them single cream – I know…..my cat told me!

    3. Sainsbury’s gives certificates to people who buy the most grated cheese? What parallel universe have I stepped into?

      1. Buying ready-grated cheese is nearly as bad (not quite) as the Yanks’ appalling habit of calling square slices of orange plastic “cheese”.

        Bless them, though, they know no better since cheese is only available in Europe.

        1. I think I bought it once out of curiosity. It’s nothing like real grated cheese of course. Vile stuff.

  5. Gulf conflict reminds us to prepare for future wars – not past battles. 27 February 2021.

    Thirty years on and the feats of the first Gulf war are often forgotten. Yet its lessons have never been more relevant. We have to be prepared, not to fight the wars of yesterday but tomorrow. That is why we are modernising defence, harnessing new technologies and integrating our forces to counter emerging threats.

    BELOW THE LINE

    Robert Griffiths27 Feb 2021 7:15AM.

    We have two new leaky aircraft carriers with too few aircraft at an extortionate price and of doubtful quality (see US reports on their F35 aircraft) yet we cannot stop a few unarmed bedraggled asylum seekers landing on our beaches in little boats daily, Russians taking a peek at my bank account whenever the mood takes them and the Chinese buying up our Defence industry. Tell me what the next war will be like.

    Mr Griffiths is right. This is a lullaby for those who might wake up to our essential defencelessness!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/27/gulf-conflict-reminds-us-prepare-future-wars-not-past-battles/

  7. National Trust today……

    SIR – Andy Beer (Letters, February 25), the National Trust operations director, should know his history. The Pole family owned Shute Barton from 1554 until it was given to the National Trust in 1958.

    In 2008, Christopher and Gill Pole-Carew relinquished their tenancy of Shute Barton. For 20 years they and 30 volunteers had opened to the public the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days’ Queen, every Saturday and Wednesday, April to October. Visitors loved meeting the family who had been there for 400 years.

    On my turning down the tenancy (the family having first refusal by covenant), the house closed. I was told that the National Trust was to spend £500,000 on overdue repairs. It opened as a holiday let in 2011.

    As a holiday let, it’s unlikely a Pole will ever live there again. My father’s gravestone at Shute says: “Submariner. Newspaper Pioneer. Church Warden. Last of the Poles at Shute”.

    Peregrine Pole-Carew

    Dorchester, Dorset

    SIR – As a volunteer at Overbeck’s, the house in south Devon, I feel the current behaviour of the National Trust is quite shameful.

    Advertisement

    Advertisement : 5 sec

    Overbeck’s has been quietly closed “for the foreseeable future” with no explanation – except to “save costs”. The house is full of interest, as is its past owners’ development of the gardens, recognised when the property was given to the Trust.

    People loved to visit the house, tea shop and gardens, because Overbeck’s it is different. The house was full of (sometimes quirky) artefacts. Visitors would return year after year. Younger people often commented on how much they had enjoyed their visit.

    The closure of Overbeck’s is contrary to the ethos of the National Trust and a loss to our local heritage.

    Pauline Stevens

    Kingsbridge, Devon

    SIR – I do not resent my subscription to the National Trust subsidising its self-catering cottage operation, as much of the money feeds back into the estates they are on. I find it wonderful that in winter, for £300-£400 for a few nights, I can get a one-bed apartment from the 15th century.

    The National Trust has been renting out cottages for years. It probably inspired the Landmark Trust (which also saves smaller historic properties) to do the same thing.

    Advertisement

    I am annoyed at the National Trust for its clumsy historical interpretation and a reorganisation that has seen much-liked acquaintances who work for the Trust losing their jobs, but I am aware I would never have met those people if I hadn’t stayed in a cottage.

    I do not, however, understand why the Trust is increasing the requirement to book to visit smaller houses at a time when we are coming out of lockdown, which will take away the need for social distancing. Booking was always required to see somewhere with a tenant, such as Muchelney Priest’s House, but I am curious as to why this is being extended.

    Genny Franklin

    Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire

  8. Morning all

    The pain of statins

    SIR – You report (February 25) that statins do not cause muscle pain. However, I can state quite categorically that they can and do. After experiencing severe pain for several months, I experimented with periods on no statins, followed by periods on various doses, then none again. With my doctor’s approval I also tried various different brands of statin.

    Advertisement

    The result was that all statins caused pain, which vanished within days of stopping the medication. Eventually I found that a low-dose pill every other day was acceptable and this is what I now take. I know several other people who have also suffered.

    Ian Smethurst

    Congleton, Cheshire

        1. Like all pills’n’potions, it’s a very individual reaction.
          MB found them ghastly.
          When I was on The Pill, it took about half dozen different types to find one that didn’t make me ill.

        2. How’s the memory, Philip, statins play havoc with my head and memory degenerates very fast.

          Now, what was I saying?

          1. Good morning Tom.

            My memory has always been terrible. I’m always leaving post-it notes everywhere.

        3. Good morning Philip
          Is the taking of statins coincidental with your current vascular problem? Worth asking the question.

          2. Hopefully they’re not aggravating the condition. Does you consultant know you are now taking them.

          3. I received a letter this week from my GP which summarised my condition, what Meds i am on and signed (by computer) by both Consultants and the GP.

            I was concerned that one Consultant was unaware of what the other one was doing as happened at the Spire for an unconnected condition previously.

            It was the Vascular Consultant who prescribed the Statin and Clopidogrel just from looking at my leg and foot. This was even before he had seen the results from my first blood test.

          4. Sounds good. He prescribed for you, the patient, rather than by diktat.

            Wish you well from now on. 🤞🤞🤞

          5. When i first described my symptoms to my GP. The GP took a look and went against the rules and brought the nurse in to give me a quick onceover. Then told me to get dressed and to sit by her desk. The GP told me my condition was acute and i needed to see the Vascular Consultant immediately. As a GP she had a hotline to the relevant department and spoke direct to the Surgeon.

            I was quite impressed with the speed in which things happened but then this area isn’t swamped with poor third worlders unlike London, Bradford, Manchester and Leeds.

            Thanks.

          6. Excellent doctor you have and probably saved your life.
            I had similar when i was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. Had private insurance and after blood tests and seeing consultant and having the op was about 6 weeks. Was given 98% chance of cure and here i am.

            Both of us are wishing a very good outcome for you.

          7. My present Doctor is far superior to the previous two i had.

            Glad it went well for you and thank you both. I’m sanguine. Better to be calm than running around screaming.

        1. I was on that stuff, Del, until about a year ago when I ditched it. My GP (the other week) noted that I had stopped taking it since my cholesterol levels have risen, but I shall not go back to taking it again since raised cholesterol levels are not the danger they were once thought to be.

          3. Pill popping; making sure patients have to request repeat prescriptions on a monthly basis. Remind me why GPs claim to be over-worked.

          4. We’re all on that treatment, Grizz, it’s the treatment to prevent it that’s missing. :-))

          6. It is the strongest of the statins and I was put on a dose of 80Mg. By the time I realised what was happening and stopped taking it a certain amount of damage was done. I am now on 10Mg of Atorvastatin (Lipitor). No problems.

        3. I took that Del but it gave me muscle ache and I stopped it. My cholesterol has stayed normal. All I’m on now is Gliclazide 40mg twice a day and Glucosamine (self prescribed) for my arthritis.

    2. I took statins for a couple of months about 10/15 years ago. They nearly destroyed me.
      The pains in my arms and legs, and the loss of muscle power, was overwhelming. Since then I find difficulty in keeping pace with vw, when we’re walking, bearing in mind that she is 5’4” and I’m 6’6”.

      I had blood tests and one came back with elevated levels of Creatin Kinase (CK). The level was 300 units per litre (u/l) and continued to rise to 600 u/l even after stopping statins. My doctor told me the normal level was 150. This is damage raised levels can cause – https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/creatine-kinase/

      I was referred to a Rheumatologist and eventually had an electromyogram. Whilst that was in progress a Neurologist came in and took a great interest. I was later referred to him as he thought I had IBM (Inclusion body myositis). After further tests he came to the conclusion that I didn’t have IBM and the damage was done by the statins and if I had continued with the it is likely they would have destroyed my kidneys. He commented that doctors should prescribe for the patient not by government diktat. My cholesterol level was marginally above normal.

      I still lack the muscle power I had before taking statins and have been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy despite not being diabetic. I am (was) tested regularly for diabetes by my body, resolutely, refuses to become diabetic.

      Strike any resemblance to what’s being orchestrated now. I consider this ‘vaccine’ being touted by those with vested interests is, probably, as dangerous as statins are to some people.

  9. Heavenly reception

    SIR – Guildford Cathedral has a phone mast (Letters, February 24) that is concealed under the angel’s skirt.

    Duncan Rayner

    Sunningdale, Berkshire

  10. SIR – Since the pandemic began I have lived an isolated life in a remote location. I have used my car for small errands, including shopping.

    On Thursday I received a letter from the NHS telling me not to leave the house. Short walks are permitted, as are medical appointments, but shopping must be organised using a third party. This arrangement must be put in place now and last until March 31 – even if I have had two vaccine jabs.

    I know the NHS is busy, but I am reminded of a song from my youth that proclaimed: “The lunatics have taken over the asylum.”

    Tony Waldeck

    Truro, Cornwall

    2. Ah, the old one where the Dr tells you the good news “you have a month to live”. The bad news, “I should have told you 3 weeks ago”.

    3. I had one of those letters too. Apparently, I have been identified as being at risk. News to me.

  12. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b94db896678406e598677746e0dd317b4f0cf9cef84b9a4d41e93d6cc159c614.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e8d6d5addb68b0df4c103bf6f245bba0f50191b6bc846c7039df5f1a4e1b80d0.png Why are the general public so brain-dead as to be incapable of comprehending that being vaccinated with an anti-viral potion does nothing whatsoever to prevent the spread of the disease.

    It has already been clearly shown that people can carry the virus on their bodies, and up their noses, even if they have been vaccinated against catching it themselves. Being vaccinated means protecting you against (potentially) catching the disease: it does not protect anyone else!

    2. They know that but peer pressure is their only weapon (at the moment) and they have seen how successful it has been with the masks. Good morning Mr Grizz.

