Sunday 28 August: It’s pure sophistry to blame Britain’s energy crisis on the conflict in Ukraine

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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538 thoughts on “Sunday 28 August: It’s pure sophistry to blame Britain’s energy crisis on the conflict in Ukraine”

    1. Neil Oliver gets it.
      It’s just a monetary reset, the end of a long economic cycle, and the elites are throwing all this turmoil our way to distract us while they hoover up the real wealth via the fiat currency they keep printing and distributing among themselves.
      Apparently monetary resets usually last about ten years, and we’re two years in.

  5. Modern life………

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    Finally…….

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    1. Further to Zuby’s tweet; Prince Charles made a conscious decision to employ Jonathan Porrit, patron of Optimum Population as one of his advisors. Prince Charles encouraged everyone to get the jab.

    1. My newbie disgraced himself while I was at church this morning; my neighbour put a letter through the door, but when I got home all that was left was fragments! As Oscar has never shown the slightest interest in the post, there could only have been one culprit.

  8. Today’s leading letter, and deservedly so:

    SIR – Politicians are suggesting that Britain’s energy crisis has been caused by global problems, including the conflict in Ukraine.

    This is patently untrue. It has been caused by successive governments failing to produce an integrated energy policy. We have gas, coal, wind, oil and nuclear power. There is no shortage of the basic sources of energy – only a lack of planning.

    The same applies to water. What a disgrace.

    Richard Allen
    Middleton Tyas, North Yorkshire

    Richard Allen, you are absolutely spot on, no matter how often Johnson like to adopt the ‘not me, gov’ line!

    2. A good BTL post:

      Edwin Pugh
      5 HRS AGO
      Why are you paying so much for energy? Yes Richard Allen (letters), here is the answer as these quotes show –
      “The original error was not with the science of climate change. It was not with the notion that we should phase out coal. But sometime around 2014-16, regulators, lawyers and politicians began to run with the idea that the trashing of “big oil” (and so on) led by students in feathered war bonnets was costless, popular and green.
      What followed was a co-ordinated effort to run down fossil fuel production, seemingly without a thought for the vastly different environmental impacts of gas versus coal or the need for Western economies and people to enjoy a reliable supply of energy.
      The UN issued ethical investment guidelines that discouraged putting new money into fossil fuels. Theresa May rammed net zero through Parliament without scrutiny of the cost and slapped the “price cap” on utility firms, which soon after began to go bust by the dozen. Last year, Rishi Sunak added “supporting the net zero transition” to the Bank’s mandate. And the more production we shut down, the more virtuous we felt.
      The upshot is that the market is broken and it is governments and do-gooders who broke it. They broke it wantonly, recklessly, touting their saintly intentions, and now we are all reaping the consequences. The only way to resurrect it is with more government intervention.”
      Quotes from this article – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/26/how-governments-cult-net-zero-wrecked-energy-market/

      1. “And the more production we shut down, the more virtuous poor and cold we felt.“

  9. SIR – Bob and Lindsey Knightley (Letters, August 21) are quite right to draw attention to the affordability (or otherwise) of solar-power generation, and the poor reward for householders who invest in such installations.

    But imagine the following scenario: the domestic installation is planned to produce 108 per cent of your total domestic electrical power needs, and the cost (including labour) is subject to a 25 per cent tax rebate.

    Local housing associations and planning authorities may not enforce restrictions that reduce the effectiveness of the roof-mounted installation. The power generated is fed to the property, the householder’s battery bank or the power grid by a computer-controlled system which optimises the benefits to the householder. The installation includes a meter, which runs backwards when feeding the power grid so the householder effectively receives a benefit that equals the price of supplied electricity, not a tariff rate.

    In addition, the local distribution company aggregates the supplied electricity and auctions it back to the generating agency, producing value that is, in part, passed to the householder annually as a cash bonus.

    The effect of this admittedly complex procedure is to greatly reduce the payback period for the installation, leaving the householder with several years of useful income from locally generated electricity.

