Sunday 1 June: The Government’s ill-judged prisoner-release scheme puts the public at risk

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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600 thoughts on “Sunday 1 June: The Government’s ill-judged prisoner-release scheme puts the public at risk”

  2. Good morning, chums: White Rabbits and A Pinch And A Punch. And thanks, Geoff, for June's first NoTTLe page. And my Wordle was a Par today.

    Wordle 1,443 4/6

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    1. Except. I am increasingly worried Reform is the Establishment.

      Abolishing the two-child child benefit cap is a VERY retrograde step.

      1. Good morning Less Info, and everyone.
        It all depends on how such a scheme could be introduced. If the background were to necessitate a switch to contributory benefits, there would be no problem.
        As it is, the only way to even start to Reform the shirkers and perkers and subsidised werkers would be to quietly introduce a national ID scheme, starting with babies, then toddlers, then children. The DNA data could be stored in a secure database.
        As for a wealth tax, every dual national adult resident (exclude wealthy non-doms) should be obliged to list their worldwide assets. Not to impose a levy, but to enable data mining. When you hear of a person who is claiming alms from the British Government whilst their spouse has property assets offshore, it is tempting to suspect that the UK tax & benefits system is absurd.

      2. Farage is not just moving to the left – he has put on roller skates.

        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 so Farage, and his Muslim Chairman, Zia Yusuf, determined to get rid of him and used the foulest of means to try and do so.

        Farage has sold out.

        1. A sell-out is a sell-out, whether from ideological grounds or expediency.

        2. As soon as Lowe advocated banning non-stunned slaughter, I knew he would be ousted by a muz benefactor.

    2. Let's get on with it and get our country back from all these self important, self opinionated, self obsessed morons.

    3. "It was all very well having no ideas to speak of, in the old days. But since the Marxists took over Labour, British conservatism has needed first of all to understand what it is up against, and then to develop a counter-attack. It has done neither. Until it does, it will continue to fail."
      Peter Hitchens

  6. Good morning all.
    A beautiful start to the day with bright sunshine and a pleasant 13½°C and I've made it to 73.
    No, I'm not celebrating, just wondering how on Earth I got so bloody old!

    2. Hard work and little play made B o B what he is today.

      Today's one of the days for a little play. Enjoy it.

    3. Glad you made it so far, Bob. Happy birthday! There's hope for us youngsters yet! (64 next month… how did that happen?)

    4. Happy Birthday to you Bob I hope you have a restful day 🤗🍻 cheers.

    7. Happy birthday BoB! Enjoy the sun …. and have a relaxing day.
      I know what you mean – I had to get the new driving licence ahead of turning 70 in a couple of weeks. 60 was bad enough, but 70 – no thank you!

  7. Good morning all.
    A beautiful start to the day with bright sunshine and a pleasant 13½°C and I've made it to 73.
    No, I'm not celebrating, just wondering how on Earth I got so bloody old!

  9. 406624+up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Sunday 1 June: The Government’s ill-judged prisoner-release scheme puts the public at risk

    The media keep pushing these starmer /WEF /NWO success stories, HE ( the tool) is NOT there for the BETTERMENT of the UNITED KINGDOM but the DOWNFALL.

    He is the near final continuation of the invasion campaign triggered by " MIRANDA" 1997 / 2007 the tactical / tribal voters
    have had success upon success in the GREAT BRIT demolition take down now very near completion.

    The final take-down is seemingly to go operational and finalise the culling program whatever heinous shite these political criminal overseers are ALLOWED to get away with can only be realised in the minds of nuclear serial killers.

    Dt,

    Britain to be ‘war-ready’ with £1.5bn for new bomb factories
    John Healey to announce Britain will move to a constant state of readiness for war as ministers publish a Strategic Defence Review

    1. 406624+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      We could always bring forward the long overdue civil war as a form of "firebreak" because the thought of armament factories in current England is on par witth entering a firework factory showing the way with a lit tar brand.

    2. British fighter jets will soon carry nuclear weapons for the first time as part of biggest defence expansion since the Cold War.

      Sir Keir Starmer is looking to purchase several fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons.

      The sensitive talks include Defence Secretary John Healey and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin who are looking to buy US fighter jets capable of launching gravity bombs with lower power than conventional nuclear weapons.

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14768419/Top-Gun-British-fighter-jets-nuclear-weapons-Cold-War.html

      1. Nuclear bombs are not defence, but attack/retaliation weapons (a threat-type of defence, I suppose).
        More money used in the preparation for Armageddon. Arseholes, the lot of them.

      2. Nuclear bombs are not defence, but attack/retaliation weapons (a threat-type of defence, I suppose).
        More money used in the preparation for Armageddon. Arseholes, the lot of them.

      3. Where is he going to get money from to pay for all that ?…….oh yes another pension raid !

      4. Starmer is so gullible he is sure to be sold a pup.

        Indeed, some dog breeders specialising in labradoodles are finding that prices are falling and Starmer is being lined up as a potential client.

  11. Morning, all Y'all.
    Rain hissing down, so I'll have another coffee and hope for a gap to go outside without needing my own roof…

    1. Good morning Ob.
      Bright & sunny here and almost warm!
      Though showers are forecast for later today.

  12. Tories sink to lowest ever poll rating. 1 June 2025.

    The Conservative Party has sunk to its lowest ever poll rating recorded by one of Britain’s most reputable pollsters.

    A YouGov poll carried out on May 18 and 19 found the Tories are now in fourth place and polling at just 16 per cent, which the company said was a historic low.

    How sad.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/20/tories-fourth-place-yougov-poll-six-years-reform-labour/?recomm_id=98c3cfd0aee63d92a65a8c694a73c589

    1. Best news for a very long time.
      And it's such a shame that none of these useless political idiots actually suffer personally from the problems they have all created.

      1. Most of our politicians are no better than harlots.

        “Power without responsibility – the prerogative of the harlot through the ages”

        [Stanley Baldwin]

      1. It seems many folk vote for their image of the party, not the reality.

        1. 406624+ up ticks,

          Morning O,

          Party name, no matter of the
          "in name only" accusations, and regardless of consequence.

        2. It took a long time but then reality caught up and people saw that the Conservative Party was not remotely conservative. The signs were there when they ditched Thatcher.

      2. 406624+ up ticks,

        Morning S,
        A high percentage of active
        paedophile & paedophile supporting umbrella holders, baring in mind that they were the initial pakistani importers via "miranda" lifting the entry latch.

        By the by,
        Could also be, supporting because of what they have done

      4. If you really want to be depressed, read some of the comments on the BBC website – despite all that Labour have wrecked since last July there are still people who support Starmer and think Reeves is being slandered and doing a good job!!

    3. My bet is that they have shoved Kemi into place so it looks like it's her fault.
      Typical of our useless political classes.

  13. Morning all 🙂😊
    Sunny start not so much wind, 12 degs and rising, not at all bad for the first day of June 2025.
    We went to the cinema last night to watch The Salt Path. The Raynor and Moth Wynne story after having their home and lively hood stolen from them by the misnomer of our horrible nasty minded 'justice system'.
    80 days spent walking ( mental and physical wrestling) with the Salt Path in their efforts to overcome that disaster plus her husbands illness to contend with. Well worth going to see it if you get the chance.
    Now I gather in the form of a few books.

      2. Happy birthday, BoB !

        I expect to hear all about the singing, dancing and drinking.

        1. After the back twinges I had t'other day, swinging the axe is off the menu for a few days anyway.

          1. Very wise. In Feb – when I had some trees felled- the tree bloke brought a log splitter. Gosh – it was impressive.

          4. I haven't seen that arrangement of the crazies' banner before, and it is very fitting.
            Unfortunately, the lower one is also very true.
            Recently, I have seen a local man a couple of times in the supermarket. Presumably he is a pretendy woman, but he appears to be bothering nobody, and is dressed simply as a regular middle-aged woman. He probably needs some sort of help, but at least he isn't 'in your face.'

        1. Nope!
          To be honest, I try to ignore it.
          Thank you for the wishes though.

    2. Yo Bob

      Have a happy *23rd BD today and 364 Happy Unbithdays til you next anniversary

      * the first 50 years are practice

  16. SIR – It always puzzles me why commentators like John Penrose (“We don’t need to nationalise our railways to fix them”, Comment, May 30) choose to overlook the resurgence of British Rail during Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s. Passenger numbers rose to the highest since 1953, the annual subsidy fell to £2 billion compared to £15 billion today (at current prices), and record investment, including more electrification than under any prime minister before or since. Her secret? She let BR chairman Sir Bob Reid (Obituaries, http://telegraph.co.uk , May 30) and his team get on with running the railways.

    Advertisement

    Roger Ford
    Industry and technology editor,
    Modern Railways
    Tunbridge Wells, Kent

    Quite so, Mr Ford! This golden age of British Rail never got the recognition iy deserved at the time. The sainted Prime Minister didn't like nationalised industries and railways, so was unlikely to trumpets the success of nationalised railways.

    1. Mr Ford, in case you have not yet realised yet, every single thing our political classes come into contact with they eff it up and big time. Everything.

      2. Ref Joseph B Fox response: That's because the politicians don't know the subject they are talking about, and have little skin in the game. For them, long-term strategy is next month, not next decade as a professional Manager has. Pols also swap around so much, they never get to understand anythin properly.

        1. It might indeed be argued that BR did so well in that period because the Thatcher government wanted nothing to do with it.

  18. Good Morning!

    Today's article, Anti-Free Speech Laws Are Illegal! argues that the State is now acting illegally by removing rights it has no right to remove, as guaranteed by Magna Carta, The Bill of Rights and Common Law. It also states the Parliament cannot pass laws inhibiting these rights without destroying the democratic accountability that gives it the right to make laws. We are, therefore, suffering tyranny.

    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.

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 14.7%; Solar, 9.4%: Wind 34.8%; Imports, 18.3%; Biomass, 6.4%, Nuclear 18.3% and Miscellaneous, 3.1%.

    2. I've been meaning to read 'Procrastination is the thief of time!' for a while now.

        1. Can't remember the source but someone once commented that in his country there was no word equivalent to "mañana" as nothing could possibly merit that degree of urgency!

        1. Like the hockey club accounts…successfully avoided now for a month at least, today being no exception. I have been going though my old filing, and lost myself in my degree qork. I have all 8 papers I had to do for my finals. I did a double honours. I don’t know where i found the time. Not that doing a double honours paid any dividends in real life.

  19. Worst cold I've had in ten or fifteen years – got worse yesterday. Voice gone and painful cough. Nearly had to cancel pub visit.
    Wordle 1,443 3/6

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    1. Oh, man. Get well soon – try taking vitamin D3 supplements – since I started some years ago, I have not had a cold of any dimension. Worth a try.

      1. Been taking Vit D3 for years – and lots of other pills for my heart. Survived a broken back and semi paralysis in the 1970s and triple heart by-pass – yonks ago!

        1. No worries, Per. You were so quick to reverse it that I didn't notice.

    2. Nearly had to cancel pub visit???

      Bloody Hell, that must have been serious!

    3. I hope that it's not as bad as the one I had early this year Per. It took ten weeks to shake off.

    4. Well done for not doing so – and for spreading germs among yer natives.

      1. I sat with two friends and kept my distance. I did warn them. There is a parade of old tractors and prize cattle in the town today and it had just started to rain. My friend will be driving his second favourite, his newly refurbished one has a minor problem. Where's my mac?

    5. Pollen count been very high this year…an App I use is Pollen Pal, gives % of pollen in your area, and breakdown of type (tree, grass, weed). Perhaps you have an allergic reaction, more people discovering they have. A few drinks will help to put it out of your mind for a while 🙂

      1. I think there was a warning a few days ago about v. high pollen counts.
        (Or was it rainbow lizards taking over the world?)

