Saturday 31 May: The NHS lottery leaves patients waiting months for urgent care

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

489 thoughts on “Saturday 31 May: The NHS lottery leaves patients waiting months for urgent care

    1. Daniel our Political idiots are far too busy effing up everything they come into contact with to be making obvious predictions.

      1. I suspect they are learning that feelings don't trump everything. Or perhaps they just think they didn't do socialism hard enough.

    2. The OBR doesn't bother with dynamic response. The BoE and Treasury refuse to consider it in their calculations. All three ignore Laffer.

      After all, can't let reality get in the way of confiscatory socialism, can we?

      1. Curses; MB has thrown out all his flares.
        And all my cheesecloth shirts have shrunk.

  1. Good morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff, for today's new NoTTLe site. I struggled with today's Wordle, and had to resort to "clues" to get the word. I had the correct letters in the correct position for letters 2, 4 and 5, but just couldn't get letters 1 and 3. However, the first clue gave me the first letter and thus letter number 3 became obvious.

    Wordle 1,442 6/6

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

    1. Good morning Elsie and all
      Sympathy – you must have gone through the whole alphabet!
      Wordle 1,442 3/6

      🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  2. 406573+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    May one ask in a very serious manner,

    How can one rectify this issue that effects us ALL somewhere along the line,

    Dt,
    Saturday 31 May: The NHS lottery leaves patients waiting months for urgent care.

    Whilst one is working for the foreign man, and giving succour to the illegal foreign man that is

    Dt,
    Foreigners claim £1bn a month in benefits

    Eight weeks of payments to households with foreign national enough to wipe out winter fuel cut savings

    Seems to me quite clearly we, the indigenous, are in reality financing a position on the waiting list of ALL issues appertaining to this nations infrastructure.

    1. 406573+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      I believe a couple / three in Calais are in danger
      of missing a doctors appointment in Dover if they miss the next invasion crossing.

    2. I use to have to go to A&E fairly often in the past. But more recently when I have been, I have noticed whole groups of people who are obviously newcomers to our country, there are often up to half a dozen adults with one child who doesn't appear to be in any distress. But as children do, who gets priority over other patients. As I and my wife have waiting more than 14 hours.
      Lets face it GP's are now often avoiding their duties.
      I think I'd just phone 999 now.

    3. 1bn a month when we're borrowing 20bn, so 5%.

      However, they're also not contributing to the economy in any way, so it'd be simple to say 'you get nothing'. Then they'd leave.

  3. Good Moaning.
    MB very happy. There are definitely 4 osprey chicks.
    And the local baby jackdaws are flying.

        1. How do you know that? Ndovu has a wide reputation as a trans-swift and I'm learning the trade from her.

  4. Morning, all Y'all.
    Sunny, not so warm. SWMBO keeping the plans for the day a secret, so not likely to be too much fun…

    1. Light overcast here, but at least it's not raining.
      After the deluge we've had this week I might get some rubbish burnt.

        1. We've had a decent soaking.
          Hopefully enough to fatten up my gooseberries!

  5. Are you a Procrastinator? Don't worry! You are not alone! Frederica is one, and reveals all in Procrastination is the thief of time! If you were a procrastinator and found a cure, Freddie and the rest of us want to know. Whatever you do, do not put off reading and commenting.

    Published author KM Breakey who asks What Will Become of the White South African? This is an important question as it also affects us as we are in the front line of the Globalist attack on national identity and the white races generally. Please do read and leave a comment.

    Grumpy Graham Bedford gives insights into his Grimbarian ancestry in The Downside of Tracing Your Family Tree . As you may imagine, the Bedfords of Grimsby seem to have been a cantankerous crowd. Please read and leave a comment, and let us now about your ancestry, regardless!

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 16.7%; Solar,8.6%: Wind 29.2%; Imports, 17.1%; Biomass, 7.3%, Nuclear 17.4% and Miscellaneous, 3.1%.

    freespeechbacklash.com

      1. I won a gold medal for procrastination many years ago – but I haven't got round to collecting it yet.

  6. Good morning.
    A dry start but with a light overcast and 15°C outside.

    So a copper doing his job in Dorset gets sacked, note the line I've highlighted:-

    Sacked Dorset policeman ‘thrown under a bus’ after arrest of teenager
    Lorne Castle was dismissed for gross misconduct after he used ‘unreasonable force’ against a suspected knife carrier

    A highly-experienced and decorated police officer has been dismissed for gross misconduct for a momentary loss of self-control during the arrest of a knife-carrying 15-year-old.

    Lorne Castle was found to have behaved aggressively and used unreasonable force during the incident in January 2024, after a three-day disciplinary hearing at Dorset Police HQ.

    During the incident, Castle allegedly told the youth, who was found to be in possession of a knife, to “stop screaming like a b—h” and threatened to “smash him” before putting his hands around the boy’s neck.

    At the time of the arrest, the youth was wanted in connection with an assault on an elderly member of the public on Bournemouth seafront and for being part of a gang attack at a McDonald’s restaurant. As three officers struggled to restrain him and handcuff him, a three-inch knife fell out of his pocket. One end was a lock knife and the other a Stanley knife. The teenager claimed it was for use at his work.

    A large gang fight had occurred in the area a few days before the incident. Two potential suspects from the fight were still at large on the morning when Castle went out on patrol with Pc Susannah Justice, and the shift had again been given a warning about the possible dangers from the outstanding offenders.

    Castle, a former martial arts instructor whose wife Denise is a world champion Muay Thai kickboxer, was encouraged to join the force after his effective work as a community safety patrol officer working in the Boscombe area.

    In a decade as a Pc, he has twice been commended for saving the lives of members of the public. In one incident in 2023, he put his own safety at risk to rescue a woman from being swept away in a flooded river.

    In 2021, Castle was made Dorset Police’s officer of the year for his “outstanding service” and for undertaking every shift “with the personal commitment to make a difference and do the right thing”.

    On Thursday evening, he was found guilty of the more serious gross breaches of professional conduct after a ruling from a three-person disciplinary panel chaired by Deborah Smith, another assistant chief constable.

    Castle, a 46-year-old father of three, admitted his conduct had amounted to misconduct and tearfully apologised during his evidence.
    ‘Bloody madness’

    Norman Brennan, a retired police officer and founder of the police wellbeing campaign group Protect the Protectors, accused Dorset Police of throwing PC Castle “under a bus”.

    He said: “Senior officers at Dorset Police have taken leave of their senses. This decision epitomises how they have lost touch with the danger and reality of frontline policing.

    “It is bloody madness.”

    He added: “I’m sick and tired of officers being disciplined for things like this, and I think the majority of the public would think this is absolutely bonkers.

    “Many senior officers kowtow to the constant criticism of the police in a sort of appeasement and often throw officers under the bus or to the wolves as sacrificial lambs.

    “Cases like this are more likely to deter people from joining the police.”
    ‘Excessive, aggressive and inappropriate’

    Despite the ruling, the panel concluded he genuinely believed the 15-year-old, who was hooded and covering his face when Castle spotted him walking along a city centre pavement with two associates, was a potential escapee and high risk.

    As the situation unfolded, the panel also accepted he genuinely thought the boy was resisting arrest and trying to break free and that these beliefs were those of any reasonable officer.

    Taking the suspect to the ground and putting him in a headlock were also acknowledged to be “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” in the circumstances.

    But body worn footage recorded him shouting and swearing at the teenager saying “show me your f—ing hands” and to “stop being a little b—h” as the suspect repeatedly shouted and screamed in a high-pitched voice.

    And the panel felt the level of force used, including putting the suspect in leg restraints, was not justified, despite acknowledging these actions were born out of a genuine fear for the officer’s own safety.

    Ms Smith said Castle failed to act with self-control and did not treat the teenager with courtesy or respect.

    No further action was taken against him as a result of the two assaults because no complaints were made, and his arrest for suspicions of possession of a knife was dealt with using an out of court disposal.

    After the hearing, Ms Smith, in a prepared statement, said she had the “utmost respect for the vast majority of officers who have to use force when making an arrest and do so appropriately and with professionalism, even when they are exposed to risk and violence”

    She said officers do a “tough job” and where their actions are proportionate, “they will always be supported”.

    She added: “We recognise the risks they place themselves in every day and we ensure they receive the necessary training so they can correctly and safely arrest suspects while understanding the importance of treating the public with dignity and respect.

    “I have never been in any doubt that Pc Castle’s actions were excessive, aggressive and inappropriate, and I can understand the communities we serve will be concerned about this case.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/30/sacked-dorset-policeman-thrown-bus-teenager/?recomm_id=7f063dc519adc694ba3b43ebdac8b6c1

    1. I wonder how many years Deborah Smith spent on the beat as a front line police officer?

      Not many would be my guess.