    1. I think every February has at least 4 of each day of the week.

      It is the first being a Monday and it not being a leap year that makes it unusual.

      1. I am always suspicious when I read such things so checked, and according to Wiki:

        February is also the only month of the calendar that, once every six
        years and twice every 11 years consecutively, either back into the past
        or forward into the future, has four full 7-day weeks. In countries that start their week on a Monday, it occurs as part of a common year starting on Friday,
        in which February 1st is a Monday and the 28th is a Sunday; this
        occurred in 1965, 1971, 1982, 1993, 1999, 2010 and 2021, and will occur
        again in 2027. In countries that start their week on a Sunday, it occurs
        in a common year starting on Thursday,
        with the next occurrence in 2026, and previous occurrences in 1987,
        1998, 2009 and 2015. The pattern is broken by a skipped leap year, but
        no leap year has been skipped since 1900 and no others will be skipped
        until 2100.

        Perhaps it is also one of those rarer February’s without either a full or new moon as well, which would add to the mix, but even then, 823 years seems a long gap.

  14. I agree with the Queen wholeheartedly and I shall be following her advice to be less selfish and think of offers, to be less white in fact.
    I will be asking my vaccine provider to send my vaccine to someone more vulnerable and needy than I, to a part of the world where they haven’t got the advantages we have here, in some ways I hope it will make amends for the Empire and the slavery that was inflicted on these people, their descendants have been held back for over two hundred years now, all because the white working classes were full of nationalism, pride and greed, they worshipped statues to working class Imperialists and the philanthropist plutocrats,not to mention their racial supremacist tendencies.
    They may have had a meagre existence at the time, living in poverty with many families to a hovel as they worked for a pittance 18 hours a day, or as farm labourers or servants for the Guardian reading great and the good types of the day, but they still went out and voted on mass for world domination and the chance to go and fight in far off paradises where the native people were all living in peace and harmony and had never known subjugation and enslavement.
    No I think basically giving my dose of medicine to these people is the right thing to do in the circumstances and i just hope they can feel some forgiveness for what my ancestors did.

    2. Not far from where I type this are the bodies of over 130 men and boys trapped and killed underground more than one and half centuries ago. There are more and larger numbers still lying where they died not much further away. This country was built by coal, iron and steel and the ingenuity of frequently ‘low born’ men, not sugar and bananas as so frequently advanced on the B.B.C. by children of those who scrawled ‘British Go Home’ when I was growing up. This is our home and you chose to follow us.

  15. Cricketer

    An English lady walked into a Police Station and the desk Sergeant said “Can I help you?”

    “Yes” she said, “I’d like to report a case of sexual assault”.

    “Where did it happen?” the Sergeant asked.

    “In the park just down the road” she replied.

    “Can you describe what happened?”

    “Yes, I was walking along the footpath in the park near the trees when a man jumped out of the bushes and dragged me into them.”

    “He removed my underwear then he dropped his pants to his knees and had his way with me”.

    “Could you give me a description of him?”

    “Yes, he was wearing white shoes, long white trousers, a white shirt and he had these two big long pads from his feet up to and over his knees, one on each leg”.

    “Sounds to me like he was a cricketer, most probably a batsman”, said the Sergeant.

    “Yes”, said the lady, “He was an Australian Cricketer”.

    “That’s very observant”, said the Sergeant, “You worked that out from his accent?”

    “No”, she replied. “I worked it out because he wasn’t in for very long”.

  16. Good morning all and another lovely bright & chilly start to the day up here.
    Clear sky and a rather frosty -3°C.

  17. Morning hall.
    I notice that the BBC, although so strapped for cash that it has to insist on extracting blood from us wrinklies, has added yet another radio station: Radio One Dance.

    The list begins:
    Radio 1
    Radio 1 Extra
    Radio 1 Dance
    Radio 2
    Radio 3
    Radio 4
    Radio 4 Extra
    Radio 5 Live (not dead?)
    Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
    Radio 6 Music
    Asian Network
    World Service
    Radio Scotland
    Radio nan Gaidheal
    Radio Ulster
    Radio Foyle
    Radio Wales
    Radio Cymru
    Radio Cymru 2
    Cbeebies Radio
    Radio Shropshire
    And on the list goes.
    The BBC demonstrates the classic growth curve of a non-profit, publicly funded organisation. Once a ‘service’ is initiated, there are all kinds
    of reasons to preserve it. This ratchet effect is demonstrated by the case of BBC Radio Six Music, a few years ago. Plans to cancel the
    station produced an outcry from devoted fans and the plan was dropped. After all, there were only a couple of hundred or so alternative stations that played music!
    Inevitably, once introduced there will be some people who like it particularly, even though there is a multitude of other stations, BBC and commercial, which most of us would find impossible to differentiate.
    So the BBC now has a dozen national and 39 local stations. How does the BBC justify this when there are already 250 commercial stations?
    Answer: it doesn’t have to. Its income is guaranteed. It doesn’t have the commercial pressure to make a profit, so it is free to concentrate on empire building.
    And then there are its multiple web sites.

      1. Oh, the lies we were told before the pirates forced the authorities’ hand! The UK had a long wave frequency allocation, 225kHz, that it never took up.

          1. Also the BBC insisted that the Musicians’ Union restricted needle time. “What’s needle time, Granddad?”)

      3. It occasionly rises from the dead on BBC Radio Four Extra – with appropriate health warnings, of course.

    4. The world of dance is international and lives on youtube, with specialist groups on facebook. Clubs are the one thing basefook is good for.

  18. ‘Morning, all.

    Saw this letter in today’s DT and I’m a wee bit puzzled. Since when does the NHS concern itself with shopping habits and from where does it derive the authority to order that folk must get their shopping via a third party?

    Is this peculiar to England? Is it a regional thing? I know Plum and Mola live in Cornwall – Have they received similar instructions? Has anybody else?

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1ee7dafea7ed323da1b5f595913fe58374539c75f095958489ca82b786890766.png

      1. As a pleb, born and bred, I can remember, even as a small child, being aware of the sad truth that we were forever precluded from the opportunity to gallivant. Ah me.

        2. You are a pleb born and bred? Luxury, you posh sod!

          I’m nobbut a scumbag, born and bred. I doff my cap to plebs.

    6. This is daft. I’ve ignored all their stupid nonsense and carried on as much as I can as normal. I’ll be damned if this wretched monollith is going to make me a prisoner in my own home just to suit them – especially when there’s so many lies and disinformation.

  19. Now I call this service. Re my greenhouse bolt problem. I e-mailed the company at 5 pm yesterday (Friday). Within half an hour they had mailed back with solution. After a couple of intervening e-mails, at 7.50 they phoned for credit card details – and the package will be posted on Monday.

        2. That girl was so lucky to be rescued three or more times and there was a camera man to record it. Wish I was that lucky.

    4. Syria is an idiotic place. They don’t want government, they like tribal violence. Let them devolve. Stop trying ot help them. We’re only there for the material wealth.

    1. That it was done is history. I want to know why they did it. What was the point? To make it seem more dangerous than it really was?

      1. 329750+ up ticks,
        Morning W,
        Wrong approach IMO, this issue has to be dealt with from the outset as in ALL stages, WHO,WHY, with what endgame in mind.

        Who gave the order is the question ?

        1. The Prime Minister must take full responsibility and his advisors should also be investigated.

          1. Hmm, I disagree. The medical advisors should first, then the department for health. The state needs culling. This has been done for their benefit, so that’s where the shredding must start.

          2. 329750+ up ticks,
            Morning Cs,
            Who within these Isles currently would / could run such a
            fact finding campaign, this issue alone could be more upsetting than the referendum to many a person comfortable with the lab/lib/con close shop voting pattern.

            Bear in mind the three monkeys & the “party” can do no wrong
            brigade have a strong grip on the polling booth.

          3. 329750+ up ticks,
            Cs,
            An in depth investigation carried out with the same zest as the issue being investigated.

            One error in the cause is forgivable, even two / three, but after that there is surely a covert reason to deceive must be considered and that MUST be checked out vigorously.

      2. I think the why is pretty obvious.
        Lots of money being printed and flowing to billionaires for PPE, face masks, vaccines etc.
        Closing of small businesses and transfer of transactions to giants -> previously independent people become dependent upon government money.
        Reduction in use of cash -> electronic transfers -> greater control of masses by elite.
        Vaccine passports -> greater control of masses by elites

        They have even been kind enough to come out and say plainly that they are aiming for a global reset. They’re not even bothering to hide it.

        1. Thing is, the big state simply hasn’t thought about it: trying ot destroy capitalism and markets will see their end first.

          1. I don’t think they want to destroy capitalism, simply to make sure they control it. I think we’ve all been aware at least since the 90s, that there are some people who are so rich that they regard themselves as outside the rules applying to nation states. Now we’re moving to the next phase, where they overtly take over the power from nation states.

            But Catherine Austin Fitts makes exactly the same point as you do at the end of the interview with Rainer Füllmich that was posted a couple of times on NOTTL yesterday. She says essentially that they are too divided and have no common cause, and that there are more of us than there are of them, so if we push back and don’t just passively accept the changes they try to push through, we can prevail.
            I think there are a lot of groups and individuals circling Western democracies at the moment, each thinking they are going to get the goodies. Globalists like Soros and Gates, the Chinese government, central bankers (they are more powerful than nation states) and Islam.

            But ultimately none of these groups can generate the wealth that we built up in Europe and the US. People working hard and obeying the rule of law made it.

        2. If we hear the words Global Reset, Zero Carbon, Build Back Better, Vaccine Passport and Stay Home frequently enough they will seem normal.

        1. It does, until it becomes hyperbole.

          If the statistics are a nonsense then they are meaningless and should be ignored – which a huge number of people have done.

      4. Doctors could be disciplined for falsifying details on a death certificate. I understand they received payment for every Covid case on a death certificate they signed.

  24. I see the beeboids are to make their own “Simpsons” programme – to cut down on the US influence.

    I wonder who the token white character will be….

  25. 329750+ up ticks,
    Total severance was kicked into touch by the still ( pro eu political brigade & supporters) regarding the “deal” in a desperate tentative attachment as in “work in progress” for a reconciliation in near future.

