Saturday 27 May: Efficient healthcare delivered by the NHS in partnership with the private sector

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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342 thoughts on “Saturday 27 May: Efficient healthcare delivered by the NHS in partnership with the private sector”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    She Drinks, She Smokes, She WHAT?

    An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman were talking at work.

    The Englishman says, “I was tidying my daughter’s bedroom the other day and I found a bottle of vodka! I was shocked! I didn’t know she drank!”

    “You know what?” said the Scotsman. “I was tidying my daughter’s bedroom the other day and I found a pack of cigarettes! I had no idea she smoked!”

    “Well, that’s nothing…” said the Irishman. “I was tidying my daughter’s bedroom the other day and I found a pack of condoms… and I didn’t even know she had a dick!”

  5. Yesterday evening just as the last light was fading across the other side of the canal I saw something moving very fast through the water. Very dark against the phalanx of reeds I thought as first it might have been a sizeable snake but as it came parallel to the boat I could just make out its head above the water. Too large to be a mink I came to the conclusion it had to be an otter. It continued to swim close to the reeds until I lost sight of it in the darkness.
    Although the water in the canal is a tad murky (visibility is limited to a depth of about 3 inches) it is teaming with fish so I guess it must appear to be a supermarket as far as any otter is concerned!
    Have a good day one and all

    1. Haven’t seen an otter for many, many years. If you see one, or a pair, never ever tell people where.

  6. 372669+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Saturday 27 May: Efficient healthcare delivered by the NHS in partnership with the private sectorate

    Wife received appointment letter on the 24th to attend hospital on the 25th, we must juggle appointment times with bus times for the 52 mile round trip and a very sparse service.

    We arrived at 10 to 11 for a 12.15 app. maybe because a cancelled appointment we were slotted in at 5 past 11 and out of the hospital at 25 past 11 and on the return bus at 12.50, done & dusted with courtesy shown throughout.

    Her notes are inclusive of transport problems when allotting appointment times, we witnessed the NHS working at its best with common sense playing a big part.

    We witnessed the NHS working for the welfare of the peoples in the past, inclusive of convalescent homes for after treatment care, now you join the waiting queue at the tail end in the car park, courtesy of the WEF,NWO, lab/lib/con/current ukip mass controlled/uncontrolled immigration/ paedophile umbrella coalition party, THERE lies the problem.

    1. You lostt your acareer because the Left hate, unthinkingly. They close ranks on the paedophiles because they are always wondering when they’ll be next.

  9. 372669+ up ticks,

    The Truth will out,

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    May 25
    Farage did this because he is a TORY! He always was & always will be. He used UKIP as a stick to beat the Tories with.

    If I have one message left in politics it is: NEVER TRUST FARAGE AGAIN!

    If he thought the Brexit Party could have won seats in Dec 2919 the correct strategy would have been to win as many seats as possible in order to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament.

    A Tory or Labour majority amounts to the same thing – as events since Dec 2019 have proved. .

    From Feb 2018 until May 2019 I tried to transform UKIP into a genuinely populist party. Farage worked with the Scum Media to destroy UKIP & they succeeded. As soon as the Tories won Farage abandoned the Brexit …more

    Nigel Farage ‘regrets’ election pact that helped Boris Johnson win landslide
    The former Brexit Party leader pulled candidates from the 317 seats the Conservatives won at the 2017 election to give the Tories a clear run to power – but he now regrets the move

    VIDEO LOADING
    Nigel Farage reflects on his deal with Boris Johnson
    NEWS
    POLITICS
    FOOTBALL
    CELEBS
    TV
    ROYALS
    ByLizzy BuchanDeputy Political Editor
    09:09, 25 May 2023UPDATED12:42, 25 May 2023
    |
    97
    |
    BOOKMARK
    Nigel Farage has admitted he regrets stitching up an election deal to help Boris Johnson win a landslide victory in 2019.

    The former Brexit Party leader pulled candidates from the 317 seats the Conservatives won at the 2017 election to give the Tories a clear run to power.

    1. I have argued here several times that Farage chickened out of the 2019 election. If – and it may be a big if – he had contested those seats held by sitting Conservatives his party might heave held the balance of power and a proper Brexit rather than the Johnson shambles could have been achieved. Certainly the N Ireland and fishing fiascos would have been avoided.

      I agree with you that Farage is flawed but to my mind Brexit was always more important than slagging off Farage.

      1. Farage has shown himself to be a quitter, a fair-weather principles politician, and therefore untrustworthy. I can easily imagine him saying “These are my principles, and if you don’t like them, I have others!”

        1. Farage (sorry: “Farridge”) loves the sound of his own voice. I know that because Geoff Wooly told me.

      2. 372669+ up ticks,

        Morning R,
        the farage chap is “flawed”the same way that kim philby was “flawed”, on reflection he was a sleeper from start to finish.

  10. Hawthorn gives off smell of death as it bursts into life.

    There is only one tree in Britain that is named after the month in which it flowers. And the May tree, more commonly known as the hawthorn, is putting on quite a show this year.

    There have been reports across the country of particularly splendid blooms. I have spotted them frothing over A-roads and country tracks, on woodland fringes and in farm hedgerows. Their unmistakable smell, often likened to that of death, hangs heavy in the air.

    A chemical found in hawthorn blossom (trimethylamine) is also present in decaying meat, hence its slight corpse-like odour. For that reason, superstitious people thought it was bad luck to take sprigs of it into houses as it would herald a death in the family.

    “Cast nor a clout, till May be out.”

    Since childhood, I have always thought that the smell of hawthorn blossom reminded me of the whiff of a fishmonger’s stall.

      1. Perhaps your nose needs retuning? I can’t smell anything much at all, my schnozz needs a service!

      2. There was a particular whiff, that came from the three open-air market stalls selling fresh fish in Chesterfield, in the 1950s, that always reminded me of May blossom. The fish they sold was always fresh so it must have been something else on those stalls that gave rise to the (not unpleasant) smell.

