Sunday 22 November: Conservatives shouldn’t be forcing drivers to switch to electric cars

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

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/11/22/letters-conservatives-shouldnt-forcing-drivers-switch-electric/

796 thoughts on “Sunday 22 November: Conservatives shouldn’t be forcing drivers to switch to electric cars

  1. Woke is no joke… it’s time to get serious and fight back. 22 November 2020.

    How is it possible that under a Conservative Government the pestilent agenda now known as ‘Woke’ continues to advance, apparently unstoppable?

    When Left- wing parties are in charge, they ruthlessly use all their powers of patronage and subsidy to pack state institutions with their friends.

    They offer endless encouragement to the spread of revolutionary ideas through schools, universities and of course the BBC.

    Morning everyone. The answer of course lies in the question. There is no Conservative Government, indeed there are no discernible Conservatives in it and most of this agenda has been pursued under them and their predecessors. It is they who have appointed this fifth column. The whole of the Elites, Labour, Conservative, whatever, are sympathetic to the beliefs these people hold. They appoint them, finance them, pass legislation in their favour. It’s a stitch up essentially and since it is mutually self-supporting there is going to be no change!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8974191/MAIL-SUNDAY-COMMENT-Woke-no-joke-time-fight-back.html

    1. Big fat bribes, would be my guess. Watch Boris collect his paycheck after he leaves office. His girlfriend is already working for one of these mysteriously funded groups that plan to change, sorry improve the world.

        1. I was interested to note that Carrie was described as his “official” girlfriend in the mainstream media recently….

  2. Woke is no joke… it’s time to get serious and fight back. 22 November 2020.

    How is it possible that under a Conservative Government the pestilent agenda now known as ‘Woke’ continues to advance, apparently unstoppable?

    When Left- wing parties are in charge, they ruthlessly use all their powers of patronage and subsidy to pack state institutions with their friends.

    They offer endless encouragement to the spread of revolutionary ideas through schools, universities and of course the BBC.

    Morning everyone. The answer of course lies in the question. There is no Conservative Government, indeed there are no discernible Conservatives in it and most of this agenda has been pursued under them and their predecessors. It is they who have appointed this fifth column. The whole of the Elites, Labour, Conservative, whatever, are sympathetic to the beliefs these people hold. They appoint them, finance them, pass legislation in their favour. It’s a stitch up essentially and since it is mutually self-supporting there is going to be no change!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8974191/MAIL-SUNDAY-COMMENT-Woke-no-joke-time-fight-back.html

  3. ‘Motning, Peeps.

    More letters about electric cars. If the problem with cars like the Nissan Leaf are typical – an early EV, of course – then the trade-in value of such cars is likely to be rock bottom or even zero. I doubt that Barbara Marshall has thought about trade-in value when she proudly states that her car is cheap to run.

    SIR – A few years ago politicians were asking us to buy diesel vehicles. Now they are going to compel us to buy electric ones.

    Well insulated from real life – and equally entranced by such ridiculous projects as HS2 – the Government’s green-agenda proponents appear arrogant and undemocratic.

    I voted Conservative at the last election. Not next time.

    Allan Crossley
    Stafford

    SIR – There are several problems with the Government’s plan to ban new fossil fuel vehicles from 2030.

    For a start, the country will not 
have the electricity-generating capacity required to achieve this unless quick decisions are made about building the next generation of nuclear power stations.

    The present electric vehicles do not have the range necessary to be useful for long journeys. Motorway service stations would need a charging point at every parking space. In addition, millions of motorists live in terraced houses without off-road parking where charging can take place. Are they expected to leave cables running across the pavement?

    I certainly wouldn’t change to an electric car at the moment. For now, they are mostly playthings – second or third cars for the very wealthy.

    Andrew Leeder
    Liverpool

    SIR – My Nissan Leaf – three years old when I bought it in 2015 – is being let down by a tired battery, the range of which has dropped from 70 to 40 miles in the time I have owned it.

    When, a year ago, the Portsmouth dealer quoted £7,500 for a new battery, I declined. This proved unwise: this month, the dealer in Gateshead told me that Nissan UK no longer exchanges batteries, and the price of a new one would be £19,000. Meanwhile, the dealer in Swindon quoted £22,500.

    With this pricing, I wonder how many good Nissan Leafs with tired batteries are going to be scrapped prematurely.

    Norman Pasley
    Southampton

    SIR – I have owned a BMW i3 for two years and could never go back. It’s a smooth ride, extremely quiet and great in stop-start traffic. Its acceleration is thrilling, and very useful when overtaking cyclists. It doesn’t frighten many horses, either.

    As things stand, a home charger is helpful, but the charging network is improving all the time. The car is cheap to run, with free charging when I shop at our local retail park and go to the gym. Plus I feel so virtuous: it is made almost entirely from recyclable items. Fabulous.

    Barbara Marshall
    Helmdon, Northamptonshire

    SIR – Once we are all driving electric cars, how will boy racers cope without the roar of their car exhausts?

    Phillip Wade
    Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

    1. Recyclable i3, eh? The same as a fossil car, all except the leather seat covers. Virtue-enjoying fool.

      1. It outwardly appears Barbara Marshall [77 Bde intern] is trying to get revenge for failing her audition to appear on Ripping Yarns. Unsure how she would react to the non woke “Agincourt retort”?

    2. Battery range of 70 miles! What kind of ….. Mr Pasley would appear to be a Conservative voter!

      1. 70 mile range when he bought it – -now down to 40. And I assume that is during the day, no lights etc. What about an icy, snowy dark night? front and rear wipers, Fog lights, normal lights, heater, radio, rear window heater??? Wonder if they dare even peep the horn? Wonder how long it takes per day on charge?

        1. With that range, I’d have to stop on my way to work to charge it up! I hate to think how long it would take to get to my parents’ house.

    3. Won’t street car charging facilities require constant supervision and policing? Boris’s green movement will be completely scuppered by gangs of hooded vandals and goths with wire cutters!

    4. Norman Pasley’s experience with his Nissan Leaf mirrors mine attempting to replace tired batteries for a Hitachi power drill, that had done good service otherwise.

      It was cheaper to replace the drill, complete with two new batteries than it was to get fresh batteries for the old one. How Green is that?

    5. Yes guvnor – -nice little electric car – only used once a week on Sundays by a little old lady to get to church and back.
      Why didn’t she use it more?
      Well it was on charge the other 6 days a week.

    6. It may not frighten the horses, Barbara, but it will creep up and mow down pedestrians because they can’t hear the silent menace coming.

  4. SIR – The organisers of events associated with Remembrance this year have done the nation proud.

    However, reporting the centenary 
of the burial of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, some referred to “the unknown soldier”. But “warrior” is right, for the Unknown Warrior may be a Royal Navy sailor or a Royal Marine – and, whoever he was, his body was brought across the English Channel in the destroyer HMS Verdun.

    Sailors and Royal Marines not required for service at sea in the first years of the Great War formed the Royal Naval Division, fighting in Belgium and Gallipoli. In 1916, what was left of the RND helped form the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division which, under Army command, fought on the Western Front.

    Sailors fighting ashore was not new. A naval brigade was at Bunker Hill in 1774, and brigades were common in the 19th century – notably in the Crimean, Zulu and Boer Wars, and the Boxer Rebellion.

    Sub-Lieutenant A P Herbert was a naval officer with the 63rd. Later an MP, he penned an amusing poem about General Shute’s disapprobation of the Royal Naval Division, its naval humour perhaps too risqué for modern times.

    Lt-Cdr Lester May RN (retd)
    London NW1

    …and, as previously pointed out, it is not impossible that an RFC airman was the Unknown Warrior.

  5. The DT Leader on cycle schemes. This is what happens when local authorities waste money on virtue-signalling:

    Across the country, councils have seized upon Covid-19 as an excuse to push through road closures they always dreamed of. Called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN), and with even more promised by Boris Johnson last week, they amount to a radical green anti-mobility agenda imposed without consultation – sold to us as temporary but budgeted, in at least one area, for three years.

    As roads are shut, narrowed or lanes reduced, short car journeys become absurdly long, drivers get lost (causing more jams) and emergency services are affected. The use of ugly bollards or unpleasant – yet predictably expensive – plant pots undermines quality of life as well.

    As to new cycle lanes, they should be appropriate to the amount of traffic and demand in the area. Harrow in London won a grant from a fund established during the first lockdown to halve a major street and impose a cycle path down it. Last Friday morning, 60 minutes passed during which not a single bicycle used it; only six bicycles were counted in as many hours. Meanwhile, 2,400 cars squeezed down the adjacent lane.

    Labour MP Rupa Huq writes in these pages that she’s been lobbied by angry constituents “vigorously” on Syria or Brexit, but that “nothing has inflamed” local opinion as LTNs have. She suggests an excellent compromise: where an LTN is planned, hold a local referendum. Not council-wide (only those with a stake in it should vote), but the consultation should stretch beyond the road itself, because every resident nearby, particularly on side roads, is affected. Ms Huq warns her fellow Labourites that “ploughing on regardless” might cost them votes. Conservatives, including the PM, should heed that warning, too.

    1. And, right on cue:

      SIR – I enjoyed Tom Welsh’s article on cycleways.

      In this town, they are unused because they are unusable. They were obviously laid out by somebody who never left their car.

      That said, our council is fairly even-handed. Stafford’s traffic-calming measures could only have been laid out by a militant cyclist.

      W G Sellwood
      Stafford

    2. On the way to the stables there are roadworks (ostensibly to repair a bridge damaged in a collision, but I have not seen anybody working on it for months). Today I saw the traffic lights change to red, so waited by the sign (wait here while the red light shows – at least it was in English, not Welsh) for the lights to change to green. They did so, for less than a minute! I’d just pulled past the sign before I got a red light again! As you can’t see (and there are lots of HGVs using that road), I was obliged to wait until it turned green again, although I was beyond the sign. As soon as it turned green I gunned it to get through before I met something coming the other way! What did I see at the other end? Two police cars and a queue of traffic at least a mile long. To cut a long story short, I returned a different way, adding about six miles to my journey. Next week I shall be taking the back roads.

  6. Morning all

    SIR – I am a recent retiree, and, having read the latest list of permitted reasons for leaving the house, find that I have only two: essential shopping and exercise. Both must be done as quickly as possible.

    My phone has become an ankle tag, and a strict solitary-confinement regime results if I come into contact with anyone I’m not supposed to. Visitor rights are almost non-existent, travel anywhere is forbidden and good behaviour makes no difference to the length of my sentence, which is indeterminate.

    I have not been given the opportunity to complete a virus-awareness course or pay a fine in order to avoid a custodial term (although I suspect a fine will be coming in the form of large tax rises).

    The vast majority of those infected with Covid-19 do not become seriously ill, and the average mortality age attributed to the virus is 82.4 years old. How much do these things need to change before the Government decides that we can permanently regain our freedom?

    James Martin

    Farnham, Surrey

    1. James, you will have to do the deciding. Government is enjoying controlling you too much to give up now.

    2. Why carrie a phone?
      When I see teenagers glued to their cyber apron strings, I think back to a time when the last thing we wanted was ‘adults’ knowing where we were or what we were doing.

      1. Why carry a phone?

        Principally, for a pensioner (or even for me) for your own safety. Not safety from a virus but general safety. There are no public phone boxes in rural areas now and very few houses are occupied during the day. If you need road rescue – you need a phone. If you’ve been involved in an accident (or someone else has) and you need emergency services – you need a phone. We have finally convinced my father (OK, he’s 88, not “recently retired”) that he can’t change a wheel any more and shouldn’t (with one steel hip and one with should be steel but isn’t yet because the hospitals all closed down in March) try. So he needs to take the phone with him so summon someone who can.

        It’s possible that in a built up area this is less important as there will be other premises which are open, but shops are not notoriously generous about allowing the use of their phones and pubs, in the main, no longer have payphones (even when the government decides that they are permitted to open). The last time I had a break-down in the days before I had a phone (well over 25 years ago) the barman was reluctant even to let me have change for the phone unless I bought a drink…

        The apps on my phone (not very many) are the ones I’ve chosen to download and none of them are connected to the government. I may have to walk a few hundred yards to get a signal if I have an accident or breakdown, but I don’t go out without the phone. With it I can choose when (or if) to connect to the rest of the world, without it I’m stranded.

      2. Why have a smart phone, anyway, if you need it for safety reasons (although many places round me have no signal)? I carry a bog standard phone which will send texts and receive and make calls. It’s all I need.

    3. “My phone has become an ankle tag”. Uninstall the App, you idiot! Better still, don’t install it in the first place!

  7. SIR – I see that Amazon is advising shoppers to buy their gifts early in order to avoid chaos this Christmas.

    I would like to propose another solution. Avoid Amazon and use your local shops, which have suffered so much this year.

    John Castley

    Peterborough

    1. So much wreckage all around us as the hopelessly inept politicians and their wretched eternally wrong advisers grovel before a virus as if we had never met one before. And now we are escaping its limited menace we are offered a vaccination of limited safety. What have they done to us?