      1. But she has had the right, sorry,, left training package. Common purpose, unfortunately all the PC had was Common Sense.

    2. What an absolute waste of time and money that was. After all the things that the 'They' have shoved under the carpet in the past. The wreckers are at it again. This shows the public that we can have absolutely no confidence whatsoever in our current police force.

      1. Yet the demand is constantly one way. We have to give them everything. Why can't we just smack them around the face with a baton until they stop complaining?

        But ah, they have 'rights'. No responsibility, just 'rights'. No duty to society, just 'rights'.

    3. The little shite should learn respect – he certainly doesn't deserve any.

      1. They're never taught any. They don't have any manners because they're parents are simply not there. They are feral because the parents are feral. Not working, not contributing, spoiled, given everything.

    1. Farmers also know not to go too far in management of the wild, as that costs money – they know the value of that, too!

    2. The Left hate farmers. They hate everything, but farmers especially. These are idiots who've never seen real dirt let alone farmed. They're brattish whelps enacting the moronic CAP and CFP policies that stream out from the hated EU.

        1. The word whelp reminds me of the poem by Oliver Goldsmith which I learnt by heart at prep school.

          We regularly had to learn poems by heart in those days and I am very glad that we did.

          An Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog : Oliver Goldsmith

          Good people all, of every sort,
          Give ear unto my song;
          And if you find it wondrous short,
          It cannot hold you long.

          In Islington there was a man
          Of whom the world might say,
          That still a godly race he ran—
          Whene'er he went to pray.

          A kind and gentle heart he had,
          To comfort friends and foes;
          The naked every day he clad—
          When he put on his clothes.

          And in that town a dog was found,
          As many dogs there be,
          Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound,
          And curs of low degree.

          This dog and man at first were friends;
          But when a pique began,
          The dog, to gain some private ends,
          Went mad, and bit the man.

          Around from all the neighbouring streets
          The wond'ring neighbours ran,
          And swore the dog had lost its wits
          To bite so good a man.

          The wound it seemed both sore and sad
          To every Christian eye;
          And while they swore the dog was mad,
          They swore the man would die.

          But soon a wonder came to light
          That showed the rogues they lied,—
          The man recovered of the bite,
          The dog it was that died!

      1. 406539+ up ticks,

        Morning Mo,

        In context, I M book nature has no DEI boundaries a croc.will enjoy a
        mzungu as well as a local spear carrier.

    1. Well Phizz think about it, three homes….she would have been a hypocrite if she'd only had two 🤗🤭

    2. Much like caroline Lucas, the Left get into office to enrich themselves. They're hypocrites of the lowest form.

  7. Morning again 🙂😊
    Could be 25 degs today I'm very pleased that I managed to cut the grass in our back garden yesterday.
    Typically the NHS are as I have suggested many times using FOAD more consistently now.
    All of my experiences over 5-6 years with the staff on the front line have been very good. But the people in admin seem to like fiddling about with previously settled arrangements. Which seem to be causing the issues described in today's headline.

      1. I shaved ours right back but the weeds are winning slightly. It use to be immaculate but I’m loosing the battle.
        And typically none of the weed killer seems to work anymore.
        The Dopey Wokies have poked their noses in and its back to the gardening tools to remove them.

        1. Leave your grass about 2 inches long and it won’t turn brown as quickly as shaving it. Our bowls club cuts the green to 5mm during the summer but we have a professional green keeper who then advises our mowing team what to do and how often it needs to be watered. Many members say it should be watered but our mowing manager says he doesn’t want it watered yet as he wants the grass roots to go deeper in search of water to reduce the need of for the sprinkler system.

          1. Ours went mad after the recent rain, I no longer have the energy to keep working on it Alf.
            My good lady thinks that we should move.
            Our number two son wife and two young children, lives locally in a newer house with a smaller garden with astro turf. We could swap but I feel it would be too small for all of our furniture.

          2. You could leave some of the furniture for the younger family. It might be a good solution to swap.

          3. We have already thought of that 🤗😊😉
            We have a huge loft. I wanted to convert it 25 years ago into a massive bedroom ensuite. I had all the plans and calculations ready but Erin didn’t want ‘all the mess’!
            At the time loft conversions was my occupation. It would have cost me under 8 thousand to do it.
            And now would have added around 50 thousand pounds to the value of our home.
            Regrets, I have a few……

    1. Forecast to be cloudy with sunny spells today.
      Or should that be sunny with cloudy spells?

      1. No doubt or weather gurus will be waving their arms around on tv every twenty minutes.

    2. The NHS suffers from being both a production line and an inefficient one.

      I honestly don't know how to help it. I do think if it were encouraged by getting paid after it has done the work then it would naturally improve and speed up as we've all laid in a bed for days when nothing but bloods and readings are taken when you think 'get me in, sort me out, get rid of me' would be more effective.

      You see a consultant for a few seconds, if that. You often see a different member of the same team twice, asking you the same questions.

      I cannot fault the nurses and doctors who sorted me out though, I just wish I hadn't been in for 4 days but 2.

      1. As I said wibbers, front line is as efficient as possible. But admin?
        I have to get an annual blood test where the results have to be sent to the east Herts hospital where I had my metal hip fitted 14 years ago.
        But I can no longer walk in for the test at my usual local phlebotomy department because of admin. Now Wrong area.

      2. I agree
        Some times it's easier to look up your symptoms on the Internet.
        But even after being admitted after a 14 hour wait in A&E and having extra medications administered they don't seem to check or follow up the possible results. Which could obviously be carried out by a GP.
        But the invitations don't seem to be passed on. How does that happen?

    1. Was in there yesterday. Some brat screaming away like a banshee. Parents not doing anything. Other kids running feral all over the place. When Junior was little he didn't have these tantrums – oh, he had his share of grumps but he didn't see fit to scream and bellow. Certainly if he had I'd have dealt with it by taking him home, away from other folk.

      Being honest, we did a lot of our shops on line back then because I was at home, the Warqueen was in London and neither of us had the time. I just find parents these days utterly failing in their duty of care and, worse, it's always the same sort of person.

      No wonder France has said 'no children'. I imagine that also keeps the rabble parents – the real problem – away too.

      1. That also seems to be the way some restaurants and pubs are heading as well. No children.
        It just underlines how out of control some parents are these days.

        1. Yep. It all comes down to welfare. Give people something for nothing and they don't value it.

          Good on you Anne – Junior would cry an awful lot as a baby but when we got him out of his crib and he was crawling invariably he and Mongo, then barely a puppy would meet together and with small child using big dog as a standing crutch they'd get on all day playing and sleeping almost in synchro.

      2. Sonny Boy Snr had a tantrum phase. Sometimes they would occur somewhere with a guaranteed audience.
        His final strop was in Woolworth. I moved away to the next counter and kept a beady eye on things.
        A posse of old biddies descended; they tried talking to him, in between throwing death stares at his unnatural mother.
        SBS drew breath to prime himself for the next performance, noticed that, amongst the concerned faces was not THE face. Looked round and spotted me. Picked himself up from the floor and quietly rejoined me and his oblivious brother.

      3. Your parent : child ratio is 2 : 1. You might have had more troubles if it were less top-heavy.

  8. I see that Prince William of Woke is all over the Telegraph magazine – "…wanting to bring about real change".

    Well, he'd do that for me by keeping his ugly, bearded mug shut.

    1. I don't mind his saying that but… what sort of change? Do you want to help people? Then demand massive cuts to the state and huge tax reductions so people can get jobs. End gimmigration.

      Everything that you think you should do is the exact opposite of what needs to be done: don't intervene, sod off. Let people help themselves because, as the phrase goes, teach a man to fish and he can feed himself. There are, of course, levels: the (genuinely) mentally ill, those in extreme straits due to abandonment. Give them generous, short term help. Don't give them a sofa.

      Too many of our problems are caused by big fat state 'doing something'. Having 'done something' it finds it has to keep doing it, and worse, adding to the doing and that consumes money from the productive to the unproductive which destroys the real economy and leaves us indebted.

      I'm sure Billy means well, but if he doesn't understand the problems he can't effect solutions.

      1. It's not William's job to promote change. It's his job to shut up and shake hands.
        I am so over William and Kate.

    2. "…wanting to bring about real change".

      Parroting the current government's political soundbite isn't his 'job'.

    3. Most us would support change – for the better. I have the 1950's in mind.
      However, most of us also realise that Billy's idea of that change, and the peasants' idea of that change are unlikely to converge.

    4. Making sure Parliament is held to account and the people are represented?

  9. He may have a full grown beard, testicles the size of rugby balls and a voice like Barry white.. but that doesn't make him any less childlike.