    2. Not a superstition that most people would care to test; as a child, the risk was that may blossom might become entangled in one’s hair and thus enter the home surreptitiously, with devastating results.
      Edit: PS, did Grizzly notice the Telegraph report referring to a sheepdog that had to be shorn of its ‘fur’?

        1. Good for Grizzly. Elsie may mow the front lawn tomorrow morning. Lol.

    3. Not a superstition that most people would care to test; as a child, the risk was that may blossom might become entangled in one’s hair and thus enter the home surreptitiously, with devastating results.
      Edit: PS, did Grizzly notice the Telegraph report referring to a sheepdog that had to be shorn of its ‘fur’?

    1. Daddy! I want to be a princess!

      Righto, Junior. You know that means you can’t make mudpies, don’t you?

      Whattt!!!! I’m not a princess any more.

  14. Emails hiring boat suspected of Nord Stream attack came from Ukraine, finds German investigation. 27 May 2023.

    Emails hiring a sailing boat suspected to have been used to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines came from inside Ukraine, according to reports in the German media on their country’s investigation into the attack.

    US intelligence agencies in March said they had information that suggested it was likely that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last September’s sabotage.

    This business still has the potential to inflict enormous damage on the anti-Russian alliance. Though there is nothing in the MSM, large numbers of Germans who have been most affected by it in the form of vastly increased gas bills, must suspect that the Americans are responsible. Such an admission in public would set off a political bomb under the Reichstag and Scholz’s government. It would also probably destroy NATO. For this reason alone it is not even suggested in the Media and why it is you get ludicrous stories like this. I have no doubts at all that the US was responsible. It was not only an act of incredible folly but a malignant self-serving one as well.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/05/26/emails-hiring-boat-suspected-of-nord-stream-attack-ukraine/

    1. They say the emails came from Ukraine. Just for a blast, I switched my VPN to Ukraine, so I’m posting this message from there… not an air ticket or TARDIS to be seen.
      Now we’ve got past that, how about they just STFU until they can tell the truth? The long silence would be good!

  15. Good to see that the Daily Telegraph is keeping abreast of important news and fashion and comes to the point – or rather it doesn’t.

    The big trend in Cannes? The bra flash
    For a while now, celebrities have been wearing sheer dresses with visible thongs, but now the focus has moved firmly to our top halves
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/events/the-big-trend-in-cannes-the-bra-flash/

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19b7315731658b655b08e41653b1c5d79311fde6d54094402e82cfea8d7b798e.jpg

    BTL

    We all have nipples (at least Starmer would say 99.9% of people of all 27¾ genders do) so why do editors become so prim and prissy about showing them?

    Here’s a picture of the Matterhorn with its tip discreetly hidden.

    1. We had some of Junior’s chums over for a play date and one mother elbowed and kicked her husband at the sight of the Warqueen in jodphurs and shirt. I think the drool might stain the carpet.

  16. Good to see that the Daily Telegraph is keeping abreast of important news and fashion and comes to the point – or rather it doesn’t.

    The big trend in Cannes? The bra flash
    For a while now, celebrities have been wearing sheer dresses with visible thongs, but now the focus has moved firmly to our top halves
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/events/the-big-trend-in-cannes-the-bra-flash/

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19b7315731658b655b08e41653b1c5d79311fde6d54094402e82cfea8d7b798e.jpg

    BTL

    We all have nipples (at least Starmer would say 99.9% of people of all 27¾ genders do) so why do editors become so prim and prissy about showing them?

    Here’s a picture of the Matterhorn with its tip discreetly hidden.

  17. Morning all 🙂😉
    Another sunny start. But not as warm as it looks.
    Efficient health care delivered by the NHS in partnership with the private sector. I’m quite sure there are far too many exceptions.
    As I can confirm from my own personal experiences. And I suspect given the chance thousands of others. But I’m sure there will be many, many excuses…….as usual.

    1. Eddy, I completely sympathise with you. My doctor had me make an emergency appointment with the Pulmonary Unit of West Sussex hospital at the beginning of this month. Yesterday the appointment arrived, it is on September 20th. In the meantime I struggle to breath.
      I am not going to take this lying down and neither should you. Complain to everyone you can think of and force them to do their job properly.

      2. Having the same experiences I understand exactly how you feel.
        I’ve been of the opinion for at least two years that there is an ongoing set up to get older people out of the way. As in FOAD. Eff off and die.
        In the last four years I have been to four friends funerals. It seems an unexpected ratio by any standards.
        Around 4-5 years ago the government installed 7 new regional directors into the NHS. I feel certain these people have been instructed to slowly but surely bring the NHS down to its knees.
        Private medical sector has increased massively with in this time scale.
        Many NHS trained doctors and nurses have taken jobs in the private sector.
        Delay in posting,….. just been speaking to Brucie in Melbourne.
        He’s celebrating being cleared of cancer.

        1. Good for Brucie!
          There are many people who think there is a deliberate campaign of medical neglect against the elderly. I am inclined to agree with your opinion on the matter. However, I do not oppose the use of the private sector, the more the better if it improves service for people.

          1. I had a quote for a private sector catheter ablation. Not included any consultation if was anything from
            £ 10,000 up to 25,000.
            I’m not well off enough to cough up with that.

          2. Neither am I but a lot is contracted out by the NHS and it’s that I’m thinking of with regard to ‘private’. Had cataract done by some South African group, did it very well.

    2. The problem is when the private engages with the public you end up with the worst of both. The private has to deal with the inefficiency, bureaucracy and incompetence of the public and the public has to fedn off the greed of the private – brought about because of the spiral of both.

      As a genuine suggestion: why don’t we just pay the NHS when it does the work? The money can come from the same place, but the department for health then becomes a giant insurance company and is responsible for efficiency of hospitals. If hospitals don’t do the work, they have to find savings. If the department for health isn’t in control of spending – because it won’t be getting any more money – then it has to find ways to improve.