    This same pattern is being used by the begun brigade bearing in mind she has a great many supporters within this country & others entering on a daily basis via Dover plus.

    The electorate can play their part as usual by casting a kiss X adjacent to the lab/lib/con candidates name come 6th May.

    Dt,
    Shamima Begum ‘may mount legal bid to conduct appeal hearing from Syrian camp’

    1. I must admit that Nigel Farage is quite correct to keep reminding us all of the dangers posed by masses of illegal immigrants, many of whom are infected with the Covid virus, arriving on the South Coast. Unfortunately he seems to be having absolutely no effect on the PTB who are clearly quite happy for the situation to continue otherwise they would have done something about it.

      I am very disappointed with Farage’s capitulation over Brexit. I thought the whole point of Brexit was that we could reclaim our borders, our fishing waters, our financial services industry and our sovereignty in Northern Ireland? I also thought the point of having a deal rather than no deal was that goods would cross borders without being delayed by obsessive application of absurd regulations in order to punish Britain.

      Is Nigel Farage trying to outbuffoon Boris? Why did he say we got a good EU trade deal when it is more clear with each day that passes that the deal is a surrender and a catastrophe.

      If Farage is truly more than a loquacious mouth he will have the integrity and guts to stand up and say:

      “I must apologise. I was wrong. I passed judgement on the deal before reading or understanding its consequences. We must break completely with the EU and scrap the deal – it is the only way that the EU will respect us and learn that they have to treat us as a fully independent state and not a vassal nonentity.”

    2. Nigel Farage needs to get his new party on the road with the manifesto which they intend to follow. He is no better than me at the moment, whining about all the faults of this government but unable to do anything about it.
      Is he putting forward candidates in the local elections in May?
      NF has gone fairly quiet since he lost £10000 in his bet that Donald Trump would win the Presidential election.

    3. Yesterday, on the page where all the news items are constantly changing, I saw one where a boatload had been brought in, with one being wheeled up the Dover ramp, in a wheelchair. An amputee. Presumably, by now, in a modified house for the disabled and forms already in for a mobility car to get to the free NHS appointments. Before I could get a copy of the link into the memory to post – it vanished. I have looked for it, no luck. Anyone from anywhere – and WE are expected to accept it – be happy about it – and to pay yet more and more taxes for them to live here and destroy our country.

  27. Good morning my friends

    Coronavirus latest news: People may not follow lockdown restrictions as strictly once vaccinated, warns Sage scientist
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-covid-captain-tom-moore-funeral-vaccine-latest/

    Is it that we are all stupid that we cannot understand what the point of the vaccine is if we are not liberated from lockdown restrictions, not susceptible to getting Covid and not able to spread it?

    In fact should the vaccine not feature in the programme with Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman which appears just before the BBC evening news?

    1. I believe that even the vaccinated can still get it and certainly spread it.

      The point (ho ho) is to ameliorate the symptoms so that they are less deadly to the one who has been jabbed.
      The ones who choose not be done, for whatever reason, are more vulnerable if they do get it.

      There have been several suggestions that alternative approaches will give equal support to preventing the most severe reactions to it.

      My view is that we are being played by governments for reasons that will not become apparent for some time.
      for example, ID cards, track and trace, control, greeniac policies, etc.

      1. Do we know if the vaccinated or recovered cases from Covid will test positive on the over amplified PCR test which is being used? I think there is a good chance that this will be the case. If so “cases” will continue as will deaths with Covid appearing on death certificates.

        2. The DM had a big response to their story last week by Bel Mooney on the death of her centenarian father being wrongly ascribed to covid.
          Many people are being put as covid deaths when clearly they were at death’s door for other reasons.

      2. I think you are being really cautious in your thinking sos. Good moaning all BTW. To me there is no doubt whatsoever that money via Big Pharma is behind all this, think brown envelopes, control and greeniac policies are all “in it together”. You may be interested to read the link below on the Scamdemic. It explains that vax such as polio and smallpox years ago were developed because there was no way to treat patients. However there are treatments that can build up our immune systems, which would cost far less to advise, but that wouldn’t suit the big Pharma and their friends etc. Also of course the government has complete control of the public now because not enough people rebelled and most were scared out of their wits by the propaganda. Which is incessant and relentless. Thing is there is a vaccine but we are still not allowed our freedoms back. I am puzzled as to why most people don’t think this is ridiculous. We saved the NHS, flattened the sombrero and the curve, were relieved when they “developed” a vaccine, still stayed at home, wore masks, washed our hands til they were red but are we “released?” No we are not. And now we’re told we’ll have booster vaccines every year just like the flu to cope with every new variant of which there seem to be hundreds.

        https://rumble.com/vdww5v-dr-lee-merit-the-vaxx-is-preparing-the-world-for-a-mass-death-event.html

        Alf and I, btw, do not and have never worn masks and try to live completely normally as far as possible. Took a trip to the coast about a week ago, 45 miles each way. My heart sinks when I see people on their own walking along wearing a mask 😷.

        1. Not wearing a mask here, in designated areas, will win one a big fine and the police are enforcing the regulations. There are constant patrols, although protests are increasing and the police takes details, but allow the protesters to make their complaints as long as they keep to a small designated area.

          The Governments have painted themselves into a corner and dare not admit they were wrong.

          I wonder whether we will get more information as to the objectives, coming out from the Cornish jolly.

        2. I wasn’t scared witless.
          I only put the mask on when I walk into Morrisons and take it off as soon as I walk out……. I’ve had the vaccine solely because I want to continue travelling for as long as I’m physically able to. I think some sort of proof of vaccine will be required for travel purposes. I’ve had many jabs and this was another one. No reaction of any sort.

          I’m sure ‘big pharma’ and the greeniacs are behind the fear campaign. But we don’t have to take the fear dose. We’re living pretty normally here, but I do miss our normal activities – concerts, events with the hedgehog stall, lunches with friends etc.

          Anyway this afternoon I’m going to do a photoshoot with a hedgehog for next year’s calendar. I haven’t used my camera since last summer!

          1. Yesterday, the lunchtime RT news showed Angela Merkel stating that vaccination passports would be
            required to go in/out of the 27 EU states.

            It appears that it has already been decided, no matter what Boris says…. or the other 26.

            Enjoy your holiday when you go.

          2. Thanks Janet. This time last year we were in Meru, visiting Elsa’s grave. I like to go in February. This year I booked to go next Tuesday, but October will come round eventually and hope we can go this time.

            I think it will inevitably be a requirement for travel abroad. Just another jab.

        3. ” we’ll have booster vaccines every year just like the flu to cope with every new variant ” – yes – and every single one could be altered to gradually get people addicted to whatever is in them. Then there will be a charge for them – just think cigarettes. The world addicted and paying those who did it.

      3. ‘Morning Sos
        The decision by Pfizer NOT to roll out their super tested,utterly safe vaccine in any country that has not granted them blanket immunity from any responsibility for side effects says it all………

    2. ‘Says SAGE scientist’.

      I want that phrase to end. Government scientists/advisors should be seen and not heard.

    3. I never want to read anything in the newspaper ever again that includes any of the following words: Covid, virus, lockdown, vaccine, scientist, SAGE.
      F’ing fed up with the lot of them and all the scaremongering.

  29. Good morning all.

    Delightful PostGirl just arrived. Two letters. One an appointment for my CT scan and the other from TV Licensing begging for money. Now which do i throw in the bin?

    2. I see your CT scan appointment and TV licensing and raise you one tax demand for about 6500 pounds which is what I got in the post this morning.

        1. Meh, they send that kind of thing regularly. We have a good relationship as long as I pony up and don’t ask too many questions about what they are doing with the money.
          Bit like my abusive ex, really.

  30. Morning all. A cracker of a BTL from today’s letters …

    Gracie English 27 Feb 2021 10:15AMI
    always wondered about the red hair. It is on record that ‘red top’
    cavalryman Captain James Hewitt rode more than horses, when he had an
    affair with Dianna while she was still married to big ears. Charles was
    himself at the time ‘preoccupied’ with the wife of a serving Brigadier,
    who had sworn an oath of allegiance to ‘serve’ Her Majesty Her Heirs and
    Successors, not realising that his wife would be called upon to ‘serve’
    Her Majesty’s Successor in a somewhat compromising capacity. But
    Perhaps Harry has done the DNA test, and finding out more than the
    palace ever intended him to find out, he realised that he was not ‘one
    of them,’ after all.

    Once one of the most eligible
    bachelors on the planet, did he choose Megan Markle to send a ‘message’
    to the Royal entourage, spoiling the taste of the after dinner port at
    the announcement? Or having lived a largely sheltered life, was it
    failure to connect with reality? Did he ask her the question: “Are you a
    virgin?” and when she replied: “Not yet,” he didn’t see that Grandmama,
    would not be amused. It would of course have been a lot better if he
    had quietly slipped out of sight after doing an Edward Windsor, marrying
    the divorced publicity seeker Markle, who thought she had done a heck
    of a lot better than winning the Florida lottery.

    Canada were
    clearly embarrassed by his presence, so he now lives in highly
    publicised splendour, with his Tinsel Town ‘princess,’ doing tasteless
    interviews with second rate producers of ‘late shows.’ What will he do
    when the efforts to rinse and spin his dirty laundry in public are no
    longer attracting an audience. She ain’t no spring chicken, but I
    consider that the ‘married bliss’ will last down to the very last dime
    of his bank account. At least the hard pressed British taxpayer will not
    now see her doing a Heather Mills on the piggy bank of the civil list.

    1. I look forward to hearing the squeals when the US Internal Revenue Department tax his “royal” UK income….

      1. Shame, Bill, but I think they can only tax US Citizens.

        I doubt that even ‘Stupid’ will take US Citizenship.

        2. I think they will find that as US residents they will be required to pay US taxes, there might be some double taxation arrangement to offset some, but I suspect they will be dunned and considerably so.

          She certainly will be. US colleagues of mine in the UK, even though they paid PAYE and were UK resident full time, were still required complete a US declaration as well and if tax was due they had to pay up.

          It may have changed since my time, but I doubt it. Uncle Sam has a long arm.