    Is this a dream scenario? No. It is currently on offer to householders in the American state of Virginia. A green-minded colleague of mine is about to take advantage of it.

    Chris Benn
    Grantham, Lincolnshire

    I like the sound of that Mr Benn, although Mr Google tells me that the sunny days for Virginia average just over 200 per annum, whereas in London it is nearer 130. Nevertheless, there is no reason why such a scheme shouldn’t work almost as well over here. Of course, we did have something like it in this country, with the Feed In Tariff – paying for everything generated, index-linked and tax-free. Unfortunately our antiquated National Grid struggled to handle the power…

    1. A local neighbour has formed a local save the planet group and has all manner of ‘net zero’ technology sttached to his house.

      He runs two diesel cars!

        1. Morning Hugh,

          He’s been on TV and has declared a climate emergency for the local parish council – that’s so unusual that it’s been aired on BBC Look East.

  10. SIR – Stephen Wilson (Letters, August 21) asks why the NHS can’t make better use of the technology that is available, while your Leading Article from the same day says: “The broken NHS needs reform now, not later”.

    This is spot on. And reform will require a shift from the current model, focused on treating people when they become ill, to a new one that aims to keep patients healthy in the first place.

    This will need to involve each patient record being managed in one place, readily accessible to those delivering care. Such a system would help to reduce human errors that arise because patient data is fragmented across disjointed systems in primary, secondary and social care.

    These errors account for 44,000 deaths, 850,000 “adverse events” and 237 million prescription mistakes every year in the NHS. Eliminating them could free up significant resources and funds that would otherwise go towards corrective action.

    Dr Kais Al-Timimi
    Cambridge

    Some years ago now we tried keeping such records centrally, but it was abandoned after the expenditure of a staggering £12bn. I do wonder, however why such a system seems to be impossible. Whether it is desirable is another matter altogether.

  11. SIR – Having worked both for the Home Office and with the Department of Health on the vexed subject of health tourism, I can confirm that the matter remains very much in the “too difficult” tray.

    The latest guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (May 2022) “strongly recommends that relevant bodies have a designated person/s” to identify and charge anyone who does not benefit from an exemption.

    However, it is the duty of all NHS employees to protect the NHS, and this includes being aware of who is and is not entitled to free care. Any figures mentioned for the monies lost in unpaid bills will be a substantial underestimation, since they relate only to the known costs of patients identified as being chargeable – not to the many who do not wish to be identified and do not, cannot or will not pay their bills.

    It’s a difficult and emotive subject, but it is time for a much more robust approach in order to remind the world that the NHS is a national service, not an international one – and it is not free, since it is funded by the hard-pressed taxpayer.

    Elizabeth Edmunds
    Hassocks, West Sussex

    Well said, Ms Edmunds. Perhaps we could redeploy all those ‘diversity managers’ as revenue collectors when Liz Truss shows them the door – assuming of course they they could cope with such valuable and useful work.

    1. A BTL post on this subject:

      AC Long
      4 HRS AGO
      Elizabeth Edmunds letter is spot on. I’m sick to the back teeth of the idea that the British NHS is somehow free for all. It’s nothing of the sort.
      Far too many UK citizens and tax payers are unable to get decent health care in reasonable time scales.
      In many cases because far too many non Britains are accessing our health service.
      Time to put Brits first.
      It’s a hard world but we should look after our own first. Period!!!!

      * * *
      Putting our own people first? That’ll be the day!

    2. Ped, it’s too early. I’m having my coffee. I can’t unsee that.

      Have a little compassion.

  15. 355462 +up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Sunday 28 August: It’s pure sophistry to blame Britain’s energy crisis on the conflict in Ukraine
    Or to cast a great deal more blame on Brexitexit.

    The Brexitexit designed & triggered by the genuine UKIP party was a beneficial victory for the United Kingdom but for many an “elite” politico & supporters as welcome as a very
    very much unwanted baby.
    No need of being involved in foreign wars
    when we have, in all reality, a domestic conflict seen when regarding a very active political firth column coalition, with supporting cast of followers.