      Force efficiency.

      1. And added to all of that we don’t have any one with the foresight that could ever under stand this situation.
        Or really want to understand the problems they are causing and have caused, during their now ongoing periods of absolute ignorance.
        One of the biggest problems has always been and over looked is there are far too many people using the service who have never paid a penny towards its upkeep.

  19. Morning, all Y’all. Late on parade today – too tempted by bacon butties and good coffee to get on the keyboard too soon!

    1. Paul, you call your bacon sandwich a ‘buttie’? I hope this doesn’t mean you butter the bread (yuk!) first.

      Tea is the drink to accompany a good bacon sandwich.👍🏻😉

      1. Don’t use butter. Don’t need extra grease.
        And tea at breakfast makes me nauseous. In the afternoon, fine, but not the morning.

        1. I hate butter and bacon together; when cafés offer me one I send it back. I’m the opposite with tea and coffee. Coffee is an emetic in the morning for me, it has to be tea. I drink my only coffee (from my espresso machine) at fika time (1300 hrs).

    2. It’s the most sensible lecture anyone, at one of this type of Net Zero/Climate Change etc annual meetings, has ever made. Undermines the whole philosophy of Western economics and actions regarding energy and climate.

    1. I am being dim – why is it relevant that he’s holding a piano up with a broom handle?

      1. I’m glad it’s not just me that’s being dim.

        I do know that Gary Larson liked to offer cartoons that were ‘hard to get’.

  22. ‘Morning, Peeps. Full sun today with a heady 18°C forecast.

    SIR – For the average household, a system to collect and store rainwater to provide for flushing lavatories and other “grey” purposes adds only a small percentage to the overall cost of the dwelling (Letters, May 26).

    While a large cistern is ideal, a storage system would function very well using an ordinary large water butt as the reservoir, with a header tank to feed water where needed. The piping, wiring, pump, filters and other items such as float switches should be easy to install for competent plumbers and electricians. Of course, it would be necessary to install the normal water systems as well, and to provide a safe automatic switchover when the header tank and reservoir were empty, but modern equipment must exist to do this.

    I have long campaigned for such systems to be installed in all dwellings and other buildings for human use. Once in place across the country they would perform the functions of a reservoir, reduce demands on rivers and buffer runoff after heavy rain.

    John Neimer
    Stoborough, Dorset

    Another letter in the great rainwater harvesting debate. This one makes a lot more sense than the original, although in the drier parts of the country (here, for instance) a large water butt, about 200 ltrs, would not sustain loo-flushing, and possibly washing machine and dishwasher use too, for very long. I have two of these, used for garden watering, and the second of these is now down to half-full. The first was empty about 10 days ago. However, when the rain comes it always surprises me how quickly they – and the other three smaller ones of 110 ltrs – are full again.

    1. We have three normally in use for garden watering and pond topping up. One is under repair for the leak around the tap, one is empty and the other now about quarter full.
      We do need some rain now! Everything is very dry even after months of rain earlier in the year.

    2. Or – just a suggestion – DEFRA could be forced to ignore the EU rulings and law on water conservation and after 2 thirds of the staff are sacked, accept we are not being chained to the EU again and get on with granting planning permission to build the reservoirs water companies have been asking to for 10 years?

    3. “…they would perform the functions of a reservoir, reduce demands on rivers and buffer runoff after heavy rain.”

      Really? Has anyone done any calculations on how much of the rain that falls on a particular area can be usefully captured in butts? I’m willing to be persuaded that it would be a worthwhile exercise but my instincts tell me that the amount stored would be a very small fraction of the total.

      For millions of properties it would be as impractical as the useless air-source heat pump.

  23. I’m off to chop the last few logs left over from yesterday, then it’s a choice between shifting a little but under a ½ton of concrete ballast and a ¼ton of building sand, or getting the sawn wood I have in front of the car-port shifted and stacked.

    1. …it’s a choice between shifting a little but under a ½ton of concrete ballast and a ¼ton of building sand…

      What are you doing after lunch Bob! Lol!

    1. I asked a Lefty – all these immigrants need food and energy. You want to shut down that source of energy and food. What will happen when they have no heat and light?

      The abusive word salad justification was long, loud and so easy to shred there would be no point posting it but I simply replied with.. you’ve no answer, then?

  25. Clinton political adviser James Carville said at the time, “I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president or the pope or as a . 400 baseball hitter. But now I would like to come back as the bond market.”

    1. The Religion of Peace. There is no doubt in my mind that Islam is satanically-inspired.

      1. If you read the life of Mohammad you have to come to the conclusion that he was deeply neurotic or psychotic. He was also an extremely deceitful man who conned his followers. Putting bird seed in his ear so that a dove would appear to talk to him, he would claim that the dove was Gabriel, was just one of his tricks.

      1. You’d get the same international press response as the screeching about the Chinese repressing Moslems. The Chinese Communist Party also represses 100 million+ Christians but how often do you hear about that?

  27. I am off – the MR and I are having our outing and picnic. Back late afternoon. Play nicely.

    1. In times of madness telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

      It always ends the same way. The bitter, twisted Left set about trying to destroy everything others have built. They kill and murder for their great crusade and someone, somewhere fights back and that’s it, the Left are put down again, all fight kicked out of them and the tolerant, decent kindness of normal people allows the bitter psychotics a voice again.

      Next time we stop them we cannot let the snake of the Left have that voice.

      1. As I said, I had forgotten about her of late. I must try to keep track of her because you are right, she is very good.