    An immigration court has ruled a Sudanese asylum seeker as a child despite him having a 'deep voice' and 'very hairy legs'.
    The decision overruled a Home Office and council assessment who had claimed his physical appearance 'very strongly suggested' he was likely to be around 24.
    Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran said: 'We have reminded ourselves of the importance of not over-emphasising physical characteristics.
    LOL
    .
    #DoRightFearNoOne.. Yeah right.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0caf44e8a0753f6d276a6528599e1c161903ad7648f8b1426caafd5aa7ac3152.jpg

    1. Yet another example of why I am embarrassed by what the legal system has become.

    2. BTL Response:-

      R. Spowart 14 min ago
      Message Actions

      Question.

      Has this "child" been examined medically and dentally to confirm his claimed age?

      Or would such examinations infringe his "yuman rites"?

      1. BoB, there was a member of the House of Lords (Lord Deben? – not sure) who at the beginning of the invasion of questionable "children" insisted that it was totally wrong to use dental inspections to ascertain the age of these people.

    3. "We have reminded ourselves of the importance of not over-emphasising physical characteristics" subjective reality vs objective reality. This has been tried by the radical Left in other areas. This is pre-Enlightenment stuff. Subjective woo.

      1. Garden Court Chambers are one of the most radical left wing ones.

  10. On form with Wordle today but my nose has done several marathons and is still running:
    Wordle 1,442 3/6

    🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  11. Quite. As he is a plaything of the WEF, he thinks he can do anything – especially meddle in politics.

      1. So? We have land owners round here. You don’t hear them parroting about change. They mainly get on with the job of farming.

    1. Good evening, Bill,
      Meddling in politics – he learned it from his feeble-minded, interfering father.

  12. There will always be some NGO, foreign court, Judicial review, quango or select committee.. to overrule the will of the people & parliament.

    1. Why does this weird bloke keep his hat on indoors? Like that Musk fellow.

    2. It's worse than Starkey thinks.. there is an impenetrable empire within an empire in Whitehall.
      Farage? No chance. 2029 Business as usual.

      1. I think so too. CS been our permanent government whichever party elected for a long time. Became even more entrenched lockdowns. No more voting for me. Doubt very much Farage elected, might just take another look if he is.

    1. People should stop relying on supermarkets for their food. It's very dangerous when everyone's food depends on a just-in-time system that promotes factory farming and squeezes the food producers.
      If people don't want to pay a fair price for food to the producers now, then they will suffer the consequences further down the line.

      1. The only sources of food in Shepherd’s Bush are supermarkets and restaurants. My flat has a kitchen 1.5m x 2.5m with no cooker because the oven door wouldn’t open. It would hit against the opposite wall. The canteen at work is the closest I routinely get to proper food. It’s a challenge. I need a small air fryer to cook meat but my confidence levels are currently not high. Stuff scares me. I have serious health problems and I cry a lot. Paying isn’t the problem, though a million pounds for a bigger flat would be nice. Availability is a problem.

        1. I strongly recommend an air fryer. An excellent bit of kit. I never use the oven now. Heats up quick. You can vary the temperature, it can cook things slower.

        2. Phizzee could teach you how to use it. I haven't tried one and never had a microwave either.

          1. We use ours all the time, N. Some supermarket food (Charlie Binghams for one) is good, and fits there nicely.

          2. Phizzee's teaching would probably include too many instructions like "Before unpacking the air fryer, first make yourself a nice strong G&T". Great fun, but Sue would be unlikely to remember how to use the thing afterwards… 🤣🤣

        3. Central London is certainly a challenge…how about markets, farmers’ markets, independent foreign or organic grocers, food cooperatives, city beekeepers, community gardens, foraging? Nothing is ever going to give the convenience of a one-stop supermarket, but as you get used to alternatives there is a great feeling of freedom.
          I have used my son’s air fryer and it is a great device, it really opens up what you can do on a small scale and not too expensively. Plus it cooks very tempting food. He bought a ceramic one in order to avoid nasty teflon coatings. I don’t speak its language yet. I am down your way in about two months from now and will demonstrate it to you if you like!

        4. Yo Sue,

          Look at getting a Halogen Cooker. (they cost about 30 quid.

          We have used one in our toutring caravan(s) for over 25 years. The beauty of taking them is tha they fitted in the 'built-in' oven when we travelled

        5. Our kitchen small too, have a small air fryer (think they come in different sizes?), use it all the time. Perhaps befriend ladies in the canteen, might make you up something to take home, do them a favour etc? Please don't cry, if I were there we'd have a smile and often a laugh..you have a radio, listen to something to cheer you up, music..?

        6. Sending big hugs! Hertslass has my email; I would be happy to chat and walk you through how use a little air fryer.

          Marvellous creatures! My aunt had a similar challenge and despite initial pig-headedness (utter refusal to actually read the manual 🤣🤣) she now happily uses it to cook pretty much everything, and I no longer have to worry about her getting down on the floor to relight a wobbly gas stove.

          Seriously, do get in touch if you want x

          1. I'm meeting Sue for lunch June 3rd. I will give her a seriously good hugging on your behalf.

          2. Thank you! You give excellent hugs – I know she’ll be in good hands. 😎

          3. Is that the Langham venture? I would have loved to pop in to say hello, but my bike being knocked hasn’t helped and I have to be at the institute all morning (the ICAEW…not any other type of institute, don’t even think it!)

    2. Transportation costs, milling costs, baking costs, packaging costs, storage and display costs, staff wages at point of sale cost, supermarket overheads…

      1. 406539+ up ticks,

        Afternoon Pip,
        Our bread / rolls baked on site, fast turnover,
        especially if one wanted a s cone.
        supermarket overheads shared via ALL commodities sold.

        1. Good afternoon. I agree with Clarkson that supermarkets take advantage of our farmers but there are additional costs.

  13. I had to get up at 5 o'clock (4 o'clock BST 3 o'clock GMT) this morning to take a guest to the railway station to catch a train to Paris so I went back to bed after doing this and now I am running, or rather, ambling late..

    Michael Deacon is on excellent form this morning – all Nottlers should read this:

    Israel’s Irish foes have just come up with their most shameless plan yet
    If not enough European leaders agree that this is genocide, no problem: simply change what ‘genocide’ means.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/31/israel-gaza-ireland-redefining-genocide/

      1. My point was that French time is one hour ahead of English time. Yes, of course I meant BST.

        Grizzly is usually here to keep us up to mark on time and date issues.

        1. It's time to decolonise time! British Summer Time? Bring back slavery, why don't you?! Greenwich Mean Time? I suppose you ike the idea of press gangs! No, in the spirit of international harmony, they should be Western European Time (WET) and Western European Simmer Time (WEST). Agreed? (if you don't, your clearly a Nazi.)

          1. Amazingly I managed to sail across the Atlantic using a sextant and an accurate watch and arrived at Barbados within half a mile of my calculated position having seen no land for 19 days!

            In fact all celestial navigation is based on GMT and ther boats clock was set to GMT no matter which latitude of longitude you were in.

          2. The best thing about making Greenwich the prime meridian is that it pissed off the French. I’ll get me gilet.

          3. Interesting fact: the grid which is used for sheets of map series of France published by their national survey (equivalent to the British Ordnance Survey) is still based on the Paris prime meridian as zero degrees longitude.

          4. I'm an Uber Nazi. I keep my car clock on Greenwich Mean Time – All The Year Round!!!!!!

          5. Me too. Not only does it avoid the faff of trying to alter it, it reminds me why I am so tired in the morning.

    1. Yo and Good Moaning to you all, from a sunny(sih) C d S

      Well blow me down with budgie Feather. I would never expected a Black on Black robbery.

      Does that mean the white guys are no longer needed to support BLM with their dosh?

    2. This popped up on FSB last night. It was claimed it wasn't true. The poster was saying it's the second bank to go under in a similar fashion.

    1. I've always maintained that 0reland would kick off first.
      The odds are stacked against them.. with migrants at an astonishing 22% of population since 2023.
      Some may say.. not me gov.. couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of anti-semitic Brit hating EU lovers.

    2. I've always maintained that 0reland would kick off first.
      The odds are stacked against them.. with migrants at an astonishing 22% of population since 2023.
      Some may say.. not me gov.. couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of anti-semitic Brit hating EU lovers.

  14. GBN have just had a soppy Ofsted woman on air waffling word salad about the cause and solution for the growing levels of disruption in schools due to rioting and violent children. Corporal punishment worked. Even the threat of the cane was enough for most. There’ll always be one kid who actually rather enjoys the attention that goes with punishment but most don’t. If the parents complain then thrash them too! I jest, I jest! But honestly…

    1. I don't think good discipline in schools has to depend on corporal punishment. Obviously beatings can act as a deterrent but well trained professional teachers will not have to resort to violence.