        1. Thanks anne…think it would be the pollen count, rainbow lizards having been walking among us for what seems like a lifetime…Kate x

    1. He never had control, kbhoy. Our real government is, and has been for some time, the Civil Service (seemingly quite a high % of whom are Muslim, and that % only set to go one way).

      1. The Muslim Network in the Home Office is 700 strong. Now you see why we are not stopping the boats.

        1. You saw the article I posted the other day where a Muslim tried to prevent a Christian from getting asylum in the UK, even went to the extent of fabricating false evidence? No Muslim should be allowed to be a snivel serpent, period.

        2. Exactly so, Delboy. Anyone with younger family who want to preserve their way of life would be advised to consider their options.

    1. Ah, so the Nazi banners will be out at work. They’re draped around the building in exactly the same style.

      1. I’m not sure I could work in an environment that toxic.

      2. I am sorry to say that hedgehogs are notorious lesbians. Not that it matters – but they are.

          1. When I first saw the frequently-used photo of Regent Street hung with dozens of those flags, I realised that they functioned in exactly the same way that the swastika flags functioned at 1930s rallies of the National Socialists in Germany – as a reminder of which dictatorial regime was in charge round here, and an implied threat to the general public of the dangers of failing to support that dictatorial regime.

            It is of course inconceivable that the police who visited the creator of this image had the self-awareness to realise that their actions were completely in line with, and supporting, the creator's perception of this function of the Pride flag, and which is satirised by the creation of this image. There were the police going round to visit someone who failed to support the dictatorial regime of Pride in order to put the frighteners on him, just as the State Security Police would drive round visiting those who failed to support the dictatorial regime of the Nat. Socs – and with the same intention.

            The final deeply ironic similarity is that the police drive around in cars painted with the Pride flag just as the Geheimestaatspolizei drove around in cars painted with the swastika – both police forces thereby demonstrating their allegiance to the regime in charge at the time.

    5. Maybe we should start breaking out the flags for "It's a private matter" month.

  24. Good morning all. Nice sunny mild day here in West Sussex.
    I notice that today the Telegraph is finally talking about Lord Hermer. You should check the guys background out. This is an evil man and profoundly anti-British. In fact he seems to have an utter hatred for this country. Also he is not only responsible for the treatment of Lucy Connolly but the illegal treatment of Tommy Robinson.

    Video I'm posting, however, has nothing to do with Hermer but Ukraine. A sobering lesson for those who really think that they are the good guys in the conflict with Russia.

    LIVE NEWS | Polish President Duda Condemns Ukraine’s Glorification of Volhynia Massacre Figures

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEjEp91Ra2U

  26. 1,200 illegal immigrants arrived yesterday!

    The Met Office gives gale warnings to those who broadcast the shipping forecast.

    When we are even more dependent of wind energy then maybe the Met Office should give flat calm warnings as well because flat calms don't just stop the generation of electricity they also encourage a sharp rise in illegal immigration.

  27. OT – I see in the Sunday Grimes that the overweight and self-obsessed Sarah Vine (I bet she is furious NOT to be Lady Glove) has published a book about how horrible the Camerons are. Almost worth looking out for a copy remaindered for 10p!!

    1. I suspect it's Even Stevens. All pretty ghastly.
      Does my Social Insecurity look big in this?

    2. I thought they were supposed to be best friends? Did her ex get them in the divorce?
      Though on Cameron's side, I doubt the friendship is more than political expediency. He's been well known for looking down his nose at people since his undergraduate days. Someone in the Conservative party later observed that Cameron and Osborne 'closed their address books a long, long time ago.'

  28. Late morning all! Phone was dead this morning so I read a book on my kindle instead of chipping in here.

  29. Morning all,

    What I've noticed about renewable energy is that it is generated in places where most of it is not needed.
    This means that the grid that was designed for legacy power generators is in the wrong place. Hence the need for a
    network of pylons going through lots of places that hardly need energy because they can easily generate and store their own from their rooftops..

    1. We have windmills near us that were erected years ago but have not as yet been connected to the grid. There is no connector. The seven turbines were erected in 2020 in spite of Powys council rejecting the planning application (overruled by Cardiff government) at this former beauty spot.

    1. It seems that Trump lives rent free in liberals minds and they are so stupid they don't see how successful he is. So all they have is lies and misrepresentation. Watching a CNN thing they other day, they argued about a hypothetical because they had no real arguments about what he is doing.

    1. Starmer doesn't give a damn. Why should he? The next general election is 4 years away and in that time he will have completed his mission to destroy Britain completely.

      I very much doubt if he has any desire to continue to be prime minister after that and he probably cares as much for the Labour Party and his colleagues as much as he cares for the UK – i.e. he doesn't give a toss.

      1. We were discussing him with friends yesterday. The consensus is that he is "odd"; unrelatable, possibly some form of autism?
        I actually think he is evil; a grey characterless destructive force like Molotov.

      2. Well if other political parties an remove previous PMs, they could get easily git rid of him for a start.

      3. Starmer is as stupid as the other European leaders with but two exceptions and is allowing the unelected EU to lead us to total irrelevance.

        The Russians are now viewing the EU not as a trading bloc but as a military alliance which hates Russia. With the collapse of globalism the UK will be left in no-man’s land, totally toothless and an altogether marginal trading nation.

        The designs on Odessa and the control of the Black Sea which have fuelled UK and EU support for a Nazi regime in Ukraine is now an impossible dream turned to nightmare. We are being led by Morons.

      1. Just so that he is ready on the off chance he meets any young males ………

  32. Went up the "garden" just now and, despite being 15°C, the blustery wind is making it feel a LOT colder, more like 7 or 8°!!
    So I've just put my fleece lined working shirt on.

    1. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday, BoB! Hope you have a wonderful day! 🎂🍾⭐️🍺🍺

      1. I have actually been in a padded cell (quiet at the back there).
        It was the sole one one left in the hospital and had been converted to the ward laundry room.
        It was eerily quiet, even with the door open. I can't think of anything more likely to send me round the twist.
        Although, talking to an old, long term manic-depressive (bi-polar to the young'uns) she explained that being able to chuck herself around and fruitlessly trying to destroy her surroundings actually temporarily got the manic phase out of her system.

    3. Some one posted the actual cost of using an electric vehicle yesterday and after all the expelled energy in installations of needed facilities and new equipment the average equivalent MPG was around 6 MPG. Compared to around 50 for a diesel.

    1. A One …
      A Two ….
      A One Two Three Four …..
      (Deep breath …. all together now ….)
      But It's Different When They Do It.

  35. OT (again) – ref my greenhouse tomato problem adumbrated yesterday. I think I may have a reason. In the winter, we fill the greenhouse with brassicas. Though we replace the soil before planting out tomatoes – the RHS cautions against putting tomatoes in immediately after brassicas. Crop rotation and all that malarkey. The MR has a plan for next year….

        1. Not growing? blighted? Shrivelled? Mine are outdoors and doing fine, but I haven't got a greenhouse. It went when I sold my last house 30 years ago.

    2. Silly Billy……….😉
      I've a got a problem with my Courgette plant lots of blossom and bees visiting but no sign of any courgettes, probably single sex flowers. 🤔

      1. We've been too kind to our fig tree. We repotted it to give it more space, and it's gone into a sulk.
        Well, bloody well sit there and get pot bound, you miserable, ungrateful little …. sh tree.

        1. That happened to my sisters Fig tree happily growing against a wall moved it to a pot, trimmed it down and it died. I thought they needed their roots enclosed.

          1. The original pot was so small, we thought we'd give a bit more space.
            Ho hum.
            The fig tree is like all too many Britons: happy to be cribbed, cabined and confined.

          2. I love fresh figs.
            We’ve got a gooseberry Bush now protected from squirrels with chicken wire and a small olive tree. But the local wildlife eats everything, including our grapes and damsons.
            I’m netting the olive Bush soon as the poppies die back.

        1. I've been a patient for at least six years Bill and at last I have my third over three years, pre op examination next Wednesday.
          Proposed Knee Op on the 18th.

      3. Last year, my courgette plants started that way, but once they got going they were very productive. Give them time.

    1. And will have to take them to the nearest pub to prove it.
      (That should cause problems in Brum.)

      1. Tell me about it. I am from Small Heath and when I moved back after leaving the Army in 1998, there were about 15 pubs in the district. There are now two, both of which rely largely on match day customers at nearby Birmingham City's stadium. I now live a short distance away on the east side and am a member of a social club in the suburbs.

      1. Indeed. She is too good to be true…. Time will tell. She is waking people up… but this will lead to the civil unrest so desired by the WEF to exact complete control (after a few of us have been murdered in the mayhem). Although the alternative is no better, it can lead only to us being completely overwhelmed. So the real question is….. sooner rather than later?

    2. This would make a very good listening comprehension for those taking Italian at "A" level!

      1. Not only no will to stop them – but a determination that they should come here.

    2. To be fair, if I was French I'd be delighted to see the scum leaving – I certainly wouldn't stop them!!

          1. I can hardly believe that Starmer is so naïf that he cannot see that he is being taken for a ride by the French.

          4. I can hardly believe that Starmer is so naïf that he cannot see that he is being taken for a ride by the French.

      2. Revenge for all those battles they lost and being rescued from Nazi rule.
        And possibly making sure their ancient cathedrals don't burst into flames with 'electrical faults' again.

      3. But the French have cottoned on to the fact that, since Thatcher, the UK has become a soft touch and of course Starmer is the softest touch of all having surrendered the Chagos Islands at enormous expense and for no possible advantage to the UK. And of course, for no benefit to Britain, Starmer has also betrayed British fishing and given way on everything else in the new alignment.

        The French may have their faults but when they see a sucker they know how to exploit him! If the UK is prepared to pay great quantities of money to the French then more fool the UK and the French will happily pocket the money.

  43. He doesn't care about that. He WANTS these ghastly people to pour into our country.

  44. As it's Sunday, some news from the CofE seems appropriate, in this case the appointment of Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders as Bishop of Doncaster (a suffragan bishop in the Sheffield Diocese).

    She ticks all the woke boxes required for promotion in the CofE nowadays, as explained in this article by Julian Mann.
    https://anglican.ink/2025/05/31/while-close-to-the-bottom-the-church-of-england-keeps-on-digging-gaia-vicar-appointed-area-bishop/

    Revealing still more heterodoxy in Mrs Vasey-Saunders's background, a paragraph near the end states: "During LGBT Pride month in June 2022, Lancaster Priory hosted the ‘Queering the Dream’ exhibition featuring artwork by the American radical Left-wing activist, Rev Dr Angela Yarber." which was authorised to take place during her tenure as vicar of the Priory Church, and is therefore presumed to have had her support. More information on this exhibition can be found at a linked article in the local newspaper, the Lancaster Guardian. As this isn't paywalled, I'm prepared to copy it in full, avoiding all the intrusive adverts typical of local newspaper websites.