  29. Ogga posted this last night so I suspect a lot of people missed it. So taking the liberty of posting it again.
    https://twitter.com/BillboardChris/status/1661867404379717632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1661867404379717632%7Ctwgr%5Eb5d3887704ac647778620cadccf9d0dc26cf22ed%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefaultf%3Dnottlt_i%3D316420https3A2F2Fnttl.blog2F3Fp3D3164t_u%3Dhttps3A2F2Fnttl.blog2Ffriday-26-may-an-unsustainable-number-of-benefit-claimants-with-no-prospect-of-work2Ft_e%3DFriday202620May3A20An20unsustainable20number20of20benefit20claimants20with20no20prospect20of20workt_d%3DFriday202620May3A20An20unsustainable20number20of20benefit20claimants20with20no20prospect20of20workt_t%3DFriday202620May3A20An20unsustainable20number20of20benefit20claimants20with20no20prospect20of20works_o%3Ddescversion%3D0de049a9509db2ffb3bccb8a794510c2

    2. it is ironic that the Left, so desperate to re-write history refuse to acknowledge they’re the vile enemy so many lives were lost fighting against.

      These Lefties are evil. They think they’re heroes. So did the Nazis, the communists, the maoists. They’re fascists, bitter, twisted, insane hypocritical psychopaths.

      1. I read an interesting thread on Twit that hypothesized a trans-Floyd this summer amid conflict between pushers of drag hours and conservative Christians in the US. In other words, this summer’s planned distraction could be for conservatives to be demonised as murderers for daring to oppose the agenda. We’ll see.
        Apparently the US is in for a “Summer of Pride” as a month isn’t long enough.

        1. June is pride month, they are already advertising special pride events.

          Our council is about to repaint the psychedelic zebra crossings which I suppose that they see as a better use of our money than giving money to the foodbanks.

          It gets me how they talk about being inclusive and then highlight one group.

  30. Whats wrong with Britain………………When all the news headline are about this idiot

    Schofield.Who on earth is interested in his seedy goings on.

    1. Good morning Johnny N, and everyone.
      Legerdemain; it is a distraction from other problems facing the country.

      I doubt that Mr Schofield has done anything wrong, other than marketing himself as a wholesome, white man with a smile. Having no credentials to discuss the chemistry of the human brain, I can only repeat the old observation: men have great secksual desire, whilst women have great capacity. This mismatch creates problems in judeo christian countries where money and marriage reflect one’s status; tribal groups (and other faiths) usually made compromises.

    3. Anything to do with nonentities (and there is a lot) has me immediately switching off or turning the page.

      1. He reminds me of G Linaker. Both full of their own self importance and up their own ar*eholes.
        Good riddance, and GL to follow soon, I hope. The only problem with GL leaving is the k*nob they have supposedly lined up to replace him.

    4. It’s a media distraction from the signing of the WHO pandemic agreement? Just a guess…. I may be wrong…. the media does seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of distraction, it’s all so nonsensical.

  31. Pleny of people swimming in Seaford Bay this morning.Like a mill pond. Ferry has just arrived from Dieppe into Newhaven and a French market on.

    1. Several dogs have died at a beauty spot near Lough Neagh in County Antrim

      Ireland! It’s a four leaved shamrock! Morning Phizzee.

    2. This morning, the great beast decided he didn’t want to walk. We went out just before sunrise to see it over the sea and… he spends ten flippin’ minutes lying down, on his side facing the other way. Ozzie thought this all a grand wheeze and did the same, which cause a fight between them, which had a jogger complain they were blocking the road.

      It put me in a bad mood. Well, as it’s me, an even worse mood. Mongo’s doing this more and more often and it’s bally annoying. His paws are fine, his bones are ok. He has no hip or walking problems – he went for 5 miles with Junior the other day, running back and forth like a loon, but with me? It’s Mongo’s impression of a bollard time.

      Yet there’ll be other days when he comes to me *to* walk and we go out together, quietly, slowly and just sit there, with him leaning against me.

      Ruddy beast!

      1. I have learned now that if Oscar doesn’t come to me to have his lead put on, there is no point starting a fight (his teeth are bigger than mine). I take Kadi on his own instead.

  33. Good morning all,

    Wall to wall sunshine again in the McPhee corner of N W Hants. Wind still Nor’- East and temperature 15℃ going to 19℃ today.

    Nothing much going on in Clown World today to get one’s fangs into so I’m off to the banks of a lovely chalkstream to see if I can tempt some trout with a mayfly.

    1. It’s sunny with a clear blue sky in West London but still a chilly south westerly wind.

    2. We have sun and sun and I’m keeping the blackout curtains closed and it’s full daylight in here.

  35. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12130807/Electric-bike-boys-riding-killed-Cardiff-early-birthday-present.html

    Considering that family are entirely welfare dependent it’s pretty obvious that welfare is too high.

    agreed to jointly sponsor a grassroots-led initiative to create a community plan for Ely, to respond to the long-term needs of residents. It will be focused on actions and outcomes for people in Ely.’

    What utter waffling tripe. The need to be made to work, and if they don’t their welfare stopped. If they continue to commit crime, they’re hanged.

    1. Those other bloody fools releasing hundreds, maybe thousands of balloons, don’t realise the damage they are doing to stock in farmers’ fields. The damn things come down somewhere, a cow or a sheep is curious and munches into it, causing their gut to become blocked and the animal dies. So much for sympathy.

      1. When they rioted the simple answer was to use live rounds. They’re effluent, and removing them would do the nation good.

    2. John O’Driscoll, Harvey’s great uncle, said: “What happened on Monday with the riot, that was wrong, the boys were wrong. But it was out of frustration. It was because a lot of the boys get abused by the police around here and so that’s why things kicked off.”

      That’s all right, then. Burn the cars, burn the street, burn the town. You know it makes sense.

      Home-grown scum as well…

      1. Odd that neither me, the Warqueen or Junior have ever been abused by the police. Perhaps it’s because we don’t cause any trouble, smash windows, shop lift, hurl abuse, attack people, steal or otherwise break the law?

        1. The same man further on: “They were just young boys. Everyone rides bikes and scooters around here. Yes, we find them annoying but that’s just what they do.”

          Same here. I’ve had plenty of near misses and a few unpleasant confrontations with teenagers and adults who are oblivious to walkers and regard the footpaths as their exclusive property.