    No group of politico’s could be this inept without it being intentional, working to a higher order & agenda with just enough honest input to fool ,yet again the majority of the voting herd, soon order of the day will be compulsory shower at the communal baths then a good hot meal.

  16. So much for a balanced approach….

    Labour pledges to strengthen the BBC’s independence and protect funding

    Party would insulate broadcaster from political pressure, says shadow culture secretary, as Liz Truss prepares to wage war on it

    Labour has pledged to strengthen the BBC’s political independence and retain it as a publicly-owned, public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, amid signs that a Tory government led by Liz Truss would wage war on the corporation.

    Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, told the Observer she is examining a series of reforms to insulate the BBC from political pressures, including ending “revolving door” appointments of people in politics to top posts in the corporation, and extending the charter renewal period from 10 to 15 or 20 years to reduce pressures on BBC leaders to toe the government line.

    The move by Labour follows explosive claims last week by the former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis that a Tory “agent” was “acting as the arbiter of BBC impartiality” from his seat on the corporation’s board. Although she did not name him, Maitlis was referring to Theresa May’s former director of communications, Robbie Gibb, who has since denied the claims.

    With Truss, the foreign secretary, expected to become the next prime minister, there are signs that the Conservatives under her leadership will press ahead with radical changes to the BBC, including ending the licence fee in its current form. The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, an outspoken critic of the BBC and Channel 4, and a supporter of Truss, has said that the licence fee would be frozen for two years and signalled its end altogether, declaring in a tweet that “this licence fee announcement will be the last”.

    Truss has also questioned the BBC’s accuracy during her six-week Tory leadership campaign. Speaking on the rightwing news channel GB News a week ago, she said she believed the BBC did not check its facts.

    Yet some of the BBC’s best-known former presenters last week accused the corporation of steering towards a Tory agenda. Even before Maitlis delivered her Edinburgh lecture, she and Jon Sopel, until recently the BBC’s North America editor and her new colleague at Global, both complained to this newspaper of the BBC’s enslavement to “balance” in all reports and its timid coverage of the impact of Brexit.

    The veteran BBC radio presenter Roger Bolton, just ousted from his job holding the corporation to account on Radio 4’s Feedback after 23 years, has also complained about bias.

    Speaking before his barbed on-air departure from the programme on Friday, Bolton said that Maitlis was “absolutely right” to criticise the BBC’s coverage of Brexit. “The BBC are increasingly confused between their corporate responses and their editorial responses. And the bosses are not as accountable as they should be,” Bolton told the Observer.
    *
    *
    *
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/aug/27/labour-pledges-strengthen-bbc-independence-protect-funding

    1. ‘Morning, C1. I was surprised to read that Roger B has been booted off Feedback. Mind you, I had mostly given up on that programme some time ago when it was obvious that the editor(s) became preoccupied with pushing PR for BBC programmes, instead of sticking to the coverage of an increasingly hostile postbag.

    2. If the BBC wishes to preserve its independence then it should be funded by its target audience – left-wing activists, wet-woke green dreamers, LGBTXYZ perverts and BLM knee-bending dupes. I’d vote for that.

  17. Olivia Pratt-Korbel: police bail two men arrested over death of girl in Liverpool. 28 August 2022.

    Police have released on bail two men arrested on suspicion of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was shot dead in her home in Liverpool.

    So they didn’t crack then? Why am I not surprised?

    This murder is a statistical oddity. No knifing in the street this. They are ten a penny. Instead a straightforward murder of a child in her own home with no ethnics issues. It’s a murder made in heaven for a moribund Police Force!

    They can pose outrage to their hearts content! The whole thing is more a publicity exercise than murder investigation! The Chief Constable and the detective in charge spouting platitudes and making tear jerking appeals to the public with the unspoken accusation that they are in some way responsible by not dobbing these people in?