    "[In June 2022] Lancaster Priory provided a special backdrop for an exhibition curated by Lancaster University to celebrate queer and ethnic minority women in religion.
    Rev Dr Angela Yarber’s exhibit “Queering the Dream” celebrated the lives and legacies of queer and ethic minority women from sacred history and mythology as a way of diversifying religious spaces during Pride month.
    Hosted by Lancaster Priory and sponsored by the Lancaster Friends, the exhibit featured 12 images of revolutionary women of colour, who inspired the artist’s spiritual journey as a queer, Latinx clergywoman.
    A leading LGBTQ+ theologian and professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies, Dr Yarber embarked on a lifelong journey to decolonise sacred art through her Holy Women Icons project. This project expands the representation of women, and people from underrepresented groups, in worship spaces across the world.
    Among the women represented was Pauli Murray (1910-1985), the first African American woman ordained as an Episcopal priest. Referred to by Dr Yarber as the ‘Goddess of Pride’ Murray inspired the artist to pursue her own religious vocation as a queer woman.
    The exhibit was curated by Dr Azelina Flint, a specialist in women’s writing and sacred art at Lancaster University and a member of the Decolonising Lancaster University Network, which strives to raise awareness of the contributions of people of colour to history and culture throughout the world.
    “I discovered Angela’s art through the amazing work she does at the Tehom Center,” said Dr Flint. “This non-profit organisation for art, spirituality and social justice offers courses on revolutionary women to women from marginalised backgrounds.”
    Dr Yarber travelled from Florida for the event, which attracted interest from Lancaster University students and staff, Priory members and beyond." (Emphasis added.)
    Source: https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/people/sacred-art-exhibit-in-lancaster-celebrates-lgbtq-diversity-during-pride-month-3751688

    There is a vulnerability if you have priestesses in a religion – you can end up with goddesses as well, as seen in the highlighted phrase above. For this I reckon that the leadership of the CofE is rightfully subject to God's judgement and condemnation.

    2. Wasn't the Church of England once known as 'The Tory party at prayer'? Seems as though both are heading for oblivion.

  46. Thank you for all the birthday wishes.
    I've just done 1½h filling a couple of large builder's buckets with brash and detritus from where the last lot of trees were felled last month and taken them across to the oil drum incinerator for burning.
    It would be easier to burn it where it is, but there is far too much detritus on the bank above where I'd be burning for me to feel safe doing so. Despite the recent wet weather.

    3. Just starting to uncurl, so I hadn't yet realised you were celebrating. Happy Birthday dear Bob, belted out from a rather chilly Buenos Aires especially lustily for you x x

      1. I say! Making your feelings open, Ashes? 😉
        Hoping all's good with you in BA.

        1. No alternative but to sing lustily for a bloke who grins like a loon and lifts you off the floor in a bear hug upon first meeting!! 🤣🤣

          All fine here, thanks – will post when brain slots into place. 🙂

    7. I was in and out so briefly earlier I didn't realise it was your birthday either. Hope you've had a very Happy Birthday however you choose to celebrate, and many happy returns!

      1. To be honest, I tend to ignore it and got a load of brash shifted ready for burning whenever I get time to do it.

    2. That could have already happened in the UK, using Chinese biotech to infiltrate the Blob and their politician serfs.

    4. I have wondered the same thing about Mme Macron.
      Is the current slapper (round the emperor's chops) actually the same person he married? Or is 'she' a substitute wheeled out after Brigitte popped her clogs?

  51. Good afternoon, NoTTLers. How I loathe the PTB.

    One day, a British prison officer won’t come home
    By Robert Jenrick – 31 May 2025 7:00pm BST

    Last week, I visited HMP Wandsworth to speak to officers. How was it inside the prison, I asked. “Look at my boots,” the officer responded. They were covered in blood. It wasn’t even 10am and a violent assault on his colleague had already taken place.

    The worst bit? He shrugged it off, because it wasn’t unusual. It’s only by a stroke of luck that an officer hasn’t been killed.

    The situation in our prisons is now a national security emergency. On Friday it was reported that a prisoner had used a knife – delivered to his cell by a drone – to stab an officer at one of our top-security prisons housing terrorists and murderers.

    Organised crime groups have now effectively established Amazon Prime for prisoners, with drones delivering whatever weapons they want to their cell window.

    Guns on drones are a matter of time.
    Hashem Abedi, the sick Manchester Arena plotter, recently used hot oil to disfigure officers – just imagine what terrorists like him could do with serious weapons. It is only a matter of time before a drone brings in a gun, ammunition and explosives that a prisoner uses to kidnap, kill or even plot a terrorist attack.

    The Government is dithering, hiding behind multiple “reviews”. They refuse to give officers stab vests immediately. They won’t fix glaring security flaws that enable drones until the middle of next year.

    After the Southport killer used a kettle to burn an officer, they withdrew it – only for him to be rewarded with access to the prison shop so he can buy sweets and chocolate. It’s a disgusting insult to the victims.

    This appeasement must end. The Government must give the officers the capability to take back control of our prisons. They need to give highly trained officers tasers, baton rounds and, yes, access to firearms in exceptional circumstances.

    They must legislate to disapply the Human Rights Act so governors can place terrorists and radicalising inmates in isolation without judicial interference – and terrorists can’t use lawfare to get compensation. When they move them, it must be to solitary confinement, with every single luxury taken off them.

    But even that won’t be enough to restore order. Prison officers have always had to deal with killers including ruthless IRA murderers, and exceptionally violent organised crime gangs. They now have to contend with Islamist gangs that have taken control of some wings.

    Muslim converts a cause for concern.
    Their grip is so strong prisoners have reportedly been placed in isolation to protect them from the Islamist gangs who target them. There are accounts of sharia law courts and floggings and beatings.

    Some prisoners convert to Islam for their own protection. Why is it, for instance, that analysis by The Telegraph shows 19.9 per cent of Muslims in UK prisons are white, nearly three times higher than the rate in the general Muslim population?

    The response from the Ministry of Justice has been pitiful. Prison imams have been found unable and sometimes unwilling to promote British values and take on violent fundamentalism from Muslim prisoners. It was even reported sniffer dogs have been banned from Hashem Abedi’s unit after complaints it would offend the Muslim faith.

    Labour’s prisons minister refused to even utter the word “Islamist” after I asked a question about the threat from radicalising inmates.

    We have to stop pussyfooting around Islamists. Remove the radical imams. Isolate the self-appointed “emirs”. And release quarterly statistics on religious conversions in prison and faith-based incidents so we know the truth.

    Our front-line prison officers are lions led by donkeys. Ministers and senior officials must act now to prevent disaster. If they don’t, one day an officer won’t come back to their family.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/31/arm-prison-guards-to-crack-down-on-islamist-inmates-tories/

    1. Gee… never expected to read disturbing materials like that!
      Way back when she was an undergraduate, SWMBOs mother wanted her to become a prison officer. I have ever since been thankful that she didn't, never more so than after reading this article.

    2. Even in America, prison officers are not armed. There's a reason for that.

        1. The prisoners will make a concerted effort to get hold of the weapon. Jail break time.

      2. But armed officers are very much on hand if needed. And they are used to put down any "riots" that may occur. Tear gas and tasing usually do the job – along with dogs. Now that would really PO the muslim prison population. Britain needs some US-style SuperMax facilities, which are where the US dumps terrorists, Gitmo being not very PC at the moment.

    3. It beggars belief that all prison officers, and any other staff who have in-person contact with inmates, haven't long since been issued with stab vests and even helmets. It's a wonder there are any staff at all in the worst prisons.

      These animals should be confined to cells (maybe with heavy duty bars instead of a door, to allow constant supervision) 24/7 with automated access to exercise yard (one inmate at a time) for half hour a day. Similar mechanism to dangerous wild animals being given access to outside space at zoos.

        1. I didn't realise the windows could open. I thought they were pavement glass.

          1. The new designs for prisons don't have bars on the windows. You can also choose your own colour pastel scheme.
            Prison officers are encouraged to call the male prisoners Sir.
            The cells resemble a Premier Inn.

    4. It beggars belief that all prison officers, and any other staff who have in-person contact with inmates, haven't long since been issued with stab vests and even helmets. It's a wonder there are any staff at all in the worst prisons.

      These animals should be confined to cells (maybe with heavy duty bars instead of a door, to allow constant supervision) 24/7 with automated access to exercise yard (one inmate at a time) for half hour a day. Similar mechanism to dangerous wild animals being given access to outside space at zoos.

    5. Remind me, what is the difference between a (radical) islamisst, and a bogstandard mossie?

      1. Is he paving the way to joining Reform, or to becoming leader of the Tory party?

      2. His problem is that he was part of the last shower in government who failed to do anything about this (and a myriad other problems) but now has "discovered" it….

        All he is really doing is showing up Badenough.

        1. And the rest, Bill. Why I’m watching/listening. Interested to see which way he jumps, if at all – perhaps just hoping to start the process of new leadership contest, but he should be wary of that.

        2. It could be argued that MT's Cabinet consisted of previous Conservative ministers; some were Heath bu acolytes.
          There are constant criticisms that potential new governments have no one with experience.
          Which is it to be? Inevitably, if ministers have governing experience, they will be connected to a party that lost an election.

          1. I know what you mean, Anne. And you are, of course (natch) mainly right. However, what sticks in my craw now is the way that previous Tory “ministers” – who had it within their power to do what people wanted – say with regard to illegals and crime – did NOT do it; but now go round criticising the present shower for, er, not doing it.

    7. One, two, three, and LOUDLY please.

      DIVERSITY
      IS
      OUR
      STRENGTH

  52. I found this amusing, One of the resident Frogophiles can translate it for the others. https://scontent-cdg4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/493912560_1148785677287040_6449182196082827355_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=uIHz8YNXUgIQ7kNvwFqgVol&_nc_oc=AdmOjjYwhfaqcyFGpQbbl2zhmJZO1FGN8zSbC7Bf8cGmtRwTFUlOXNom1q1Qw_KZEDUFbJyLZm1HFgRQSpaVDg-k&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg4-2.xx&_nc_gid=Tm5vqhda5j1DV0bcKdnKUg&oh=00_AfKUYv1CD6XSJUqIkxI6BDAskyIY3zzoJkCwtlyAUXKHXA&oe=68420045
    Off to the tractor fest, Back tomorrow.

    1. Being sixteen years older than my wife perhaps I should be drawing up a list of replacements from amongst my bachelor and widower friends for when I am gone?

      1. Well, if someone could let us non-frogaphones know the joke, I'd be very grateful.

        1. If I die I want you to marry Cedric.
          But you hate him.
          That’s why. I want him to suffer.

      1. I really don't understand the problem. That article is open and not behind a paywall. Perhaps you have been banned.

          1. That message never comes up on my screen. I use ghostery and adblock. I also block pop-ups in settings.

            A five-star London hotel is selling rooms at the same price as when it opened in 1900 – but you've got to be quick

            READ MORE: First look at huge new £200million indoor waterpark set to open in the UK – complete with 500-room hotel

            By EMILY COOPER

            Published: 10:07, 1 June 2025 | Updated: 10:07, 1 June 2025

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            To mark its 125th anniversary, one of London's most iconic hotels is selling its rooms at the same price as they were when it opened – but you need to act fast.

            Originally opened in 1900, the Kimpton Fitzroy is a five-star hotel that overlooks Russell Square in central London.

            As part of a one-of-a-kind-offer, guests will be able to book a room at the same price it would have cost punters at the turn of the 20th century – just seven shillings and sixpence, the equivalent of £50 today.

            One night in a double room at the luxury hotel typically costs around £288.

            Only 125 rooms are included in the deal and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis from 10am on June 2 exclusively via the hotel's website.

            The Kimpton Fitzroy, previously known as the Hotel Russell, is located in a Grade II listed building with a grand terracotta façade, marble staircases and an opulent ballroom.

            It was the brainchild of architect Charles Fitzroy Doll, famed for designing the first class dining room onboard the RMS Titanic.