          1. You do even need to bea resident. The US are quite happy to tax dividends on my US investments.
            It is a reason that we did not buy a vacation property there, the tax implications are frightening.

        3. In most cases, a foreign national is subject to federal withholding tax on U.S. source income at a standard flat rate of 30%. A reduced rate, including exemption, may apply if there is a tax treaty between the foreign national’s country of residence and the United States.

    2. As I suggested the other day if it is true that Hewitt is Harry’s father then a DNA test to prove it would certainly liven things up a bit.

      1. I don’t think he is as the older Harry gets the more he looks like Charles, especially around the nose and eyes.

        1. There is a lot of similarity in gait as well. Plus, I don’t think Diana would have been that stupid. Affairs yes, and fair enough given that Charles was doing it too, but she would not have compromised William’s position as heir.

      2. There would be so much money to be made, that I would guess that several people within the royal circles of servants and hangers on will have tried, to no avail.

    3. I don’t really care what they do now they they aren’t gurning and virtue-signaling all over the place in the UK. That is NOT the kind of monarchy that I want to see at all.

  31. Malvern Harper (what a watery name) is wrong when he claims game should be checked for lead shot – there’s no lead in modern cartridges unless things have changed since I did clay pigeon shooting 20 years ago

      1. Traditional nursery rhymes hepped up with gospel choir backing. I couldn’t bring myself to explore further.

      1. I have but how did you know?

        I don’t use the patches but i occasionally put a drop under my tongue. I don’t use it often but it does have a calming effect. Good for when travelling on a plane.

    3. I don’t use the patches i use a pipette to put a drop under my tongue. I don’t know about aches and pains but it does have a calming effect on me.

  35. Whilst the following ‘article’ may not be very important in the grand scheme of things, its revisionist nature and that the DT mods decided to delete (at around 8.30am today, only 3hrs after the article was published) a brilliant, well-written, considered reader response to debunk Robbie Collin’s rubbish just shows how far the Telegraph has fallen into the clutches of the woke Establishment:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kelly-marie-tran-thought-sitcom-sidekick-high-world-would-let/

    “The Last Jedi was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews, and became the most commercially successful film of 2017. Nevertheless, a small, toxic puddle of the Star Wars fan base took issue with Tran’s newly prominent presence in “their” beloved franchise, and the ensuing poisonous tide was grim enough to drive her off social media. The abuse had her dwelling again on the thoughts she’d had while driving to auditions – that people like her belonged in the margins of Hollywood, and that she’d somehow ended up in the wrong place through some wrinkle in fate.”

    The current only BTL reader comment isn’t the one I read around 8.30am today. The original (first comment) one castigated Collin for trying to make out that The Last Jedi was the best film since time began, because once the initial pre-booked audiences went home and told friends and family about what they’d seen, box office revenues crashed, leaving the film grossing a full third less than its immediate predecessor (despite costing $67M more to film) and leading to the next film bearly breaking even and Solo a shed load losing money, bringing a $4Bn franchise to its knees.

    They went on to heavily criticise the characters in the trilogy as very weak and the storylines as woke and all over the place.

    Robbie Collin, as you can see in the quoted part above, outright lies about the ‘abuse’ Tran ‘got’ by ‘toxic fans’ that ‘lead to her being driven off social media’. What does it say about the quality of journlaism today thatdespite every one of those lies already being comprehensively disproved (with evidence), Collin STILL perpetuates them, presumably to prop up his own weak position due to his virtue-signalling and shill review back in late 2017 – over THREE years ago.

    He actually posted an ACTUAL RANT ARTICLE later on after the fan and reader backlash, and appeared to be so insensed that similarly well-informed responses by many DT readers (who were also Star Wars fans like myself) got deleted en-masse and more than once (if we deigned to repost them).

    1. I enjoyed the original trilogy. I thought the others were rubbish. I also thought that one of the later ones was a poor remake of the first. I went to see The Last Jedi and then gave up on the whole franchise.

      They killed the cashcow by milking it dry.

      1. And now Warner Bros, in their infinite wisdom, have got JJ Abrams, the Destroyer of both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises, to now ‘do his magic’ on the DCEU for $500M. Just look who he’s brought in to write the next installment. SJW doesn’t do this bloke justice.

    2. [update] The DT have now taken down all comments because they didn’t like them – last time I looked, there were just two. How petty and egotistical of them.

    1. Additionally:

      6. The virus is only transmissible during right wing or anti-lockdown demonstrations, whether peaceful or not, and does so when the numbers protesting is 2 or more. Left wing / BLM rioters are safe. If that’s the case, but BAME people are far more susceptible to COVID, why don’t they go on protests/riots all the time?

      7. Drinking coffee makes the virus more transmissible whilst sitting on a park bench or going jogging with a friend, but doing so outside Costa does not. Additionally, Police officers sitting down for a cuppa in a coffee shop is 100% safe.

      8. The vaccines are deemed safe by the authorities for general use by the entire population, but the firms producing them cannot get professional indemnity insurance to cover them for possible future lawsuits over side effects, as would normally be the case after 99% of their other products finish long term testing after 5-10 years.

    2. Additionally:

      6. The virus is only transmissible during right wing or anti-lockdown demonstrations, whether peaceful or not, and does so when the numbers protesting is 2 or more. Left wing / BLM rioters are safe. If that’s the case, but BAME people are far more susceptible to COVID, why don’t they go on protests/riots all the time?

      7. Drinking coffee makes the virus more transmissible whilst sitting on a park bench or going jogging with a friend, but doing so outside Costa does not. Additionally, Police officers sitting down for a cuppa in a coffee shop is 100% safe.

      8. The vaccines are deemed safe by the authorities for general use by the entire population, but the firms producing them cannot get professional indemnity insurance to cover them for possible future lawsuits over side effects, as would normally be the case after 99% of their other products finish long term testing after 5-10 years.

    1. As soon as Farage supported the involvement of Blair in the vaccine rollout he was dead to me
      Just controlled opposition

      1. The problem with Farage – and why he never became an MP, even at the height of his ‘powers’, is that he concentrates on just a few issues and doesn’t concern himself about many very important ones that also have a signifiant impact on most people’s lives? Why? Because they either don’t get headlines or that it would involve him making a huge investment in time, effort and possibly money in researching the issues involved.

        It’s also why every attempt at leading a political party has failed over the long term – he never looks at the ‘bigger picture’ and just goes after the ‘easy wins’ of immigration and crime.

        That NOT ONE mainstream news outlet in the UK (and for the most part, anywhere in the industrialised world) has even TRIED to look into the dodgy goings on surrounding the pandemic, its origins, the response of governments, civil services, media outlets, big business – especially big tech and pharma and the vaccine issues shows that NONE of them care about anything other than £££ and/or their agenda.

      2. My doubts about Farage started when he abjectly removed Brexit candidates from the general election who would have contested the seats already held by Conservative remainers. When push came to shove he lost his nerve.

        I have always remarked upon the fact that Farage is a magnificent orator who can completely outdo the Bumbling Bonker in this department.

        However fine words butter no parsnips. Farage’s meek statement that the catastrophic deal that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove ceded to the EU was acceptable exposed him as a charlatan in my eyes.

        Farage will only regain my respect if he has the testicular strength and humility to admit that he was wrong, that he passed judgement on the deal before reading or understanding its consequences. He must add that Britain must break completely with the EU and scrap the deal – it is the only way that the EU will respect us and learn that they have to treat us as a fully independent state and not a vassal nonentity.”

        1. 329750+ up ticks,
          Afternoon R,
          Mine when he resigned to get his life back
          and was strongly supporting bolton as leader, he was strongly against Batten especially when Batten was a complete success as a year long leader that triggered the treacherous nEc & farage input, it is all on record but many do NOT wish to acknowledge it.

      3. 329750+ up ticks,
        Afternoon Rik,
        He done more damage to a great many decent people in an ongoing manner than the hitler chap
        had done.
        One turn he was even up for an extension to a delay to get his “johnson backing group” ready also sticking the knife firmly into ALL the UKIP membership that was under Batten leadership gaining daily success, vote splitter / tory covert coxswain extraordinaire is nige.

        A mustaavoid in the future regarding the polling booth, lab/lib/con/ukip coalition group / whatever at the time “nige” is fronting for.

    1. Unusual for the Police i know but i read recently that they raided a Pikey camp and rescued 50 dogs.

      I doubt the were punished much.

      2. They probably compiled a 200 page report on the rights of the travelling community first, and apologised profusely for raiding them.

    2. Well, Lady Gaga’s little pooches have now been found, safe and well. The MAGA campaign (the lefty US media had been saying this was ‘politically motivated’) can now breathe a sigh of relief, as can the rest of the world that had stopped everything because of this calamity…I’ll remember where I was when I heard the wonderful news…

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/27/lady-gagas-two-french-bulldogs-foundafter-stolen-gunpoint/

      A story worthy of the Telegraph’s time…

    1. Did the movie show how William Wallace met his end, in 1305, dragged behind a horse from the Tower of London to Smithfield, where he was hanged drawn and quartered. There’s a large display board at the meat market which leaves out some of the grisly detail but not much.

  44. I had a look at The Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald this morning. The Scotsman is siding with Splurgeon and taking the line that Salmond didn’t land any punches, the Herald go even further and don’t report much beyond a completely pro-Splurgeon quote from that paragon of political probity, Ian Blackford. I don’t know what line the BBC are taking.

    3. Far too many reports and comments that I have seen concentrate on the protagonists and ignore the serious matter, namely that the Crown Office (≡ CPS) had to be ordered by the High Court to submit evidence and only did so after censoring it under instruction from the Scottish Government Executive.

      The same people who fail to see this and who support Sturgeon were, 18 months ago, screaming abuse at Johnson over his four-day closure of Parliament.

      1. The SNP and the Scottish civl service seem to be inextricably entwined like the honeysuckle and the bindweed.

        1. Do not leave out the Japanese Knotweed of the prosecution service, not omitting the Lord Advocate.

        2. Scotland is run by a very small group of people who went to the same schools, the same universities, married each others brothers and sisters and, broadly speaking, loathe the English.