    Let me just say that if I knew who it was I wouldn’t talk either. No police promise to protect you is worth the breath used to utter it. They would have you up there in the witness box spouting and then abandon you to your fate!

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/27/olivia-pratt-korbel-we-need-names-say-police-investigating-killing

      1. Anne. I don’t remember the exact figure but something like one third of the people involved as witnesses in criminal cases are subject to intimidation by the accused or their friends!

  18. .Lockdowns were a lethal mistake.
    Vaccines were a lethal mistake.
    Masks were a lethal mistake.
    PCR tests which were 95% false positive and blocking Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine all lethal mistakes. Mistake or was Covid-19 a deliberate scam? The virus that fooled the world?

      4. 355462+ up ticks,

        Morning JN

        The former wins by a country mile.

        Otherwise it makes the products of ALL universities defunct.

    2. Good morning, Johnny. I have no idea whether all the things you mentioned were “deliberate”, but it’s certainly a possibility.

      1. Just remember that the vaccines could not be issued using the emergency protocols- that is, no comeback on the manufacturers for any side-effects, if there were alternative treatments. The alternatives- Ivermectin etc- which were out of patent, had to be removed from the public. I recommend The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert Kennedy Jr.- the book is a massive indictment of Fauci, Gates and the system. Here is a short video of two scientists discussing it. It is a huge book and to date, none of its analysis has been questioned.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJl_cfTehEU

    1. “not harmful to humans”
      But just wait until Fauci’s researchers have had a go at them!

    2. BTL:

      Samantha Tano, Barcelona, Spain, about 9 hours ago

      Growing up in Austria we were treated with bacteriophages from Georgia already in 1958. The rise of the big pharma antibiotics prevented people, especially in the East of Europe, to be treated by phages. Younger doctors later hadn’t even heard about the treatment method from originally Tbilisi in Georgia.

  20. ALL taxes must be removed from energy including petrol The government must cut spending to pay for it all.

    1. Whoosh! Pigs at 1 o’clock high…
      Morning, Johnny. It’s a pretty clear solution, isn’t it? But, unlikely.

    2. Agreed. Where does all the money go that government spends? Too many cushy jobs for the boys, hangers on, MPs’ expenses, foreign aid, welfare – far too generous, WHO membership, UN membership, EU (still), Ukraine for goodness sake – the list is long.

  21. Remember governtent policies over the past 20 years or so have caused the energy problems we have now,

    1. 355462+ up ticks,

      JN,
      The knifing of M Thatcher
      triggered the foundation blocks of repress,replace,reset to be laid and the construction via the polling booth is still very
      active.

    2. 30+ years in fact. Since we dismantled the UK’s lead in nuclear engineering. Blair again…

  23. Abolitionist ‘Father of Conservatism’ Edmund Burke Put on BLM-Inspired Slavery Shame List

    https://media.breitbart.com/media/2022/08/GettyImages-184331854-e1661602551876-640×480.jpg

    British statesman and slavery abolitionist Edmund Burke, widely regarded as one of the fathers of conservativism, has been added to a BLM-inspired shame list by UK parliamentarians for historical figures with supposed connections to the slave trade.

    Despite never owning slaves himself, and his fierce opposition to the barbaric practice, Edmund Burke’s statues and portraits are now under review for possible removal from the Palace of Westminster by a group of MPs tasked with assessing the building’s artwork to see if they fall in line with woke progressive standards.
    *
    *
    *
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/08/27/abolitionist-father-of-conservatism-edmund-burke-put-on-blm-inspired-slavery-shame-list/

    2. It’s what Marxists do, and it would be laughable if it were not so offensive.

      ‘Morning, C1.

    3. He was white, he was around at the time, so those two “facts” alone mean he is guilty. Our world now looks like China during the Cultural Revolution.