          1. “That’s just what they do” – well perhaps they should learn not to do some things.

        2. The same man further on: “They were just young boys. Everyone rides bikes and scooters around here. Yes, we find them annoying but that’s just what they do.”

          Same here. I’ve had plenty of near misses and a few unpleasant confrontations with teenagers and adults who are oblivious to walkers and regard the footpaths as their exclusive property.

        3. My sole run in with the law in this country was when I and a fair weather friend chucked a rock through the windows of a derelict house. Voice behind me said something like, “Well, well, well,” or “Now then.” Some sort of policeman talk. I swear he appeared through a trap door in the pavement. Friend had scarpered.
          I was terrified as he walked behind me on the way home and I worried he might tell my mother. He didn’t but I have been good, relatively, ever since.
          I was about 9 years old when this occurred.

          1. The difference is you were more worried about your mother’s punishment because you knew she would be angry and disappointed.

            These scum would be praised by their criminal parents and the officer abused. These are Labour’s children. Useless, never working, welfare dependent, criminal but they create masses of work for the state machine.

          2. Sadly Wibbs, she wouldn’t have been surprised- my behaviour in primary school was bad. I shaped up in grammar school. I am ever so good now ;-))

          3. When she was good she was very very good. But when she was bad she was better.

        4. One of my brothers had frequent interactions with the police. He would get drunk, they would drive him home.

    3. Dad has probably been doin’ a little night ‘work’ to acquire such a present…

  36. Ref the short discussion the other day on e-scooters……
    WHAT IS AN E-SCOOTER?
    Electrical scooters (also known as e-scooters) come under the category of “powered transporters”; this covers a range of personal transport devices which are powered by a motor.
    E-scooters are classed as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Which means the rules that apply to motor vehicles, also apply to e-scooters including the need to have a licence, insurance and tax.
    It’s not currently possible to get insurance for privately owned e-scooters, which means it’s illegal to use them on the road or in public spaces. If you’re using a private e-scooter you risk the vehicle being seized under S.165 Road Traffic Act 1988 for no insurance.
    If you cause serious harm to another person whilst riding an e-scooter the incident will be investigated in the same way it would if you were riding a motorcycle or driving a car.
    LEGAL USE OF AN E-SCOOTER
    It’s legal to use an e-scooter on private land with the permission of the land owner.
    Where a trial rental scheme is running, it’s legal to use a rental e-scooter on a public road or cycle lane, provided you have the correct licence and follow road traffic regulations.
    Penalties and offences
    If you don’t have a licence, or the correct licence, or are riding without insurance you could face a Fixed Penalty notice:
    * With a £300 fine and six penalty points on your licence for having no insurance
    *Up to £100 fine and three to six penalty points for riding without the correct licence
    *You could also be committing an offence if you’re caught:
    – Riding on a pavement; Fixed Penalty Notice and possible £50 fine
    – Using a mobile phone or other handheld mobile device while riding; £200 and six penalty points
    – Riding through red lights; Fixed Penalty Notice, £100 fine and possible penalty points
    – Drink driving: the same as if you were driving a car, you could face court imposed fines, a driving ban and possible imprisonment
    If you’re using an e-scooter in public in an antisocial manner, you can also risk the e-scooter being seized under section 59 of the Police Reform Act.
    When riding an e-scooter, we would always recommend wearing safety protection such as a helmet and to keep to the speed limit.

    1. Where a trial rental scheme is running, it’s legal to use a rental e-scooter on a public road or cycle lane, provided you have the correct licence and follow road traffic regulations.

      Here in Wellingborough there are dozens of e-scooters around the town, simply standing (or lying) where they were left by their last user. Do these come under ‘trial’ schemes?

      1. If they are not part of a trial scheme, I suggest that they wouldnt be there for very long!

      2. Same in Oxford. They’re a pox on the roads which have had unintended consequences. They haven’t cut down car use – drivers still drive – and so have added to congestion. They’re used by people who previously would have walked, so are reducing the amount of excercise (mainly young) people are getting so storing up health problems for later life.
        What kind of licence is needed? I doubt many users have one or even know they need one.

      4. If the scooter isn’t returned to a charging point the user is charged until it is – certainly that’s Soton’s approach.

        While most people using them are fairly decent, there’s always the same bad apples who think they can barge into you on the path.

        1. These are not returned to a charging point. They’re just left by the roadside or on the footpaths.

  38. Relaxing with a mug of tea after shifting the ¼ton of sand and getting the load of rubbish in the oil drum incinerator burnt. I’ve now got two small areas of level ground I can actually do something with!

      1. You don’t you silly boy.
        You knock air holes in the oil drum, load it with stuff you wish to incinerate and set fire to the contents.

        2. We made holes in our oil drum incinerator using my 44 magnum revolver… that was fun!

    2. It will be more like a five year plan.

      He only has one chance, then he will get promotion to Brussels.

      He won’t win the General Election in 2029 so he’s got to do it in his five years.

    1. I shall remind the Warqueen to obey me in my nocturnal proclivities.

      I will then scarper at the raised eyebrow.

      1. I cannot imagine either my mother or my grandmothers going along with any of that. Morning cup of tea, yes, but the rest. They were far from being the subservient type that would have put up with that nonsense.

        1. I couldn’t marry someone who would agree to that stuff. SWMBO most certainly wouldn’t.

    3. Of its time. Though, i do still behave like that. Though i never take me curlers out for 90 seconds of rumpy pumpy !

          2. Did i forget to mention the caviar? Pairs well with Stout. Better than cheese and onion.

          3. The circles I have moved in rarely, if ever, stretched to caviar. I do,however, quite like a half pint of Guinness now and then.

          4. I tried the real stuff once. Didn’t like it. Far too strong. I only buy lumpfish or the red trout caviar for canapes.

          5. Brought caviar for parents back from Azerbaijan when I was there in early 1990s. They loved it – I find the stuff nasty, so both parties were happy.
            Proper Caspian caviar, too. Still nasty.