            Indeed, the Kimpton Fitzroy's own dining room, now Fitz’s Brasserie, is an exact replica.
            Guests will be able to book one of 125 rooms at the Kimpton Fitzroy in Bloomsbury for just seven shillings and sixpence, the equivalent of £50 today

            Guests will be able to book one of 125 rooms at the Kimpton Fitzroy in Bloomsbury for just seven shillings and sixpence, the equivalent of £50 today
            The five-star hotel was designed by star Victorian architect Charles Fitzroy Doll – who inspired the phrase 'all dolled up'

            The five-star hotel was designed by star Victorian architect Charles Fitzroy Doll – who inspired the phrase 'all dolled up'
            The 334-room hotel was one of the first in London to offer en suite bathrooms and electric lighting in every room

            The 334-room hotel was one of the first in London to offer en suite bathrooms and electric lighting in every room
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            The phrase 'all dolled up' is often linked to architect Doll, known for his opulent and highly decorative design style.

            His work is thought to have inspired the expression, reflecting the lavish embellishment associated with being dressed up.

            When the Kimpton Fitzroy opened in 1900, the hotel was also one of the first in the city to offer en suite bathrooms and electric lighting in every room – both hallmarks of innovation at the time.

            Much of its original character endures today – from the intricate mosaic floor in the lobby to its legendary bronze dragon, Lucky George, who has stood watch on the second floor since day one.

            Commissioned by Doll, an identical dragon was placed aboard the Titanic and ultimately sank with the ship.

            Legend has it that if you rub Lucky George's head and make a wish, good luck will come to you.

            The grand entrance to the hotel still houses the original floors and marbled walls. In the entrance is an intricate zodiac-inspired mosaic with a focal point of a winking sun.

            The floor encapsulates the Victorian era's fascination with astrology and mysticism.
            Above is the hotel’s resident mascot, 'Lucky George', a 75cm-long bronze dragon that guards a stairwell on the hotel’s second floor. It has a twin, which was affixed to the staircase of the Titanic’s first-class dining room

            Above is the hotel’s resident mascot, 'Lucky George', a 75cm-long bronze dragon that guards a stairwell on the hotel’s second floor. It has a twin, which was affixed to the staircase of the Titanic’s first-class dining room
            The Kimpton Fitzroy's own dining room, now Fitz’s Brasserie (pictured), is an exact replica of the first-class dining room onboard RMS Titanic

            The Kimpton Fitzroy's own dining room, now Fitz’s Brasserie (pictured), is an exact replica of the first-class dining room onboard RMS Titanic
            Only 125 rooms will be available to book at the original 1900 price of seven shillings and sixpence (approximately £50 today), from 10am on June 2, 2025 (Pictured: Fitz's cocktail bar)

            Only 125 rooms will be available to book at the original 1900 price of seven shillings and sixpence (approximately £50 today), from 10am on June 2, 2025 (Pictured: Fitz's cocktail bar)

            Adding to its historical significance, the home of Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was on the site where the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel now stands on the east side of Russell Square.

            Eagle-eyed guests will spot a commemorative plaque on the side of the building in Bernard Street.

            'This anniversary offer celebrates more than just a milestone, a spokesperson for the Kimpton Fitzroy said, 'it invites guests to experience a piece of London’s history at the price it all began.'

            Only 125 rooms will be available to book at the original 1900 price of seven shillings and sixpence (approximately £50 today), from 10am on June 2, 2025 exclusively via http://www.kimptonfitzroylondon.com .

            Rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until they’re sold out. One room bookable per person only. Stays must be used within 12 months of booking date. Blackout dates apply.
            London

          2. Thank you. Bet there are expensive strings attached. Such as the room for 7/6d – but bed and bathroom costs £200…!!

          3. The adverts are very annoying – but you can move the top one off your screen, and close the one that pops up on the right hand side on the right hand side – that gives you enough time to read the article in question.

    2. A night in a top class hotel could be had for a sovereign in the early 20th Century.
      A night in a top class hotel can still be had for a sovereign in the early 21st Century.

      No, it's not the value of the room going up, but the value of the currency going down.

  54. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday – shorts and T-shirt. Today fully clothed. A really sharp wind and not much sun, either.

    Off to spend a couple of hours slaving enjoying gardening. Back later.

    1. I'm having a lovely day being thoroughly antisocial and hunkering down with my latest needlework project which I'm making up as I go along.
      (So far, no unpicking or foul language needed.)

    2. It warmed up this afternoon, but still very blustery.
      And a couple of rain showers too.

    1. It really is incredible how they are taking people's freedoms away and making it sound like progress.

    2. "What is your response to the WEF's question?"

      The first thing that springs to mind is, Fuck Off, but maybe that's just me.

    4. Hmm. Sounds like WEF in action. 15-minute cities. You will own nothing, and be happy. Maybe the youngsters can/will accommodate it. It’s my idea of hell. Not least because we know that when there os “communal ownership”, no one takes responsibility for anything.

  56. A months usage of Gas and Electricity, for less than 15 quid: then I have to add the Standing Charge 24.49.

    They want my monthly Standing Order to go up from 79.17 to 95.08, to line their own coffers I presume

  57. Hundreds arrested and injured in rioting in Paris and across France after Paris Saint-Germain hammer Inter Milan 5-0 last night to win the Champions League for the first time in its history. I dread to think what would have happened if they had lost!
    I dont know about you, but when I'm celebrating I love to set fire to things and loot shops…..

      1. At least the CRS are allowed to beat the shit out of the little punks.

        We would probably offer them tea.

  58. Pure chance! I think putting H as the final letter helped.
    Wordle 1,443 2/6

    🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  60. Stupidity surrounds us, even in Norway.
    Firstborn's local paper reporting on why the sign to the war memorial is taped over, wrote that "universelt utformede parkeringsplasser og skilt på ulike språk, for at man kan skilte til et kulturminne" – Univerally formed parking places and a sign in several languages is required before you sign to a cultural memorial (loose translation).
    What a load of utter bollocks. Who cares? How to respect those who fought for Norway, by not allowing a sign to be shown because the car park isn't according to the rules?
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f1d3f468de2358bd64ad87c2645471fe7de87f5c67b5094e5d13733306049696.png https://www.laagendalsposten.no/

    1. 406624+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      Maybe a party benefit I can't say, but I became a member last week.

      Farmers Food and Freedom Party

      A new party that's called Farmers Food and Freedom Party. It's going to take in every aspect of all the things which I genuinely believe are wrong.

    2. What we're up against:

      Anna Hawke@AnnaHawke895500
      Having grown up in a pit town and gone to public school, now a faux farmer, think I'll buy a new Lamborghini tractor. Can't fit it in the barn so I'll pop it in my gob.

      blades26@crazycoconut_5
      Listen ya fat gammon face twat. Pay your taxes like everyone else. Loads of hard working people miss out on inheritance tax when family homes are sold to look after loved ones. You don't work any harder but think you do and so entitled. Get fucked, pay your taxes or fuck off.

      Philip Price@Bargoedblue
      No farmers are selling prime land to the government for them to put solar panels on it, farmers are part of the climate scam.

        2. Sounds like a typical #bekind Leftard.

          They are so, so nice, compassionate and caring 😂

  64. There have been a total of 4,133 Channel swims, with 1,881 swimmers completing 2,428 solo swims. Approximately 8,215 swimmers have taken part in 1,062 relay swims and 643 special category swims. 63.0% of swimmers have been male. 37.0% of swimmers have been female.

    Calais Natation est un club affilié à la Fédération Française de Natation (FFN). Le club comprend une école de natation et des groupes compétitions.

    This club could increase its membership if it offered to teach Muslims how to swim so that they need not pay the trafficking gangs for places on rubber dinghies.

    This is surely a project which Starmer should encourage in order to smash the gangs.

  65. Rogerborg ⬛🟧
    4h
    The Frogs are not to blame. They've told us, correctly, that the Faraway People will continue to come as long as we keep rewarding them for reaching Treasure Island. This is on us to stop, not them.

    Send in the Clones
    Rogerborg ⬛🟧
    4h
    Isn't the "published" figure around £1 billion per month?
    Enough to pay winter fuel allowance to all and end the latest farmer and self-invested pension fund taxes?
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/32923db8b8967919ad5787b2bebb9194a42c5995fec17b9b4bed926fc6636bc7.png

    1. House them in prison camps. Barbed wire, no mobile signal/moblie jammed. Absolutely minimalist accommodation – chicken houses, complete with old chicken shit, for example. Minimalist rations. London swimming pool water to drink.

    2. I think the people orchestrating the invasion are stupid enough to believe that the savages will become model Kalergi communist citizens if showered with selected fruits of the wicked European’s labours.

    3. 406624+ up ticks,

      Afternoon C1,

      For they will forever be grateful, AND WILL FIGHT TO KEEP WHAT THEY RECEIVE.

  66. Good day, fellow Nottlers!

    Happy to report that my gas heater has finally been repaired, so I can enjoy my flat without sticking half my stash of clothes on and waiting for a finger or two to drop off. 🙂 (Cold snap here.)

    I'd been playing cat and mouse with the gas engineer for a few days and it felt like a triumph to finally see him at the door.

    Took a while to get him and his puppy eyes out of the place afterwards, mind, but on the plus side, I don't think I shall have to wait long for him to call should anything else need fixing! 🤣🤣

  67. Steel yourselves for bad news as affects Damask Rose, no longer posting here. She wrote:
    "On June 11th my closest brother (almost 4 years younger) collapsed & was taken to hospital…by Monday they had decided they could not help him (he had been ill for a year but had been stoic & valiant)…said it was a question of days rather than weeks…& he died Tuesday 4.30 13th…before any of us could get there.
    I can’t tell you how heartbreaking it has been.
    You may like to look up the Downland Museum Gridshell…an innovative building utilising green oak to form an organic shape…he was responsible for inventing the technique that ensured this succeeded (previous attempt in this country failed).
    They won 2nd prize in Stirling award that year.
    Afterwards he travelled much to Scandinavia as they were interested to learn more.
    His knowledge came from 2 decades of working with boats on Eel Pie Island!"

    Poor Rose wrote more, but it's sensitive and reflects her distress at this sad moment, so I didn't include it.
    Prayers / good wishes for her would be welcomed, I think.

    1. She's had a tough few years.

      Please pass on my sympathy and best wishes, I had her email address from when had to move home, but it was on an old computer.

      I suspect she is very upset and meant "May."

      1. Agreed.
        I asked if I can pass on her email, and am waiting for an answer.

        1. Poor dear gentle Rose ,

          Her heartbreaking news is terrible .

          Please forward my deepest prayers and kindest thoughts to her .

          What a shock , her poor brother must have suffered hugely and valiantly .

          Blessings to her at this difficult time ..

    2. I'm so sorry to hear that. I was in touch with Rose a while ago – must send her my best wishes and thoughts.

    5. If you get the chance, just send her my sympathies.
      Life certainly seemed to be overwhelming her.

    6. How very sad and upsetting. Please pass on my thoughts and good wishes.

    8. Poor Rose, what a terrible blow. Please do pass on my deepest sympathy.
      Just looked up Downland Museum Gridshell…I had never heard of it. What a fantastic building. Wood technology is so interesting.

    9. She has replied and asked me to thank Nottlers for their good wishes. And she did mean May, not June.

    11. Good grief.
      The poor lass has been through the mill herself in the recent past and now this.
      Pass my regards (for what they are worth) on to her please.

      1. Will do, Bob.
        She seems to appreciate every little thought, so I'm sure your regards will give her a boost!

    13. Sad. Eel Pie Island was a kind of Mecca for out-of-the-mainstream innovative ideas, as well as being a site of 60s music culture. My sister (7 years older) knew it better than me.

  68. I'm reading major drone strike on airfield launched from trucks driven across a NATO border and missile strikes on Northern fleet nuclear sub base
    They seem determined to start WW3
    Get ready to bend over and kiss your arses goodby

    2. Missiles from which country?
      edit: found the report in the Mail, but no details.

      Stop this insanity NOW. Some dumb little WEF acolyte government in Europe is no doubt congratulating itself today. Wicked, wicked people, dragging us towards a hot war.