  25. Headline for an article in today’s DT:

    “Ed Davey: I’m proud to have stopped fracking, despite energy crisis

    Lib Dem leader says party will run on anti-fracking platform against Conservatives in by-elections and at next general election”

    He and his lot really do hate the people of this country, don’t they? Still, after this winter it should be glaringly obvious that this ignorant creep has backed the wrong horse yet again.

    1. As was pointed out yesterday, either here or on GP, Davey ‘earns’ 18K pa for a 48hr year with a ‘renewables’ company. He’s hardly going to bite the hand that feeds him.

      1. Fortunately he will never get anywhere near No 10 so his ‘sponsors’ are surely wasting their money.

        2. True, sadly for the Lib Dims, in 2010 their man Clogg was more telegenic than Snotty McDoom or Spoonface Camoron.

          Thus exposing the Lib Dims policies of many colours to daylight.

          Hence their current contingent of MPs doesn’t even fill a minibus.

          Eid Davey won’t want to make that mistake again.

  26. A second good morning to everyone!
    After my stupid o’clock post, I went back to bed for a couple of hours.
    A bright morning with 8½°C outside.

    1. Excellent article but I like this

      BTL

      Good post but you are Not quite right.

      The problem isn’t sucessive government ineptitude and mismanagement. That is maybe 25% of the actual problem in the UK.

      By inaccurately labelling it as that, you might start thinking an election would fix it.

      Nooooooo !

      Our world has 3 fundamental practices that are problematic.

      If we dont understand the root causes of a problem we will address the symptoms or the actors, not the causes.

      The 1st is that large private and Central banks have obtained the Exclusive franchise to create ALL new Currency as Debt, with interest attached.

      An increasing population needs an increasing currency, but it is all created as a debt bearing interest. This indebts the whole world, every person, every government, in totally unpayable debts, enslaving us all to bankers through personal debt or ever increasing excessive taxation, surcharges, permits, licences, registrations, regulations, fees, rates, duties, fines, levies, adinfinitum, of which an increasing volume goes straight to the debt creators, who created it for free. (At zero cost to themselves.)

      2nd. Virtually no limitation plus fractional banking allows banks to create massive new Currency, blowing massive bubbles (housing/stocks) which devalues everyone’s savings and work by raising all prices.

      The fix ?

      Stop all banks and financial institutions loaning out more than they have on deposit. Return legal currency creation to national treasury departments with a zero Inflation policy.

      This will not create inflation like some bankers/economists would like to have you think. It is not WHO creates currency that drives the constant devaluation of your money & work, it is THE VOLUME per population and productivity. The banks increased the base currency supply by over 45 % since March 2020. This is further multiplied by fractional banking. You can’t spend it off planet, and we’ve had no increase in population or productivity. How can it not devalue our savings, wages and retirement funds by around 50% as it enters the economy ?

      3rd. Fiat currency whether paper or digital has no intrinsic value, thus it cannot be used as a long term store of value, particularly in an ever expanding fiat system.

      The fix ?

      Return to constitutional Silver, Gold, Copper & Nickle currency, designated by weight not cents/dollars. These will find their own local value. These can’t be printed to oblivion, have intrinsic value, and are a safeguard against selfish human nature. Continue to keep the manufacture of Gold & Silver rounds by private mints & foundries to help keep the government mints honest as to premiums.

      Correct these 3 Principles and >80 % of a nation’s problems would disappear. Do not allow your masters the Debt slave creator’s to tell you it can’t be done. It is easily done. Beware. The WEF wants you totally enslaved with digital currency.

      Convert your garbage fiat currency into Gold and Silver or prepare for destruction

      1. That is a good one! If Russia and China return to commodities-backed currencies, the West may have no choice but to follow suit. All the non western central banks seem to be hoovering up gold as fast as they can at the moment, while the US concentrates on tamping down the gold and silver prices in order to hide how much the fiat currencies have lost value.
        It’s basically just giving away the precious metals in order to maintain the illusion. Sooner or later, they’ll go Unobtanium, and the S will really hit the F.