      1. Um, if there is no backup and no deterrent, no matter how well trained or professional, you are on a hiding to nothing. Good afternoon, by the way.

        1. Spare the rod………..
          Nobody has come back for a second helping of the birch

          1. My late father who was "old" civil service and had worked for the Prison Service always said that the only thing that prisoners used to fear in days gone by was the Cat. Talk about being scared straight.

      2. The thing is, the children are using violence. I’d have agreed with you once but the liberal view assumes a level of understanding on the part of the offenders that simply isn’t there.

    2. Exactly, Sue (good morning 🙂 we had a female deputy head who would nag girls to the point of hysteria, the head was an old chap who made boys take off one piece of their footwear and then thrash them with it…those were the days…

      1. We had an old school PE teacher who always carried a slipper. One day he was walking down the corridor and whapped one of the boys. “What was that for, Sir?” Asked the lad. “Just because,” was the answer.

    3. Experience tells me that all is well until you have a sadistic bustard as head master.

      I held the record for quickest caning at the school, I was pulled out of line during the pre term introductions and whopped a few times.

      1. I was caned three times at primary school for fighting. I would be just minding my own business and was set upon and fought back.

        Self defence not being admissable as far as the deputy head was concerned.

        I got my own back eventually. I smashed up his Chopper Bike with a sledge hammer.

      2. Only after a few weeks at school aged just over 5 years old I was smacked across the back of lower legs by Miss Bishop. Because I couldn't drawer a number 8, in one go. So I drew one circle on top of another. She didn't like it so she stood me in front of the class and smacked me with a ruler.

        1. I got the ruler across my knuckles. I own up ; I was warned. Miss Wright said “the next person who makes a noise will be punished.” I scraped my chair and wham!

          1. Once at our C of E monthly compulsory church service and bored, three of us were telling jokes. Mr Townshend our science teacher caught us laughing and told us to come to his office after the service. Which we did. He called Brian in first shut the door and David and I heard WACK WACK WACK.
            Brian came out rubbing his back side. So did David. I was last in and Mr Townshend said “Right don’t do that again”. and gave his desk three of the best. 🤗🤭
            I don’t think the scientist was actually convinced by religion.

    4. When I went to "big school", they sent my parents a copy of the school rules and indicated that by signing below, they would make sure I knew them and that they agreed to whatever punishment the school chose for any breach of said rules. Only got whacked a couple of times – "the slipper" was the punishment normally used. OK from elderly masters, but some of the Monitors were very fit rugby players and really laid it on.

    1. The best possible thing to happen is to Reform the w hole of Wastemonster.
      And Get these horrible creatures out of our lives.

      1. Hear you, Eddy…think Reform may have a way to go, not many of their MPs/supporters MSM (although online, Ig etc)

    2. Good advice.

      I made a joke on here concerning Godfrey Bloom a while ago. Ashesthandust had said she had visited him and posted a picture.

      A while later Ashes posted that she was relocating to Buenos Aires.

      I posted that that was the reason for her meeting with Mr Bloom as she was facing extradition.

      I was rather shocked that at least three people on here fell for it.

      Oh how i laughed. :@)

      I own that naughty step !

        1. Lovely.

          I wonder what he would have thought of my joke. Not a lot i suspect.

      1. I believe for the most part he does… Plus, his advice isn't driven by ideology.

      1. 406539+ up ticks,

        Afternoon RE,
        A very respected member of the Genuine UKIP until he was accused of what was seen by many as a near lethal attack on michael cricks head with a party magazine "the attack" AKA a playful tap.

        Also he was accused by a certain class of women of giving succour to dust behind refrigerators.

        All round good bloke.

    1. Eh, that's just the bees. We can now expect the seas to cover them over, just in time for D-day.

    2. Were the police waxing lyrical and singing:
      "Stinging and in pain
      Just stinging and it pain!
      It's a painful feeling
      I'm unhappy again.."

    1. I find it comical that the Treasury, OBR and BoE are all so utterly infested with Lefty wokers that they simply cannot see that their policies (as there's no possilbilty any of the Labour morons could write the budget) are so catastrophically damaging.

      1. I think the majority of them are made up of characters from the film Brazil.

    2. Lammy's so thick he'd have put his oar on the wrong way and he'd be pulling on the blade.

    1. Fingers crossed they accept your version, Alec…is this you running into a deer?

          1. Against the law to take it and it would need hanging for a while to get rid of the toxins released when it died so they tend to be left at the side of the road for the buzzards and eagles.
            I did hit a sheep once and when the guy turned up and put it in the back of his van I asked him for a leg – he wasn't best pleased 🤭

    1. Walk slowly, backwards…don't trip or backdown………or it will kill you…….

  15. It's warm out there!

    It was panic stations here earlier on, when
    OH noticed that a large, double bird box was pulling away from the wall, just by our front door. It currently houses a nest of starling chicks. Anyway, it hasn't fallen down yet, so I'm hoping he can wait till the chicks have fledged and our neighbours are home.

    Meanwhile. I'm gradually getting used to my new toy – a Bosch vacuum cleaner – much more efficient that the useless Vax one. Gradually getting things slightly cleaner.

    Then did a bit in the garden – a few more things to plant.

  16. Yet another letter this morning from the NHS – I expect mine will come Monday. They must be panicking that they over-ordered the booster jabs.

      1. Any number of free Sudokus available on this site.

        They can be done on your computer or printed.

        They come at 4 levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and Evil. You can choose your own level. I print a pile of them and do them in bed when I can't get to sleep.

        https://www.websudoku.com/

  17. So assuming you had a son, Alec…would you approve of his being birched by a school teacher, or even do it yourself?

    1. The birch is an IOM thing, if he got the cane at school he'd have deserved it – I got it at school 3 times for good reason. I had the odd strap at home but I found that curtailing activities worked best with my kids

  18. You have a track record then…..I understand badger can be quite rich, not for the faint hearted……yep deer needs hanging a while, but venison casserole a great dish..

    1. Tampons made from cotton which was sprayed with pesticides introducing toxic shock.

      I think women need to look for an alternative.

      The Trans can continue as they are.

      1. Most women who use tampons don’t have a problem. I have an old friend who’s a microbiologist and used to work in the labs at University College Hospital. She told me that they did see cases of anaphylactic shock but it was mostly women sleeping rough and trying to make one tampon last.

        The narrowest tampon size would be useful for a nose bleed?

        1. Thanks for the correction.

          I occasionally donate to the local food bank. It shocked me that they were even asking for these things.

          Several organisations give out free condoms since AIDS/HIV.

          Sanitary products for women should also be free for those in unfortunate situations. It is a necessity for health.

          1. Isn't the SNP's Anthem:
            "I love to go a squandering along the beaten track,
            And As I go I like to sing with a tax pack on my back…"?

    2. Oddly, I was suggested sanitary towels for my abscess because they're designed to adsorb liquids. I know it's odd, but they're versatile tools.

      1. Were they prepared to provide them?

        Sounds like a cop out to me.

        There are sterile pads and chemical wound dressings but i expect they would prefer you to limp to the supermarket and buy something not designed for the purpose.

    3. In our youth we had a friend given to humungous nose bleeds.
      We once tried to stop it with a smallest size Lilet. The patient was surprisingly uncooperative.

  19. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/05/31/tesco-to-close-stores-early-after-reeves-tax-raid/

    The irony that the unions don't like it is comical. What did they expect to happen? The business to make a loss? Chances are the stores will eventually close, as it is, the staff are losing out on pay.

    Tax jobs, get fewer jobs. Tax income, get less income. Tax growth, get no growth. The Left are morons. Socialilsm does not, has never and will never, ever work. Cut taxes, shred the state. Make… 100bn of cuts by closing multiple government departments. Sack failing staff. End the DIE and ESG twaddle.

    1. 'The Left are morons.' that's an insult to morons.
      My late FiL told me of a term that was used in at least one county education department, and probably across the whole country, maybe 1940s/1950s. 'Low-Grade Feeble-Minded Idiot.' (FiL was a pen-pusher in a couple of county education offices.)

  20. I was somewhat remiss in greeting everyone this afternoon. I started by reading the posts and got sucked in to replying, so good afternoon everyone. It is dull, windy and miserable here.

    The NHS needs root and branch reform. For a start it needs to stop treating people who have not contributed a penny and ditch all translation provision.

    1. Hello Conway 🙂 Completely agree, and they're often the same people. Been going on a long time, almost 50 years since I had my first baby, there were a couple of Asian women in there at that time for the same reasons, one had flown in specially, the other had been flown in to replace her sister who had previously died from childbirth. I was in for weeks before my baby born, atmosphere quite bad at times.