          8. A popular thing here is a tube of pink ‘toothpaste’ made out of some fish roe and called “Kalles Caviar” [translation: “Karl’s Caviar”]. The locals squirt it from the tube onto black bread and eat it as an open sandwich with sliced hard-boiled eggs and lettuce. I tried it once, I didn’t go back for seconds.

            On real caviar, though, I do like it on a blini.

          9. We have it too, but with a different name. Red caviar – bloody awful stuff. and squirted like toothpaste…

          11. I feel the same. I was very disappointed the first time I tried caviar and wondered what the fuss was about.

    4. I would suggest this is earlier than the 60’s (which I remember well) maybe the 40’s.

    6. If that’s the wife pegging out the washing, then any congress with it might be quite unusual.

          1. Exactly what I suspected.
            I was old enough in the early 60s to know that advice like that was not dished out to females – well, in the west.

    7. “… a small moan from yourself…” – “Well, that didn’t take long, did it?” – is that what they had in mind?
      The rest of that spiel is horrific – I’d hate to be in a relationship that followed those rules. Not much pleasure for her in all of that.

  41. It’s far too hot outside for anymore work, so I’m having a mug of tea after which I will prepare a meal for when the DT gets home from work.
    Sausages, fried leftover potatoes & vegetables, baked beans & tinned tomatoes and a fried egg.

      1. At Chateau Lake ce soir we are having steak and salad. His Nibs is having some chips also.
        Quick and easy.

        1. Something with pasta here – likely chicken (the most boring meat on earth). It’ll be OK as long as there’s plenty chilli in it.

          1. Beginning to think you and my husband were separated at birth. He likes roast chicken but is not keen on much else. I love Italian style chicken and he did enjoy the chicken piccata I have made. I love chicken parmesan and other stuff.

          2. It’s a great shame that chicken has become so debased.
            When we were children it was a great treat.
            But then, go back 200+ years and people had to be banned from constantly feeding their servants on the cheap – with oysters.

          3. About the same time as apprentices in London complained about the amount of salmon they were being fed.

          4. Chicken is still a nice treat but you have to pay at least £12 for a smallish bird to have any flavour.

          5. Guines fowl is enough for two and still tastes great. Just like modern chicken but with flavour we remember.

    2. How wonderful to be able to say, “It’s too hot.” Instead of it’s too cold and wet. I am loving this weather.

      1. Interesting twitter speech from Putin posted earlier today. Sounded rational. He made interesting references to Russian history for comparison, too. Didn’t sound like Russia was being aggressive, more sorrowful that the West was incapable of learning the lesson of history.

  43. Rain clouds have come over, and it’s darkening. Come indoors. Been a good person, got stuff done. Jetwashed a room in the barn, sorted out the blackberry vines and their support posts, done a pile of small stuff, and now consuming a pint of last autumns cider.

  44. Bogey Five today; the word is not in my lexicon!

    Wordle 707 5/6
    🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨
    ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
    ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
    ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Par four by a process of elimination. Still not convinced it’s a word!

      Wordle 707 4/6

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

      1. By elimination here too, although had heard of, and eaten some.

        Wordle 707 4/6

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

      2. By elimination here too, although had heard of, and eaten some.

        Wordle 707 4/6

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

    2. As long as I treat it as a par six, eagle today..

      I found the letters, just making them into a word stretches my mind.
      Wordle 707 4/6

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

    3. Same here

      Wordle 707 5/6

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

  45. Apparently Phillip Schofield (married to a woman) lied to ITV about an affair he had with his 30 year old male co-presenter, and has now quit.
    1. Who cares? He’s gay. Who gives a shut?
    2. Why did ITV have an enquiry into his sex life?
    3. Why is this a headline in the Standard? Why would anyone give even the tiniest parp about it?
    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/itv-phillip-schofield-quit-affair-young-employee-this-morning-wife-holly-willoughby-b1084140.html

        1. And so are you for us NoTTLers, sweetheart, and I hope things improve for you.

          1. Thank you for that. I joke around to boost my own mood and if it raises a chuckle here, then all the better.

    4. I can’t understand the Mail’s ongoing fascination with this individual either. Does something or other on the telly. So what.

    5. PS is nit my cup of tea, but I find it strange that after all the oddball couplings and immoral behaviour that we are pressured to celebrate, a gay fling attracts any attention at all. Isn’t it all a bit homophobic.

  46. ‘Night All

    https://twitter.com/Funniest_Family/status/1657556559596257280

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/11f7e383eab97a3b047fed181c7f94be7efcb20b73b05fd1d4fd70ec49c02fe2.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19ba842ff126847880edb433aaee4257797ed3fd1cea5d9099c1517a8360c70b.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a7b266e4aa26228feb43f15bee77effaba28c022f534b44b6d69753a6c737ce0.jpg

    https://twitter.com/annamariamoscar/status/1661824866763374594?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/379346f0dd5bbf8b8f4ab7251fb308a376768f522fcca1ff77aa7d1d99f86824.jpg

  47. Modern slavery
    SIR – With many G20 governments having pledged to take robust action against modern slavery, it is deeply concerning that Walk Free’s global slavery index reveals that adequate action to stop forced labour in global supply chains is not being taken, despite legal remedies being available (report, telegraph.co.uk, May 24).

    Countries in the G20 are in prime position to tackle this crime. They are home to more than half of all people living in situations of modern slavery, and they import £378 billion of at-risk products annually.

    Yet rampant consumption of artificially cheap goods, compounded by the impact of climate change, conflict and the aftermath of Covid-19, has created an environment in which the world’s most vulnerable and desperate can too readily be exploited.

    Slavery continues to flourish – on fishing vessels in Indonesia, in cotton mills in Pakistan, cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, solar panel factories in China, and in countless other places.