  28. Headline for a lengthy article in today’s DT:

    “How decades of complacency have left Germany facing a cold, dark winter
    Betrayed by its own elite, the country is at risk of social unrest”

    For ‘Germany’ we could substitute ‘UK’, of course…

    Sarcasm can be a wonderful weapon, and this BTL poster isn’t afraid to use it:

    John Meagher
    22 MIN AGO
    Well thank the lord that we had successive governments that insisted on investing in home grown fuel security. Thanks to them we have exploration for oil and gas in our seas, nuclear power plants all over the country, coal mines in full swing. Britain has been brilliant at preparing for the worst possible eventuality. That’s why we can criticise other countries, from our unlit , unheated homes.

  30. There are facts that just lodge themselves in the brain.
    This from a long article in the Sunday Tellygraff; so long that I will merely post the link.

    “With the unerring eye of the predator, Putin grasped that energy was Germany’s Achilles’ heel. A single plant of a single corporation, the headquarters of the chemical and pharmaceutical giant BASF at Ludwigshafen, uses as much energy as Denmark.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/08/28/how-decades-complacency-have-left-germany-facing-cold-dark-winter/

    1. And the Cherman government, not thinking, played into his hands by making the country relant on gas shipped from Russia. No diversity of supply for them, oh no, they’ll just go for cheapest and headlines, whilst down the line they now realise they put their head in the lion’s mouth.
      Why are all politicians so Goddamned stupid? Any fule kno, you don’t put your balls into your enemy’s hands…

      1. So Unification meant that East Germany did not become part of the West but West Germany became part of the East!

        1. Maggie Thatcher was against re-unification.
          Was her belief due to visceral memories or foresight?

      2. So Unification meant that East Germany did not become part of the West but West Germany became part of the East!

    2. A small wager suggests that Merkel was in Putin’s control all along Look at her policies, immigration, energy and a prop for the Euro.

      Undermine Germany and everything collapses

  32. ‘Putin likes it’: PM blames Russia for cost of living crisis – and admits energy bills will be ‘eye-watering’ in winter. Sunday 28 August 2022.

    Boris Johnson has admitted that energy bills will be “eye-watering” this winter – and the cost of heating is already “frightening” for some.

    Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister blamed Vladimir Putin for the worsening crisis – and claimed the Russian president “likes it”.

    And although Mr Johnson warned the months ahead could be “very tough”, he has insisted the UK’s future “will be golden”.

    He wrote: “It was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that spooked the energy markets. It is Putin’s war that is costing British consumers.

    A liar lying! Who would expect anything else? In some ways Ukraine is a gift to Boris and the Elites. It allows them to place the blame that rightly belongs to themselves on other shoulders. I don’t doubt that Vlad is enjoying some schadenfreude at the sight of his rivals suffering the penalties of their own policies but he has problems of his own. He has to pivot Russia to the East, to China and the tiger economies of Asia. We have nowhere to go!

    https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-says-britain-will-emerge-stronger-and-more-prosperous-after-cost-of-living-crisis-ends-12683524

  33. ‘Putin likes it’: PM blames Russia for cost of living crisis – and admits energy bills will be ‘eye-watering’ in winter. Sunday 28 August 2022.

    Boris Johnson has admitted that energy bills will be “eye-watering” this winter – and the cost of heating is already “frightening” for some.

    Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister blamed Vladimir Putin for the worsening crisis – and claimed the Russian president “likes it”.

    And although Mr Johnson warned the months ahead could be “very tough”, he has insisted the UK’s future “will be golden”.

    He wrote: “It was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that spooked the energy markets. It is Putin’s war that is costing British consumers.