    2. Whilst I applaud you, Johnny boy, for your sentiments, I think you will find that Amazon provides many goods that cannot be found in your local shops.

      Market forces, I’m afraid. If a local establishment does happen to sell something you require, a pound-to-a-penny it will be far more expensive than what you pay online.

      A local corner-shop grocer, of my experience back in the 1970s, sold all his goods at an extortionate price. His only customers were a few local pensioners who could not easily travel to a supermarket where the choice and selection were far greater. That grocer struggled to survive but stubbornly refused to bring down his prices.

      1. Amazon marketplace also provides access to a wider audience for a lot of smaller retailers (many of them will be someone’s “local”).

        Since the days of the travelling pedlar (chapman in the north) goods have always been sought from further afield. Mail order has been around for over 150 years (Mr Pryce Jones started the first mail order catalogue here in Montgomeryshire) and internet shopping is simply mail order by any other name.

        Some local shops have learned the lesson. Our village shop is a bit more expensive than the supermarkets, but not extortionate and most of the local people use it for “top up” shopping. They are regularly busy and their Post Office trade has grown (with the closure of local bank branches amongst other factors) so much that the PO recently granted them a second computer terminal. They also have a filling station and in the last 12 months they have changed their fuel wholesaler so that even the fuel prices are in the competitive range. They also provide regular work for a number of local women and have “brought up” over the years a long list of weekend and evening youngsters to provide service with good manners; at the same time as saving for higher education. I can think of a couple more in this area who have done likewise. The rest have gone.

  8. Nuclear fusion could be reality in 20 years thanks to Government green plan. 22 November 2020.

    Nuclear fusion could be a reality within 20 years after the Government’s green plan gave a major boost to British research projects.

    Long considered a pipe dream of low-risk, cheap green energy, Nuclear fusion has become a more serious proposition in recent years, with British scientists in the running to be the first to get there

    More unutterable green tosh!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/22/nuclear-fusion-could-reality-20-years-thanks-government-green/

    1. Fusion has been “Just 20 years away” for my entire lifetime,the very best American and South Korean engineering Institutes and scientists have thrown untold billions at the problem building vast machines in the process with only marginal results.
      This is just fantasy island to help justify the current greeniac policies bring inflicted on us
      ‘Morning Minty

    2. Morning, Araminta.

      I’m uncertain which is the greatest load of nonsense; the idea that nuclear fusion will be available in 20 years or that its provision will provide CHEAP energy. Tosh indeed.

      1. Ah! The age-old apothecaries’ trick of smoke and mirrors, cloak and dagger. Nuclear ‘fusion’ will perpetually remain a fictitious Sci-Fi concept in the same realms as warp-drive, ‘dilithium’ crystals, and perpetual motion.

        It is time for humanity to stop wasting its time and resources on frippery and take more notice of how its own burgeoning population is destroying the balance of life on the only planet known to support it.

        At least the planet will not be destroyed by mankind. Earth will eventually find a remedy for the cancerous pox that currently blights its surface.

          1. That’s nice to know, D-cup. I know that the motion of the facial muscles, especially around the lips, on many volunteers has been mooted as a potential source for perpetual motion.

            The only failures they have discovered, thus far, have all been on the faces of male volunteers! :•)

        1. O . . .M . . .G . . . You say the Star Trek warp drive etc is fictitious???? I’ll have you know that the “Transporter” has already been used in its Mark.1 version. Border Force use it to get thousands from Calais to Dover regularly.

      2. Forty years ago I stayed in Neckargemund near Heidelberg at the home of Franz Gross who was the Head of Research at Brown Boveri Kent. He was dismissive of nuclear fusion for the reason that you need massive electrical energy to create sufficient magnetic force to control the fusion process.

        Franz was an expert on batteries and held the patents for much of what we use today.

  9. Nuclear fusion could be reality in 20 years thanks to Government green plan. 22 November 2020.

    Nuclear fusion could be a reality within 20 years after the Government’s green plan gave a major boost to British research projects.

    Long considered a pipe dream of low-risk, cheap green energy, Nuclear fusion has become a more serious proposition in recent years, with British scientists in the running to be the first to get there

    More unutterable green tosh!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/22/nuclear-fusion-could-reality-20-years-thanks-government-green/

        1. I’ve always been, very firmly, of the opinion that “brew” and “tea” are two quite distinct beverages which bear only a very distant resemblance to one another.

          1. Well… Army tea is quite unlike any tea in the real world.
            Another term popular in my Bn was chai.

      1. Tom’s already here and I suppose it’s the rum, bum and baccy boys who have all the poofter traits. After all the question always was, “Who’s the favourite man on the ship?” and the answer was, “The Stoker with the hairiest ar5e.”

        As for the Army – mostly planks – no wonder they’re called ‘Pongoes’, ‘cos wherever the Army goes, the pong goes.

        Now, leave the Air Force alone – we’ve done more than our bit!

        1. You get a down vote for that!
          Who remembers the
          “Sail Army
          Fly Navy
          Walk Sideways”
          car stickers?

    1. What is the difference between a Muslim clothes shop and the bedding dept at Debenham’s.?
      Sorry, it’s not a joke, I’m just asking.

  10. Hitchens on grand form

    PETER HITCHENS: It doesn’t matter how you vote… the Greens always win – as Britain looks more and more like the old East Germany

    By Peter Hitchens for The Mail on Sunday

    Published: 22:03, 21 November 2020 | Updated: 22:14, 21 November 2020

    e-mail

    5 shares

    Vote Blue, get Green. Vote Red, get Green. Vote Yellow, get Green. Vote SNP, get Green. I wonder why they bother even having an actual Green Party.

    So in yet another way, Britain is coming more and more to resemble the old East Germany. Really? Yes.

    The East Berlin

    commissars would have applauded our frenzied desire to rip small

    children from the arms of their mothers and stuff them into nurseries

    while their parents marched off to work.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8973423/PETER-HITCHENS-doesnt-matter-vote-Greens-win.html

    1. 100% agree on the 2nd Priti link.
      Reference the 1st link: I don’t think the Red Wall matters to our leaders. If the Tories lose the next election because the Northerners feel betrayed we will simply get a Labour-globalist government instead of one which Tory-Globalist.
      Ultimately the same policies will be followed to advantage the same people. Grass root Tories and the decent MPs who are trying their best are just collateral.

        1. No. In France they call this: La politique de la chevre morte – dead goat politics.
          The logic is that if you can stand a dead goat against the candidate favoured by the establishment then that candidate will win. They have pushed that to the dangerous degree that maybe the dead goat will win (aka Marine Le Pen – and she is dangerous!).
          Here I don’t think the Tories are there yet. But Starmer makes such an approximation of a dead goat as makes little difference.

    2. 100% agree on the 2nd Priti link.
      Reference the 1st link: I don’t think the Red Wall matters to our leaders. If the Tories lose the next election because the Northerners feel betrayed we will simply get a Labour-globalist government instead of one which Tory-Globalist.
      Ultimately the same policies will be followed to advantage the same people. Grass root Tories and the decent MPs who are trying their best are just collateral.

  11. I am amused by the title. We have not had a conservative government since the grey men got rid of Thatcher. We have just had globalists wearing blue rosettes. You can see that clearly enough if you simply view Major’s and Cameron’s interventions on Brexit. As for the hapless Boris… oh dear.

  12. Good morning all. I hope that we are finally going to see some MPs standing up for the rights and freedoms of the British people:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/11/21/backbench-tories-arms-tougher-tiers/

    It is ironic that the ‘awkward squad’ is all within the Conservative ranks. Kier Starmer seems unable to muster the will to fulfil his role as Her Majesty’s Opposition. But then, the modern Labour party despises the working-class people who are hardest-hit by lockdown, and as a socialist he is all for State control.

    Let’s hope the 70 stalwarts force the government to publish a cost/benefit analysis of the proposed new restrictions. It is astounding that they have not done so already.

    1. And a reminder all MPs are in such a position with our consent. The people’s agreement is with the Queen, no matter what attempts made or chosen to ignore, can be airbrushed from our history. I’ve reminded my MP of this, given no reply, he’s either staring fiercely at his navel or the “fog of Woke War” has enabled what limited judgement he still possesses, to be permanently clouded

      1. I told mine that he is a charlatan – a limp dumb posing as a Tory. And that I’ll never vote for him or his party again. He didn’t reply…..{:¬))

        1. I wrote numerous letters, on a plethora of topics, to Norman Lamb when he was the Limp Dim MP for North Norfolk. I only ever received one reply and that was a standard dismissive “there there” note from a lackey (of sub-continental origins) written on HoC notepaper.

        2. I sent mine, as a free annex attachment, the full list of ISBNs regarding English History. And a list of libraries just about open in our constituency, so as not to use Amazon online [and our money to do so]. Odds on, he won’t have a library ticket

    2. They warned: “The lockdown cure prescribed runs the very real risk of being worse than the disease.”
      That’s about 8 or 9 months too late in the saying by them.

    3. “I hope that we are finally going to see some MPs standing up for the rights and freedoms of the British people:”

      You still taking them drugs?

      Good day to you.

    4. I’m afraid I am increasingly cynical about Tory rebellions. Being seen to disagree appears to be far more important than changing anything.

      1. True. You have to wonder if they are ‘controlled opposition’ just rattling their sabres then capitulating when the chips are down. The vast majority of parliament voted for this latest lockdown, despite the dodgy data it was based on.

        All mouth and no trousers? We shall see.

      2. Morning, I to am cynical because I remember the much vaunted Brexiteers. Around here we have a saying, “ like the barbers cat, all pi$$ and wind”
        I think of them as barber cats.

    5. I’ll do it for you.

      All long term costs, no measurable benefits, short or long term.

      That’ll be £5 million in consulting fees, thank you.

    1. 326706+ up ticks,
      O2O,
      I am still of the mind that johnson is the nose cone of the semi re-entry missile and doesn’t give a sh!te about future elections once he reveals the devious “deal”
      Give credit where due,over the last 3 decades you cannot fault the pretendy
      tory group & their masterful handling of the well supported treachery campaign.

    2. Ogga, what MSM appear to see as their own sword of damacles hanging over them is the end of the outdated political parties. They’d then actually have to do a proper job of reporting, which, nowadays, is probably beyond most of them without giving a “Woke” opinion

    3. Who is Becky Ryan, and is English her mother tongue or her other tongue?

      “…there were a huge amount of votes that were lent to the Conservative Party…”
      “there was a huge number of votes that were lent to the Conservative Party”

        1. Perhaps not each other’s, (even though they are like having a stone in one’s shoe – difficult to ignore) but those in a national publication should be fair game.

  13. I’m going to try shopping for the first time since March, as Best Beloved, who normally insists on doing it, is still under the weather.

    Maybe see you later.

      1. Mask exempt but thanks, Mags.

        Being a man, I just got what was on the list, except for a chicken pasty for lunch. All others are ordered on line by Best Beloved but using MY debit card. The things you do for love.

        1. Tsk, how annoying. Doesn’t BB have her own card that she could use? Otherwise, a joint bank account would be the way forward
          p.s I hope she will be feeling better soon.

    1. I wondered what had happened to this clown. As Shadow Sec of State for Justice, will he now be seen more in public in a Borat costume, trying to sell his book?

    2. Paying a salary to the likes of Lammy is to commit a grand fraud on the poor sodding taxpayer.

  14. 326706+ up ticks,
    I would really believe that be-heading & paedophilia has a great deal to do with it also truth be told, may one ask what are your ilk doing in England anyway ?
    breitbart,
    Khan Says ‘It’s Never Been More Hard to Be a Muslim’ Because of Trump, Claims Prez Bullied Him for His Faith.

    1. Now, the cat’s out the bag, we have confirmation why the Political Woke [Muslim of otherwise] entities are spending £4bn p.a. on Defence. Themselves

  15. This rushed electric car revolution will backfire disastrously on Boris

    It’s hardly rushed. There are episodes of Tomorrow’s World from the Eighties on You Tube that talk about our having to cut carbon emissions and fossil fuel use.

    1. I look forward to buying an electric car that will have enough charge to allow me to get to Fakenham – 5 miles away – and back. Trips to the Continong will be a thing of the past.

      1. Perhaps we will adopt a system like that of yore where riders stopped for fresh horses.
        We could own small run about models but for longer journeys, we would hire cars for a hundred miles at a time.

        1. Ah, the post horse system. I think I’d rather use horses. At least I could swap my own saddle to a new mount (assuming I bought an adjustable one).

    2. The compulsion aspect has been! And whichever party is in office in the run-up to 2030 will rue the day that the ‘climate emergency’ was unleashed.

  16. Good morning everyone. Another action packed day coming up.

    Surely these letter writers about cars are missing the point. Within a few years we will not be owning cars unless we are one of the elite of course. We will not be able to just jump in the car on the spur of the moment and drive somewhere, perhaps into the countryside, to enjoy an impromptu picnic. It will not be permitted.

    We will all have to have at the very least a certificate to say we’ve been tested for … and probably a certificate to say we’ve had the jab.

    We have allowed the government to remove so many freedoms and liberties and they will not turn back from that any time soon. They apparently are hinting that they will graciously “allow” us maybe 5 days of enjoyment over Christmas but this will have to be paid for” by more restrictive tiers afterwards.