    To live up to their commitments to tackle slavery, G20 countries must shift from woolly and unenforceable good intentions and take concrete steps to end this horrendous exploitation. The Walk Free report details how this can be done, working alongside survivors and communities most at risk, and we commend it to G20 leaders.

    Nick Grono
    CEO, The Freedom Fund
    London N1

    Congo… rare earth mines, small children, appalling death rates, electric car batteries. This makes me furious. Poor little buggers never get a chance at life,, let alone childhood, because the likes of Greta Thunderbug need batteries for their oh-so-perfect electric cars.

    1. People should stop calling it “modern slavery.” It’s slavery, it never went away and the only countries to ban it were the United Kingdom and the United States.

      1. And the UK expended a huge amount of money and many servicemen’s lives to end the trade.

        1. Yes, that is forgotten by certain racist politicians/race-baiting celebs. etc.

  49. Just passing through. A glorious day out. Half a dozen amazing churches – all different and interesting. A homemade sandwich in a field before walking half a mile to see tucked away Bronze Age tumuli. And hardly a soul in sight. A couple of miles away, the coast and beaches are heaving with holidaymakers. We just relished the silence.

    And on that bucolic note – I’ll wish you all a pleasant evening.

    A demain.

    2. ‘Night, Bill. East Anglian churches are a joy to behold. I was responsible for a few in the dim and distant past. It didn’t please the locals, though.

      In Brandon, I was removed as Churchwarden in what can only be described as a coup. Ironically,the successful candidate immediately went down with bowel cancer, and didn’t take up his role for a couple of years.

  50. Husband has adjourned to the loo with a book so listening to a couple of Bach Sinfonias.

    Can any other married ladies or partners explain this to me? I went to the supermarket to do a shop and stock up on nerve tonic, I am going to need it, and MH went to B&Q. He needed 3 pots and a bag of potting soil. How is it possible for me to do a full grocery shop, check out and still have to wait over 20 mins for him to reappear? Yes, and taken into account he is still slow but really?

    1. There are a lot of tools and similar at B&Q, and they all need inspected, an evaluation over whether one needs it or not, and conclusions drawn.
      It’s a bit like ladies who go into clothes shopsm try on stuff, and buy nothing…
      I’m as bad in tools, worse in firearms and skis sections… 😉

      1. Yes, but we don’t need tools, we have what we may need. Also, I am not one of those females who shops for the sake of it….in fact I hate it. Most of the tee-shirts I own are over 5 years old, ditto sweaters. I buy as I need although I did impulse buy a bright pink sundress last summer. I may wear it tomorrow as it looks warm enough.

        1. Need has nothing to do with it. One can just look at them. No purchase necessary.
          Think – ladies and shoes.

          1. Again, I must disagree. I have 3 pairs of regular shoes and 4 pairs of flip flops. That’s it. Shoes are functional and, to me, not a fashion statement. I do love my flip flops though.

          2. You obviously aren’t “women” – neither is SWMBO.
            But the stereotypical characteristic remains, more or less blonde.
            😉

          4. But a much nicer person, I’m sure. Her daughter seems to have turned out really well.

          6. It’s called “Character”. Makes people interesting. YOH obviously a good judge of character.

          8. That’s a good one, Geoff!
            I amazed the lady shop assistent in the worlds best Department store (Kaufhaus des Westens – KaDeWe, in Berlin) some years ago, by trying on several pairs of shoes, and then buying 4 pairs (tax-free…)
            “Eye Heff never seen a Chentleman buy so many schoes in one go” she said.
            I have wide feet. When I find shoes that fit, I get several pairs, as then I can have one pair on today and the rest relaxing and de-sweating over the week.

          9. Hi,Paul. One advantage of prosthetic feet is that comfort isn’t an issue. My biological feet were size 9 (UK). I now buy size 10, for the ease of putting the shoes on. I can’t wiggle my feet to assist fitting.

            My real feet were wide, with a high instep. They’re history…

          11. I seldom find shoes that fit. Hence my reply to LotL above. I have what a shop called when I was very young “expensive feet.” So, flip flops and wellies it is then, which fit where they touch. My problem is very slender heels, I simply walk out of most shoes and leave them behind…. I sometimes think it might be worth having a bespoke pair, but I have managed thus far.

          13. Well, some might say so! I just found it a nuisance, and my parents found it expensive, that shoes didn’t fit my heels/ankles.

          14. I think what put me off shoes was my mother’s obsession with them and working a Saturday job in Dolcis shoe shop. Can you imagine on a hot day with all those smelly feet? This was in the days when shoes were brought out to the customer and we helped them to try them on. Gawd, it was horrible.

          15. I remember that! And I remember Dolcis. I had a Saturday job at, I think Timpson’s Shoes. I was so bad at selling shoes they put me on the lift!! I caught my thumb in the lift door. So I was bad at that too. I was bad at simply growing up. I was terribly shy.

          16. First floor- men’s wear; second floor- shoes….I am chanelling my inner Mrs. Slocombe.

          17. Ah, now I bought a pair of shoes on impulse this afternoon, the point being that I already have the same style in black and they’re very comfortable so when I saw that M&S now do them in other colours and have my size, I bought a pair in cream. I do that a lot. If I like a t-shirt, cardi or skirt style, I buy it in different colours.

          21. Wellies and flip flops are all you need to see you through life. Oh, and a stout pair of walking boots.

          23. You may, and I would hate to be typical- whatever that is. I am me and I do what suits me.

      2. Firearms + skis: that sounds like a winning commercial proposition for any locality inhabited by action heroes and James Bond villains.
        ‘Guns ‘n Rossis’?

      2. Or, as someone else put it: Guys are from Pluto and Broads are from Goofy. Lol.

  51. I cycled over to Teddington to meet my friends and left my electric bike, locked properly with a Kryptonite lock, in the station bike shed. I returned to find sone b@stard has used an angle grinder to grind through the lock and steal my bike. There is apparent CCTV that “the police” in Wimbledon have access to, but Plod does not answer the phone. Just report it on line and leave is alone, is their message.