      1. Allegedly Ukrainian drones, but if the launchers and drones were actually western manufactured and the launchers were driven into a NATO country and the drones launched from a NATO country presumably the Russians could legitimately call it an an act of war and retaliate.

        Really nasty situation brewing up.

        2. The Russians said recently that they know some missile from Germany which that fool Merz has promised to supply to Ukraine can only be fired by trained Germans, so they said that if it is fired into Russia they will interpret that as an act of war by Germany.
          I wasn’t a particular fan of Scholz, but he kept Germany well out of situations like that.
          The script has already been written, NATO is not going to win a hot war. We’ve got debt, the Russians and Chinese have gold.

          2. There is only one thing that would persuade the parasite class to reduce the earth to a nuclear wasteland, and that would be the prospect of them not being on top during the next long economic cycle. They would destroy the earth rather than let that happen.

            I think they use the nuclear threat to scare people, but that is not what war is for. War is for culling the peasants and having a clear-out of old weaponry so that they can reap profits of selling lots of new armaments.
            So I am not that worried about it going large scale nuclear at the moment.

          3. War has a very nasty tendency to escalate to the next level, and the next, and the next.
            There are countries with large nuclear arsenals who think and act differently from the older nuclear powers.

  69. Good Afternoon Folks

    The Government’s ill-judged prisoner-release scheme puts the public at risk

    The Government puts the public at risk

    Fixed it

  70. Step away from the microphone.. we're armed.

    Scottish podcaster and Youtuber Craig Houston has now been arrested and charged by police. Islam cannot be criticised in any way shape or form. You're f..kin nicked son.

    Councillor Dr Soryia Siddique, who represents Glasgow Southside Central, faced a barrage of Islamophobic and racist hatred last week after she spoke about her "reasons" for entering politics.

    Her "reasons" were identical to those of Anas Sarwar.. that institutions are filled with dirty white kafirs and needed to be replaced.

    Irony Alert.
    In the same week Nigel Farage was accused of racism for 'playing on a large screen' the recent enriched & vibrant speech made by Anas Sarwar.. without himself saying a single word.

  71. If Scotland and Wales elects Reform it will be the first time that the majority in Scotland, Wales & England have all voted the same way for decades.
    Thanks to Reform for reuniting the UK.
    It's about time we spoke with one voice and booted out the subversives trying to break us apart

    1. SNP seem to think a vote for Reform will give their numbers a boost, Independence here they come…

      1. Secession. Not “independence”. Let’s not stoop to their disingenuous level.

    1. Supposedly Zelensky personally planned the attacks. Tell it to the Marines!

      Nothing achieved by Ukraine is undertaken without planning and collaboration by the US and UK. I just hope Putin retains his composure and leniency towards our idiotic western leadership.

  73. Todays church, a wonderful place in the heart of Dorset, Saint Mary's, Tarrant Rushton:

    The church of St Mary at Tarrant Rushton is tucked away up a shaded lane, peacefully slumbering and seemingly lost in a time warp. The simple Norman tower is notable, but even more historically interesting is a carved marble lintel over the interior of the south door. This lintel is carved with three figures. On the left is a man holding a book aloft in his left hand.In the centre of the lintel is an Agnus Dei, a sheep, with a scroll issuing from its mouth. Other interpretations of the figure suggest that the 'scroll' is actually a serpent, which is what it looks like to my eyes. On the right is a figure of another man holding a dove aloft. These three figures are taken to represent the Trinity.Other interesting features within the church include a pair of hagioscopes and a squint between the transept and the chancel. Marks around the squint are said to have been made by lepers from the nearby medieval leper hospital of St Leonard, which stood in the meadow just north-west of the church.Set into the wall over the inside of the chancel arch is a pair of acoustic jars, installed in 1458. In the medieval period, jars like this were popularly believed to help amplify the priest's voice, though modern acoustic science disproves this.
     https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b606c1e607077fad67a63fdf06ddb9a90bec36be41bbb973fdfd7cb68e767f6b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/109081200124ff3c8b2c7148df978ae7741c6a123fa231015a60973474aa36a5.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/07106ae21b7ccb234114ba07ab54580a7b91a44ddd0771da8f54398bcf9b60c4.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4a8f33a28013755292a81b41b2682ab99975f350b7e8ca2c24cfb6b5a07a1f9a.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af5fed8173c469e8606e5d10f4eeae86952cf7de5299a1d6f7a9fa1a8b8238fe.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/05aa672472ab6db612e449a4d8805284b874e91324aec19ca3a2a9b4867bfe03.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/333addaee76eba79d21a08b87a359065a367f2866d13e19c8495f1d3e9fe39a4.jpg

      1. Isn't it! You probably already know Ben Maton on YouTube, recommended for those who don't.

    2. I have walked Pip around Tarrant Rushton airfield .. and imagined the sound of aircraft .. and the image of the gliders taking off .

      I have also attended several services there .. Lovely photos . We have so many treasured places , and the architecture is impressive as are the windows.

      1. It is a wonderful place Belle, like so many of our ancient rural churches.

  75. Wordle No. 1,443 3/6

    🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 1 Jun 2025

    Harsh for Birdie Three?

    1. Well done, par here.

      Wordle 1,443 4/6

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

    2. Good one, my birdie run comes to an end a little unluckily – regulation par……

      Wordle 1,443 4/6

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

    3. My par run continues

      Wordle 1,443 4/6

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

    4. Indeed. Par for me.

      Wordle 1,443 4/6

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

  76. Over on the Daily Sceptic it is being reported Millibrain is going to tax gas and water usage.

    The revolution cannot come quick enough imho.

  77. We have had a few days doing things, not very much, but wandered over to Bournemouth yesterday .. it took nearly 2 hours for nearly a 20+ mile trip . I drove and felt exhausted .

    Why did we do that, we have a tiny M+S in Weymouth , miniscule shop, food and clothes , minimal selection .

    Moh wanted to look at trousers and I just wanted a look around , so we visited an area called Castlepoint https://castlepointshopping.com/ Haven't visited since before lockdown !

    Marks and Spencer , huge store was full of visitors .. as you all know , the M+S website is down , huge IT problems , and wont be functioning for another few months . The staff were running around like blue bottles , the shelves , some of them were scarcely stocked , and the things I was looking for were NOT available .

    Moh found his trousers , he is so lucky standard 34 waist 31inch leg .. and found a couple of decent pairs .

    I was looking for some light weight cotton trousers / slacks for me .. no luck.. there were lots of ladies doing the same ..

    Why … one delightful lady asked me to glance around the store .. and asked me whether I could see any slender 6foot women with long legs , I was puzzled, but said of course not , most of the women shoppers were around about 5ft 3ins and nicely rounded / middle aged etc… SO , several women then said angrily, why were all the ladies slacks so long and more suited to the likes of Louise Lear the weather woman on BBC , who is tall or any of the other fashion istas who are equally as tall .

    M+S have cancelled out a whole generation of women , height wise .. and even the on line store features more black skinny models than shorter white ones .

    It was an incredibly hot muggy day.

    Can I scream on hearing the news about the huge amount of illegals who arrived by boat yesterday.. and will the Labour lot come down to Bournemouth , which was civilised , clean , middle class/ upper class happy , attractive , buoyant , a pleasant place to wander and shop in the actual town , enjoy a beach rest safely , and not feel fearful , because it looks as if I time travelled yesterday into a grotesque new world of .. yes consisting of diversity ethnicity and inclusion and wild unthinking traffic behaviour / scooters/ electric bikes / and jaywalking and a constant flow of racing Audis and Beemers .. and the cosy shops are now places for vapes/ body defacing / and other things ..

    The town has a university , and ambiance of the town has been destroyed .

    1. I think the popular sizes/lengths get sold out immediately. Very handy if you are an unusual size because those garments always end up in the sale…

    2. Lordy… been decades since I was in Bournemouth, memory doesn't recognise your description, Belle.

      1. The last time I visited Bournemouth, it was by train from Southampton where my grandparents lived. Steam train with corridor coaches, that is…

        1. Ooh… steam traction! I was a fireman and then driver on a tiny 0-4-0 steam loco here in Norway, up until I had a stroke. After that, it wasn't medically justifiable, so I stopped. Sadly. Steam firing and driving is more skilled than diesel – start 'n go, and so much more difficult, and fun!
          The first loco (Bjørkaasen) 0-4-0 in dark blue on this site. Norwegian only, I'm afraid.
          https://mia.no/lommedalsbanen/lokomotiver

      2. The last time I visited Bournemouth, it was by train from Southampton where my grandparents lived. Steam train with corridor coaches, that is…

    3. My home town and it bears absolutely no resemblance to the 60's and 70's. Ruined by poor governance, just like the country. I've moved, but I still have two of my children who reside there, so I visit there, and it's hasnt improved in my absence in the last decade.

    4. My home town and it bears absolutely no resemblance to the 60's and 70's. Ruined by poor governance, just like the country. I've moved, but I still have two of my children who reside there, so I visit there, and it's hasnt improved in my absence in the last decade.

    3. Think Cinnabar? Lucky you 🙂 a number of insects returning this year, yippee! Edit: possibly Scarlet Tiger…double yippee!

      1. God certainly knew what He was doing in the beauty stakes when He created butterflies! I assume the likes of stick insects were earlier attempts that weren't so æsthetic…

        1. Similar to sub Saharan Africans compared with Asians and Europeans and the rest of the civilised world?

          1. East Africans seem to be further removed from gorillas than Western ones.

          2. That's because the gorillas were abroad building Stonehenge. Do keep up…{(:¬)

      2. I have a similar copy of that chart but the Scarlet Tiger, a moth, isn't illustrated ….

      3. You can buy these butterflies at Waitrose? Gosh. What a net result.

        (BTW – have you observed that yer French make no distinction between "butterflies" and "moths"?)

      1. The above is a stock photo. The one I saw today in bright sunshine had the most glorious bright red pair of wings!

  79. Drone flying in weapons for jihadi attack.
    Jeez this guy is spreading hatred & division on that X again.
    .
    “Because racism divides, exploitation of minorities divides, brings about hatred, dislike, disdain and a horrible place for individuals to live in,”
    “I think his views are toxic, just toxic – how do you sum him up?”     scream Lefties. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MdwTydIvot8

      1. "Careless prison officer accidentally walks into kitchen knife offered by considerate prisoner."

    2. I suspect that the convert will have been given the choice:
      convert or die, and to prove your conversion is genuine stab a prison officer.

      1. Oh dear oh dear. Definitely NOT terror related – just a dispute between a PO and the converted slammer convict showing his new knife. Just read the press…..

      1. Perhaps he didn't want, for obvious reasons, to be known as a latter day John the Baptist?

  80. That's me gone for this Unglorious First of June. Some sun, a lot of blustery wind – chilly. Rain expected tomorrow.
    The summer pots for the terrace display have been brought out of hibernation – and will be completed and planted by mid-week.
    The Mar/April/May quarter was the best for solar panel generation since 2015 – despite global boiling over the last ten years!

    Have a spiffing evening. If you can't face Mrs Glove's vitriol – DO watch (on catch-up) "The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone" on yer beeboid TV2. Brilliant – confirms all one thinks about lippy Glaswegian wimmin….!!

    A demain.

  81. Ave atque vale amici. I have no internet no landline and limited data on my phone, so I shall be incommunicado for a while. Bisous.