    1. Income tax was a temporary meaure to pay for the wars with Napoleon (I think). Look what happened to that.

  17. Conservatives shouldn’t be forcing drivers to switch to electric cars

    They’re not it’s the government and it is devoid of Conservatives.

  18. This whole charade about controlling the virus reminds me of driving from, I think, Alberta into the USA. We were asked at the border if we had any drugs, any firearms or any citrus fruit. Now I know the USA wants to protect its citrus fruit industry but do any bugs stop at the border and ask permission to enter.

      1. I’ve just tried clicking on the link directly from this page, NtN and it works ok. Perhaps you did a copy and paste into your browser and mised something off when copying? It is very easy to do, you think you’ve got it and…… it turns out you have not. Do try again.

        Edit: addition of ‘and it works ok’. (A case of more haste less speed, had to dash out with dog, we were at least two hours late for her walk).

    1. But but but . . . weren’t we told ALL those at Calais were doctors, surgeons and scientists? And enough of them are coming here courtesy of BF.

    1. Well, insulting UKIP didn’t do David Cameron any favours, did it.
      Nor Nigel Farage really, when you consider that the least successful chapter of his political life was shortly after he insulted UKIP members….funny that.

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Afternoon BB2,
        It done the damage along with the neC to curtail Gerard Battens
        run of success and bring the party down.
        What really got up his nasal canals was when his conduit bolton was voted out in Birmingham on the 17 / 2 / 2018
        I was there, good well attended meeting, good result.

      2. That turned me completely against NF. He was happy enough to shake my hand and congratulate me on working for the party when he was in charge. As soon as he flounced off, I suddenly became a nasty racist? I don’t think so. I am the same now as I was then.

        1. I don’t hold political expediency against Farage, although I was on that march, so I was one of the tattooed skinheads that he was talking about 🙂 . Farage has always had only one agenda, which is Brexit at all costs. We’ve benefited from his single-mindedness in the past. He has made enormous sacrifices and put his ego on one side at times in pursuit of the goal.

          In this case, he saw that Brexit had not been delivered, and that therefore UKIP should not alter its focus. The rest followed logically. I supported Batten’s policies, but they were brought in too early. UKIP stopped being an effective Brexit campaigning group when it split its focus. I know Ogga disagrees with me on this one!

      1. 326706+ up ticks.
        Afternoon N,
        It would not surprise me if these
        current governance political miscreants will say ” so be it, you don’t want it the easy way so…”

  19. Exclusive: Two Covid tests a week could win people a ‘freedom pass’

    The scheme would allow people to lead as normal a life as possible while the Government’s vaccine programme gets started

    ByChristopher Hope, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT21 November 2020 • 9:00pm

    People are set to be given “freedom passes” to allow them to live as normal a life as possible as long as they have two negative coronavirus tests a week, under a plan to get the country back to normal next year.

    Under the scheme, which is still being developed by Whitehall officials, people could be given the passes as long as they can show they have been regularly tested for Covid-19.

    People who are found to be Covid-free would be given a card, a letter or document that can be stored on their phone to show they can move around. Regular tests would be needed to ensure that they qualify for the certificates.

    A source familiar with the plans said that the scheme would allow people to lead as normal a life as possible while the Government’s vaccine programme gets up to speed on a mass scale early in the new year.

    The source said: “They will allow someone to wander down the streets, and if someone else asks why they are not wearing a mask, they can show the card, letter or an App.”

    The source added that the passes would allow people “to see their family, and normal social distancing rules will not apply”.

    The plan has already received the backing of Jeremy Hunt, the former Health Secretary, who last week said he supported “offering people who comply with testing and isolation requirements a ‘freedom pass’ that removes the requirement to follow lockdown regulations”.

    Mr Hunt also urged Boris Johnson to set an Easter deadline to return to a more normal life through mass testing with rapid home testing kits, even if vaccines have not come through by then.

    Mr Hunt has been urging the Government to go further and give people an incentive to be tested by allowing them “to go out, shop and go to work” if they test negative.

    The Government will have to be carrying out millions of tests a day for the freedom pass scheme to work.

    Ministers have been making steady progress so far, with the Government successfully hitting its target of being able to carry out 500,000 coronavirus tests a day across the UK by the end of last month.

    A report in the British Medical Journal in September claimed that ministers were hoping to be carrying out up to 10 million Covid-19 tests a day by early next year as part of a £100 billion expansion of its national testing programme.

    If achieved, the programme would allow testing of the entire UK population per week.

    A similar scheme to the freedom passes was first mooted in April when ministers were said to be looking at issuing immunity certificates to people who have developed resistance to coronavirus.

    Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: “(An immunity certificate) is an important thing that we will be doing and are looking at but it’s too early in the science of the immunity that comes from having had the disease.”

    “It’s too early in that science to be able to put clarity around that. I wish that we could but the reason that we can’t is because the science isn’t yet advanced enough.”

    That same month the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned governments against issuing “immunity passports” to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.

    The WHO said issuing the certificates could inspire false confidence and increase the risk of spreading the virus. People who have recovered may ignore advice about taking precautions against the virus.

    On Saturday night a Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said that guidance on infection and control measures was “constantly under review to ensure we can return to normality as soon as possible while controlling the spread of the virus”.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/11/21/exclusive-two-covid-tests-week-could-win-people-freedom-pass/

    1. I’ll wait at least 5 years until I see if the mugs volunteers grow two heads or turn green.

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Afternoon Anne,
        Many will see it as a bonus along the party before all else, as two heads = two votes.

      2. That is what I told my dearly beloved. At least, I told him I would wait and see if he developed two heads. He did not see the joke, I am sorry to say.

  20. The NT obviously has never heard of the saying “When in a hole, stop digging.” And why the secrecy about the panel members? I think we can guess that it contains a fair proportion of race-baiters.

    British attitudes blighted by colonial past, says National Trust academic conducting review
    Comments made by Rita McLean in 2007 likely to stoke political row over Trust and its properties’ links to the slave trade

    By
    Christopher Hope,
    CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
    21 November 2020 • 7:00pm

    Rita McLean:
    Racism and discrimination exist in the UK because Britons have not “wholly understood” their country’s history with the slave trade, according to the academic in charge of a review at the National Trust.

    Rita McLean, a museums and heritage consultant, is chairing a steering group looking at how to implement the findings of the Trust’s report into the links between its properties and slavery and colonialism.

    She was appointed to lead “a working group of external specialists” that will be “advising and steering the Trust” in its approach to the review. The Trust has declined requests to say who is on the panel.

    Speaking in 2007 on the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, Ms McClean said: “A lot of the problems in society in terms of racism and discrimination stem from this episode in history and that needs to be addressed.

    “That’s still to be recognised on a wide scale and I think the issues and implications from that are not wholly understood.”

    The Trust is at the centre of a political row after it published a 115-page report titled the “Connections between Colonialism and Properties now in the Care of the National Trust, Including Links with Historic Slavery” in late September.

    That triggered an approach from the Charity Commission into whether the charity had deviated away from its charitable purposes, while ministers said the review was “unfortunate”, and told the Trust to concentrate on its “core functions”.

    Trust members also criticised the charity’s annual general meeting, accusing it of pursuing “a witch hunt into the lives of past property owners” and pursuing a “woke agenda”.

    Conservative MPs criticised the remarks. Tory MP Sir John Hayes said: “What Ms McLean needs to understand is that we are a product of all that went before. You can’t sanitise history.

    “Consequently what we are as Britons is a product of the whole mix of things that has happened historically. Out of what has been before has grown what is now. You can’t pick and choose which bits of history you want to disown.”

    Sir John called on the Trust to publish more details about the working group, saying: “We should have names so we know that they are proper people, who can be relied upon by National Trust members.

    “What is Ms McLean’s plan? It is clear this work caused great offence at the Annual General Meeting, and Parliament where members of parliament think they compromised their charitable status.

    “We now need some transparency about the details of this and the cost of it. Anything other than that would suggest a deal of embarrassment on the part of the National Trust, or a desire to conceal, which might cause further damage to its reputation.”

    Andrew Murrison MP added: “Conflating slavery and colonialism, the title of its disturbingly unbalanced survey immediately gives the Trust’s game away.

    “Dripping confirmation bias, this must rank as the least evidence-based publication put out by a charity in recent times. The regulator is right to be asking questions.

    “I’m surprised the Trust’s leadership ploughs on instead of learning from useful work on similar material by, for example, English Heritage.

    “This episode can’t be seen in isolation. The Trust’s leadership is losing its way on several fronts. It has clearly lost the trust of a significant part of its membership, hitherto loyal supporters of a cherished national institution. A reset is urgently needed.”

    Ms Mclean was at the time Head of Museums and Heritage Services at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. She declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph.

    A Trust spokesman added: “We are not going to comment on something said by Rita McLean in her capacity as Head of Museums and Heritage Services at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery 13 years ago.”

    A National Trust spokesman declined to say who is on the working group: “The working group is chaired by Rita McLean and made up of professionals from a range of backgrounds including academics and specialists from the museum and heritage sector.

    “It has been formed to steer and inform relevant interpretation at our properties, ensuring that it is balanced and clearly set in a historical context.”

    1. “A National Trust spokesman declined to say who is on the working group:
      “The working group is chaired by Rita McLean and made up of
      professionals from a range of backgrounds including academics and
      specialists from the museum and heritage sector””

      Potted summary is the NT’s working group is a set of unwanted / tended Pot Plants. Hugh’s opening line is apt, let them keep digging

    2. “Racism and discrimination exist in the UK because Britons have not “wholly understood” their country’s history with the slave trade, according to the academic in charge of a review at the National Trust.”

      I understand it perfectly well thank you and think it is the NT that needs the education.
      I know that it was a despicable and deplorable thing for my country to have engaged in, and I know that my country took the lead in abolishing it.
      However, both happened hundreds of years before I was born and so I neither feel shame for the former, nor claim glory for the latter.

  21. Harsher tiers post Lockdown 2 promised by Johnson. Proof positive that this buffoon et al. is so deeply mired in the scam that he is incapable of doing the right thing i.e. listen to sane and uncontaminated by the scam experts e.g. Dr Mike Yeadon. The tier system will be maintained, probably with increasing harshness, until the vaccine ‘rides to the rescue’ and many people are found to be literally begging to have this unknown concoction pumped into their bodies. Johnson is in over his head and does not know where to turn: this is evident in his bedraggled and harrassed look and the need for him to hide away for a fortnight. Dead man walking doesn’t really cover Johnson’s predicament.

    1. With a natural 99.7% survival rate how would you ever know whether the vaccine had worked or not!

    2. fair points KtK, no vaccine will alleviate the political tsunami that’s coming directly at Johnson / political parties. The BBC’s Sky at night programme may offer some coverage

    3. He is doing his job for the globalists nicely. After he implements the vaccine travel passes, no doubt he will be free to hand over the reins to the next get-rich-quick stooge, and retire to collect his millions.

      1. Clearly, however, the stress of it all appears to be taking its toll on him. Deservedly so, in my honest opinion. Hancock is a true believer and he must never become leader and the remainder in the cabinet are all compromised by this scam. We really are up a certain creek without any means of propulsion or steering mechanism.

          1. I must say, he does look like exactly the kind of person who would be flattered to get an invitation to the WEF!

          2. It will be interesting to see what ‘rewards’ Hancock receives for acting as the crash test dummy. Sadly, with Brexit looming, a five year cushy slot on the Brussels/Strasbourg gravy train, a la Mandelslime, is no longer an option. Perhaps he’ll have a Pharma board position or two in which to cash in his chips?

    4. With a natural 99.97% survival rate how would you ever know whether the vaccine had worked or not!

      1. If people thought about what is going on e.g. lockdowns, vaccine, mask wearing then they would realise that the whole scam is predicated on the ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ scenario.

    5. Good morning Dandy Front Pager

      And the Archbishop of Canterbury is going to take a break from responsibility too. Why do we have such sub-human detritus in public life?

      1. Is his break going to be a biblical 40 days or is that too Christian for him to contemplate?

  22. ‘Morning again.

    I was against Scottish independence, but no more because I resent having to pay for Sturgeon’s creation of her socialist paradise. It must surely be sink or swim time! This will also address, finally, the West Lothian question.

    Daniel Hannan:

    Scottish devolution has been disastrous in at least one sense. It has failed in its primary purpose. It was not designed to deliver better schools or more efficient administration (though its supporters may have believed that these things would follow). It was designed to, as Labour’s then Scotland spokesman George Robertson put it in 1995, “kill nationalism stone dead”.

    Measured thus, devolution was, as Boris Johnson has reportedly said, Blair’s biggest mistake. But don’t take Boris’s word for it. Listen to the old freebiemeister himself in 2015: “I did feel that we made a mistake on devolution.”

    The SNP wants to portray Boris’s remark as a sneer by an English Bertie Wooster. But Gordon Brown, a politician as unlike Boris as you could imagine, says the same thing: “It was naive not to anticipate that devolution could create a megaphone for intensifying resentment.”