    2. I don’t think it’s possible to reform it. It too big and sprawling. Perhaps break it up into, say, 8 or 10 individual units with a cap on salary’s (?) and payment by measurable achievement. Number of patients seen and fully dealt with could be one of the achievements. If one doctor says they need to a different consultant then it’s referred straight to them with none this sending it back to the GP who then refers on. They are not admin people.
      Probably lots of problems with my assessment but you have to start somewhere.

      1. One of the good things about the US system, is that if the GP refers you to see a specialist (consultant), either said GP or the patient can make the appointment. And if the specialist wants you to see someone else, again no going back to the GP.

        When I went to the local urgent care clinic after damaging my shoulder, they X rayed it, sent the results to their on call orthopedist who saw me the next day, retermined that surgery was needs and told me I had to get a cardiac sign off – due to being in my 80's. That was done the following Tuesday and I was under the knife on the Wednesday.

        SOP here – and that's what we pay for.

  21. O/T A thought just came to mind. The Covid hoax era.

    Rules were made on a whim. Security at hospitals was put in place.

    During this time i was having regular blood draining because of secondary polycythemia.

    I was also suffering from at the time blood clots in my legs that made walking painful (an op unsucessful but the thinners helped somewhat).

    I was being wheeled in by a friend but was told when he was collecting me after the procedure he would be considered as a visitor and not allowed entry.

    There is no negotiating from this position as the IQ of the enforcers hired were 'just following orders'.

  22. Well, after the recent rain, I finally got a useful bit of burning done AND I've finally got the telephone number of the local Fire Brigade Control Office!
    Yes, a passer by yet again reported there was a fire!
    I had a good laugh & joke about it with the lads and they left with a jar of Apple & Quince Chutney for their mess room.

    1. We have a very narrow lane here, so the FB came out to assess, verdict 'nah we just push anything out of the way that's in our way, parked cars, vans, everything'. The firemen were something to behold, all young, smartly dressed in clean uniforms, and groomed…sigh…..apple & quince sounds fab…

    2. When I burned some rubbish in my incinerator my neighbour came round because he thought the house was on fire!

      1. At least, unlike my new next door neighbour t’other week, I waited until we’d had a good soaking of rain and safely contained the fire in an old 45 gallon oil drum!

    3. And I can personally testify that BoB's Apple and Quince chutney is scrumptious.

    4. And I can personally testify that BoB's Apple and Quince chutney is scrumptious.

  23. Here is another for you fine law abiding folks.

    In the news recently was Robert Jenrick confronting fare dodgers.

    My own experience was somewhat different.

    I had to put an elderly relative on a train to the North. There was a lot of fuss. I got on the train to settle them and was panicking about the auto closure of the doors.

    I managed to do that and get off and then bought the wrong ticket on the Underground.

    When i arrived at my destination the barrier wouldn't accept the ticket or open the gate.

    I immediately turned to to ticket office window where the person working there was deaf and blind.

    The reason being there were half a dozen staff waiting at the barrier to catch fare dodgers.

    I wasn't trying to dodge the fare i had made an honest mistake after being stressed.

    I wasn't treated with any respect or dignity and they were deaf to anything i had to say.

    I only had a £5 note in my wallet. They demanded £10 for the fine and my home address.

    That was the last time i traveled on the London Underground. 1990.

    The Buses were not much better and often made me late for work.

    TFL is so badly run that they now hardly bother because people became violent when questioned.

    I hold little sympathy for their present woes.

    1. I have sympathy for station staff having to deal with the hordes of violent criminal filth who leapfrog the ticket barriers.

  24. Oh dear.
    I wonder how long before we learn who the driver was?

    Driver arrested after car hits pedestrians
    Four people are in hospital following incident in Leicester

    Four people are in hospital after being hit by a car following a fight, police said.

    A man has been arrested after the vehicle collided with a number of pedestrians following a report of a brawl, Leicestershire Police said.

    Those involved in the crash are understood to have attended a private event nearby, the force added.

    Officers were called to De Montfort Street, Leicester, just after 12.30am on Saturday where two men and two women had been hurt in the crash.

    Three of them suffered serious injuries, while one man had minor injuries. All four remain in hospital.

    A 31-year-old man, from Leicester, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He remains in police custody.

    Police said it was understood the man and the four people injured had been at an event nearby and the crash is reported to have happened after a fight at the same location as the crash.

    The car believed to have been involved in the crash was found nearby.

    Det Insp Jenny Tattersall said: “Four people currently remain in hospital and an investigation is ongoing as we continue to establish the full circumstances and the events leading up to this incident.

    “A man remains in police custody and will be questioned by officers.

    “A large cordon is in place in the area of De Montfort Street and will remain while inquiries, including forensic investigations, are carried out.

    “We do ask that people do not speculate about this incident, including on social media, in order to allow a thorough investigation to take place.”

    Anyone with information is asked to speak to police at the scene or contact them on 101 quoting incident number 27 of May 31.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/31/four-in-hospital-after-being-hit-by-car-in-fight/

      1. Evening, Anne,
        It could well be efnic-on-efnic. They were all at the same 'event.'
        We'd have been told if it was indigenous Brits.

        1. Prince Charles seems to think so? 😄 Probably the idea is to sing to your plants, or talk to them…CO2 and all that. I think plants/trees do communicate swapping nutrients through their roots.

          1. Charley Boy thinks a lot of daft things. That Laurens van der Post was a genius (instead of a fraud); that homeopathy is a cure-all…. I could go on….

          2. I had a friend many years ago who thought homeopathy worked on pets…nope…small but expensive bottle smelt strongly of brandy, but still no change. I guess it’s a good idea to try to adopt a positive attitude to illness or misfortune, I’d rather have the actual brandy tho….

    1. Yes, my wife is a big fan – it's very good and I'm always amazed at the range of birdsong of some of our indigenous breeds – particularly the blackbird!

  25. The MR has one of those. Very good – except that I am unable to hear the birdsong!

    1. It's not their fault they do not know
      The birdsong from the radio
      It's not their fault they sometimes go
      To Maidenhead.

      [John Betjeman : Come friendly bombs]

  26. Loretta Swit, the actress who played Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the TV series M*A*S*H, has died aged 87.

    The Emmy-award-winning star died of natural causes at her home in New York City just after midnight on Friday, her publicist Harlan Boll said.

    Swit was best known for starring in M*A*S*H, the acclaimed series set in an army hospital that became a hallmark of US television.

  27. According to a Facebook buddy there's something big going on at Brighton beach today.
    Police have flooded the area and are busy using cuffs and making arrests.
    Wind blowing the wrong way for them is it ?

  28. Wordle No. 1,442 3/6

    ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 31 May 2025

    An addiction for Birdie Three?

    1. Well done – same here – 4th birdie in a row!

      Wordle 1,442 3/6

      🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Didn't start well but recovered to par
      Wordle 1,442 4/6

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

    3. Customary par for me.

      Wordle 1,442 4/6

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

    4. I'm happy with this result. I was struggling, and kept coming back to it, then suddenly a flash of the obvious.
      Wordle 1,442 4/6

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

    5. Well done. Just back from an afternoon at the local. A trolley (home made vehicle of whatever description) race followed by an excellent band, all outside. Hog roast etc. Kids, and even 50 or 60 people I didn't know.
      Wordle; can't remember my score or the word, so I'll just post and surprise myself.
      Wordle 1,442 4/6

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

      That'll do.

  29. Under the TwoTier Keir regime, a subscription to the FSU is as necessary as house or car insurance.
    We can assume that none of the twerps involved in this farrago will be expected to stump up.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/31/kent-police-20k-pensioner-thought-crime-tweet-fsu-foulkes/

    Pensioner receives police payout over ‘thought crime’ tweet

    Julian Foulkes receives £20k in compensation after he was wrongfully detained for replying to pro-Palestine activist

    31 May 2025 3:20pm BST

    A retired special constable has been given compensation of £20,000 after being wrongly arrested over a social media post warning about rising anti-Semitism.

    Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham, Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six officers after replying to a pro-Palestinian activist on X.

    Kent Police officers searched his home and commented on his “very Brexity” book collection. The force detained the 71-year-old for eight hours, interrogated and issued him with a caution after officers visited his home on Nov 2 2023.

    Earlier this month, Kent Police confirmed that the caution was a mistake and had been deleted from Mr Foulkes’s record.

    Tim Smith, the force’s chief constable, later phoned Mr Foulkes personally to offer an apology for the “ordeal he endured”.