          I know. I had to live in Glasgow for two years. Then I was paroled…

      2. Yep, that’s the situation. The Lord Advocate has been acting on behalf of the First Minister, as has the head of the Civil Service, going well beyond their remit. The police have avoided getting involved, to the extent of dereliction of duty, it seems. If the police did what they are supposed to they would be acting this morning to collect the 40 documents held back when the Search Warrant was served.

    4. None of the Scottish papers could be described as presenting unbiased in-depth objective journalism. Unfortunately, the comments below the line (where allowed) are mostly from nutters.

    5. In fairness to the Beeb (yes, nurse, I’ll take my tablets in a moment) they did broadcast the proceedings.

      1. That’s not what most people will see though. It gives a fig leaf of impartiality, but the real question is what was in the news reports.

  45. A message from Houston, Texas…

    Lizzie Panilli, uh, excuse me, Pannill, and uh, what am I doing here? I’m going to lose track here. And, uh… Mayor Turner… My family spent a lot of time here in Houston by the way. And, uh, hey John Eddy, how are you buddy I didn’t see you there?… I could be known for as president. I would be the end, the president who end during his era ended cancer as we know it. (cough)

    …from the leader of the free world.

    Here is a link to the video if you don’t believe me:
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/ignored-fake-news-media-joe-biden-completely-lost-texas-even-handler-tow-video/

    3. Of all the impossible things we have been asked to believe, the idea that that pathetic figurehead got 84 million people to vote for him to do one of the most demanding jobs on the planet is surely the most ludicrously far-fetched.

    7. Sounds like an escapee from Anne Allan’s ward.

      Yes Mr President. You are the leader of the free world. Now just take this medicine like a good boy.

  46. Did no one comment on the intriguing letter as to who purchased most bog rolls before the first Lockdown? If I were to hazard a guess it would probably have been a member of the Cabinet shortly after they received Prof Fergie’s catastrophic predictions. My money would be on the fact they were probably shifting themselves….

          2. Indeed – they couldn’t choose because they both looked the same and were labelled #2.

      2. I read that one take away was inspected and they found a water bottle under the sink. They asked him what it was for and he told them. They took it away and tested it.

        It was spattered with tiny drops of excrement and some finger prints which were made up from excrement.

        He was prosecuted but i don’t think they stopped him trading.

        1. I expect that sort of things happens more often that not. People don’t consider this. But a few years ago my wife and i went into a burger joint in London for a quick lunch and n both paid the price the next day.
          I can remember on one trip to Oz searching for the European position in the Toilets at Singapore airport.
          You can beat an outback Dunny as long as there is a bog roll and no spiders and snakes.

    3. I believe there’s a typo in your comments: an ‘f’ instead of a second ‘t’… 🙂

  47. I’m just re-arranging our household insurance and have save 80 quid from the quote from our long term previous insurers, who in negotiation refused even to agree for us to pay the same as we did last year. Bolero to them and they can shove their Cigar, oh Yus.

    1. I’m surprised they didn’t match it to keep the business. That would normally be the way to do it.

      Are you sure your new policy covers you as much as the last one did?

      1. All checked out all the same cover but not lock replacement i can do that my self.
        I asked them at the time why did they think it was justified to keep increasing the premium as they know as people get older the risk of damage etc is less and they have less income. The agent didn’t have an answer for that, wrong box to tick i guessed.
        I did that same last month with car insurance. For approximately six months of the last year the car is parked on the drive.

      2. It’s the new COVID-put-our-costs up-a-lot excuse for raising prices. My car insurance quote from my then insurer (of 17 years) went up by about 10%, even using a screenscraper website, so I was forced into going elsewhere. I suspect that something similar will happen this year and with my home contents insurance.

        My elec and gas supplier just bumped up their prices by a similar amount (unit rate, not the standing charges) because HMG decided to up the energy price cap. Also be prepapred for large increases in the price of petrol and diesel as the re-opening happens and, more importantly, the government pushes forward with the introduction of higher biofuel content, e.g. E5 to E10 petrol (presumably something equivalent for diesels).

        People with older petrol-engined cars (some early 2000s cars and older) will not be able to run them solely on E10 – either they’ll have to source E5 (which will also go up price like ‘lead replacement petrol’ did 30 years ago when more cars could use unleaded) standard unleaded, pay a 5 – 20%+ premium for superunleaded (depending on where you buy it and, which I’m told, will stay E5) or regulalry buy and use fuel additives.

        I think that inflation will be going up quite a bit over the next year or so, even with an insipid ‘recovery’. The only beneficiaries being big business.

        2. Go compare are good you can put all your details in to the webpage and lots of quotes are displayed for perusal.
          And the quotes are accessible for a long time.

        3. The price of diesel and petrol have been rising at the Esso garage near by. Diesel is up to £1.28 per litre now. Sunak was hinting that interest rates might be raised as the UK has a national debt of £2.2 trillion . I thought the debt would be higher than that. The National Debt clock is over £2.4 trillion.

    1. How very sad. We saw him in the Scottish Rally years ago, over two stages. One in a forest stage in Fife, and the other in Glasgow Green. His drive shaft sheared very close to where we were standing (made a bit of a mess!) and he and his co-driver got out and fixed it? then carried on! He waved to us as he clattered off, and we all cheered!

  49. Russian diplomats leave North Korea on hand-powered rail trolley. 28 February 2021.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/45f8f353446751bec12c2e1ef00ae6040d8d0b0821ad5ade3f1823164c5d3276.jpg

    In normal times, most diplomats can expect to end a foreign posting with an official – if not always fond – farewell from their hosts and a comfortable journey back to their native country.

    But for one group of Russian envoys and their families, the coronavirus pandemic meant there was only one way home – under their own steam on a hand-pushed rail trolley.

    For some reason this story has caught the attention of the MSM where it has gained by exposure. One suspects that were they not Russian it would be otherwise. NBC asserts that Covid forced them to leave, the Independent implies that the Government made them do so and the Telegraph that it took thirty four hours. The truth is for those interested is that this is the only way at present of crossing the bridge between North Korea and Russia itself. It takes an hour and looks more fun than not. Personally I would have swum the damn river to get out.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/russian-diplomats-leave-north-korea-on-hand-powered-rail-trolley

    1. Why do you post so many comments about Russia that seem to go out of their way to praise Putin and his crony, corrupt and often nasty government at every turn? Are you a Russian?

      1. No but I can smell a 77 Brigade Moron at Fifty Posts. They always begin with something original like, “Do you work for Putin?” or “Are you from the St.Petersburg troll factory” while simultaneously refusing to have anything to do with the issues. At which their poor victim breaks down and confesses. Not.

        1. Oh dear. Resorting to baseless insults at the first turn and referring to the 77th brigade, just like the Ruskie trolls on the Telegraph. I’d love to know how I can be working for said brigade when I am not in favour of taking an untested (long term) COVID vaccine. Rather goes against the wishes of that organisation, given that’s what its top brass said on one of Boris’ news conferences some time ago.

          How exactly do I shy away from ‘issues’? Additionally, I’ve only questioned two of the threads you started – hardly indicative of some It genuis troll. As an actual engineer, though, I am very thorough, so tend to check out what people have said in the past when my troll-o-meter starts dinging away.

          You see, if you’d just said some guff about having a partner from that part of the world, etc etc, I might’ve given you some slack. But you went right to the insults, just as the Trollskis on the Telegraph do.

          BTW – say ‘hi’ to ‘martin parsons’ and ‘MIKE MORDEN’, some the (blindingly obvious) Ruskie trolls still operating on the Telegraph for me, as I’m not a subscriber any more.

          1. I’m not a scubriber (sic) any more.

            That must be a relief to them. If only we could say the same!

            I post at what is in the news. Unlike yours they are mostly freestanding. Trolls are invariably parasitic. My posts are always linked to the articles I comment on. I have posted 69 comments in total since last Sunday, only nine of them have been about Russia and most of those in the most peripheral sense! If you have any complaints perhaps you should address them to the editors!

          2. And how many of mine (staring a thread or commenting other than the few responses to yours) were about Russia or that gave a big thumbs-up to our ‘illustrious’ government? I’m also a Trump supporter in my views. If I were working for the 77th brigade, I’d have been facing the sacking for doing such a bad job! Unlike you and the St. Petersburg troll factory, where you’d seemingly fit in very nicely. 🙂

            Amazing how a humble ‘barmaid’ knows so much about Russia just from reading mainly Guardian articles without giving any source material for their own comments.

          3. I’m also a Trump supporter in my views. If I were working for the 77th brigade, I’d have been facing the sacking for doing such a bad job!

            Of course. No troll would ever misrepresent themselves, since this would in no way hinder their activities! You’re as dim as your friends on the Mail.

          5. You’re a 77 Brigade troll! It runs through your comments like Blackpool runs through a stick of rock. Your puerile excuses and even worse accusations, “Are you from Moscow Minty?” “How are things in Leningrad Minty?” Utter twaddle. We have Real Trolls on this Blog, not ill informed morons; people who’ve stuck with us for years and hardly put a foot wrong but still got nowhere. If I’m going to be Trolled I want it to be by someone who knows what they are talking about!

          6. The use of the word ‘pathetic’ – ooh – that takes me back…right to the Telegraph and the trollskis.

            Gotcha!

            Sorry Minty, but my lunch has been on hold for 2hrs now. TTFN.

          7. You two should call a truce. As far as I am concerned you are both interesting posters. I don’t always agree with either of you, but it would be tiresome if I did. Most importantly I can’t remember thinking “low quality rubbish” of posts from either of you.

          8. Thanks. I’d also like to think that being true to one’s own beliefs is also important, including when you sincerely believe (and still do) that someone is pretending to be someone they are not.

            As a previously long time online subscriber who was regularly reading comments areas and having discussions with fellow readers, you get a feel for who’s genuine and who isn’t – the lack of banter, especially on every day and humourous things.

            Trolls on the DT made the comments areas a rather unpleasant place to be until, finally, the paper stopped all those using the ’20 free articles per week’ to troll certain articles all day.

            As I said, I’ve said my peace, and other can believe whoever they want. Now, I’m off to start preparing my evening meal – fish, with red wine… 😉

      2. An accusation of ‘Troll’ against someone you disagree with does you no credit, and I would have thought you were above that.