    The mistake that Blair, Brown and Boris all identify is not the establishment of a Scottish parliament per se – you can hardly argue with a 74 per cent referendum majority – but the anomalies in the devolution settlement that are pushing Scotland out of the UK.

    To see what those anomalies are, ask a related question. What has devolution delivered in 20 years? Critics are quick to list its failures. Healthcare and education, though they have not declined in absolute terms, have lagged behind the rest of the UK. Inequality is rising. The nation that nurtured the sublime genius of Adam Smith and David Hume has passed a series of illiberal laws on everything from alcohol pricing to smoking. Last month, the Scottish Government announced that it would ban “hate speech” even in private houses.

    The SNP might point to the fact that it has won every election since 2011 and is currently polling at above 50 per cent as proof that Scottish voters like its authoritarianism. It might add that, as a result of devolution, Scotland now has all sorts of goodies that England lacks, such as free university tuition, free prescription charges and – the latest – a new £10 a week payment for children under six.

    Who, though, pays for these things? Aye, there’s the rub. The Barnett Formula ensures that, for every five pounds spent in England, six are spent in Scotland. This gives Nicola Sturgeon an extra £14,00 per head of public spending to play with, and gives Scots every reason to back high-spending candidates, secure in the knowledge that someone else is picking up the tab. As government swells, citizens come to expect it to intervene in non-economic fields, too. Thus, few complain when the SNP bans snacking, smacking and smoking. Few protest when Sturgeon proposes laws against sectarian chants at football matches or seeks to appoint a state guardian for every child in the land, or closes the border with England. I like to think of Scots, my mother’s people, as bloody-minded, undeferential, thrawn. But the country has suffered the SNP’s nannying with, if not enthusiasm, at least acquiescence. Less Mel Gibson yelling “freeeedom” than Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting moaning “wretched, miserable, servile”.

    The engorgement of the state is one of the two long-term factors driving separatism. The border between England and Scotland is more accidental than ethnographic: folk on each side shop at the same chains, watch the same films, speak the same tongue, sing the same songs. But, as Scotland veered Left following deindustrialisation, the SNP was able to portray independence as a guarantee against Tory rule.

    The other long-term factor is the trashing of the UK brand. Until a generation ago, Britishness had positive connotations: ending slavery, spreading civilization, defeating the Nazis, winning the Cold War. Scotland had contributed disproportionately to those achievements, and England knew it. Nowadays, though, a different narrative is promoted. Britain is portrayed as selfish and racist. Perhaps it is no surprise that the increase in separatism coincided with the Great Awokening – the rise in identity politics over the past decade. In a world where victimhood is elevated above liberty, Britishness loses its appeal. The problem is exacerbated by the contrast between the Scottish and UK media. The first begins from the assumption that the Scottish government is well-intentioned; the second assumes that every UK minister is a charlatan.

    Can anything be done to save the Union? Boris aims to underline its practical benefits. The furlough scheme would not be possible with an independent Scotland’s deficit. The UK has elbowed its way close to the front of the vaccines queue. The defence review ostentatiously protects Scottish regiments, orders more ships on the Clyde and promises a Scottish rocket programme. All this is important, but it won’t be enough if, as seems likely, the SNP wins May’s elections.

    If Scots reject the status quo, Unionists must propose an alternative. So far, three broad options have been suggested: abolitionism, localism and federalism.

    Abolitionism – scrapping the Scottish Parliament – may be ruled out. Though around one in five Scots unwaveringly oppose devolution, it has become a settled fact of life for the rest of the country.

    Localism – devolving more power to Scotland’s towns and counties – is an idea well worth pursuing. It was wonderful to hear Boris rhapsodising about it in his speech to the Scottish Conservatives yesterday [SATURDAY]. But it will not, on its own, quell the campaign for severance.

    Which brings us to the idea of more devolution, perhaps in the form of a UK federation as suggested, in different forms, by the Marquess of Salisbury and Gordon Brown.

    The fact that most Scots favour this option is reason enough to consider it. Many Unionist campaigners promised, on the eve of the 2014 referendum, that a “No” vote would lead to further autonomy. To some degree, it has; but it has stopped well short of the “devo max” that Scots tell pollsters is their preferred outcome.

    Once Brexit is done and the economy has been reopened, we need to find a workable settlement. Another referendum would be a massive trauma. But what about a Royal Commission that would look at all aspects of the constitution, including the composition of the upper house and the role of the supreme court? Might we find a balance where Scotland assumed greater autonomy without a separate currency, a new set of embassies or independent Armed Forces?

    Such a settlement would imply substantial fiscal independence – something the SNP can hardly object to. Yet, in the long run, the best way to “kill nationalism stone dead” is to create a meaningful link between taxation, representation and expenditure in Scotland. Nothing else will allow a Centre-Right revival, and thus restore normal politics.

    1. Measured thus, devolution was, as Boris Johnson has reportedly said, Blair’s biggest mistake.

      Though I don’t approve of it I think I would take exception to that! The Iraq War was probably the apogee of his evil. Even now he cannot cease from his malign activities!

      1. There are so many to choose from! Devolution, Wars, The Hunting Act, Immigration to rub the noses of the Right in Diversity, dumbing down education, the Long March through the Institutions, politicising the police, sucking up to the EU, the HRA, the Hate Speech legislation, Equalities legislation, quotas …

    2. No more fudge solutions. Full independence for Scotland, with a 5 years transition period.

      1. They would never survive. The further they get from England, the more likely they are to accept Chinese money and we know where that would lead!

      2. During the referendum for ‘independence’ in 2014, there were only 3 areas of Scotland that voted Yes; Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire(?). All other areas were predominantly No (the vote went 55.4% No and 44.6% Yes).

        In a bizarre parallel with the recent US presidential elections, where voter numbers in NY and California outnumber most of the rest of the country, those 3 areas carried most of the Yes vote. Unfortunately, Scotland doesn’t have an electoral college to average out the votes thus we have 3 areas attempting to drag the rest of the country away from the Union. It may be a big tail but it shouldn’t be able to wag the dog.

        As an aside, I ‘ve yet to discern how separation from Westminster whilst kowtowing to Brussels/Strasbourg can be termed as independence. The nationalist socialists will need a financial teat to hang from.

      3. During the referendum for ‘independence’ in 2014, there were only 3 areas of Scotland that voted Yes; Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire(?). All other areas were predominantly No (the vote went 55.4% No and 44.6% Yes).

        In a bizarre parallel with the recent US presidential elections, where voter numbers in NY and California outnumber most of the rest of the country, those 3 areas carried most of the Yes vote. Unfortunately, Scotland doesn’t have an electoral college to average out the votes thus we have 3 areas attempting to drag the rest of the country away from the Union. It may be a big tail but it shouldn’t be able to wag the dog.

        As an aside, I ‘ve yet to discern how separation from Westminster whilst kowtowing to Brussels/Strasbourg can be termed as independence. The nationalist socialists will need a financial teat to hang from.

    3. “Thus, few complain when the SNP bans snacking, smacking and smoking”

      What happens in Holyrood as to how political stomachs behave towards each n the debating chamber is of no concern to me

    4. “In a world where victimhood is elevated above liberty…” This is one of the worst aspects of wokery. When the Manchester students tore down the fences around their halls of residence recently, they did so because “it was affecting our mental health” not because it was illiberal. We are in a bad way when students don’t get worried about their liberty.

  23. 326706+ up ticks,
    Morning Each,
    Seems to me that the period betwixt General Elections it times of crisis is far to long also people power for issues
    beneficial to the Country is a near untapped commodity.

    We have far,far more unthinking twits than we have politico
    treacherously thinking / acting lab/lib/con coalition twats.

    Add the unthinking to the seriously thinking,common sense
    number, that equals a serious amount of guardians of peaceful democracy.

    We really are in need of a re-set, agreed, an internal one via the polling booth, making it a major criminal offence to put a party before the Country without a very valid reason.

    The servants of the people deem it fit to fine a person who
    pays their wages for taking his/her/ it’s pet stick for a walk on the golf links = shut up, cough up, or get bashed up.

    1. Ogga morning. Am sure you won’t be surprised that the Re-Set will land, but not the one currently planned and the shock waves will become more than a ripple

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Morning AW,
        Seemingly the re-set material is landing every morning overseen by the so called governance party at Dover.
        The current state of this once decent nation should NEVER have reached such a depth of
        moral decay via the polling booth.
        Let us observe a tsunami of common sense reclaiming democracy & personal self respect.

          1. 326706+ up ticks,
            AW,
            More is the pity they refused to recognise the fact that “leaders”
            of the b liar,brown, major, the wretch cameron, may, johnson
            were / are still enemas of the state.

          2. the issue is, more people’s eyes are wide open now and thanks to pointless lockdowns using the time to corss check, research, analyse discrepencies. And avoiding MSM garbage and sourcing real info eslewhere. Accepting there’s always a minority that buy into the crap, they might think they’re “on message”, until the reality slaps them hard

    2. Apart from a fortnightly food foray, I have given up on shopping; it is certainly no pleasure.
      I feel sorry for the real shops and the pubs and restaurants that rely on people enjoying a life instead of an existence; however…..
      Think of all the VAT that I am not giving the government to p!ss up the wall on ‘asylum seekers’ and layabout snivel serpents.

      1. I’m the opposite. I have found the whole covid saga pretty much life as normal, but with a mask.
        I rarely went out, and I’ve always hated shopping (with the exception of B&Q, I love wandering the aisles there, convincing myself I need everything). Everyone else has just adopted my lifestyle, which I wouldn’t have recommended.

        1. I used to enjoy a potter round smaller towns and even villages with proper shops, followed by a coffee or a lunch.
          That is what I have been done out of; the small, spontaneous pleasures of life.
          Not greatly exciting or world shaking, but something I enjoyed.
          Ditto the bigger events like theatres, exhibitions, specialist markets or even wandering through cities (the City of London on a Sunday is lovely); they make the difference between living and existing.

          1. I miss going racing – and the social life of lunches with friends, church (I sent my apologies once we had to wear a mask), Association meetings und so weiter.

      2. 326706+ up ticks,
        Morning Anne,
        I go down town as usual & smile at the peoples who step into the road to avoid big OGGA.
        Hospitals regarding removing car wings from peoples rear exits is seriously on the rise.

  24. The only way the masses can beat the WEF world government is to switch off the MSM, put them on lockdown, switch of our tv’s and radios and stop buying newspapers for six weeks and just carry on with our lives as normally as possible.

    1. Not knowing what is going on is dangerous. But lots of people are sick of Youtube as well – they systematically hide my comments on HCQ when I reference http://www.c19study.com, and FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc are not even hiding their censorship
      Parler and Rumble are alternatives to the usual suspects, I am told.

  25. Putin Says He’s Not Ready to Recognize Biden as U.S. President. 22 November 2020.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said he’s ready to work with any U.S. leader, but still isn’t ready to recognize the election victory of Joe Biden.

    “We will work with anyone who has the confidence of the American people,” Putin said on Russian state TV Sunday. “But that confidence can only be given to a candidate whose victory has been recognized by the opposing party, or after the results are confirmed in a legitimate, legal way.”

    Putin described the Kremlin’s decision not to congratulate Biden as “a formality” with no ulterior motives. When asked if the move could damage U.S.-Russia relations, he said: “there’s nothing to damage, they’re already ruined.”

    Vlad has met Biden and knows that he is a toad so there’s no need to worry about upsetting him!

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-22/putin-says-he-s-not-ready-to-recognize-biden-as-u-s-president

  26. Common nominal pack voltages in current vehicles range from 100V-200V for hybrid/plug-in hybrid vehicles and 400V to 800V and higher for electric-only vehicles. The reason for this is higher voltages allow more power to be transferred with less loss over the same diameter (and mass) of copper cable.

    https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-electric-vehicle-battery-systems/

    I chose a diesel car in February 2009 to replace my 20 year old petrol Isuzu Trooper. I did this on the basis of saving CO2 emissions, diesel longevity and Government incentivisation.

    It is now proving to be of limited usefulness through increased clampdown on diesel particulate emissions and their link to excessive deaths to consequent breathing problems.

    How long will it be before the Government discovers that excessive deaths are being caused through people getting fatal shocks or burns from the dangerous voltages that are now prevalent in all electric vehicles. These hazards cannot be reliably removed when these EVs crash or are being serviced or recovered by non dealerships.

    Here’s a reminder of the lethal dangers presented by voltages of above 100 volts and is why industrial tools are generally operated below the mains voltage of 240 volts for safety reasons by using step-down transformers.

    https://youtu.be/9iKD7vuq-rY

    1. Young children are a tiny proportion of the total Asylum seeking population, let alone the asylum seekers plus economic illegal migrants.

      And the majority of those are single males under 35 years old. Few have recognised professional qualifications or experience.

      https://www.iwkoeln.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Studien/Report/PDF/2017/IW-Report_2017_37_Education_Levels_of_Refugees.pdf
      https://www.unicef.org/eca/emergencies/latest-statistics-and-graphics-refugee-and-migrant-children

    2. So (c), are we sending them back, putting them in gaol for fraud or are we treating them for stress and and giving them counselling them for their mental illness?