    A liar lying! Who would expect anything else? In some ways Ukraine is a gift to Boris and the Elites. It allows them to place the blame that rightly belongs to themselves on other shoulders. I don’t doubt that Vlad is enjoying some schadenfreude at the sight of his rivals suffering the penalties of their own policies but he has problems of his own. He has to pivot Russia to the East, to China and the tiger economies of Asia. We have nowhere to go!

    https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-says-britain-will-emerge-stronger-and-more-prosperous-after-cost-of-living-crisis-ends-12683524

  34. Tough one today

    Wordle 435 5/6

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  35. Morning, all Y’all.
    Cloudy, dry, chilly. Some more roofing beckons, but coffee needs drunk!

  36. There’s nothing new to say about the death of Diana 25 years ago. But who cares? 28 August 2022.

    Another anniversary of Diana’s death, another scrabble for fresh commemorative material – never easy but particularly challenging now, with the quarter-centenary of the Paris crash arriving so soon after exhaustive searches conducted for what would have been the Princess of Wales’s 60th birthday, last year.

    So guess what? She goes off and writes another article about Diana!

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/27/nothing-new-to-say-about-death-diana-25-years-ago-who-cares

    1. I was clearly on the same wavelength as you. I was writing my observations on the matter and was called away to do some domestic triviality by my wife while doing so – when I posted your post was already there!

        1. I remember an inspiring line from A.J. Wentworth (in H.F. Ellis’s chronicles of the bumbling schoolmaster); he was having a pointless argument with the school matron about the boys’ socks when he ended the discussion by saying:

          “I am not here to trifle with hosiery; I am here to teach!“

    2. Her car is also being sold at a ridiculous price, no doubt to cash in on the occasion
      PS not the one in the tunnel!

  37. Princes William and Harry agree to draw line under public events to mark Princess Diana’s death
    The brothers will spend the 25th anniversary of their mother’s passing apart
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/08/27/princes-william-harry-agree-draw-line-public-events-mark-princess/

    I loved my mother; I loved my father. They both died many years ago. I remember them with great love but I do not mark the anniversaries of their deaths in any formal public manner. Making a public exhibition will not make the love I have for them any greater.

    Aren’t the Princes making their mother into a monumental millstone rather than a fond memory?

    1. Good morning Richard

      Am I being nasty when I suggest she couldn’t have been a proper loving mother especially when she pestered married men / fluttered her eyes and holidayed without her children .

      I wonder what sort of memories they have about their mother .. insecure and anxious , I expect .

      1. Good morning Maggiebelle

        And it looks as if Monsta Migraine is the Archetypical callous mother who will never change the nappies herself and will only take the brats with her when she thinks it will give her some good publicity. Whenever she can leave them behind with someone else to look after them she will do so.

      2. I will join you in being nasty.
        I never bought into the St. Diana carp; during the hysteria 25 years ago, I felt like a foreigner in my own country.

        1. I never bought in to it when they started producing the heir and the spare part.
          And as to the marriage, the Spencer’s knew exactly what they were doing.

        2. All the rotting flowers outside the Palace……. and the poor Queen forced to say what she probably didn’t think.

          1. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter most parents support their own children rather than their own children’s erring spouses. Why should the Queen kowtow in this matter – she probably thought and still thinks that Diana Spencer was a total bitch.

          2. ‘Morning, Richard, “...she probably thought and still thinks that Diana Spencer was a total bitch.”

            Which probably won’t be far from her thoughts on the Bitch of Sussex.

        3. Two full pages of Saint Di stuff in the Telegaffe today, including an interview with her “spiritual adviser” – it really is heading downhill faster than an Olympic skier!

      3. I’m still not convinced Charlie was Harry’s father. There’s no obvious resemblance at all.
        But he likes polo……

        1. The older Harry gets, the more he looks like Charles – especially around the eyes and nose. Much more than William does – though I don’t think Diana was that stupid.

          1. I think her stupidity was outstanding in many ways. But she certainly seemed to have great power and influence as a manipulator of public opinion.

            She committed adultery and broke her marital vows before her husband did. This needs to be stated more often: She committed adultery and broke her marital vows before her husband did!