    Now, in a letter sent to Mr Foulkes’ solicitors, the force reiterated Mr Smith’s apology for the “distress caused by the actions of his officers” .

    It also confirmed Kent Police would agree to an out-of-court settlement after Mr Foulkes launched a legal challenge, supported by the Free Speech Union (FSU), against the force for wrongful arrest and detention.

    The letter, sent by a lawyer for the force, read: “I am instructed to accept the offer of early resolution without recourse to litigation by payment of compensation in the sum of £20,000 plus your client’s reasonable legal fees in full and final settlement of all prospective claims arising from his arrest on Nov 2 2023.”

    Police officers searching the house of Julian Foulkes
    Kent Police officers searched Julian Foulkes’s home and commented on his ‘very Brexity’ book collection
    Mr Foulkes told The Telegraph he was “naturally pleased that Kent Police had been swift to follow their apology with compensation”.

    “However, this was never about money,” he said.

    “For me, it was a simple matter of right and wrong and I now need to see that the full investigation I have been promised takes place and necessary actions are taken to prevent any recurrence.”

    On Friday, Kent Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over the incident.

    Mr Foulkes added: “I have been very fortunate in receiving superb assistance from the FSU and I would like to thank them once again for their help and support.”

    Police body-worn camera footage captured officers scrutinising Mr Foulkes’s collection of books by authors such as Douglas Murray, a Telegraph contributor, and issues of The Spectator, pointing to what they described as “very Brexity things”.

    Mr Foulkes’s X post replied to an activist threatening to sue Suella Braverman, the home secretary at the time, for calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London “hate marches”.

    In the post, sent two days before police visited his home, Mr Foulkes wrote: “One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…”

    Mr Foulkes’s X post was referring to news reports of an anti-Semitic mob that stormed an airport in Dagestan, Russia, looking for Jewish passengers.

    On Nov 2, six officers arrived at Mr Foulkes’s home, armed with batons and pepper spray. He was arrested, fingerprinted, photographed and swabbed for DNA.

    After his home was searched, the retired special constable was locked in a police cell for eight hours and interrogated on suspicion of malicious communications.

    Fearing that further escalation could impact his ability to visit his daughter, who lives in Australia, he accepted a caution despite having committed no offence.

    Matt Elkins, director of Legisia Legal Services, who helped get Mr Foulkes’s police record deleted, said while the compensation was welcome as this had “never been about money but about correcting an injustice”.

    He said: “The police don’t always admit they’re in the wrong, so I think Kent Police should be acknowledged for their prompt mea culpa.

    “The compensation is, of course, a good starting point, but I hope this is just a first step towards some deep introspection from the police, and some constructive changes.”

    ‘End of the beginning’

    Dr Bryn Harris, chief legal counsel for the FSU, said: “The [FSU] is pleased to see that Kent Police has done the right thing and apologised to Julian, with due compensation.

    “This is, however, merely the end of the beginning – we now need to see a full and credible investigation into the outrageous violations of Julian’s basic freedoms.

    “Kent Police must ensure that the distress to Julian, and the cost to the taxpayer, result in lessons learnt and a realisation that policing by consent requires a police service worthy of the consent of free citizens.”

    Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said it was “disgraceful” that Mr Foulkes had been “investigated and harassed in the first place”.

    He added: “Police should be catching real criminals, not wasting time on non-criminal social media posts.

    “This has happened again and again and the officers responsible for this shocking incident need to be held responsible.

    “Police chiefs need to get a grip and end this nonsense.”

    Mr Philp also called on the Government to support his proposed amendment to Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, and “abolish non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs)”.

    The amendment will seek to block police forces keeping records on individuals who have not broken the law but are accused of expressing views or behaviour deemed offensive.

    The Conservatives previously said they were putting forward the amendment because it was “clear the use of NCHIs has spiralled out of control”.

    1. It is far from unknown here for people to sue the officers involved personally, as part of a legal action. It certainly gets their attention.

  30. Under the TwoTier Keir regime, a subscription to the FSU is as necessary as house or car insurance.
    We can assume that none of the twerps involved in this farrago will be expected to stump up.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/31/kent-police-20k-pensioner-thought-crime-tweet-fsu-foulkes/

    Pensioner receives police payout over ‘thought crime’ tweet

    Julian Foulkes receives £20k in compensation after he was wrongfully detained for replying to pro-Palestine activist

    31 May 2025 3:20pm BST

    A retired special constable has been given compensation of £20,000 after being wrongly arrested over a social media post warning about rising anti-Semitism.

    Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham, Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six officers after replying to a pro-Palestinian activist on X.

    Kent Police officers searched his home and commented on his “very Brexity” book collection. The force detained the 71-year-old for eight hours, interrogated and issued him with a caution after officers visited his home on Nov 2 2023.

    Earlier this month, Kent Police confirmed that the caution was a mistake and had been deleted from Mr Foulkes’s record.

    Tim Smith, the force’s chief constable, later phoned Mr Foulkes personally to offer an apology for the “ordeal he endured”.

    Now, in a letter sent to Mr Foulkes’ solicitors, the force reiterated Mr Smith’s apology for the “distress caused by the actions of his officers” .

    It also confirmed Kent Police would agree to an out-of-court settlement after Mr Foulkes launched a legal challenge, supported by the Free Speech Union (FSU), against the force for wrongful arrest and detention.

    The letter, sent by a lawyer for the force, read: “I am instructed to accept the offer of early resolution without recourse to litigation by payment of compensation in the sum of £20,000 plus your client’s reasonable legal fees in full and final settlement of all prospective claims arising from his arrest on Nov 2 2023.”

    Police officers searching the house of Julian Foulkes
    Kent Police officers searched Julian Foulkes’s home and commented on his ‘very Brexity’ book collection
    Mr Foulkes told The Telegraph he was “naturally pleased that Kent Police had been swift to follow their apology with compensation”.

    “However, this was never about money,” he said.

    “For me, it was a simple matter of right and wrong and I now need to see that the full investigation I have been promised takes place and necessary actions are taken to prevent any recurrence.”

    On Friday, Kent Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over the incident.

    Mr Foulkes added: “I have been very fortunate in receiving superb assistance from the FSU and I would like to thank them once again for their help and support.”

    Police body-worn camera footage captured officers scrutinising Mr Foulkes’s collection of books by authors such as Douglas Murray, a Telegraph contributor, and issues of The Spectator, pointing to what they described as “very Brexity things”.

    Mr Foulkes’s X post replied to an activist threatening to sue Suella Braverman, the home secretary at the time, for calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London “hate marches”.

    In the post, sent two days before police visited his home, Mr Foulkes wrote: “One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…”

    Mr Foulkes’s X post was referring to news reports of an anti-Semitic mob that stormed an airport in Dagestan, Russia, looking for Jewish passengers.

    On Nov 2, six officers arrived at Mr Foulkes’s home, armed with batons and pepper spray. He was arrested, fingerprinted, photographed and swabbed for DNA.

    After his home was searched, the retired special constable was locked in a police cell for eight hours and interrogated on suspicion of malicious communications.

    Fearing that further escalation could impact his ability to visit his daughter, who lives in Australia, he accepted a caution despite having committed no offence.

    Matt Elkins, director of Legisia Legal Services, who helped get Mr Foulkes’s police record deleted, said while the compensation was welcome as this had “never been about money but about correcting an injustice”.

    He said: “The police don’t always admit they’re in the wrong, so I think Kent Police should be acknowledged for their prompt mea culpa.

    “The compensation is, of course, a good starting point, but I hope this is just a first step towards some deep introspection from the police, and some constructive changes.”

    ‘End of the beginning’

    Dr Bryn Harris, chief legal counsel for the FSU, said: “The [FSU] is pleased to see that Kent Police has done the right thing and apologised to Julian, with due compensation.

    “This is, however, merely the end of the beginning – we now need to see a full and credible investigation into the outrageous violations of Julian’s basic freedoms.

    “Kent Police must ensure that the distress to Julian, and the cost to the taxpayer, result in lessons learnt and a realisation that policing by consent requires a police service worthy of the consent of free citizens.”

    Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said it was “disgraceful” that Mr Foulkes had been “investigated and harassed in the first place”.

    He added: “Police should be catching real criminals, not wasting time on non-criminal social media posts.

    “This has happened again and again and the officers responsible for this shocking incident need to be held responsible.

    “Police chiefs need to get a grip and end this nonsense.”

    Mr Philp also called on the Government to support his proposed amendment to Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, and “abolish non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs)”.

    The amendment will seek to block police forces keeping records on individuals who have not broken the law but are accused of expressing views or behaviour deemed offensive.

    The Conservatives previously said they were putting forward the amendment because it was “clear the use of NCHIs has spiralled out of control”.