      1. I think it was Transperson Remembrance Day – c oincides with Gettyberg Address Anniversary …. guess which one Joe Biden and the Dems celebrated.

    1. How about introducing a special ‘honours’ tax for British people who pay no taxes in Britain but enjoy the kudos of having titles.

      For example I am sure £10 million a year would be a cheap price for “Sir” Richard Branson to pay for having the right to call himself Sir?

      .

    2. Reminds me of the first day at Sandhurst, introduction by the Company Sergeant Major: “I call you Sir, you call me Sir. The difference is – you mean it.”

      1. In 2017, Hamilton told the BBC that he had become vegan because, “[a]s the human race, what we are doing to the world… the pollution [in terms of emissions of global-warming gases] coming from the amount of cows that are being produced is incredible. Yet he races motor cars!

        1. Perhaps Vit B12 deficiency is the cause of his cognitive dissonance. Or maybe he was just born stupid.

          1. I can’t quite work out if he was born an idiot, or whether it is all down to lots of practice.

    3. Getting down on one knee whilst Betty wields the sword is his dream come true. With all those palatial polished floors, a small slip with a bit of slice would be most unfortunate.

    4. Quelle surprise – as they say in Monaco.
      Final proof that being offered a title or a gong is an insult.

  27. My mate said, “My kid has decided to turn vegan and won’t eat any kind of meat. What can I replace it with?”

    “A Labrador,” I said, “they’ll eat anything.”

  28. Read a nice quote earlier in the week. A Jewish Holocaust survivor was asked whether a former Nazi could play Jesus in the Oberammergau Passion Play.

    “Of course, so long as the nails in the crucifixion are real.”

    1. Been there, seen that. I used to go skiing there in the 60s, stayed in a guest house owned by a former SS guy (so he said) nice guy too. Drank in the Hotel Wolfe owned by a Yorkshireman who was a naturalised German. Excellent beer down there. It was a big competition in the village to see who got to carry the cross in the play. Lovely village with most of the shops having murals instead of painting the outside and woodcarving shops galore.

        1. The house we stayed in was just by the BP garage, lived in the upper floors while the cattle had the basement. The owners were Lukie and Rosie (this was 1962/63). Spent Rosen Montag down there in ’62 – I was stationed in the north west of Germany on the Dutch border

  29. Read a nice quote earlier in the week. A Jewish Holocaust survivor was asked whether a former Nazi could play Jesus in the Oberammergau Passion Play.

    “Of course, so long as the nails in the crucifixion are real.”

      1. I’m not so sure, because they are actually coming to the point where they’re forcing people to accept the unacceptable. People understand they will have to give up their cars, for example. Anyone over about 30 has an inkling where “Freedom Passes” might lead.

        1. The depressing aspect KP is that there is no longer any Civilised or Democratic force on the planet to prevent it!

        2. The depressing aspect KP is that there is no longer any Civilised or Democratic force on the planet to prevent it!

    1. Trudeau is openly talking about the opportunity for a great reset that cures all social ills, makes us greener than green and moves canada to the forefront of the international community. If that is not scary enough, the liberals are lapping it up and screaming (in a quiet, woke way) for more.

      Meanwhile in the real world, oil producing provinces are being left to rot and the national debt is growing rapidly.

        1. To “Build Back Better” . .first you have to destroy what is there. They are certainly doing that.

        2. I will accept that governments work together to find solutions to world problems, they would be stupid not to.

          What is missing are right wing leaders balancing out the left leaning aspirations of the Trudeau clan. Trumps aggressive divide and rule approach hasn’t worked, maybe a smoothie like Reagan is needed to bash a few heads together (gently of course).

          1. Trump’s personality is off-putting to many – but his policies were working……..until covid hit.

  30. Afternoon all.

    Just tried to return an unsuitable item to Debenhams in the Peacocks shopping centre Woking. On entering the s.c. just noticed a “One way” notice and guess where I was. Yup, the wrong side. Nobody coming towards me and 2 people way behind me. I’d got about 3 yards along when over comes the security guard telling me to follow the one way system. I was not about to walk back and come in the “right” way as there was nobody within 20 metres of me and I told him so adding it was ridiculous. I wonder if his head exploded because I wasn’t wearing a mask either. Debenhams was closed too! I know, serves me right. What really annoys me is that the s.c. Has enormously wide entries but the one way system was all the way round the place. Absolute bl..dy nonsense.

    Hardly anyone there. Sorry. Rant over. Shan’t be going back there again.

          1. It’s like Univ Chal – where crap losers have two or three more chances of getting through.

            I simply don’t see why they do not have a simple, straight-forward knockout competion.

          2. Doubly annoying for teams to go through to the final unbeaten and then lose to someone beaten in an earlier round by someone they beat in the semi-finals.

  31. Does anyone else here sprinkle a little salt on fresh melon? I have done so all my life but whenever I do this in company, people are aghast.

      1. And suck a lemon or a lime. To my mind, if a drink has to have these type of additives, it ain’t worth drinking in the first place. Give me a good single malt instead.

        1. The Ten Men of Tain spend 18 years getting a decent Glenmorangie [rhymes with “orangey”] ready for quaffing, neat.

          I bet the Ten Men would be royally pissed-off if they saw someone undoing that 18 years’ work, in just two seconds, by holding the glass under a tap!

          1. No, that would ruin it. A splash of Coca Cola would be much better.
            I’m being sarcastic but that is because I can’t bear the taste of whiskey in any form. A good friend, a self styled whisky connoisseur, has wasted many a dram over the years trying to convince me to like it.

          2. The only whisky worth drinking does not have an ‘e’ in its name.
            Whisky = excellent quality.
            Whiskey = muck.
            [American, Canadian, Irish and all other pastiche spirits are misspelt with a ‘e’. Scotch (the original and best) is only spelt ‘whisky’.]

          3. It’s a well-documented fact, Garlands. Only Scotch Whisky may be spelt that way. A similar drink from any other country has an ‘e’ added to distinguish it from proper Scotch.

          4. I know about the ‘e’, Grizzly.

            I had thought you were criticising
            some whiskeys, eg Jamesons,
            Paddy, Jack…. etc.

          5. Not in the least, Garlands.

            I don’t criticise non-Scotch whiskey; I simply don’t buy or drink it.

    1. I can understand why, but presumably it depends on the type of melon?.

      A little salt certainly enhances the flavour of pineapple.

      1. Cut melon in half. Remove seeds. Add chopped mixed fruit and crushed ice. Top up with Cointreau. Add straw.

    2. I cut a slice from a galia at lunch, too late, but I’ll try tomorrow. Hang on and I’ll cut a small piece now and add a little salt.

    3. I’ve not heard of that; however, I abhor the current malaise for adding salt to caramel! This filthy, disgusting habit has become de rigueur, much to my chagrin. The idiots doing this will soon be putting salt into Rolos. If they ever descend to that level I shall take direct action!

      1. Oberst an A. N. other were talking about a Scandi drink made from salt liquorice sweets and alcohol. I made it. It’s disgusting.

        1. Did you use the right ingredients? It’s made with salt liquorice and ammoniac, and called salmiakki. It’s fab, at 40% – and nobody else wants any, so more for me!
          It’s Finnish.
          Likewise, we had salt liquorice ice cream in Denmark. Apart from being grey in colour, it’s OK.

  32. Watching part of the Roosevelt series on PBS last evening, there was a very topical part.

    After his first 100 days, FDR addressed the nation. The commentary went on – “In those 14½ minutes, FDR completely changed the outlook of America towards the economic crisis – and gave people hope.”

    Would that there as someone – ANYONE – in the UK right now who could give us hope.

    1. I agree with the entreaty, Bilty, however I think it is comparing apples with oranges.
      In FDR’s day people were far more trusting and a lot less cynical. There were few competing voices questioning what he said, unlike today where thereis a myriad of 24hr news channels and websites and everyone has a voice on SM platforms.

      I am not impressed by any politicians today, but I do believe that their job is a lot harder than it would have been thirty or more years ago.

  33. https://www.takimag.com/article/the-week-that-perished-114/

    Who’da thunk it?

    KATRINA AND THE COVID WAVES

    With COVID wave number three (or is it two? Four?) sweeping over the world like a murderous tsunami (if by “murderous” one means “not inordinately lethal”), world leaders are doing their best to control the spread of the China-born pathogen.

    One brilliant idea adopted by dozens of civilized (and a few decidedly uncivilized) nations is that cross-border traffic will be
    limited to travelers who can produce proof of a negative COVID test. This scheme is truly ironclad. There’s absolutely no way that anybody could possibly cheat that system. After all, there’s never been an instance in history of foreigners faking IDs or travel documents. It’s almost ludicrous to think about!

    “Fake papers”? Absurd.

    Except apparently not. A thriving Third World black market trading in phony negative COVID tests has become a global menace,
    much to the surprise of absolutely no one except the imbecilic leftists who see noble nonwhites as incapable of deception. Hey, did somebody mention imbéciles?

    Ah, the French. Last week, dozens of Ethiopian “refugees” were caught selling fake COVID test results at de Gaulle.

    A Brazilian ring of COVID test forgers has been working the Southern Hemisphere, and untold numbers of enterprising Pakistanis have been covering the U.K., offering fake test results for around $200.

    Bangladesh, meanwhile, is home to an assembly line of phony COVID test results, which are being sold to migrant workers “for $59 a pop,” according to The New York Times. Some conscientious Third Worlders who don’t want their money to go to faceless, impersonal COVID-test factory farms are seeking out people in their own community who’ve been tested and found to be negative, and “borrowing” their results for international travel. According to one Pakistani gentleman who spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph about an arrangement he made with his COVID-free buddy, “You can simply get their negative test and change the name and birthdate to your own. You also put a test date on which is within the time limit required.”
    In the face of the growing international trade in fake negative results, governments are struggling to come up with a strategy to
    prevent Third World immigrants from spreading the infection in the West. “Not letting them in” isn’t on the table, almost certainly on account of that “imbecilic leftist” thing, which tends to reject the conception and acceptance of simple, commonsense solution.

    Rashid, eat your heart out!

      1. I did not.
        Is that the same man that magistrates said could not be stopped from keeping chickens, a while ago?

        1. probably. The clue’s probably buried in the comment where “the defendent emplored his Dr’s help in obtaining community support”. Becoming a “woke vegan”?

          1. Bizarre behaviour, certainly.

            He needs help.
            But just imagine being his children, because one has to feel desperately sorry for the treatment they must be getting from other children.

          2. agree, but in current climate, it’s not beyond bounds of reality to find Johnson’s alter ego OH will have him appointed as a replacement for Cummings and watch “the chickens come home to roost”

          3. it would be if Johnson asks for him to deputise “Nation” press conference. How would “Beff Rigby” from Sly News react? Her favourite grub’s roasted chicken

          4. Yet he claims to want to keep regular contact and be a good father to them.
            (Not sure of the ages)

        1. mng, agree viz lifestyle choice Only partial caveat that crosses my mind those that arrive from “Western created” war torn countries may have limited choice in order to survive. The rest for sure and system is set up in their favour and burden falls on us

    1. Last week, dozens of Ethiopian “refugees” were caught selling fake COVID test results at de Gaulle.
      I must admit to a begrudging admiration for their sense of free enterprise. And scamming the scam is barley an offense, is it?

      1. It also suggests that they destroy their ID’s on their way in because they know they can easily obtain new ones.

          1. Well yes, but strangely enough many are working and paying tax on a false ID – they are just waiting for their applications to be heard can’t live on the handouts and don’t want to sponge or commit crime . (obviously not those on 5 IDs)

          2. If they are here illegally and are working on a false ID, notwithstanding their hopes and taxes, they are commiting a crime.

            I’m an immigrant here, I entered legally and when rules changed I applied through the proper channels and received my 10 year residency permit. The French might have said no, for whatever reason, and we would have had to return to the UK, but we would not have stayed on here under the radar.

          3. Yes, they are committing a crime, but so do most of us at some time. They are not the stuff of the habitual criminals and they sometimes have absolutely dire reasons for not going home – like death.
            We have enough to do going after dangerous criminals not to bother with people like.
            Sill, kudos to you for doing it correctly.

          4. If they are genuine refugees, with legitimate reasons for being in the UK, eg they have NOT travelled across numerous safe countries to get to the UK, they are likely to be granted asylum.

            I would also suggest that the ones who are using a false ID and paying tax are a very, very tiny minority.

          5. Someone put up the other day a picture of a bame woman living in London with five different IDs. FIVE

          6. I have colleagues who were involved in extraditing a Bengali who was back a few weeks later on a perfectly real ID in another name.
            In France they sent a load of nomads home – they said thanks for the plane ticket and returned after the holiday.

    1. You’d think the South African government would crack down on the black rapists.

      In the UK, the shocking astonishment that the Muslim rape gangs operated at all after the first victim went to the police.

      It’s funny really. White men are blamed for everything yet we built everything and we’re not the ones raping and murdering, are we?

      1. White men certainly do rape and murder, but the chances of being raped or murdered by a black/brown man are much, much higher and not just because there are more of them.