        The election in Belarus was what made me wonder. It was clear that Minsk cafe society was miffed, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else. No significant demos outside Minsk, according to the Polish Statistical Bureau. The Minsk tractor factor employing 18,000, only 2,500 signed the protest against Lukashenko, in line with the election result. Every ‘impartial’ observer who condemned the election turned out to have a dog in the fight and were not in anyway impartial. Everything that was quoted against the election fell apart on examination. But the BBC, the NYT, WAPO and the Graun ‘knew’ it was bent. Frankly it doesn’t look like it to me. It looks more like a blatent attempt to strip Belarus from the Russian sphere of influence, a farcical idea as Belarus is solidly, almost fanatically, Russian.

        Then there’s Putin. A brutal man, yes, but very very popular in Russia. Even the opposition Communists (largest opposition party) say he’s not what they want but he’ll do. And all those people he has ‘poisoned’ with Novichok. If you know anything about Novichok then you know how ridiculous that that meme is. If the FSB had put Novichok on Navalny’s knickers everyone on the plane would dead, plus most of the people who went to the resulting crash site. Anything you read about Putin you should regard with the gravest suspicion, most of it is simply bare faced and obvious lies.

        Edit: Kiev corrected to Minsk.

        2. A) I initally asked why they continually start threads about Russia and Putin whilst almost invariably prasing him without any proof to back up their assertions?

          B) I then said, in my opinion, that they were acting like the many known (obvious) Russian government trolls who’ve been operating on the Telegraph’s comments areas for years now when their initial reply was to accuse me of working for our security services, and in particular the ‘opposite number’ of The St. Peterburg Troll factory, aka Russia’s Ineternet Research Agency. I’m willing to personally prove I’m no troll/spy, are they?

          They also called me a ‘moron’ – something which I have not done to them at any point. I have, on the other hand, called into question why they are posting the posts they do on Russia so often. Something which they have not given an answer to as far as I can see. Why is that? I mean, do we really all come here to talk about the latest going’s on with the Russian government and Putin? We don’t appear to.

          C) Please will anyone point out the posts by Araminta that actually critcise Putin or his government more than the most meek and mild one? As you say, Putin is a brute and certainly not above doing some rather nasty things, both abroad and to his own people. That he also pushed back on woke leftism is commendable, but frankly so would 99% of other Russian politicians (or most from Eastern Europe) it seems, as it’s a cultrual thing because they have yet to be infected with that disease as us lot in the West have been.

          The difference is that I don’t take any of what the media says as true, and I bother to check many different sources. AS yet, Araminta has yet to produce any to back up their claims.

          1. Araminta is not a Russian troll. Too many posts on diverse subjects for that to be even a remote possibility. There are many Russians who post on Breitbart, very interesting they are too, but Araminta does not have remotely the same mindset. A very different view on Russia from your own, certainly, and one that I substantially agree with, although not completely.

            I gave up on Guido Fawkes because of all the obsessive troll hunters who bethought themselves so wise and perceptive. I suggest you take a laid back view and give the benefit of the doubt. If you can’t find any doubt BTL, well I always can.

          3. Because Russia and its sphere of influence have their own MSM, as does the Arabic world and the Chinese world. I would, and often have, referred to ‘western MSM’, but then I have done business in a lot countries, spent time on projects in a lot of different countries, and a big big plus – I’m not so daft as to go troll hunting. I try to avoid looking stupid.

    3. Complete mis-interpretation on your part here. Putin didn’t want them back and wouldn’t pay the airfare.

    1. I feel sorry for those poor young women who posed next to an a*hole at a party, and have their photo splashed all over the internet that they did not realise would even exist, many years later.

    2. I wonder if the chap realised that he was supposed to drink the coke, not lather himself with it?

  57. Six days ago Ready Eddy posted about who was on ‘Saturday Kitchen’ presented by Matt Tebbutt. He informed me that the Nagga Munchetti woman and Charlie Stayt were on so i said i would give it a miss.

    As it turned out the episode received a lot of complaints about the way they both behaved. Not normally the type of prog to get complaints but these two got people annoyed because of being disruptive. Will there be any sanctions about spoiling a popular show? I doubt it.

  58. Off to snooze in front of the TV – I’ve exhausted myself over all the Wokery in the papers. Bis speiter, freunden.

  59. Corvid is the new flu. It has not gone away. We will never have a vaccine that can kill it as it just returns as a new strain.

    3. He makes a lot of his foundation’s donations to vaccine research, but what he never publicises is how much investment in those companies (and many related to pharma) he makes where he expects a big return. Hence why he’s whispering ‘vaccines, ‘COVID passports’, ‘lockdowns’ and ‘masks’ in the ears of politicians worldwide.

      Like the oil sheiks investing in solar panels and wind turbines, he’s ‘diversifying’ into firms and tech he can make his current fortune look like pennies if he plays his cards right and given a fair wind, which, sadly, our politicians and media are currently giving him.

      $20Bn up in one year.

      1. Starting with Patel, take the top 10 most senior people in the Home Office and border force and fine them each £1,000 for every illegal who gets ashore.

        That might concentrate a few minds.

        2. 329750+ up ticks,
          S,
          Refrain from supporting them and their parties at the polling booth that would definitely benefit the herd & the Country as a whole.

          The lab/lib/con coalition have a different hole in mind.

          In short, we MUST stop aiding & abetting them at every opportunity in digging & enlarging the hole to,bury England / GB.

          1. When the alternative is a bunch of has-been UKIPpers who can’t even organise their own party?
            Ha bluddy ha.

          2. 329750+ up ticks,
            S,
            Yes I must agree the treachery dealt out to the genuine UKIP by
            the party nEc / nige to take down the party successful build under Batten leadership was a success.

            The treatment of Batten / Braine, the court case ,the treachery, is ALL on record and cannot be denied.

            Ha bluddy ha. ? please explain.

            The genuine UKIP gave the Country in design & triggering, the referendum, please enlighten me as to what the lab/lib/con
            coalition group, membership and voters did with it.

            As for the alternative, or lack of, are you suggestion that the
            regular voting pattern continues ?

            Please point out the faults you found with the Batten one year long leadership I would be interested to know.

            The current UkIp is now a segment of the lab/lib/con / ukip coalition IMO.

        3. Sadly that’s more of an incentive for her civil service managers to continue to do a bad job. For me, this separation of powers is always going to be the main problem for ministers exercising their authority – the Sir Humphreys almost always find a way to make an explicit order into a polite request…

          1. Unless it makes life difficult for the general population, in which case a polite request to see if something might be feasible becomes a direct order.

    2. I think exactly the same – We cannot just keep taking them in – and paying for them to stay here. If it is too dangerous in their own countries – where are their wives and kids – and grandparents, brothers sisters uncles nieces etc etc. Isn’t it dangerous for them? ALL expect free everything lives here – and get it.

      This is a build up to war – here on our soil. And at the rate they are coming – it won’t be long.

      1. 70 getting here probaby means 700 once their initial families arrive – and God Knows What when the rest arrive for a “holiday” to see them – to suddenly need hospital treatment – and lodge their claim for asylum based on a need for ongoing treatment which they can’t afford back home – but expect us to afford once they are here. HR judges would rule they can all stay.

    3. These ‘refugees’ always say they are fleeing because of the threat and danger in their country.
      When our country was threatened 70+ years ago, our young men stood up and fought back.

  62. To those of a Scottish disposition: Will Anas Sarwar do any better for Labour in Scotland, or will he prove as vacuous as their other recent efforts?

    3. 329750+ up ticks,
      Afternoon Rtd,
      The party as a whole up there will have to go some to
      cover up any active paedophilia to even come close in the cover up department, to lab South of the border down rotherham way.

  63. To those of a Scottish disposition: Will Anas Sarwar do any better for Labour in Scotland, or will he prove as vacuous as their other recent efforts?

  64. English Rugby players should spend less time worrying about virtue signalling and more time worrying about how to win the bloody game.

  65. Facebook has today had a $650m judgement against them for infringing privacy. $650 from liquid funds will really hurt I think. Still, not to worry.

      1. Nope, about a day’s earnings from last quarter’s results. For a company with heavily over-priced shares and diminishing market share with an ageing customer base; that’s going to hurt.

          1. They’ll appeal, but I doubt it will help with this one. Sarcasm? Jokes? They pass me by when it’s about the money.

          5. OK, I have to admit – it’s the Graun so I didn’t read carefully. Facts are sacred but falsehoods are two a penny.

      1. The family gives it away. The girl is ostracised and the boy is supported. Only Muslims do that. Particularly Pakistani Muslims.

    1. That’s a great photo. I’m trying to capture something similar to send to my grandchildren.

      1. if your negotiators are as weak as ours, you will not have a choice. Some of the mid western dairy farms produce more milk than all of the farms in Ontario combined, they have a big surplus that they need to dump somewhere.

        Just like goods made in China, price on the shelves matters.

        1. We could teach them how to make good cheese. Then they can Flog it to the frogs which will cause huge annoyance. Stick a Frenchified label on it and they can flog it in Quebec too.

          1. Nothing earth shattering but there is a lot of good cheese being made over here nowadays, they could easily do as you suggest.

            Don forget wine. A local Ontario wine beat out several French vineyards and won the gold medal in an international tasting competition, that really upset the French.

          3. French vitners have rested on their laurels while the world has largely moved past them. Italian wine use to be 2nd best, not now. Argentinian and Chilean wine is far better, Australian. New Zealand and South African wine is well ahead. Even Russian wine is often pretty good.

            English white wine regularly beats the Frogs in blind tastings.

          7. Argentinian wine is very much underrated. What was a shock was being told by a Santiago wine merchant that Chile doesn’t really do Merlot, Shiraz is their speciality. He had no Merlot “We sell Chilean wines!”.

        2. I tend to buy only British meat and other products where possible. My regular shop is Morrisons and they label stuff clearly with a Union flag – I think they only stock British meat. I’d like to see any halal stuff clearly labelled as such.

          I don’t like the way US meat is produced – stuffed with hormones and antibiotics and their animal welfare standards fall far short of ours. So long as it’s properly labelled we can avoid it.