    1. So why do we even bother with the police? Totally useless these days.

    2. Good God! Bastards! What a right pisser for you. Did you have insurance?

      1. Probably not – I wouldn’t have named it as an expensive item on the schedule. We’ll see on Tuesday. I generally try not to bother claiming on insurance because it just puts the premiums up. I am old fashioned like that but it’s probably a silly notion in this day and age.

    3. Nobody heard, nobody saw and certainly nobody reacted.
      If you arrived at the perpetrator’s house with a blow torch and a felling axe, the police would be all over it within minutes.

        1. The general, law abiding, public don’t deserve support.
          Criminals, on the other hand, ….

    4. So much for Kryptonite.

      I’m reminded of the time in the late 70’s / early 80’s when on a block release course at Salford College of Technology, someone removed the Krooklok from my Mk II 1.6 Cortina, went on a joyride. then returned the car to a different space in the car park, sans my collection of cassettes.

      1. It’s the cassettes that hurt. My Vauxhall Viva was broken into in Manchester in 1986 and they knocked my tapes. Amazingly the police got them back (this is before they became Plod, obvs).

        1. My wife’s Mark I Escort was stolen numerous times from outside our flat in Caldervale Road in Clapham. The worst was following a Reggae party down the road which kept us awake to 4.00pm when we heard the distinctive sound of its engine.

          I peered through the curtains of our first floor bay window only to recognise the tail lights of the
          vehicle as it made its way presumably onto Acre Lane and Brixton. There was very heavy ran that night. We reported the theft to local police.

          Two weeks later we received a call from Brixton Police to say that the car had been discovered parked outside Brixton Police Station. The battery had been removed not by loosening the connector nuts but by severing the battery leads. The fuel line had been cut to drain petrol. The assortment of tapes left in the car were stolen.

          Since that day I have harboured a hatred of coloureds who seem to me to consider themselves victims and above the law.

          The inconvenience these bastards caused and disruption to our lives was exceeded only
          when the black fuckers stole my wife’s handbag at knifepoint on Crescent Lane, one sunny evening as she walked home
          from Clapham Common Underground to our flat.

          On that occasion the blacks used her ‘Access’ card to purchase petrol in Penge. This was in 1982 following the Brixton riots of 1981. We left London in 1983 for good.

    7. That’s dreadful, this country meaning the people who purport to be in charge, need a massive boot up their multiple backsides.
      Was the bike insured ?

  52. It’s been a hard work day – not in the same league as Bob, who seems to be single-handedly moving mountains, but even so, I’m wrecked. Hitting the sack, so S’Layders, all Y’all.

  53. Evening, all. I’d just settle for some efficient health care delivery – never mind how it was achieved!

    1. The whole system appears designed to delay finding out what is wrong with someone until it is too late to do anything about it.

        1. You and me both, friend. And my husband would concur. It really is a joke, except it’s not really.

          1. I told you about the guy I bumped into on Monday who has a similar complaint to me. He’s been seeing the same cardiologist at the same hospital. But gave up and went somewhere else. Because as he told me the doctor had been promoted to royalty. King useless.

      2. That was certainly the case with my late neighbour. They kept reassuring her it wasn’t cancer, even though the markers were very high. Then, suddenly, they announced it was cancer after all and it was Stage 4 terminal. In my view that’s criminal, particularly in view of the fact that this particular cancer ran in her family.

  54. I’m orrff.
    We both made a decent job of cutting the grass in the back garden. I trimmed all edges. Erin cut the main areas. But had to pop off to lookafter grandchildren for a few hours.
    We’re off to Burnham Market for the day tomorrow.
    Be back Monday.
    Night all.

  55. It’s going to have to be an early night- worn out.
    I will leave you with this- which I have posted before….

    Now I lay me down to sleep
    A bag of peanuts at my feet,
    If I should die before I wake,
    Give them to my brother, Jake.

    1. Good night, Conners – and Oscar and Kadi. PS. Whatever happened to Oscar today? A dog who isn’t fussed about going for walks?!?!?

      1. He’s been like that for some time. At first I used to insist and we had a fight; I nearly lost my fingers a few times trying to get his lead on. Then I decided that I would give him the option and if he was flat out on his fleecy bed there was no point in expecting him to stir himself and come. If, however, I managed to catch him when he was exploring the kitchen in the hope of something to eat, I could put his lead on and he would come quietly. Kadi, thankfully, is always up for a walk; if I’m going, he’s coming with me. Oscar has trained me well 🙂

  57. GB News Mark Dolan is obsessed with the ‘Schofield Scandal’; someone should tell him that most of us don’t give a sh!t . . .

    I’ve turned over.

    1. One of the people who I was out with yesterday afternoon when my bike was nicked works in the media and has the inside story. It is disgusting what he did and how he did it and how Channel 4 treated him – they knew.

      So even after the Rolf Harris scandal and the Jimmy Saville scandal, and all the rules we have to abide with to stop adults grooming under-age children foe sex, here we have yet another publicly-funded company enabling it ver the course of 6 or so years and firing and silencing the whistleblowers who tried to stop it.

      So we are left with yet another situation where “talent” appears to be untouchable. The TV channel put its ratings (and therefore money) above the welfare of at least one minor child. What does this tell us about the sick culture underpinning our media?

      So, with all due respect, this story does need to be picked over. In fact as a child I never liked Rolf Harris or Jimmy Saville and as an adult I never cared for Schofield – i have never watched a programme he has been on – but he got away with a disgusting crime (grooming a minor) and was enabled to do it by our licence fee money and it needs to be talked about.

        1. Started being groomed at 12 but the sex didn’t start till he was 16. “Unwise but not illegal”.

    2. I did too. Talking Pictures had Chimes at Midnight so I watched Orson Welles as Falstaff.

  60. We’re both in bed now – I’m going to read for a while and he’s mending his jumper. Nighty night 🌙 😴 ✨

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