      1. A young man was 15 and he was now seriously interested in girls. His mother noticed this and took him aside for a chat.

        She said, “It’s fine to go with girls and it’s OK to kiss them and hug them, but don’t do anything ‘down there’, because they have teeth and they bite.”

        He thanked his mother for her advice and assured her that he would remember it.

        After a while, he was going steady with a girl. About six months later the girl said, “I really like you, but all we ever do is kiss and hug and we never do anything ‘down there’”.

        He said, “That’s because you’ve got teeth and you’ll bite me”.

        She said, “Of course I haven’t got any teeth down there”

        He said, “Yes you have, `cause my mother said so”

        “OK’ she said, “I’ll prove it”. So she lifted up her skirt, pulled down her panties and said, “See – I haven’t got any teeth”.

        He said, “No wonder! Look at the state of your gums”!

  34. Well, that’s four mushroom trays of apples picked with a couple more on the tree to go and half a dozen trays of fallers for pulping and putting through the press. Should get a gallon or two of juice out of them.
    My neck absolutely aches now!

    1. All our apples were done and dusted about three weeks ago – apart from the Howgate Wonder.

      What varieties do you have, Robert?

      1. The big tree is a Lord Derby which also appears to have a branch of Bramley grafted onto it.
        I’ve also got a small Russet and an Aldi Special of unknown provenance which are much earlier varieties.
        Because I’ve been busy with the terracing wall I’m very late getting the big tree sorted out and will not be able to get much from next door’s tree.

  35. 326703+ up ticks,
    So there is a ruling tomorrow as to whether or not chopper begun can still have citizenship, I personally think if any of the lab/lib/con would think she would be a vote magnet they will be fighting her corner.

    1. We have much of the world’s filth sheltering under our human rights and benefit systems than another one will not make any difference. Hubby will be over soon to start a happy family and form the next cohort, inshallah.

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Evening KP,
        In what has been a regular occurrence, that is alternating lab/ con with input from the libs
        did no supporter / voter give thought to where the daily dose of trickling treachery was leading ?

        We are daily suffering a lock in whilst the political overseers are overseeing a daily Dover let in.

        Could one think the overseers will have a rethink if her allowed return results in
        innocents dying ?

  36. I’ve just started watching the highlights of Wales v Georgia. Why did Welsh Wa.es play in black? Is it a belated mourning of the appointment of Wayne Pivac?
    Come back Wozza!

      1. I hardly dare to admit this on here…….. but that is why I’ve taken to watching André Rieu in the evenings (with a glass in hand), so many happy, shining faces of people enjoying themselves, sitting close together with big smiles, linking arms and dancing…… I love it. It makes me happy for a while.

          1. I agree, but that does not detract from my enjoyment of seeing other people so happy and having a lovely time. And I don’t dislike him for it (his smugness) in this instance. He saw a gap in the market and went for it. He needs a haircut, though.

      1. I can play the gramophone….

        I do so agree with you, Paul. My only regret in life is that I did not learn the piano when I was a child. I can’t even sing anymore……{:¬(((

        1. I played the violin when I was younger. The general feeling among others was that they wished I didn’t.

        2. I can click on the red > symbol in Youtube… that’s about my limit.
          Rest of the family have talent – Firstborn can pick up an instrument, twang/prod/blow it a bit, and he can play!

        3. Good evening, some advice a gave a much younger colleague some years ago when he had his firstborn, “have her taught a musical instrument and a foreign language”
          Obviously the lass had some talent as she is now a passable piano player with a smattering of French. I wish I was talented in that way.

  37. Exclusive: Two Covid tests a week could win people a ‘freedom pass’

    The scheme would allow people to lead as normal a life as possible while the Government’s vaccine programme gets started

    By Christopher Hope, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT – 21 November 2020 • 9:00pm

    People are set to be given “freedom passes” to allow them to live as normal a life as possible as long as they have two negative coronavirus tests a week, under a plan to get the country back to normal next year.

    Under the scheme, which is still being developed by Whitehall officials, people could be given the passes as long as they can show they have been regularly tested for Covid-19.

    People who are found to be Covid-free would be given a card, a letter or document that can be stored on their phone to show they can move around. Regular tests would be needed to ensure that they qualify for the certificates.

    A source familiar with the plans said that the scheme would allow people to lead as normal a life as possible while the Government’s vaccine programme gets up to speed on a mass scale early in the new year.

    The source said: “They will allow someone to wander down the streets, and if someone else asks why they are not wearing a mask, they can show the card, letter or an App.”

    The source added that the passes would allow people “to see their family, and normal social distancing rules will not apply”.

    The plan has already received the backing of Jeremy Hunt, the former Health Secretary, who last week said he supported “offering people who comply with testing and isolation requirements a ‘freedom pass’ that removes the requirement to follow lockdown regulations”.

    Mr Hunt also urged Boris Johnson to set an Easter deadline to return to a more normal life through mass testing with rapid home testing kits, even if vaccines have not come through by then.

    Mr Hunt has been urging the Government to go further and give people an incentive to be tested by allowing them “to go out, shop and go to work” if they test negative.

    The Government will have to be carrying out millions of tests a day for the freedom pass scheme to work.

    Ministers have been making steady progress so far, with the Government successfully hitting its target of being able to carry out 500,000 coronavirus tests a day across the UK by the end of last month.

    A report in the British Medical Journal in September claimed that ministers were hoping to be carrying out up to 10 million Covid-19 tests a day by early next year as part of a £100 billion expansion of its national testing programme.

    If achieved, the programme would allow testing of the entire UK population per week.

    A similar scheme to the freedom passes was first mooted in April when ministers were said to be looking at issuing immunity certificates to people who have developed resistance to coronavirus.

    Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: “(An immunity certificate) is an important thing that we will be doing and are looking at but it’s too early in the science of the immunity that comes from having had the disease.”

    “It’s too early in that science to be able to put clarity around that. I wish that we could but the reason that we can’t is because the science isn’t yet advanced enough.”

    That same month the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned governments against issuing “immunity passports” to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.

    The WHO said issuing the certificates could inspire false confidence and increase the risk of spreading the virus. People who have recovered may ignore advice about taking precautions against the virus.

    On Saturday night a Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said that guidance on infection and control measures was “constantly under review to ensure we can return to normality as soon as possible while controlling the spread of the virus”.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/11/21/exclusive-two-covid-tests-week-could-win-people-freedom-pass/

    1. I refer you to the extract article on forgeries, below…

      The ratchet continues to tighten on the law-abiding.

      1. How true.

        Fifty years ago, a partner in the firm I worked for was convicted of fraud. He was struck off as a solicitor. He went to prison. There his skills (for he was a very good lawyer) were much in demand. On release, he set up as a “Legal Consultant” and made a bloody fortune.

    2. Leaving forgeries aside, I just don’t get this. If I have two tests in a week and both are negative – then my life is 100% back to the “old” normal?

      But surely to God, I could catch the damned plague the following week…….

      What then?

          1. The actual science tells us that our NHS PCR tests give 100% false positives. They are not fit for the purpose being claimed. They do not detect Covid and were never intended to be used outside a laboratory.

          2. Strange that Kary Mullis died only a few months prior to covid making the news in Europe. Shades of David Kelly echoing along the corridors of time?

      1. A complete opposite story in the US. They are telling people that a negative test result does not mean that they are free to visit family for their Thanksgiving (luckily ours was last month when we were still allowed out).

        Many are ignoring recommendations and still travelling to family gatherings. Add in the crowds at their black Friday sale crowds and we will soon see if people getting together increases the spread of this supposedly non existent virus.

        1. Presumably they’ll do nothing to prevent blacks from gathering (looting etc). Just impede whites.

          Anyway “Black” Friday – is racist and slavist.

          1. Looting is multicultural, they all do it, you just have to shout blm and you have a licence to loot and destroy.

            The white sale comes just after the boxing day sales, nothing racial here!

      2. Your life won’t be back to ‘old normal’ because there will be many who are not. It is not until we are all free will the individual be free. Funny that, thinking about it.

        I take comfort from remembering the fate of the Ceaucescus.

      3. More tests, more restrictions, more “freedom” passes. What a sick joke! Freedom pass indeed!

    3. “They will allow someone to wander down the streets, and if someone else asks why they are not wearing a mask…”
      We don’t need to wear a mask when wandering down the street now, better not count on that lasting much longer.

      1. I met one of my neighbours walking down the country road this morning. She was alone, but wearing a mask. She went into deep shielding during the first round because she was “vulnerable” (I’m not sure what her medical problem is or are), but I did think it was a touch of overkill.

    4. This nonsense is getting out of hand. The PCR tests are not fit for purpose. See my post below. They do not have a tested vaccine and no one with half a brain would consent to Gates’ vaccines.

      Hancock needs to resign before he does any more damage, beholden to duff advice and entranced by a spell at WEF the home of globalist swine.

        1. Matt Hancock is a classic example of a small man given too much authority. He resembles Goebbels both in his smug countenance and his bitterly twisted mind.

    5. 326706+up ticks,
      Afternoon WS,
      Keeping green issues in mind one test only
      required for politico’s of digit dicks calibre, is my prototype ALL electric chair.

      The only route back to normality is via the polling booth used NOT abused as it has been, proven by our present odious state as a state, in a sorry state.

      Seemingly an important requirement to be a current Mp in the lab/lib/con coalition party and has been for the last three decades is to be criminally insane.

    6. The mark of the beast.

      How does home testing work. Even if a Covid-19 test existed, are there a sufficient number of labs and technicians to cope with 60+ million submitting 120+ million tests x 52 for analysis. Or does the test give you a result at home, in which case just tell them you tested negative.

      And do they really believe that I ever stopped wandering about doing as I please? These people are delusional.

      1. Track ‘n trace worked well, didn’t it? I don’t see this being any more successful.

    7. Called it. Where do I claim my prize?

      It was inevitable the state would exploit this to enforce control.

    8. When their children are born with arms and legs in the normal quantity and length and a proven record of preventing the illness without making you ill with something else, I might consider it.

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Afternoon LiM,
        They are counting on two heads being two votes, but omitting to mention on one torso.

        Lest we forget thalidomide.

        1. Thalidomide was used by the Animal Rights protesters to illustrate the weakness of testing drugs using animals. As is often the case with people who use lies to further their cause, it turned out that it was the failure to adequately test in animals that allowed the tragedy to unfold .

          1. As an argument for animal testing it is very weak. Some animals respond very differently to humans do. We may share the genetics, but the constructions is different.

      2. I heard an RTE program where they were questioning the makeup of the vaccine trial population. It was suggested that not many pregnant women took part and the number of seniors was also low.

        Fact or fiction, who can tell.

        1. I would hope that zero pregnant women took part. I would have expected that being pregnant would automatically have meant they were excluded.

          1. That was once upon a time, in that country called The Past. We live in different times with different standards, sos. The kaleidoscope of our lives turned a notch and we scarcely noticed.

          2. And of course there would be abortion on demand were any problems to occur nowadays.
            Just a pity for any poor child that appeared to be a perfectly normal foetus but was irreparably brain damaged

          3. That was my expectation as well but now these vaccines are close being pushed out to the general public.

            An oral polio vaccine is reported to have caused many deaths, how can they be sure that there rapidly developed vaccines are safe for all.

          4. The oral polio vaccine has been on the go since I was a nipper. One drop on a sugar lump. The supposedly crippled virus which has been used for all those years has mutated in a laboratory somewhere and the vaccine (which has been in use for over 50 years) is now causing problems. There’s a new vaccine (which will get rid of the problem) but it hasn’t been approved yet.

            Nothing is ever “safe for all”. No drug, no vaccine, no foodstuff, nothing – that’s part of the uncertainty of life. Children die from swallowing a peanut, children go into anaphylactic shock because the child on the other side of the room ate a peanut and a fragment of the oil on the nut was left behind for them to run into. Beekeepers suddenly develop allergies after years of harmless stings and have to be rushed to hospital. Others end up on ventilators because they catch a virus, some die. Safe is one of those idealistic words that doesn’t really have a meaning. But 45,000 or so test patients without an adverse reaction is a pretty good place to start.

          5. I put up with a couple of headaches during pregnancy rather than risk even an aspirin.
            Thalidomide was a little bit too recent to be happy popping unnecessary pills.

          6. Ditto HG; although in those days alcohol was still consumed.

            We still laugh about that because our oldest son was running late and the staff were threatening her that she would have to have an induction.

            We had a bicycle ride to the pub, she drank half a pint of Adnams, et voilá, the same night he appeared!

        2. legacy of Billy boy Gates’ polio / Tetanus programme Richard, rolled out in Kenya in 2014 by UNICEF / WHO which sterilised over 250,000 women, pressure on Govt stopped programme.

    1. There was a report the other day of a plane making a contrail in the shape of a penis, the CAA were investigating

    2. I am truly sorry, Oberstlieutnant, for downvoting quite unintentionally your very amusing post. I think that I must have done it when pressing the “view” button on my iPad as it is only about half a finger print from the downvote arrow.