          1. I (or rather Cook) only buy meat at one of two butchers who breed their own animals, and from Martins Farm.

        2. Glucose-fructose syrup, nasty stuff

          “Fructose
          Fructose is a sugar found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, and added to various beverages such as soda and fruit-flavored drinks. However, it is very different from other sugars because it has a different metabolic pathway and is not the preferred energy source for muscles or the brain. Fructose is only metabolized in the liver and relies on fructokinase to initiate metabolism. It is also more lipogenic, or fat-producing, than glucose. Unlike glucose, too, it does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate production of leptin, a key hormone for regulating energy intake and expenditure. These factors raise concerns about chronically high intakes of dietary fructose, because it appears to behave more like fat in the body than like other carbohydrates.”

    2. Chlorinated chicken is a red herring. We drink chlorinated water, swim in chlorinated swimming pools and any chlorine on a chicken gets driven off by cooking. Livestock hormone injections are a battle ground. Personally, I like tits, but not for myself.

      1. I agree that chlorinated chicken is the least of the problems even though it seems to be the key objection for many.

        Many of our vendors now slap big hormone free labels on their products, it is effectively saying not made in the US or China!

      2. Chicken is chiorinated to kill off salmonella. The Polish chicken just withdrawn from British supermarkets with some fatel results from salmonella would not have happened if it had been chiorinated.

        2. Are you sure? My tap water is so chlorinated, it’s indistinguishable from Domestos. Which I’ve stopped buying. There’s no point.

          I do have a Russell Hobbs kettle with an integrated Brita filter. Which is just as well…

    3. One small bonus of having free trade from the US is that our bodybuilders can save money and not risk arrest when buying drugs, as they’ll now be able to buy US beef instead, enriched with all that hormonal goodness… 🙂

      On a serious note – I doubt if any FTA would ever include anything like chlorinated food either forced on us, or at most, offered for sale without ciggie-style labelling to ensure we knew about it. Whether the UK consumer accepts it, as richardl says, because we’re a fickle bunch and just go cost, is up for grabs.

      Given how easily we as a nation rolled over on the COVID restrictions, etc, you never know. After all, most of our chicken – mostly sourced from continental Europe, has added water. And we continue to but cheap Chinese tat electronics, so much so that there’s precious little choice now other than uber-expensive stuff.

      Other than cars and odd robots, what does Japan actually make these days? I remember (Back to the Future) when all the good stuff was made in Japan. To be honest, I wasn’t aware of anything good that was made in the USA these days.

      1. US Tee-shirts are good. heavy quality cotton, don’t shrink in the wash.
        Snap-on tools are excellent.

        2. Indeed – I forgot about Snap-on. Quite pricey, though. I do remember watching a YouTube video from Aussie motoring journo John Cadogan that whilst he rates them, he’s found some similar quality, but cheaper alternatives. I susepct whilst they may be sourced from companies in Oz, they are probably made in Chy-na.

          1. Firstborn is a vehicle technician, and when buying his own tools, will only buy snap-on.
            Part of it is their lifetime guarantee. His very expensive torque wrench rolled of the bench & hit the floor, breaking itself electronically in the process. He got a direct replacement, no arguments. And, their gear is good.

    4. Luckily, we are safe from that, as we do not buy Heinz products. They were promoting salad cream done up in “packets of three” like condoms. This was at a University in Freshers week. I wrote to their UK HQ complaining that this was pretty repellent and was brushed off. I then wrote to the HQ in the US and they said that it was up to the UK people what they did in the UK. Now, this is a company whose website is all Mickey Mouse characters and twee and aimed at 6 year olds.
      That was that.

    5. So that’s why youngest grandchild slathers her food in ketchup when at home in Canada but not so keen here!

  69. A splendid day. Sunny but not hot. Cleaned out the two water butts- then tackled the roofs of two sheds which are placed under an oak tree and were covered with moss and tree debris. Very satisfactory work, particularly as, half way through, I realised I could sit on the edge of the roof!

    Cats were very wussy – then emerged and went bananas, climbing trees,especially a cedar on which they climbed to about 30 feet, only to discover that going up was a great deal simpler than coming down!

    Here are some snaps to delight the cat lovers.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e9d4f2691d2229173431d01f122faeab6c2f6747c43271dc2ca05d9fb55c7331.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/aa9d64c17debe969d951b5c306a131fca2fbd40fd641a6514831e8976c7cd81e.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2b01f7863ab4e2675fd31c9b2e8ce148b73308c56a5c3287f1b0a2c93305c719.jpg

    That is Gus – and he was about 10 feet off the ground!

  70. I see that a row is brewing up concerning the “sexuallity”? of Mr Potatoe Head – that harmless cartoon character from the 1950’s
    The woke brigade want him [it/her] classed as neutral . . ?
    With this row about Potatoe Head, it can only be a matter of time before they latch onto the novel “Goodbye Mr Chips”

          1. Glad to be of service. The old ones are the best. Even though I was a wee bairn back then, the 70s had some great comedy. Probably because being PC wasn’t popular yet.

          2. Eye didn’t see that you had already used that one, sorry…hope your evening isn’t blighted…

          5. Same in yer Weegie, Grizz.
            The Hotel Grand in Oslo pronounced “Grung”.
            Must be something to do with brown cheese and fermented fish.

    4. They will probably replace Mr Potatoe Head with Mr Carrote Head, Mr Turnipe Head or even Mr Cauliflowere Head. 🤣

  71. That’s me for today. The last of the sun for several days, apparently. Still, good gardening weather – and isn’t it nice to be at 6 pm and it still to be light (just)?

    Have a jolly evening – and remember your masks…

    A demain.

        2. So you are at one with Dorothy Parker? “I require three things of a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid”.

          9. Sensible captains speak to the referee politely. Farrell always comes across as petulant and whining.

      5. He looks as tick as two short planks, but when he’s interviewed it’s completely different. Then he sounds as thick as two short planks. And he’s a thug.

    2. My neighbours put a sign on their gate. Takeaway ordered. Rugby on. This door will not be answered no matter how hard you bang !

    3. England are clearly held to the same level of scrutiny as Donald Trump when it comes to rugby, the rest get the Joe Biden treatment,
      They might as well be throwing round a banana.

      1. Don’t be childish. It was a good win for Wales. England were outwitted and out played. The slow motion rugby that Farrell likes to play was brutally exposed. Just because Farrell’s England take ten minutes over a penalty it doesn’t mean that everyone else has to.

        1. They were called Baedeker raids, after the guide book. Herr H thought he would destroy our cultural heritage. Plus ça change …

        1. This was the big one, Maggie:

          On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, exploded, causing at least 207 deaths, 7,500 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years, after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse, but as of February 2021, the exact cause of the detonation is still under investigation.

          The blast was also felt across Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine and parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 mi) away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3, and is considered one of the most powerful artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.

          1. I remember hearing about that , sadly not dwelled on for any length of time by the media .

            Yes , that was quite a loud bang. Poor people must still be suffering horribly .

          3. Wearing my hat as a chemist, I reckon that the explosive force of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate could have been greatly enhanced by the addition of some 300 tonnes of sugar.
            This was very likely; IMHO, this was no ‘accident’ …

          5. A combo of Brandy and Port should fix it, sweetie … x

            BTW, I’m a Chemist (and Physicist) – not a Pharmacist …

          6. Your comment is interesting, Lacoste.

            In our village we have a very good
            Chemist shop with more facilities than
            the Surgery provides.
            It is called ‘C……. Chemist… an all round
            excellent establishment.

    6. Look on the brightide.
      The kids could have had a lovely play area:
      Cycle speedway track
      Cellars
      Walls to hide behind (for hide and seek etc)
      Dens

      Been there, seen it ,,done it, in Coventry

        1. Born In Stratford-upon-Avon (cus Mum was moved there)

          Bred in Coventry

          The real irony,was when the Council (who had harmed Coventy housing, shops, roads etc mote than the Germans did) built houses on our play ground, my maths teacher at my senior skule bought one there

        1. Yo Gg
          Settling in
          Never realised that ‘sellers’ could leave a house in such a state
          Tired at at the end of most days
          But Never Down
          How are you?

          1. Whizzo! … Thank you.

            My Dad, his brothers and their Dad,
            were all in Salcey Forest, along with
            most of the villagers … they saw the glow
            of the bombings on Coventry, they were on
            fire duty because the Storage Units were
            hidden below the tree canopy, … they also
            had to look after the elephants!!

          2. My Mum’s family were in Rushden, in Northamtonshire could see it burn

            See The word’ Coventrate’

          3. Rushden is four miles away from where I now live!
            I was bought up in the village next to Salcey!

          4. Youse knows Newton Road

            The Snob , cobbler had a shop down a bit, from my Nana’s house
            She then movedt o Friendly Lodgs Farm, by the then Railway station
            We used Walt Gell taxixto get us our thers, having come from Derngaate, by bus.

  76. Can someone please tell me what is the best word to use when looking for a tree surgeon in pagesjaunes?

    1. My x-year-old Yellow Pages does have ‘Tree work’ in it. Look under Forestry, Garden and Landscape as well. No Arboriculture though…

      1. Dear William, thank you, but I am looking in French…I have found several translations, but it’s not clear what each of them specifically means. For example, there is a difference between someone who will trim a hedge and someone who is equipped to cut an enormous tree…élagage, arboriste, arboriculteur, pépinieriste are all given for tree surgeon. I suspect the last one is grape vines. The third one seems to be tree growers….I am confused.

    2. What do you want them to do?

      I’m a lumberjack and I’m alright, or gentle but high level pruning?

      1. Probably fell an enormous (more than 3 storeys high) walnut tree whose branches are touching the roof and going over the neighbour’s garden (they have complained).

        I have seen a similar huge tree that was pruned a few years ago, and it grew back with ferociously thick growth, so that it now looks like a green, ten metre high lollipop and the owner will have to get the tree surgeon back to cut some of the growth away. This I do not want.

        1. Are you in France yourself, and is it a holiday cottage/house? If so, where?

          You could try AngloInfo or Connexion, BUT be very careful, British businesses have a bit of a reputation for ripping off Brits.

          I would suggest that it might be worth asking at the Marie.