  31. That's me for this warm – and sultry – day. Trimmed one of the hedges – even with really good kit – it is a tiring job.

    Then tried to sort out the tomatoes. Those planted in the greenhouse are pathetic – despite brand new soil/compos. So have put some of the spares in 12 inch pots. Outdoor ones doing well – as are the spares. Funny old thing, yer gardening – always something…

    Have a jolly evening

    A demain

      1. Very funny. They are universal here. And – even more so, they are all over the outside vegetable potager where we grow the, er, outdoor, tomatoes.

        Interestingly, the RHS swears that “red ants do not harm plants”…..

        1. They might even be pollinating.

          Either that or carrying a fungus that does harm plants.

          Rather like “harmless” gimmegrants carry Islam, which does harm civilised peoples.

    1. Blame the peat-free compost that is often full of rubbish.
      it is very frustrating when you've spent time and effort nurturing plants from seed, to find the rubbish compost hinders healthy growth.

      We have 6 compost bins, all at different stages of decomposition. One is almost full of fine compost that MH sifted from other bins in March…… and hurt his back in the process.
      I mix with the home-made stuff with commercial compost in varying proportions, depending on the quality (or lack of) of the bought bags.
      For seeds, I just use the fine home-made compost.

      1. I use Vitax Traditional Pot Bedding Compost plus our own compost plus horse manure from a neighbour’s generous horse across the road. I use Vitax because our local(ish) proper old fashioned plant nursery (none of yer garden centre bollocks) – swears by it. £8 for 75 litres.

        I agree with you about most of the traditional types of commercial compost.

        1. That’s good to know – I will look out for the Vitax compost. There are a few proper nurseries not too far away, could be worth the drive out.
          Is it possible the horse manure is a bit too strong?

          1. It does need to be well-rotted before spreading (otherwise it pulls the nitrogen from the soil ,to rot, instead of providing nutrients to the plants)

          1. It's misleading and factually selective, Oberst.

            I have a bit of a problem with this stuff as I think the whole leccy car business is nonsense, but it's not helped by easily disprovable extreme nonsense like this – the truth is bad enough ffs!!

  32. Guitar Bloke
    23h
    Anyone remember Celebrity Squares with Bob Monkhouse? At the end of each show the winning contestant would get a briefcase full of crisp £1 notes as the £1000 cash prize. An unbelievable amount back in the 70s.
    Now imagine the briefcase was full of £10 notes & therefore has £10,000 in it. Now, picture 100 of those briefcases stacked on a pallet. You'd have £1,000,000. A thousand pallets would be a billion pounds. I'm guessing here, but that would probably be about 50 container loads (20 pallets per container).

    Now, imagine it's not 50 container loads of crisp tenners, but 50,000 containers. That's £10 billion. How much space would you need to park that lot? Now… Picture someone coming along with a box of matches & setting it ablaze. Every last banknote turned to cinders. You could probably see the inferno from space.

    That is what Rachel Reeves has done today by selling the government's shares in NatWest at a £10bn loss. In a week when her boss talks of Reform's unfunded spending commitments.

  33. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a70cd0788710035b021fa1a12edb799b27224ea90c65b0c9659ac2bfb9a4553a.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5eb40bbb93ecdf37f510c9e3edf294b77807d4151fcb9e803a8e3ead8e7e97d1.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d91454c691e5b6ccef74ef0f71729124c4ea29301a1a635105c0b8c06fdb1443.png

    fred finger
    The Idiots Companion
    24h
    Ah! McRuin, destroyed manufacturing, going from 20% of GDP down to10%. Left a £153B yearly deficit for the tories. A disaster on every level. Never had a balanced budget since his 2002 budget. Since then we have borrowed EVERY year.

    1. Best cancel him pronto – he's bound to have sent some hurty tweets….

    2. How many of those regulations were made in The Grand Palace Of The Rue de la Loi?

  34. HatanakaHacker
    13h
    Must be an accidental oversight.
    BBC reporting policeman run over several times by man in car. Said man is in custody and is described as 41.

    But no mention of cull er.

    As I say, must just be an accidental oversight. Again.

  35. 406539+up ticks,

    Dt,
    More than 1,000 migrants cross Channel in single day
    Some 18 small boats, carrying more than 1,000 asylum seekers, thought to have left French coast

    "Thought to have left the french coast" ?

    If that be the case as in seven K a week, then
    tis GAME SET & MATC……..

      1. 4063573+ up ticks,

        Evening C,
        Truth be told they are lab/lib/con pro eu coalition political overseers invading mercenary support troops,
        introduced via "miranda" the treacherous,HOC ALL complicit.

    1. Government lawyers simply aren't bothering. We must repeal the HRA and leave the ECHR – now.

      1. But Starmer is determined to let as many illegal migrants into Britain as he possibly can.

      1. The intact building is New Wardour Castle designed by James Paine. The house is not open to the public as far as I know.

        Old Wardour Castle has been part demolished, part rebuilt a number of times but then left to ruin. This explains the post mediaeval
        Classical detailing of its parts dating from the Jacobean period.

          1. The National Trust has decolonisation workshops to run. Why waste money on restoring buildings?

    1. I'm always disappointed that no effort goes into maintaining and repairing these beautiful buildings. I appreciate the cost is prohibitive, but that is, actually something worth doing. Restore them, remember their history, catalogue the repair but don't just let them crumble to dust.

  36. "He's made exactly the same mistake that Rishi Sunak made.. he's drawn attention to it.. he's staked his political career on it.. and he's made a ridiculous promise that cannot be kept."
    "It's been spelt out many times. You cannot do anything while the Human Rights Act & ECHR courts are in play."

    Dominic Cummings

    More than 1,000 migrants – the highest daily total in 2025 so far – crossed the Channel in small boats today.

    Keir Starmer stood before a room of world leaders, tech executives, and law enforcement chiefs to unveil his bold new plan to “smash the gangs”.

    1. Putting that into perspective, that's a Southampton a month.

      Are we adding a police station, hospital, twenty GP surgeries, fire stations, roads, reservoirs, sewer pipes, houses at the same rate? Of course we're not. Which means demand will soar which means prices will rise.

      This was unsustainable back in 2000. It's dangerous now. Every single one must be removed. The gimmigrants here must stop being funded. We have got to get the population back to the trajectory it was on 30 years ago, heading toward 40 million, not the 85million the Left have forced on us.

      1. And don't forget that Rupert Lowe wanted not only arriving illegal migrants to be deported but also for all those already here to be deported as well.

        This was why Farage, and his Muslim Chairman, Zia Yusuf, determined to get rid of Lowe and use the foulest of means to try and do so.

        1. Yet Yousef keeps going on about deportation. Hello! Have you looked in the mirror laddy?

          If we simply said 'no bennies, no welfare for x generations' then the flood would stop and the sewage would leave.

          1. I am in two minds about Yusuf, wibbles. Instinctively I don't trust him at all (the same feeling I have for Farage, but Yusuf has the bonus of being a Muslim, a distinct minus) – yet, on the other hand, he makes all the right noises.

            I gather from the internet that he is odious to his employees. Not a good look really.

        2. Farage blowing it. We must not remove the two-child child benefit cap.

    2. Welcome to Britain.
      There are 1000 houses available, fight it out amongst yourselves as to who gets them.

      1. Better to say 10, then they have to thunderdome until there's 10 of them left.

        Then we release the rats.

      2. All very well for you, sos, in the Dordogne with yer hoopoes, yer hares and yer orchids. And your huge space. Even our little Sainsbury's local now employs burly dark-skinned non-British unsmiling security guards. It's intimidating. Why are all these uniformed enforcers foreign?

    1. "Coast guards issued an appeal for fishing boats to assist a yacht and kayaks in trouble in the Channel because all Border Force vessels and lifeboats were overloaded with rescuing migrants."

      This is fucking outrageous!

      It's not just the current disastrous government, though, it's been the last 4 or 5. We need fundamental change, but perhaps it's already too late.

      1. Husband and I have discussed this. When we make our break across the channel (in two years), if we see such a boat, what do we do? The answer is, we won’t see such a boat. We both agreed and it took us less than a nanosecond to agree, there’s being at peril on the sea, and deliberately putting yourself at peril on the sea,

    2. RNLI contributions have got to be at an all time low, unless, of course, the government helps them financially from our tax coffers.

      1. Gave up with them when they were reported as faciliatting illegal immigration.
        They can get fcukked.

    3. Will it take a sinking cross-Channel ferry with hundreds of people drowning to wake people up?

      1. Only when something appalling happens on the streets will the establishment wake up.

          1. A terrorist outrage so hideous that the country teeters on the brink, one that dwarfs even Lockerbie. Or one that affects the establishment: MPs, big cheeses in Whitehall and so on. As soon as 'important' people die in their dozens, the Blob might act. There is, however, an argument against this, which is that Islam is so successful that it doesn't need to bomb its way to power. It knows it's winning by sheer force of will and numbers.