    2. Bring back the carrier pigeon.
      Storms, deep ditching, or general embuggeration?

        2. Take it to an outlet who is your phone supplier Conners they will sort it out for you.

          1. No, I have used all the data I have paid for. Normally I rely on the internet and don’t need to use a lot of data.

  83. What a shame our middle son DiL and two very young grandchildren popped in to see us after shopping and there week in Cornwall.
    Kids were very tired and not very sociable. I was too worn out myself to try and score goals in the net he set up from the garden shed. Poor little things don't under understand the aging process that their grandparents are going through 🥴
    So Lovely to see them for a catch up. Bed and an early night is on the cards, school for the 5 yearold tomorrow. Little two year old angel here tmz. And now an early night for everyone else. Especially mum and dad.
    Another glass of Shiraz and that will be my lot as well. Phew.

    1. My biggest wish is to make granddad whilst I still retain a marble or two, and can play with the grandkids. That event seems to be moving away as time rolls on – I'd love especially a grand-daughter, having assisted (badly) SWMBO in raising two fine young men, I'd like the experience.

      1. I'm about ten years older than you Obs.
        I'm not moaning but it's really hard work for us oldies.
        Hopefully you will experience the wonderful things that happen with lovely grand children. My best friend is only 14 months older than I am and already a great grandfather. There's always some one ☺️

        1. When I was younger adult, I hated children. Getting two of my own, after 10 years of marriage changed my viewpoint entirely. Two magic, kind, intelligent lads later, it'd be great to have experience of a grand-daughter.
          Must make it clear here: My interpersonal skills are so shite that the upbringing to the two aforementioned lads is down to SWMBO, the best wife one could wish for. I mean, hell, she wasn't put off by marrying the younger (21 y.o.) me, so that is evidence of her saintlihood already!

          1. The really wonderful thing about grandchildren is …..you can hand them back. 👨‍👦

      2. I was 47 when Christo was born; 49 when Henry was born. I shall be 79 in a few weeks. Neither of them have produced offspring so I may well not become a grandfather.

      3. I also have two sons and just the one grandson – dont think I'll have any others, although I still regard myself as very fortunate.

        Like you, I would have loved a grand-daughter but I'll settle for what I've got.

        The slightly scary thing is my parents had 4 children and 12 grand-children – We've got one! and none of our friends/acquaintances are much different…

        That sounds to me like a demographic time bomb – who's going to take up the slack?? Oh… hang on… of course….

    2. We always found card games suited the younger ones when both generations were tired and crotchety.

        1. I'm guessing that ours have a smattering of sosraboc genes where games require an element of competition but are easily played at different levels.
          They would play card games for hours on end, and as they grew up they changed from simple matching games through to sevens and thens to hearts and whist.
          I was due to start them on bridge but Covid arrived, so visits to Oz were out of the question.
          They still play board and card games as a family

          1. I now play loads of games of chess with my 7-year-old grandson – he’s getting very good! (He still prefers YouTube though….)

          3. He’s into Marble Football at the moment (dont ask..) but that sounds like the sort of thing he’d enjoy!

          4. My grandfather taught me.

            He used to play against CHOD Alexander, of Bletchley Park fame.

            I still have the chess table and Staunton pieces they used.

            He taught me the basics and then we played at various handicap levels, him without his queen until many years later we played on level terms.
            Every night after supper he would say:
            “Boy, chess” and we would play until it was my bedtime. He explained openings, tactics, sacrificial plays zugzwang and many other subtleties.
            Eventually, after many years, I beat him, and his celebration of the event was a sight to behold. You would not believe how pleased he was.

            By that time he would have been in his 70’s so not as acute as when we started, but even so it was a real event for the family.

          5. Lovely! My Dad taught me and I taught my sons – it's wonderful to continue with my grandson!

          6. Yes, it’s a great regret that I haven’t had the opportunity to teach mine. I taught my sons and they did well at interschool chess.

            My father was OK at it, but my grandfather ensured it was one of the few things I could beat my father at easily. I think it amused him enormously as my father was very good at most sports and games.

    3. We've just handed back our two grandsons (4 and 6) after two days/one night. The younger one especially was hard work – every thing we told him he replied "No!". Breathed a sigh of relief when my daughter picked them up this afternoon! (But it's worth it!)

  84. A gentle day's work.
    Filled and refilled a couple of large builder's buckets with brash etc. from one end of the garden and dragged them up to the incinerator at t'other end of the "garden", about 40m, then realised the small bags, similar to the 1 ton builders bags sand & ballast are delivered in, but ¼ the size, held about the same amount but are easier to handle so started using them.
    I've now got a heap on stuff to get burnt over the next week, but not tomorrow as I'm going to see stepson.

  87. Breaking news:

    I suspect this will NOT end well for the Muppet:

    Greta Thunberg sets sail for Gaza to ‘break Israeli blockade’

  90. Be careful what you wish for; he might be Phizzee in disguise, trapping the unwary.

  92. From the Telegraph

    Ukrainian drones destroyed Putin’s bombers. A secret smuggling operation made it possible
    Operation Spiderweb saw weapons smuggled into Russia in shipping containers, targeting warplanes worth $7 billion
    Adrian Blomfield01 June 2025 6:28pm BST

    It hardly seemed credible.

    Drone after drone, emerging from the top of a shipping container parked by the side of an unremarkable road somewhere deep inside Russia.

    Each tiny device buzzed as it rose laden with explosives on its kamikaze mission to destroy some of the Russian military’s most prized assets.

    As they flew overhead, filming their progress, their targets came into view: rows of strategic bombers, some capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

    Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, said it was responsible for the attacks on four bases, and a security official said a total of 41 Russian warplanes worth some $7 billion were hit.

    The attack comes at a critical juncture in the war, with Donald Trump’s peace plan hanging by a thread.

    But the extraordinary story of how the drones were deployed to launch their attack started many months earlier.

    Over a period of weeks, they were smuggled into Russia under the supervision of the SBU, which presumably had to alter its targeting plans after Russiarelocated the bulk of its strategic bomber fleet.

    The drones were then concealed inside special containers placed inside commercial cargo lorries whose roof panels had been modified to retract at the touch of a remote control button.

    By all accounts, the drivers had no idea about the nature of the dangerous cargo they carried.

    Local residents near the Olenya base in Russia’s far north described watching a driver running around in panic as FPV drones repeatedly launched from the back of his lorry.

    He later told police that he had been instructed to park his vehicle in a lay-by near the town of Olenegorsk where somebody would meet him.

    Footage from elsewhere in Russia showed drones rising from the back of another lorry as passers-by stood by helplessly.

    The drones concealed inside shipping containers
    The drones concealed inside shipping containers
    It was not the first time that lorries had been used by the Ukrainians in the war.

    A truck carrying explosives was remotely detonated to help bring down part of the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland in 2020.

    But this was rather more sophisticated, with reports that the drones had been trained using artificial intelligence to hit the weakest points of the bombers parked along the aprons of the airbases.

    Fearing Ukraine’s growing strike capacity, Russia had only weeks earlier moved many of its strategic bombers to bases like Olenya and Belaya, 1,000km and 2,500km from the front line, where it was assumed they would be well beyond the enemy’s reach.

    Other bases in Ryazan and Ivanovo were also targeted, both of which are within 600 miles of the Ukrainian border.

    For the Russian air force, the planes targeted were prize assets: the iconic Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear”, a long-range strategic bomber capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads; the Tu-160 “Blackjack”, the largest combat aircraft in the world, and the Tu-22M3 “Backfire”, the supersonic strike workhorse of the fleet.

    The Russians, however, had not counted on Ukraine’s Mossad-like ingenuity nor their desperation to strike at the long-range bombers that had inflicted so much destruction and bloodshed on its cities and people.

    For the most part, Operation Spiderweb, as it has been designated, did not rely on long-range drones or missiles, but instead on small, hand-held first-person view drones of the kind that has proved so effective on the battlefield.

    Russian military bloggers were quick to liken it to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941

    An exaggeration, clearly — yet in terms of chutzpah, in terms of scope and quite possibly in terms of damage, Ukraine’s near-simultaneous attacks on four airfields deep inside Russia marks an unprecedented moment in the war.

    If Ukrainian officials are to be believed, as many as 40 of Russia’s most sophisticated, expensive and destructive strategic bombers were eliminated in little more than a couple of hours.

    Ukrainian drone uses AI to pick the weakest spot of a Russian strategic bomber and then destroys it
    Ukrainian drone uses AI to pick the weakest spot of a Russian strategic bomber and then destroys it
    Such claims await the confirmation of an independent battle damage assessment, yet whatever the real number is there can be little doubt what a humiliating blow Ukraine has inflicted on Russia – or what a powerful message Kyiv has sent its allies in the West.

    For night after night before the surprise assault, Ukraine’s cities had reeled under some of the most intense Russian bombardment of the war. Dozens had died, children among them, yet there was no sign of the Kremlin relenting.

    As his envoys prepared to present his peace terms at a second round of negotiations in Istanbul, Vladimir Putin seemed determined to project Russia’s total military dominance. So confident does he remain that his forces will prevail on the battlefield that the Russian president contemptuously ignored requests to share his proposals with Kyiv in advance.

    A Russian man enters one of Ukraine's drone trucks, and moments later a self-destruction mechanism ignites and the vehicle explodes
    A Russian man enters one of Ukraine’s drone trucks, and moments later a self-destruction mechanism ignites and the vehicle explodes
    The attack comes at a critical juncture in the war, with Donald Trump’s peace plan hanging by a thread.

    But the extraordinary story of how the drones were deployed to launch their attack started many months earlier.

    Over a period of weeks, they were smuggled into Russia under the supervision of the SBU, which presumably had to alter its targeting plans after Russiarelocated the bulk of its strategic bomber fleet.

    The drones were then concealed inside special containers placed inside commercial cargo lorries whose roof panels had been modified to retract at the touch of a remote control button.

    By all accounts, the drivers had no idea about the nature of the dangerous cargo they carried.

    Local residents near the Olenya base in Russia’s far north described watching a driver running around in panic as FPV drones repeatedly launched from the back of his lorry.

    He later told police that he had been instructed to park his vehicle in a lay-by near the town of Olenegorsk where somebody would meet him.

    Footage from elsewhere in Russia showed drones rising from the back of another lorry as passers-by stood by helplessly.

    Yet hours before the talks were due to begin, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader, had a pointed message of his own to deliver.

    He had been involved in Operation Spiderweb from its conceptualisation 18 months ago. There had been coordinated attacks on Russian airfields before. On the night of August 13 last year, Ukraine unleashed what was then its largest drone assault of the war on Russian territory, striking four airbases in Kursk, Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod. Yet these bases were all within a few hundred miles of the Ukrainian border.

    Operation Spiderweb was conceived on a much, much grander scale.

    On the night before it was initiated, Ukraine had suffered perhaps its most intense airstrikes of a bloody week, with officials in Kyiv saying that 472 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles had struck targets across the country, including the capital.

    Smoke rises following a drone attack on a military unit in the Sredny settlement
    Smoke rises following a drone attack on a military unit in the Sredny settlement Credit: Governor of Irkutsk Region/Reuters
    By Sunday morning, Ukraine appeared to have exacted a measure of revenge after two transport bridges were blown up in the neighbouring regions of Bryans and Kursk just as trains were passing. Seven people were killed, Russians officials said, blaming Ukraine.

    Yet these attacks were but a prelude.

    Among the planes destroyed, Ukrainian intelligence officials said, were not just Tu-95 and TU-22M3 bombers but also an A-50 “Mainstay”, one of just a handful of Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft Russia has left in its arsenal. The A-50, worth an estimated £230 million, is a flying radar and command post that is vital for coordinating fighter jets and air defences as well as for situational awareness. They are thought to be irreplaceable.