          1. Not at this moment, but I will be next week. I asked the Maire, and he directed me to said neighbour. Her tree surgeon sadly died recently in a traffic accident, and she also did not know another.
            I don’t usually seek out ex-pat businesses.

          2. We’re lucky being in a forested area, where skilled people are almost two a penny.

            As an alternative approach, try to find a small local saw mill, they will almost certainly know a good artisan.

          3. I am in eastern france, I’m guessing you’re not?
            It is a forested area, but I don’t know any saw mills. Plenty of people fell their own firewood, but that’s different from a tree in a built up area.

            There is another slightly smaller tree that is leaning over the neighbours that my son and I will fell, but the bigger one is too much.

          4. No, I’m in the Dordogne.
            The tree felling skills won’t change. My handyman/gardener and I have just taken down five poplars, any of which would have demolished my neighbours’ houses had they fallen the wrong way.
            If trees are being felled in your area, there will almost certainly be a small saw-mill locally.
            Assuming that by East you are in wine areas you could ask around the big wine merchants where they get their barrels and hunt backwards from there.
            elagage/abattage should still work as a starting point.
            When BT, RCT or HC start up again tomorrow ask them, their French is excellent and they’ve been here for years. Ped might also know.

          5. I think I’ve got it now, thank you. I’ve found two that are about 20 km away, that I can call on Monday.

          8. Very, very wise. The only time in 35 years that the MR chose a British “builder” he did a shoddy job and ripped her off.

        2. How about looking on the internet for some near you that have an email address. Send an email – in english – asking if they speak English so you can explain what you want by phone. Any who can may reply. Those who reply in French probably won’t be much help.

          Plus – isn’t walnut expensive? If so – Someone may be interested in doing it for the money they can get for the wood. Like scrap metal here in the UK. Everything just gets left at the front of the garden – marked with a large felt tip marker – ” Please take”.

          1. I can speak french with them! I just don’t know the relevant search phrases to find the correct category of businesses in pages jaunes!

        4. Pruning,makes plants/trees grow
          Seven copper nails in the trunk make them tiiiirrred and stop growing

          1. That is interesting. Bit mean to the tree though! Walnuts seem to be so vigorous that I could see myself hammering endless nails into it.

  77. Anyway, it’s all going swimmngly well for de facto President of the United States Donald J Trump who has never looked happier or more relaxed…..

    Acting in conjunction with US Forces, Donald has recently dealt with some particularly unpleasant Iranians in Syria who were planning attacks on Americans in Iraq. That won’t be happening now…

    Biden gets the blame from his supporters which is fine… and of course Biden can’t say a word, so he quietly disappears..

    Meanwhile, Donald quietly smiling to himself, puts the finishing touches to his big speech tomorrow…..

    Happy days… being de facto President is turning out to be such fun !

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b53e515b38eb1ad1f2530159fb74c3a6f0da1747bfe88c474c6e4089c5eb371d.jpg

    1. Makes me smile every time I see that photograph, unlike the Soros photograph (you know which one…!).

  81. The rugby. I don’t hold with the ‘official’ BTL version. The England team are muscle blobs and they are slow. Wales understood that and did not allow Farrell’s endless tricks to slow the game down so his guys can recover. The first try, well there is no such thing as a timeout, official or un-official in rugby, so what was Farrell thinking walking away with his back to the ball. Was he not taught, “Never ever turn your back on the ball”? Wales asked ‘Can we take it quickly”, a standard thing in football and used to be a standard thing in RU. Ref had no justification to say no under the rules, so he said yes.

    Wales kept the game moving as much as they could and the England players got over-heated and tired. It’s a standard technique against an overweight (over muscled) team in football, keep them running, make them move fast for set pieces. It gets to the point where they can’t quite keep up and then comes the indiscipline. The England indiscipline was a result of Welsh tactical nous rather than English stupidity.

    1. Eddie Jones thinks he’s Warren Gatland, reincarnate, and now he has a pool of gym-bunnies, he coaches accordingly.
      When he coached Japan he did well with what he had.
      Time and time again I’ve noticed that low hard tackles, that knock the ball carrier over immediately, have resulted in attacking opportunities, which is what “his” Japan did.

      Why oh why didn’t he do similarly with England?
      When I watched the Scotland game I wrote that I thought England/Italy was the wooden spoon match, I think I may be proven right.

      1. I’ve noticed over the years and I’m no expert on rugby but whenever England get a good side together everyone knocks them and tries to get them to change, okay they don’t look like world champions at the moment but this side did beat New Zealand and get to the world cup final last time. I think Eddie Jones should keep doing what he is doing and build for the next world cup and not get too disheartened when losing games where bad refereeing decisions play the biggest part in the defeat.
        I thought England played the best rugby today out of the two sides when the game was allowed to flow, Billy Vunipola played a different role to normal, I see the team getting better with each game so far.

        1. Even Italy scored against them by playing “open” rugby.

          They are very ill-disciplined, they don’t play to the referee.

          However much one might disagree with the referees’ interpretation/decisions, only a fool carries on regardless and England is a ship of fools. That is down to poor coaching and that is where the buck stops with Jones.

          They always look very vulnerable to open play counter attack.
          If they don’t get thoroughly stuffed by France I might change my mind, but at the moment I think they would struggle to get to the knock out stage of the RUWC and would fall at the first if they drew anyone other than one of the also-rans.

          1. I think you are underestimating them and the damage poor refereeing can do to a game, even the expert pundits were aghast at what was happening, including the usually more partisan Welsh ones, the first half really was a shocker, I think they did really well to keep their heads under the circumstances. If the standard of refereeing keeps up like this people will just stop watching and lose interest.

          3. I must admit that I was surprised by the decisions, but equally I could see why they were technically correct.

            Bad though they appeared, if they (RFU) insist on VAR etc. then the letter of the law appears to trump the spirit.

          4. What is the point of VAR when it is still down to interpretation, as a said before the pundits who were watching the VAR were astounded and the players as well when they were given the tries, they are in danger of alienating the public and putting people off watching, might as well watch professional wrestling instead.

          7. Agreed, I would limit it to facts such as foot in touch or proper grounding and perhaps dangerous play. Looking at a very marginal incidents, several times from many different angles is certainly putting me off.

          8. The referee can decide who is going to win. The ref in rugby union has more power over the game, the play, the players and the result than any official in any other sport. I did not watch today’s matches. I saw short interludes. Just horrible.

          9. including the usually more partisan Welsh ones

            On the other hand, there’s Brian Moore, Jeremy Guscott, Jonny ‘Brain Cell’ Wilkinson who all talk with an England bias.
            All ex-player pundits do – it’s just more noticable to one in those who were not of one’s own country.

          10. I think you are underestimating them and the damage poor refereeing can do to a game, even the expert pundits were aghast at what was happening, including the usually more partisan Welsh ones, the first half really was a shocker, I think they did really well to keep their heads under the circumstances. If the standard of refereeing keeps up like this people will just stop watching and lose interest.

          1. I shall not support the England XV again until they abandon bending the knee in this pathetic manner.

            Wales deserved their victory.

      1. I watched the match on TV and was disappointed with both the referee and the infringements which gifted the game to Wales.

        Farrell was understandably confused by the referee who having asked the England captain to speak to his players then sneakily allowed the Welsh to play on before the England team had time to reset. This alone marked the referee out as flawed and possibly biased.

        England were the better in attack but the multiple infringements ultimately gave the game away. The referee was disruptive and persnickety. Such officials will cause more of us to switch off.

    3. Farrell, is a problem. I have neve rated him because of his childish attitude. England is a racist team that I never thought I would see.

    4. I don’t watch the six nations anymore because of the idiotic ‘taking the knee’ in salute to a Marxist, Racist ideology.

        1. Why not, Tryers?

          I have just found Newton Road!
          I am not very good at Street names,
          this road, though, now joins the A6 By-pass.

        6. Is there a cause for your potential departure, OLT? I, for one, would miss your posts.

    2. My last car was a W203 diesel C-Class Merc estate. I scrapped it at 280,000 miles. I could have sorted it, but I would have spent more than the value of the car to do so. Despite Dieselgate, VAG make some excellent cars. Mercedes less so, I feel…

      1. I always prefer to consider what it’s worth to me, which is usually more than the market value.

    3. My last car was a W203 diesel C-Class Merc estate. I scrapped it at 280,000 miles. I could have sorted it, but I would have spent more than the value of the car to do so. Despite Dieselgate, VAG make some excellent cars. Mercedes less so, I feel…

    2. What a load of superstition! Evil humans have been disturbing Mother Earth with their bad commercial activity…now the humans are staying in their houses, the Earth can recover…this is BS straight out of the old religion.
      Cower in your homes and pay the sacrifice to the high priests, so that the sun will rise and Mother Earth will be fruitful.

      Christianity put this kind of guilt to flight for over 1500 years, because it has a construct that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity, once and for all, and you do not have to keep sacrificing to a vengeful God or Gods or Earth. You only have to concentrate on your own relationship with God.

      The WEF are using science to try and control the masses via superstition, because we are conditioned to the idea that nobody can argue with scientific conclusions.

      This is why defeating Christianity in the West is key to controlling the people, and why fighting for the Church is still so important.

  86. Sunday 28th February, 2021

    Jeremy Morfey

    A Very Happy Birthday

    and

    Very More Enjoyable and Musical Returns

    With best wishes from

    Caroline and Rastus.

      1. I just thought I’d look in as I’m not yet ready for bed. That’s the curse of being a night owl; going to bed just because it’s late doesn’t mean I can sleep 🙁

    1. A few days ago you made a comment “What about the FAA and the Stringbags with torpedos?” which I have been thinking about, and I agree that you have a very good point.
      1. There 16 squadrons of Stringbags in 1940, so they had the weapon.
      2. They proved very effective against ships at anchor at night in Taranto, so they had the skill to do it.
      3. The way to defend against it would have been searchlights and copious heavy machine gun fire, but a German force on a shoestring in that 1st week would have had neither of those.
      4, The Stringbag had the range to attack from 200 miles away, so they could have mounted operations from realistically functioning bases.
      All in all, a very effective suggestion.

        1. That kind of comment is why I am here. Left field, never occurred to me, but interesting.

Comments are closed.