    3. I’ve given you an upvote to counteract the downvote (why would anybody down vote a bit of fun?). Coming home from the stables today I noticed a couple of people had put their Christmas trees up and lots of houses had Christmas lights ablaze. I think people are determined to be as cheerful as the misery-guts in Wastemonster will let us.

      1. ‘I think people are determined to be as cheerful
        as they can be and to ignore the increasingly
        bizarre regulations, issuing forth from the mouths of the grown ups….Ha! grown ups,
        they can’t even tie their own shoe laces!!

        1. My local rag had an article that people would rebel if Christmas was cancelled, or words to that effect. I am hopeful that there might just possibly be the stirrings of stiffening spines.

          1. We have one house in the village
            which has had its Christmas lights on since the first shutdown.
            As for stiffening spines, I wonder if
            people believed HMG and, out of
            genuine concern were prepared
            to go along with it but are now
            starting to see through the murk
            and realise this is about more than
            just virus control, this is about
            people control, worldwide not just
            the UK.

            Edited.

        1. Sh!t, I’ve done it again. I never intended to hit the downvote arrow and can only apologise for doing so accidentally. For the record, I have never knowingly downvoted anyone. I have now corrected it by upvoting.

      2. See my reply to Oberstlieutnant and molamola – the downvote was an unintentional one that I have now corrected by upvoting.

        1. It isn’t always possible to see who downvoted – I just thought it was such an innocuous post – too innocuous to attract the attentions of the usual Phantom Downvoter of Old Nottler Town 🙂

      1. EB mng. It was more the case of the afternoon after the night before post daughter’s UNI graudation party. Had to get her back in the real world of living, whether her head was behaving like a box of frogs or not

      1. Mng Bill. Yes, quite a few times, mainly in south Sudan and Naivasha and Nairobi [viz 2205 Sudan Peace Arrangement]. Not seen him for a few years. He lives in Laikipia I think. Knowing Aidan, it wouldn’t surprise me he’s now floating around the fringes of the problems in N Ethiopia viz clashes with Tigray. He’s not a fan of UN agencies, human rights groups, think tanks, charities, that was clear when in south Sudan. Good bloke

  38. Meet the Remmo clan – the Arab gang that has become Germany’s most notorious organised crime family. 22 November 2020.

    The arrest of three men this week in connection with last year’s €1bn (£892m) jewel heist at Dresden’s famous Green Vault museum has shone a rare light on the “Arab clans” who increasingly dominate organised crime in Berlin.

    The Remmo Clan are just one of the so-called “Arab clans”, extended families of Middle Eastern who control much of the drugs and illegal prostitution trade in Berlin, and defend their various turfs around the city with violence and intimidation.

    The neoliberal world requires endless prevarication and harmless synonyms to avoid the truth. Here “Arab Clans” really means Muslim Immigrants.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/22/meet-remmo-clan-arab-gang-has-become-germanys-notorious-organised/

    1. At least the Krays were good English stock.
      I’m sure Germany used to produce equally patriotic thugs.

  39. SIR – I am selling a property and have been sent papers to sign in front of an independent witness.
    Given that we are not allowed to see anyone from outside our household, how exactly should I do this? Employ a plumber?
    Colin Halliday

    SIR – If I wear a mask, I rapidly overheat and then faint.
    Like Kevin Frost (Letters, November 15) I have noticed an unfortunate aggressiveness in some shops and other outlets.
    It is often said that situations like the current one bring out the best in people but also the worst. I have certainly encountered a lack of understanding.
    Joan Manning

    Jeez Louise.

    @Colin – Pop round to your neighbour and ask her/him to watch you sign through the window
    @Joan – Have you thought of wearing a visor instead?
    @Letters editor – enough now. Stop publishing letters from people who haven’t given any thought to a solution to their own problems

    1. We have just gone through the whole death certification process and are now dealing with the estate. Rules have been relaxed to the extent that we have not needed to have any forms certified. Many forms can be completed electronically, only one pension company is insisting on receiving a signed paper form.

    2. @Joan, download an “I am exempt from wearing a face covering” card from the government website and wear it when you go out. That will stop harassment.

    1. Comically, the winter homes allowance was designed to disguise the massive hike in green taxes.

      Foreign aid mostly goes to the EU. Try *not* paying it and the police will put your door in.

    1. Good night, Rik.
      Please post such as these
      earlier in the day…..Then I may
      have forgotten them by the time
      I try to sleep!! :-))

    1. Right and Trumps lawyers couldn’t come up with this spreadsheet to press their legal challenges, that would have been game set and match surely.

      Remind me how many data rows were in the excel spreadsheet that the UK health authorities were using to track cases – the one that exceeded the capacity of excel.

      1. I would like to know what has happened to the ‘real’ Republicans, they seem to have disappeared.

        1. Because ‘we’ wanted to signal how nice we are to, oooooh, absolutely everybody, everywhere.

          1. But we on here knew that, nice never does work. I should have said ‘the left’ rather than ‘we’. It is as if they were trying to say ‘Look! We are not like those horrible right wingers!’ And we are where we are today as a result.

          2. ah but give it another chance, maybe be nicer next time.

            Like all of those denials about failed socialist countries – they weren’t socialist enough.

      1. I think we already have our fair share of Mandela Houses. The council offices in St Andrew’s Street in Cambridge was renamed Mandela House.

        I thought it appropriate at the time as when I visited to pay for the garage on East Road, that I rented from the council, the place was full of drunken Irish scroungers making a nuisance of themselves and pleading for cider money on their benefit claims.

  40. BLM pressures Democrats to embrace bill described as ‘roadmap for prison abolition’. 21 November 2020.

    Black Lives Matter activists are pressuring Democrats to embrace the BREATHE Act, which includes a section requiring a “roadmap for prison abolition.”

    “The BREATHE Act is a legislative love letter to Black people,” BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors wrote in an op-ed for Teen Vogue on Thursday.
    “‘We need to radically reimagine our concept of justice and safety. For too long, we have addressed harm with reciprocal harm,” Cullors wrote in her op-ed.

    In addition, the BREATHE Act would create a commission to study reparations, give voting rights to undocumented immigrants, decriminalize all drug offenses, end cooperation with immigration authorities, pilot programs for universal basic income, among other sweeping changes.

    This is the United States of course but we can expect something similar here in the UK over the next few years.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blm-pressures-democrats-breathe-act-prison-abolition

    1. What do they suggest to protect the public? Or would they happily let all criminals carry on as if nothing had happened?

      Dear life, they’re morons. If they want to reduce the number of blacks in prison, then they need to stop blacks committing crime.

    2. These people who want to defund their police and close the prisons will of course just take an eye for an eye when they’re attacked or robbed. The rule of law gives way to a culture of vengeance.

    3. Hopefully republicans retain control of the senate and can veto such moves.

      AOC and the other extreme left democrats are really scary, if mainstream democrats cannot control them, someone else needs to.

      Hard to believe that we might look back at the Clinton’s and wish that he/she had won. Shudders.

    4. If Trump wins the court cases that are due to be filed this week, they will have to put these plans on hold for another four years.

      1. Well he doesn’t have much of a recent track record with court cases, maybe the Republican Supreme Court justices will see things his way.
        Worrying times ahead. If the court rules for or against Trump, there are many who will refuse to accept the result. Not my president demonstrators wearing silly hats will be the least of their problems this time.

        As an aside, why did Trump skip that G20 meeting to go golfing? That might have been his last chance to rip into Trudeau and we would have loved to witness that.

        1. The G20 is of no importance and this one was chaired by the Saudi’s so best to avoid it unless you are a supporter of Crucifixion and lesser punishments!

        2. They would have spent the whole meeting sniggering at him. I was disgusted when Boris was caught on camera laughing at Trump with a couple of other idiot leaders. Just like school bullies.

          1. I thought that it was Trudeau that acted like the fool, he has a history of such things.

            Trump would certainly have received no support but just that dream of Trudeau getting his come uppance would have pleased so many ofus.

    5. Sounds like a recipe for turning the US into a complete shonet-hole in twelve months or less.

    6. Let’s kill two oiseux with one pierre.
      Separate the UK in to two regions, drawing a border east west somewhere, ooh, I don’t know, along the line of Hadrian’s Wall for example. Make the northern portion a lawless state and keep the southern part as is.
      Nicky Sturge and the Blammers appeased in one go.

    1. I spend 15 mins on my rowing machine most days. If I don’t put the rear foot on something that doesn’t slip, like a rubber mat, I do find myself inching forward.

    1. He was indeed, Ped.

      His parents lived in Northampton,
      when he came home to visit them
      he would always be invited, by the
      Directors, to watch the Cobblers;
      he would invariably come and would
      entertain everyone, his good humour
      was infectious.

      1. Please excuse my ignorance, but was he a comedian? I did ask what he was famous for, but I think people thought I was joking or something because nobody answered!

        1. He was self-effacing. When Morecambe and Wise took the Micky out of his singing he joined in with the banter. He had four wives and he blamed himself for the three break-ups because he devoted more time to his job than his family. His last wife was only about 21 when they first met but they waited 17 years before they tied the knot.

          1. I remember seeing him on a show called “Spot that Tune” with Marion Ryan, many light years ago!!

          2. Are you confusing him (Des O’Connor) with Spot The Tune’s compere, Canadian Jackie Raye, Jill the Lass?

        2. He was a comedian, but not in the modern style of stand up comedy,
          he was not crude, I can’t remember
          him swearing, ever!
          As Sue says he was a talk show host
          [have a look at him on youtube with
          Freddie Starr and Morecombe and Wise.] He had a good voice and was
          very popular.

          1. Years ago Billy Connolly was asked why there was so much profanity in his routine. His response that when he left out the naughty words, the audience was less prone to laugh.

            Not that it mattered with him, his accent was impenetrable at times.

          2. It was, I agree with you.
            My husband disliked him,
            yet my sisters-in-law thought
            him hilarious.

          3. I always think of him as an all-purpose straight man. Happy to be the butt of any comedian’s jokes, and a generous canvas for any act.

          4. Your description, Jeremy,
            ‘generous canvas’ is very
            apt; he certainly seemed to
            bring out the best in people,
            especially in his ‘talk shows.’

    1. Is this the civilisation that produced Bach and Beethoven? Roll on the Apocalypse and finish it!

    2. There’s a BBC film about some dead rapper called Nipsey Hussle, whose “lyrics” really rank as some of the most disgusting filth I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. When I pointed this out at work it was brushed aside as a generational difference in taste.

      1. Hi, Sue.

        Changing the subject: do you remember a couple of weeks ago when there was a discussion on what books to read? Well, I have a suggestion that you may very well enjoy. I am currently reading—very slowly so as to prolong the pleasure—That Will Be England Gone by The DT’s former cricket and arts’ correspondent, Michael Henderson.

        Now, whilst this is, ostensibly, a book about Henderson’s personal cricket reminiscences, it is also packed full of factual, anecdotal and personal experiences in a wide variety of subjects including: art, music, poetry, good ale, the theatre, literature, the English way of life and culture. Henderson—a fellow season-ticket holder (like you) at Wigmore Hall—provides a whimsical and nostalgic view of what used to be the best of English life and an undisguised sadness at certain aspects that blight modern-day England.

        The book’s praises have been sung by no less an authority of English than Sebastian Faulks, with whom I concur wholeheartedly. Henderson’s vivid, prosaic, wistful, evocative and dewy-eyed descriptions of the progressive decline of a once-beautiful country are more realistic than simply rose-tinted.

        I recommend this book to anyone who has not lost the love for how wonderful our country used to be.

      1. ‘Evening, Aeneas,

        That particular “C” has always been silent. Pity the subject-matter isn’t.

      2. ‘Evening, Aeneas,

        That particular “C” has always been silent. Pity the subject-matter isn’t.

    3. As far as I can tell, the objection is to the word ‘faggot’ which isn’t even UK slang but one favoured by yer septics..

      1. And Cardi B will be in trouble. Doesn’t she know the correct term these days is ‘front hole’?

      2. In black coontray, yow c’n get faggots, chips, grivy an’ mooshy pays fer a coople o’ quid a portion, y’ now.

      3. In black coontray, yow c’n get faggots, chips, grivy an’ mooshy pays fer a coople o’ quid a portion, y’ now.

      4. In black coontray, yow c’n get faggots, chips, grivy an’ mooshy pays fer a coople o’ quid a portion, y’ now.

          1. We can get Swedish meatballs, Spanish meatballs, italian meatballs, Hungarian meatballs – all in a plastic bag. No faggots. Home production has called it a day at butchering shot animals, and making (English) sausages. The spice & filler blend is the key to those.

          2. We can get Swedish meatballs, Spanish meatballs, italian meatballs, Hungarian meatballs – all in a plastic bag. No faggots. Home production has called it a day at butchering shot animals, and making (English) sausages. The spice & filler blend is the key to those.

  41. 326706+ up ticks,
    Today the ovis membership of the lab/lib/con coalition party witnessed a bad start to them welcoming the hydra PM to number 10, it eat the cat.

      1. 326706+ up ticks,
        Afternoon A,
        Just my take on the downward
        trend of “in name only” tory leadership,
        major, the wretch cameron, clegg, may, johnson.