            Another possible scenario is the minor incident that sparks something that runs out of control. An argument in the street, insults are exchanged and a town with a large immigrant population burns. The flash point might involve one of the Channel invaders, perhaps an abscondee and an indecent assault. The police will, of course, turn against the wrong side and society will unravel.

          2. Too many people already following the WEF, EU, Net Zero, WHO, MSM, et al narrative. Hope I'm wrong.

          3. I would say that what Hamas did to Israel on the 7th October was a "terrorist outrage so hideous that.." (aposiopesis). Even such an outrage does not seem to stop those in power (the BBC for example), along with the soft headed trendies, from romanticising the bloodthirsty terrorists and demonising the victims , especially if the victims are Jews. I despair, on the whole, but know despair to be a sin in itself so will attempt to KBO

          4. It certainly seems to have exposed a large phalanx of them for what they are (for those with eyes to see)

        1. They would blame the 2 diesel and petrol powered cars on board for the tragedy.

      2. Most folks I know are awake, mola….the ones need to wake up are the Government, the politicians, the civil service. Minimum.

        1. "the ones need to wake up are the Government, the politicians, the civil service. Minimum."

          Unfortunately, these people are very wide awake in their actions. They know exactly what they're doing.

  37. Why don't banks take direct debits and standing orders on weekends/bank holidays? It's bally annoying.

  38. This article from Christian Concern might be of interest to nottlers. It's about the difficulties experienced by a Christian woman from an Islamic country seeking asylum in the UK because of persecution – even threats to her life – in her country of origin. Of particular note is the obstructionism of the Home Office, and the unsurprising fact that the Civil Service has a network of 700 Muslim staff.
    https://christianconcern.com/news/christian-woman-who-fled-islamic-persecution-overturns-asylum-decision/

  39. Thought for the day.
    Give everyone on Guernsey a million pounds and allow those who wish to to move to the UK painland (sic).
    Then shift every single gimmegrant to Guernsey and tell them to get on with it, no support whatsoever just a new life on an island.
    Any gimmegrants who arrive after Guernsey is gimmegrant Island get taken straight to Guernsey.

    1. There was a saying, 50 or more years ago, that the World's human population, standing upright, could all fit on the Isle of Wight. I remember a subsequent scifi novel called 'Stand on Zanzibar'. I wonder where we 'stand' now in that respect.

        1. An awful lot of fat bastards, in western populations at least, around these days.

    2. They'd ruin it. Why should be put them somewhere pretty? Send them back to the Sahara and forget about them. Build a camp there if necessary. A couple of portaloos and a 100l water tank.

      Get. Rid. Of. Them.

      1. Until the ECHR laws etc are repealed/left we're stuck with them.
        Send them offshore but give them absolutely nothing once there.
        South Georgia would be better, except the fossil fuels might create a new oil fired muslimity.

        1. Spikey might have something to say about that! Far too close for comfort!

      1. Guernsey is perfectly habitable and there's plenty of room.
        If they decide to start killing each other, let them get on with it.

    3. Guernsey (all the CIs) has/have the strictest residency regulations imaginable.
      You have to prove your wealth and ability to support yourself for the foreseeable future and beyond to stand an inkling of a chance to settle there. I wonder how such tiny islands enforce this, when we supposedly can't.

      1. I was conceived on Jersey (parents honeymoon) or so my mother told me. Might that be sufficient for me to claim citizenship. I think I should be told……..

          1. Unfortunately I can’t prove it, Sroi…those involved (both parents) now dead…..plus the relatives who lived there, had a tomato farm.

      2. They have a very simple justice system. Any non resident who commits a crime is usually give a choice an immediate prison term or to be bound over to leave the Island immediately and voluntarily. I'm told most agree to be bound over….

      1. The Guernsey solution would be pretty much unchallengeable through the ECHR.

    1. Can't cost all that much, most of them are too pigshariant to get in to University.

      1. Literacy amongst gimmigrants and muslim is vastly lower than even amongst the lowest performers – white boys.

      2. I'm not sure being thick is that much of an obstacle nowadays.

      3. Is having the IQ of pigshit an impediment to gaining a DEI university place?

  40. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/31/vikings-were-not-all-white-pupils-to-be-told/

    Good grief. I truly give up. It really is a rewriting of historical fact all to spin a narrative. It's nothing less than 1984!

    Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

    1. The guidance…urges the tutors to consider that "some Vikings became practising Muslims".
      This claim appears to rely on Islamic goods being found in the graves of some Vikings, who traded with the Islamic world.

      "Gunnar has a Muslim trinket. Gunnar is a Muslim."
      At which point one has to stop banging one's head on the desk.
      A historian with copies of The Wealth Of Nations, Das Kapital, the Bible, the Torah, the Koran et al would, by the reasoning of The Brilliant Club [sic, sic and more sic] be one mixed-up bunny.

      1. it’s totally sick, isn’t it? And the Leftards will wonder what happened when we are all required to pray to Allah five times a day.

    2. The guidance…urges the tutors to consider that "some Vikings became practising Muslims".
      This claim appears to rely on Islamic goods being found in the graves of some Vikings, who traded with the Islamic world.

      "Gunnar has a Muslim trinket. Gunnar is a Muslim."
      At which point one has to stop banging one's head on the desk.
      A historian with copies of The Wealth Of Nations, Das Kapital, the Bible, the Torah, the Koran et al would, by the reasoning of The Brilliant Club [sic, sic and more sic] be one mixed-up bunny.

    3. Who are all these Dopey Wokey idiots?
      We need their names so they can sidelined from our presence, they are quite obviously out of their stupid minds.
      How long will it be before they are claiming Jesus's father was a black African carpenter from Lagos on annual leave when he met and 'influenced' Mary ?

    1. "Headmaster Waqar Ahmed used a stick to hit the young student"

      Tell me it's a joke, please.

  41. 406573+up ticks.

    Up-dat1200 now,

    The starmer chap loses control, I think not,he is very much in complete control.

    Dt,
    Starmer ‘loses control’ as more than 1,000 migrants cross Channel in single day
    Fishing boats called in to help as Border Force vessels pushed to breaking point

    Any truth in we are getting a standby tanker to spread oil on rough seas, NO NO not to set light to but to smooth the way.

    Now where did I put my submission rules booklet ?

  42. Calls for Lord Hermer to quit over role in Lucy Connolly prosecution
    Attorney General’s involvement in controversial case has raised fresh questions over his political judgement

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/31/lord-hermer-signed-off-lucy-connolly-prosecution-southport/

    BTL

    And we must not forget that Hermer had close links with Mauritius and was very much the driving force which pressed Starmer to go ahead with the disastrous Chagos Islands giveaway.

    Britain is paying very heavily for the sheer treachery of this man who hates Britain.

    1. Yes, he must be tried for treason and malfeasance in public office, along with charges of corruption and all the other stuff. The Attorney General himself must see that this does not go unpunished… oh ….oops….oh

  43. Well, chums, I think I'm going to have an early night tonight. Good Night to you all, sleep well, and I'll see you next month.

  44. Just got home from the cinema.
    Glass of vino and off to bed.
    Good night all Nottlers 😴

  45. I’ve been busy all day – did you miss me? (lol). I decided on Wednesday evening to do an impromptu dinner party tonight, as husband is away with his mistress (calm down! I am referring to the boat, which needs a pulley system for the tender to be mended). Anyway, after a day of fraught organising on Thursday (and it’s a LONG story), I ended up with three friends tonight and four friends next week. Not sure how that works! Anyway we had a lovely evening tonight. Four of us from the old hockey days, and, if I say so myself, we are wearing well.

    Menu:
    Butternut squash, ginger and cashew nut soup, with home made “Portuguese” bread
    Roast chicken with broccoli, red pepper, pine nut and apple salad, and new potato salad (no mayonnaise, a mustard/olive oil dressing)
    Lemon posset (my speciality) and fresh fruit salad
    Home made seedy crackers with cheeses

    For drinks, I made a watermelon spritzer (one of out number is up early tomorrow for a 10 k run) and a vodka, ginger, lime and grapefruit spritzer. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

    Next week, basic outline, tomato soup (made) and pulled beef (made) with home made flat bread and salads, and chocolate mousse, fresh fruit salad, home made crackers and cheese.

    I’m no Grizlee or Phizee, but occasionally I come good.

    Chicken stock in the slow cooker ready for tomorrow. Going to read all the messages I’ve missed now. Till tomorrow (today!).

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