    According to Ukrainian intelligence officials, all those knowingly involved in the operation have returned safely home, their mission accomplished in the most astonishing way.

    O

    1. And when Russia retaliates by bombing nine flavours of shit out of Ukraine's vital infrastructure will they still be cheering?

      1. Exactly.
        And then bombing the countries where these trucks came from…

        1. Yep, and you can be fairly sure the audit trail exists.
          I think Zelensky is doing his damnedest to get a pan European war.

          3. Still the good news is that they don't need long range missiles any more!

          5. rumble is banned in France..
            Judging from the title, I can guess.
            Let's start by forcing all male gimmegrants over the purported age of 15 to be conscripted the instant they set foot on UK soil.

          6. You would have to be a Conspiracy Theorist to believe they really don't want you to know…..!

          7. Teach the enemy of the white man how to fight? Are you insane? Prison camp would be better.

          8. A couple of years ago I proposed that all illegal immigrants should be conscripted. I think it would have acted as a deterrent

  93. Jolly Good! I've been looking forward to WW3! It would seem somebody is determined to make it happen, I wonder why that might be??

  94. Jolly Good! I've been looking forward to WW3! It would seem somebody is determined to make it happen, I wonder why that might be??

  95. From Coffee House the Spectator
    31 May 2025
    Coffee House
    Jimmy Nicholls
    No, Zoomers: life wasn’t better before the internet
    1 June 2025, 5:07am

    Almost half of 16 to 21-year-olds wish they had grown up without the internet. A similar portion are even calling for a social media curfew, with a quarter wanting phones banned in schools, according to research from the British Standards Institution. Really? The truth is that Zoomers – those born between 1997 and 2012 – don’t know how lucky they are to have come of age during an era in which they had access to the web.

    The truth is that Zoomers don’t know how lucky they are

    While my own generation of Millennials were early guinea pigs for Facebook, Twitter and – for the connoisseurs out there – MSN Messenger, much of our teenage lives remained firmly analogue. Having first snuck online to the sounds of a dial-up connection, my recollection is that life before the internet was often quite dull. Many teenagers today blame their woes on social media and smartphones. But teenagers have always been quite capable of being listless, alienated and angsty, even before Silicon Valley started designing algorithms to monetise it.

    Yes, modern technology has its problems. Too many young people waste time scrolling through social media. But there is no doubt in my mind that life with the internet is better than it was before. It has given us more experiences, more opportunities and even more life – literally so, in the case of Tinder babies.

    Consider the luckless fan of vintage Korean dramas in the nineties, struggling to watch the shows and unable to find likeminded enthusiasts in his town. The internet has solved both these problems, making what was once esoteric commonplace, opening more and more to the masses.

    The privations suffered before the internet are almost shocking to recall. Only five TV channels? Book selections controlled by Waterstones and the local library? New music flitting briefly across the airwaves, later lost in an obscure corner of HMV? It was no way to live.

    Nor is the internet merely a glorified bazaar for clueless tourists. Much as people love to mock the creator economy, it is an incredible achievement to have equipped a majority of the world’s population with a printing press, recording studio and video camera, and the ability to distribute the results globally. The means of production are already being liberated.

    So why do we continue to malign the online world as a Wild West, a swamp of AI slop stalked by Russian cyber gangsters and flooded with fake news, pornography and scenes of ultraviolence? The conventional reading, championed by the likes of psychologist Jonathan Haidt, is that we can’t look away because the technologists have become too adept at stealing our attention.

    It’s true that the techies are experts at distraction. But fundamentally the problem is not technology. It’s our inability to manage its downsides. When half of BSI’s Gen Z survey respondents call for a social media curfew, we should be asking them why they cannot impose one on themselves.

    No doubt there is social pressure to engage, and no cohort in life is more conformist and biddable than the young. Every teenager wants to fit in, and a lot of that fitting in now happens on Instagram, Minecraft or whatever else the kids are into these days. We can and probably should blame the parents, the schools and even society that so many struggle not to open the app, start scrolling and hit the post button.

    But these groups didn’t fail because they allowed the internet to exist; they failed because they have not taught the younger generation that they must deal with the downsides. You can delete your account, hit the gym and lawyer up, to quote an old internet phrase. You can take responsibility for your own life.

    The alternative is a world nobody wants. Whether it was checking the weather through Ceefax, flicking through a recipe book to remind ourselves how to make an omelette, or going to a travel agent to book a trip to Poland, people switched to the newer technology because it is better.

    As Wikipedia will tell you, the Wild West era did not conclude with the Americans falling back to the East Coast to protect themselves. Instead the pioneers tamed and domesticated the new territory, which stretched out all the way to Santa Clara in California. Had they sounded the retreat, Silicon Valley would not have been invented. And you would not be reading this.

    Written by
    Jimmy Nicholls
    Jimmy Nicholls is a journalist, writer of Poke the Bear, and host of The Right Dishonourable podcast.

    1. A 3,500 mile ocean voyage in an open boat, and Mali doesn't even have a coastline. Remarkable! Captain Bligh, eat your heart out.

  97. Oh, crap.
    I wish they hadn't done that.
    The war will now hot up something shocking, due to Russian loss of face and thus retaliation. The Ivans may also decide that other European countries are also guilty parties, and have a go at them, as well.
    I really wish they hadn't done that.

    1. This has been planned for over a year. One wonders what other surprises Ucrania might have in store for the Russians.

      1. Indeed. What will Russia's response be – and how widespread.
        I suspect I live closer than you, so have more skin in the game. Plus, wouldn't it be good if all the silly buggers could stop killing each other?

  98. Bird jokes… sorry 🙁

    A duck walks into a bar…and orders a bottle of scotch.
    The bartender says, "That's gonna be pretty expensive. How are you gonna pay for all that liquor?"
    The duck replies, "Just put it on my tab."
    A nearby bar patron cheekily says, "Don't you mean 'put it on my bill'?"
    The duck says to the bartender, "Okay, as he says, put it on his bill."

    The duck goes to the reception desk at his hotel and asks for a condom, Receptionist says "Shall I put it on your bill?"
    Duck says "Eff orff".

    We're going out for pelican curry on Saturday. I'm expecting a huge bill!

    Q; What's have a pelican and a tax man got in common?
    A; They can both stick their bills up their arse

    1. A duck walks into a bar and asks: "Got any Bread?
      Barman says: "No."
      Duck says: "Got any bread?"
      Barman says: "No."
      Duck says: "Got any bread?"
      Barman says: "No, we have no bread."
      Duck says: "Got any bread?"
      Barman says: "No, we haven't got any bread!"
      Duck says: "Got any bread?"
      Barman Shouts: "No, are you deaf?! We haven't got any bread, and if you ask me again and I'll nail your bleedin' beak to the bar you irritating bleedin' duck!"
      Duck says: "Got any nails?"
      Barman says: "No"
      Duck says: "Got any bread?

    3. 😅🤣
      Apparently due to all the recent rain the mating of owls has been interrupted because it's been too wet to woo.

  99. Here is a round-up of today’s events:
    Ukrainian drones targeted four Russian bases deep behind enemy lines
    The operation, known as ‘Spiderweb’ or ‘Web’, destroyed almost a third of Russia’s strategic bombers, Kyiv says
    Remote-controlled FPV drones were smuggled by Ukraine’s security service in trucks close to the bases and then launched
    The reported damage amounts to $7 billion
    Russian confirmed the strikes, but claimed ‘several’ war planes caught fire
    Donald Trump was not warned in advance of the coordinated attacks
    A wave of bombing attacks also targeted Russian railways overnight, killing seven passengers
    A Russian missile hit a Ukrainian training camp, killing 12 soldiers and injuring dozens
    Russia and Ukraine’s second round of direct talks will take place in Instanbul tomorrow morning
    Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war

  100. Ukraine claims huge drone attack on ‘more than 40 bombers’
    Kyiv claims to have hit Russian airbases on the same day as two rail bridges were blown up in a strike that took 18 months of planning
    updated

    Ukraine targeted more than 40 Russian strategic nuclear-capable bombers during an audacious attack using hundreds of drones smuggled into Russia and launched from trucks at at least five airbases.

    Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, boasted that “enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia”, accompanied by video showing aircraft in flames at the Belaya airbase in Siberia, more than 2,600 miles from the front line in Ukraine.

    Play Video
    Watch: Ukraine targets Russian airbases with drones
    The SBU said Ukraine had hit the planes during “a large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft”, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine. The drones reportedly hit 41 bombers stationed at as many as five airfields on Sunday afternoon.

    The attack was confirmed by pro-Kremlin military bloggers who also reported simultaneous attacks on the Olenya airbase near Murmansk in the far northwest of Russia. A Ukrainian official said “Operation Spider’s Web” took more than 18 months to organise and was personally overseen by President Zelensky.

    Photo of Ukraine's SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk reviewing maps and photos of aircraft during a special operation.
    Vasyl Maliuk, the SBU chief, during the planning of “Operation Spider’s Web”
    Igor Kobzev, the governor of Irkutsk Oblast in Russia, confirmed there had been a drone attack on a military unit near the village of Sredny in the Usolsky district. He said the drones were released from a truck.

    He posted an amateur video with buzzing drones flying overhead towards an area billowing with smoke and a woman’s voice saying, “That’s already the eleventh one”.

    Video published by Russia’s Mash and Baza Telegram channels showed several drones emerging one by one from the open top of a truck, with the roof of its trailer section lying in one piece on the ground nearby.

    “There it is, a ‘copter flying out, it’s not clear where it’s coming from,” said the man filming. Automatic gunfire could then be heard as police apparently fired at the drones. “The cops missed,” the man added.

    Large plume of smoke rising from a fire.
    The Olenya nuclear bomber air base in Murmansk region was also targeted
    EAST2WEST
    Mash also published video of a group of men clambering on top of what appeared to be the same truck and trying to prevent drones from emerging from it. The vehicle later caught fire.

    Many drones stored in a warehouse.
    The drones loaded on a lorry and, below, the lorry with part of a container removed to enable the drones to be launched
    Kobzevsaid that it was the first such attack in that part of Siberia, and added that the number of drones used in the attack was unclear. The drones, he said, had been launched from a truck. Ukrainian sources released photographs appearing to show the drones in the back of a lorry.

    In a similar attack in Murmansk region, drones flew out of a truck parked by a road into the town of Olenegorsk in the Arctic Circle.

    “War has begun here in Olenegorsk,” said a man who recorded a video nearby.

    Mash also posted a video of a truck exploding after it reportedly caught fire as it travelled down a road in Amur region in Russia’s far east. The footage showed at least one man climbing inside the vehicle and half a dozen approaching when it exploded in a sheet of flame.

    One Ukrainian official said the operation involved hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden crates and loading them onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases.

    “At the required moment, the roofs of the crates were opened remotely and the drones flew off to attack the Russian bombers,” said the RBK news agency.

    “The operatives involved in this historic operation are safely back in Ukraine,” an SBU source told Ukrainska Pravda, an online news site. “Any detentions by Putin’s regime would be staged for domestic propaganda.”

    Russia’s defence ministry acknowledged that Ukraine had launched drone strikes against Russian military airfields on Sunday.

    It said the attacks were repelled in all but two regions, Murmansk in the far north and Irkutsk in Siberia, where “the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire”. It added that there had been no casualties.

    News of the daring attacks came after one of the single heaviest nights of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine , when 472 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles were launched, including on the capital, Kyiv. Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have been planned in Istanbul on Monday.

    That meeting appeared to be in doubt after Moscow’s refusal to issue a position paper before negotiations take place. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday that Moscow would not discuss any peace plan further unless the West stopped supplying Ukraine with weapons and Kyiv halted the mobilisation of new military recruits, demands which President Zelensky has already ruled out.

    Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine would attend the meeting in Istanbul proposed by Russia. Kyiv’s delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, the defence minister. Russia’s delegation has also left for Turkey.

    The negotiations were initiated by President Trump, but he has repeatedly expressed his frustration with both sides, not least with Moscow for its massive attacks on civilians at key points during the talks, and threatened to walk away from mediation.

    Earlier on Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of sabotage after two railway bridges collapsed close to the countries’ border, killing seven civilians and injuring dozens more.

    Aftermath of a train derailment in Russia, with emergency personnel at the scene.
    The incident in Bryansk
    REUTERS
    The first bridge collapsed late on Saturday night in Bryansk, falling on a railway line and derailing an oncoming train. Hours later, in Kursk, a railway bridge above a road collapsed while a freight train was crossing.

    Damaged bridge and derailed freight train in Russia's Kursk region.
    The derailed freight train and damaged bridge in the Kursk region
    MOSCOW INTERREGIONAL TRANSPORT PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE TELEGRAM CHANNEL/AP
    Moscow Railway initially posted that the collapse in Bryansk was caused by “illegal interference” but later deleted the message.

    Russia’s Investigative Committee later linked the incidents, saying that both bridges were deliberately blown up. “These incidents have been classified as acts of terrorism,” Svetlana Petrenko, the committee’s spokeswoman, said.

    Russian investigators said the incidents were linked. Ukraine has not commented publicly.

    Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea, called the explosion in Bryansk an “inhuman act of terror against civilians”.

    https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/drone-attack-airbases-enemy-bombers-qfzvrxqst

        2. I wrote to our previous MP using those words adding it might bite you.

        1. I hope not, but I can't help thinking they will have brought it on themselves.

          6. Yes, many years ago, before the opening of the pyramid entrance..
            We got there early before the real crowds arrived and went straight to the picture.
            What an anti-climax that was. Much smaller than I expected and I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. Very disappointing.
            I’m not an artist so certainly missed the subtleties.

            The Da Vinci house near Amboise is much more impressive, for me.

          7. It is certainly disappointing. I enjoyed the Caravaggio’s in Malta. Much larger canvas and you are allowed to get very close to them. I sat for an hour staring at the beheading of John the Baptist.

    3. In fact, the inspiration for Miss Piggy was the singer Miss Peggy (hence Piggy) Lee. Look at any photo of Peggy Lee and you will see why.

  102. We've been watching a wonderful program on bbc 4 about Vera Lynn. I use to cycle past her 1930s style thome every day on my way to and from school
    at the bottom of the Downage NW4.
    Never caught sight of her.
    What a wonderful lady.
    After a testing and busy day I think I'll turn in soon.
    Good night all Nottlers. 😴

  103. Germany's defence chief has starkly warned that NATO should be prepared for a possible attack by Russia in the next four years. General Carsten Breuer told the BBC that Russia poses a 'very serious threat' to the Western defence bloc, the likes of which he has never seen in his 40-year military career.' The stark warning comes amid one of Ukraine's most audacious attacks, in which it used a swarm of kamikaze drones unleashed from the backs of trucks to devastate $7billion dollars worth of equipment at two of Russia's most critical airfields.

    Next four years???
    Next four days more like.
    This is getting totally out of hand.
    And what have we got? cursed harmer, Lammy, Macron and the EU.
    This is a tinder box.

    1. Yes, I agree. A misstep could go horribly wrong.
      The post a bit below where it's mentioned that nobody informed POTUS is very alarming – I believe he would have prevented this kind of adventurism, leading who knows where… situation very unstable just now.

      1. "Hi Vlad, Donald here, no I didn't know.
        You get one free hit and we won't respond
        Might I suggest this address; Zelensky lives here, nuke the bastard"

          1. I didn't realise Zelensky was living with you, but given your various (alleged) proclivities I should have guessed…

          2. Not here. In the cellar at 10 Downing St with the other Ukrainian prostitutes.

        3. Trump is not in command. The CIA is calling the shots.

          We are witnessing the nightmare of secretive persons driving us into a WWIII conflagration.

    3. Carsten Breuer (born 1 December 1964) is a German Army general serving as the 17th and current Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. Prior to his appointment to the post, Breuer served as the first commander of the Bundeswehr Homeland Defence Command and is also known for his role as commander of the COVID-19 Task Force. Breuer also served as commander of the Bundeswehr Territorial Command, the 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade and the 12 Armoured Air Defence Gun Battalion.[1][2]

      All you need to know about this paid for mouthpiece stooge…

    4. No mention of how the Western Defence Bloc poses a very serious threat to Russia.

    5. If the stupid Germans continue to goad and provoke Russia then they are deserving of a lesson in retaliation. This is likely to be economic as opposed to the soft option of bombing Berlin.

  104. Don't know if this indeed by Mark Twain but it seems apposite:

    “Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out… and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel…. And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for the universal brotherhood of man with his mouth.”
    ~ Mark Twain

      2. What piece of work is a man, how noble in reason,
        how infinite in faculties, in form and moving,
        how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension,
        how like a god!

        I think 'Man' has regressed…

  105. We've had pork for dinner – good crackling….. a bit of apple sauce, new potatoes, broccoli, roasted peppers……. and Mozart piano sonatas. Pud was s few raspberries with cream. End of a bottle of white with the starter, moved onto red with the main. Swifts gave us a good flying display.

  107. Raspberries are close to being a weed in my "garden". They grow all over the place and it looks like a decent crop may be possible.
    Gooseberries look good and might even get a usable amount of currants.

    2. Not necessarily. Worth reading this bit;

      "In general, there are two main ways ants conduct these conflicts. On the one hand, some species use specific ants that are more powerful and whose primary function is to fight. On the other hand, colonies increase the number of available fighters and send large numbers of individuals into battle. In some species, conflict is ritualized, for example through limited duels undertaken by the individuals most capable of combat, but phenomena of battles are also common. In the genus Formica, such battles are commonplace and can involve tens of thousands of individuals, and they are sometimes ritualized, with the respective groups withdrawing at nightfall only to return the next day to the same locations to resume the battle. The bodies of dead or injured ants are then brought back to the colony, where they are eaten. In other species, such as within the genus Carebara, ants arrange themselves in specific formations before the battle, like phalanxes, and advance against each other. They also regularly sacrifice workers, whose role is to try to hinder, injure, and attack enemy majors, before their own majors join the battlefield and can intervene.
      In other cases, particularly among ants that aim to capture larvae or pupae, colonies use chemical weapons, such as olfactory propaganda, to try to enter the targeted colonies as discreetly as possible"

  111. 406624+ up ticks,

    Pillow Ponder.

    I believe this viewed in England as an invasion is in fact NOT so much an invasion as arriving at a rest and recreation destination for foreign mercenaries rampaging through Europe
    Paris being a prime example.

    ALL worked out at a davos gathering and now receiving consent via the English political kapos with royal seal.

    https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/1929220743184683079

    1. Moh and I and son believe we have been invaded .

      The new government , Starmer and co and his Arabic/ Urdu speaking boat people have created a very uncertain future for Britain.

      1. 406624+ up ticks,

        Evening TB,
        Follow the usual voting pattern and the future is quite clear and certain,
        prayer mats at the ready five times a day.

      1. 406624+ up ticks,

        Evening SS.
        I have given the tribal tactical voter “job well done” for their input these past thirty plus years we would never have got to where we find ourselves today without them.

  112. Well, chums, my bedtime has arrived, so I shall now climb the stairs to Bedfordshire. Good Night, sleep well, and see you all tomorrow.

      1. There’s no point my renting out my bed and having to sleep downstairs on the couch, OLT, is there? And don’t call me Shirley!

  114. Worth a listen (or look it up on YouTube and watch): James Glancy on the Winston Marshall show.

    ”…“And Tony Blair sold the nation, sold the cabinet, the vision that we've got to be hand in hand with America. So essentially, what we did was we outsourced our foreign policy to America. We gave up what is in the British national interest.

    So before, when we had an empire, when we were managing the decline of an empire, there would have been such thing as what is in the British national interest. And out of that, you decide your foreign policy, you decide the lay down of your armed forces, your economy. That all went away when Tony Blair decided to drag us to outsource our foreign policy to the USA and to outsource our economic and social policy to the European Union.

    He essentially gutted Britain of its ability to govern itself and decide for itself. And they've outsourced our rulemaking to the EU, they've outsourced our judiciary to the ECHR and the ICJ and to the ICC, International Criminal Court, signed us up to all sorts of international, supranational bodies and then followed America into battle.”…

    “….The ideology, you have to look back to the Conservatives in 2010, austerity after 2008 financial crash. The decision was made by the Conservative Party that there's no votes in defence within the British public.

    We're going to move to a more socialist, new labour model which is high social welfare spending, high government spending, borrowing to spend, but that money is not going to go in the armed forces. That was a conscious decision, agreed and signed off by all the defence ministers and prime ministers from 2010 and chancellors, is that defence isn't a priority. And if you go back to the Royal United Services Institute, RUCI, you will see generals and ministers saying that we now live in an era of grey zone conflict, i.e. below the threshold of state on state warfare, i.e. we won't go to war with states anymore, so we don't need aircraft carriers or frigates or big standing armed forces. There will always be terrorism or little grey men operating to cut undersea cables or do things that just are below the threshold of regular warfare.

    And so they use this concept of failing to prepare or this deliberately bad predictions “about the future, and I call them deliberate. It was obvious what was coming down the line to justify cutting defence. And all the while they said there's no point of investing in defence because we won't get any votes in this.

    And maybe they were proved right. The British public didn't seem to mind as battalion after battalion regiment was destroyed, the frigate after frigate was cut, and all our orders were cut. It just kept happening.

    So it's almost been like throwing the old terminology of putting a frog into a cold pan and letting it heat up slowly. The reverse has happened in that the public has just and the establishment has just accepted this decline in British capability and British influence more abroad. But that also goes into step.

    What I say is no one really cares at government level about the British national interest…”

    From The Winston Marshall Show: James Glancy – They Erased Our History AND Gutted Our Army: How Elites Are COLLAPSING Britain, 31 May 2025
    https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-winston-marshall-show/id1727337401?i=1000710674112&r=1005
    This material may be protected by copyright.

  115. Gosh. He gets better. Stilnonly 1/3 of the way in….

    “…Right now, Britain is in a serious period of decline, and it's been deliberately, that decline has been deliberately sped up by the Labour government under Keir Starmer, under Ed Miliband, the drive to net zero, handing away the Chagos, higher regulation, borrowing. We'll see how the strategy defends with you, but as everyone knows, that Britain isn't working.

    Unbelievably high immigration. The next election is absolutely crucial for this country. We're at a crossroads of, do we go into a state of decline where it's never recoverable to be a prosperous and powerful nation again, where we become one big welfare state?

    We become essentially an international refugee camp, or an international charity for everyone from all around the world, where we've lost our identity, our history, our heritage, our Christian values, our armed forces are completely in the doldrums, and we end up signing up through the back door to the European Union, and become a vassal state again of the EU. That's one path, that's one pill that you can choose to swallow. Or there is another one, which is national renewal….”

    “…Without cheap energy, you cannot be a prosperous nation, re-industrialize to some extent, and have a vision which is we believe in Britain, we believe in our values, but to do that, we have to love ourselves and we have to want to be prosperous and we have to want to be powerful. We have to give the country an option, decline or rebuild…..”

    From The Winston Marshall Show: James Glancy – They Erased Our History AND Gutted Our Army: How Elites Are COLLAPSING Britain, 31 May 2025
    https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-winston-marshall-show/id1727337401?i=1000710674112&r=1981
    This material may be protected by copyright.

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