          1. 326706+ up ticks,
            A,
            No need of sorrow enough of that around, it made me smile and regarding the dangerous actions of these so called leaders there is little to smile at.

    1. He could have dressed for the part. A sloppy off the shoulder t shirt is hardly the way in which one should dress.

    2. To be fair, she’s not looking so good herself nowadays…

      Oops, did I say that out loud?

  42. Evening, all. I know people like to have a go at ogga for his constant description of the LibLabCon, but the actions of the Cons seem little different from the illib Libs and the red Labs. Big state. nannying control, fiscal irresponsibility, political correctness – it’s all there. On a lighter note, it’s tough being locked down and not being able to go to the pub: https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/33-year-old-pub-horse-misses-his-half-pint-and-crisps-during-lockdown-730730

    1. 326706+ up ticks,
      Evening C,
      Thanks for your input,facts are facts and a three party coalition is a fact as is being revealed, some are easing a guilty conscience by having a pop at me, fair do’s.
      How anyone can justify the odious state of this Country via the polling booth in supporting the political purveyors of mass murder, mass paedophile rape / abuse, one instance alone 1400 / 1600 ongoing etc,etc,
      issues far beyond the realms of decency is very near beyond me.
      May many a winner be bestowed on you.

      1. Thanks, ogga. My horse hasn’t been declared for Carlisle, but the good news is, he might be declared for Bangor, which is considerably closer and I may even brave the Covidery and restrictions to ask for a badge. If you can only be at the racecourse a maximum of an hour, it makes sense not to have to travel three hours plus to get there.

    2. Democracy subverted. On the crucial issues of our time, they have essentially identical policies.

    1. Pity they haven’t spelled “programme” correctly – but that’s the BBC for you…{:¬)

      1. I find that those who compile these ‘memes’ all seem to be educationally sub-normal. Spelling mistakes are standard fare on nearly every one you see.

        1. Yesterday on a live stream some oaf had written ‘get may lay right no defense’. No context, no explanation, just 6 unintelligible words of gibberish.

          I despair. People are stupid. Worse, they don’t think they are.

          1. The human species is getting more stupid by the day. I’ve been pointing this fact out for years, with much evidence being provided daily to support my hypothesis.

            Human intelligence levels peaked at the end of the 19th century; since then the species has been in an unstoppable decline.

          2. Back then, clever people relied on storing knowledge in their brains. Now, everyone, including clever people, relies on knowledge’s being stored electronically.

        1. The MSM and BBC have been ‘fact checking’ with total bias against Trump for the past four years. They will have egg on their face shortly. It is obvious to anyone watching closely that Trump campaigned hard in the swing states whereas Biden hardly campaigned at all.

          The Trump rallies were attended by hundreds of thousands. I saw no such enthusiasm for Biden who everyone knows to be a self interested liar and crook as were and remain Clinton and Obama.

          It is also probable that when the fraud has been fully exposed Trump will have won by a landslide.

      1. They would refute it now ‘the theories’ have become widespread. They are being backed into a corner. At first they would ignore them, then try to hide them, but when they do they pop up elsewhere all over the web, all over the world, so now they deny them. What next? Bigger denials? Ridicule?

      2. Whereas you have heaps of proof of the conspiracy…, oh wait, none, absolutely zero proof! how are Trump’s legal challenges going?

    1. And the migrants are moaning about it. Next will be the claim for compensation. Think i’ll go to the Equator and moan that it is hot.

    2. We get this type of article every year. In Kent, I’m beginning to forget what snow looks like.

  43. This is what we get up to in the Tastey household when the fishmonger offers 30% off salmon.

    First buy your fish: this little baby weighs 3.8 kg (that’s just under 8½ pounds).

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/268d30b8c6c624918ceb3e34c49a6fe577a2289bff13c48f3bff1661130985d7.jpg

    Then fillet it – only because, in my excitement, I forgot to ask the fishmonger to do it. Didn’t make too bad a job of it, I think. And there was an added advantage (see below).

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ddc21a3c46daaea40ab3fd53f1b6778d746834970dd560c6be2c7dd82fb24ae4.jpg

    Then put it in salt for a couple of hours.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ff760a8ff90826f972c5389a2b83d6db73e2f3c529809df91211a14501b513e7.jpg

    In the meantime, use the head, fins and bones to make soup (this was the advantage!).

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c31bb494aec7469d8ea2e9a1e5214ea374a758966fe060496fa4aa3cd996aa3f.jpg

    When the fish is cured, rinse off the salt and hang up the fillets overnight in the students’ fridge, remembering to leave a floor cloth in the bottom of the fridge to catch any drips.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/886729ed8f9b7c320c42ee001da73cfb812a9d5e4ef1e3766707eb92f2c01938.jpg

    And finally, hang up the fillets in the smoker. If you look carefully, you’ll just see a curl of smoke at the bottom of the right-hand fillet. Leave this for about 24 hours, wrap up in clingfilm and leave it for the flavours to settle for four or five days.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8baeeb7ce38c03133c20141a68ba1ef62370f1d19c0edeacccecaab48d3feb10.jpg

    This will give about 2½ kilos of smoked salmon. All part of the good cheer planned for Rastus’s Christmas!

      1. I’ll smoke anything, Bill! I regularly do streaky bacon; last year I cut a great chunk off our ham and smoked that – that was really successful, so I’ll do it again this year.

        1. That looks so delicious, Caroline. I might have a go yet. We frequently cure fresh salmon (lax) in the Swedish-style (gravadlax) using a cure of salt, sugar and fresh dill, but we’ve not yet smoked any.

          I cure my own bacon, both back and streaky, and sometimes give it a 10-hour cold smoke in my smoker. It beats anything I can buy in the shops here.

          It’s such fun making one’s own food, especially when you know its provenance and you are happy with the results.

          1. Yes, I make gravadlax.
            I’m now inspired to ask Father Christmas for a smoker – either that or tapestry designing software.

          2. I have a Pro-Q hot-smoker/roaster/BBQ unit. I also use it for cold-smoking using a small sawdust holder in the bottom of the unit.

          3. I’m just researching at the moment. There seem to be several available but I really want to put the time aside to read up before I make a choice.

          4. I love gravadlax I prefere it to smoked, but it has to be wild. or one of the very best fish farms.

          5. Gravadlax is delicious. Do you make fox sauce to go with it?

            Do have a go at smoking your own salmon. What kind of sawdust do you use to generate your smoke? I’ve just been given a box full of chestnut sawdust – gives a lovely pungent flavour.

          6. Reading the list of ingredients on that Danish sauce, it is virtually the same as the one we have in Sweden, but without the name.

          7. It’s something I first encountered in New York. No idea why it changes, unless there is a Jewish connection.

            They also refer to gravadlax as gravlax.

          8. I’ve not come across fox sauce We generally use a sweetened form of mild herby mustard (senap) to accompany it. For hot-smoking I use logs of cherry or apple (cut from my own trees and left to season for a couple of years). For cold-smoking I have, so far, only used beech sawdust but I intend to experiment with some other hardwood dusts.

    1. Wowsers. I’m interested to see you use the salmon head and bones for stock as I’ve always been told that they aren’t suitable.
      I will try it next time.

      1. Not stock, but fish soup. This is how the French do it. Chuck it all in with some leeks, celery and tomato (I just used concentrated tomato as I didn’t have any fresh), herbs to taste, salt and pepper. Simmer for at least 45 minutes. Strain into a clean pan, pick the meaty bits off the bones and head and put these back into the liquid, together with the veg. Blitz together, adjust seasoning and voilà.

        1. I can still picture the congee that was served in the hotel restaurant in Hong Kong. I took off the dish cover and there was this fish head staring straight back at me. Yuk.

      2. Some of the best meat on a big fish is on the cheeks and the back of the head. As long as you don’t put the gills themselves into the pan the rest is all excellent for stock or soup.

        1. Me, miss! 🙂 I am not keen on salmon at the best of times, but smoked salmon is just beyond my capabilities, unfortunately.

  44. I am off. Flatiron steak for supper – with a bottle of Ch Lynch Bages Haut-Bages Liberal 1989. The last one…..A bit different from what I first thought!

    Then the rest of the Roosevelt episode.

    A demain.

    1. So, only 120 bottles of Lynch Bages that you discovered in the nether regions of the Thomas cellars still to go?

  45. Evening all, I know this is the Daily Fail, but if true it is another example that shows Johnson has no clue as to what we think or feel.
    I have never known a PM to be so out of sync with the people, HS2, the BBC, Huawei, the farce of lockdowns to name just a few.
    The honours system has little credibility, his support for this individual just makes the case for its abolition stronger.

    https://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-8975515/It-Sir-Lewis-Hamilton-thanks-Boris-Prime-Minister-plan-award-knighthood.html

    1. I wish we could be rid of Boris Johnson. The chap is an embarrassment.

      I can only imagine that Boris thinks there are votes to be gained from the ‘black community’ by dishing out a knighthood to this multi-millionaire spoilt brat given the fastest best engineered car by a company based in England where he pays no tax.

      Titles handed out to wealthy sportsmen and women are an irrelevance and an insult to the rest of us. The honours system should be abolished.

    2. 326706+ up ticks,
      Evening VVOF,
      Very sad to say he reads the peoples very,very well, he knows, having noted the past he can oversee paedophile rape / abuse, illegal potential troop entry via Dover etc, right up until 48 hours prior to the GE he / party will be safe covered by the three monkey mode of voting.

    3. “I have never known a PM to be so out of sync with the people,”
      May, Cameron, and that’s just the recent ‘Conservatives’.

    4. As I argued earlier those who do not pay taxes in UK should have to pay a large annual fee for being entitled to use a British title. Both.

  46. Good night all – and, yes I got the shopping but cannot be ar5ed to come back, as I’m so tired that I sleep a lot. Perhaps a harbinger of longer sleep to come.

  47. DT Article by Gordon Rayner,

    Boris Johnson prepares significant Brexit intervention as negotiators begin the ‘final push’
    The PM is expected to attempt to clear away the final barriers to a deal – both sides believe one is now within reach

    I suspect that if he does not cave in Princess Nut Nut will leave him.

    If he does cave in his career in politics is finished.

    If his career in politics is finished there will be no motive for Princess Nut Nut to stay with him any more.

    So if he is going to lose his mistress either way why not at least be true to Brexit?

  48. Another obit. Richard Trim.
    Aircraft-obsessed radar engineer who co-designed the global system of air traffic control that is still in use more than 60 years later (S Times)

    As an aviation-obsessed 12-year-old during the war, Richard Trim designed and built a rocket-propelled model aeroplane which flew beautifully until it crashed through a policeman’s window. He would later play a key role in developing the universal air traffic control system that has ensured the safety of millions of passengers.

    Trim left school in London at 16 with no qualifications but he was not to be denied a life in science after showing a preternatural flair for the subject, initially to the detriment of his own and everyone else’s safety. By the end of the war, the young teenager was buying up surplus radar equipment cheaply from dealers who did not know what they were selling…

    Unfortunately, I can’t read any more because it is for subscribers only. There is practically nothing on the internet about this man and I think he deserves more.

    Knighthoods, honours, brown envelopes and jobs for the boys but nothing for a man who served the world at large.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F01ec0e64-1ddb-11eb-8696-f5d5fcef88fd.jpg?crop=2009%2C1130%2C966%2C316&resize=1180

  49. Mng to those who appear, allowing for time zone difference. Some local stuff, still relevant. Standard utopian waffle here from WP getting the wrong locs https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/01/us-may-be-readying-drone-strikes-kenya-that-might-increase-violence/ however, the ability for drone strikes within Kenya are real enough. Garissa’s a decent place, a bit of pain to get to, but very good when there. Lamu is a listed World Heritage site. Local feedback here is it’s part of the proposed US-Kenya “Free Trade Agreement” loaded exactly down the lines of Great Reset with the intention of drone strikes getting approval from Demented Joe. Kenyans nationally don;t want anything to do with the FTA. Political stomachs seeking their brown envelopes and further Kenya debt will beg to differ, given most will be out on their ear at next election, the standard revolving 1 term, revolving door

    1. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the Africom commander at the time, testified in a Senate hearing in February 2019 that strikes “are not going to defeat Al Shabaab,” saying their purpose is “to provide the opportunity for the Federal Government and the Somali national army to grow and assume the security of that country.”

      Have they ever defeated anyone?

      1. Mng, Grenada and Nicaragua, otherwise no. As for Somalia the usual puppet imposed Mohamed Abdullahi Mohame [ex UNICEF] is being propped up. US Private Mil Companies [owned by most appointees during Obama era] are “concerned over US troop withdrawal – ie; less profit” As you correctly posted, usual waffle to Senate by Waldhauser.

  50. Another worm crawls out the woodwork – Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon’s [ancestral lineage to Queen Boudica] interim statement on Human Rights https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-priority-countries-autumn-2020-ministerial-statement listing targetted priority countries. As well known here and within region, “Western Government cites Human Rights = economic command control believing their idealogy it’s their Human Right to own everything”. An interim statement as they didn;t know what else to make up

Comments are closed.