            True her husband made a total ass of himself but he only committed adultery with the woman he subsequently married; with how many lovers did the princess of Wales commit adultery – at least half a dozen and probably more? But her manipulative power was such that she could get away with being a faithless trollop while her husband could not.

          2. How do you know that? Were you hiding behind the bedroom door? Diana obviously knew that hers was an arranged marriage – she did her duty and provided the two heirs. She was an unhappy girl who looked elsewhere for love. She knew that Camilla was always in the wings.

          3. The two grannies arranged it- the QM and Lady Fermoy, Diana’s gran who was lady in waiting to the QM. Charles was told that he had to marry someone without a “past” and a virgin also.
            Similar to Edward VIII when he was P of W. He fell in love with a Lady someone or other but George V vetoed the match because she wasn’t royal. Bet he lived to regret that. Although, the arrival of Wallis Simpson meant the UK dodged a bullet with an untrustworthy and unreliable king. But would he have been? If he’d been happy and not led astray, he might have done a good job.
            History is full of “what ifs”.
            Edit- the Lady was Lady Rosemary Leveson- Gower and he proposed to her.

          4. Were the Duchess of Cambridge’s and The Duchess of York’s hymens in a good state of repair on the days of their marriages?

          7. I doubt it as they were living with their future husbands. Also, times are somewhat difference and all this speculation about stains on the bed linen is rather sordid.

      4. Her behaviour was not much of a role model to them – I think Kate is a much better mother to her children.

      5. Belle, I hate to break it to you but the vast majority of divorced parents are dating (*not married people), and holiday without their children for the simple reason that the children are with the other parent, and they want to spend time with the boy/girlfriend without pushing him/her at the children.

    1. Olga Krankie likes to be as awkward as she possibly can.
      I’m sure there are plenty of bins that could be placed on the streets.

    2. Why doesn’t the public deliver their rubbish to the nearest council office or, better still, their nearest councillor?

      2. The Scots should take all their garbage and pile it outside the Scottish Parliament building.

  40. Morning all 😃
    Today’s head line is Absolutely spot on.
    This is just another ‘gawd damn lie’ from our lying cheating political classes and civil service. The extra payments are to cover the costs of the illegal invasion we are being subjected to. And there is no apparent reason nor any gain for any of this. Nor has there ever been a single word of discussion about any of it in the public domain. Once again we are being lied to by these disgusting people.
    Who incidentally will cover their increased cost by dipping into the public purse and be increasing their individual share they call expenses. 132million pounds they took last year.

  41. Give pea milk a chance as vegan alternative with most nutrients

    ‘Those who consume plantbased milk alternatives ‘should’ obtain nutrients through other foods’

    OAT and soy milk have become ubiquitous as people swap dairy for a plantbased diet.

    However, research suggests that pea milk is the only vegan option that will give you anything close to as many nutrients as cow’s milk.

    Analysis from the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) found that pea milk is the only vegan-friendly milk option that has comparable nutrient levels to that of cow’s milk.

    Scientists looked at the amount of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and selenium in cow milk – all vital nutrients – as well as 85 samples of pea, soy, almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, oat and rice milk to see which were the most nutritional.

    Cow milk comes from the animal’s udder before being pasteurised, whereas plant milks are produced when a crop is ground down and soaked in water with emulsifiers and stabilisers.

    While they were once a niche product, vegan milks are now a mainstream option, often found in cafés and workplace fridges alongside blue-top and semi-skimmed traditional milk.

    But the data show that those opting for the more environmentally friendly plant milks may be compromising on their health.

    Previous studies have shown animal milk to be higher in calories, but there has been little consensus on how alternatives stack up for a wider range of compounds.

    “The minerals we measured in these products [play] a role in many functions in the body, including normal immune system function, proper regulation of blood pressure/glucose, and bone health,” study author Dr Benjamin Rean at the FDA told ZME Science.

    Pea milk had the highest levels of phosphorus, zinc and selenium, while soy topped the plant milk list for magnesium. All the plant milks were inferior to cow’s milk in the experiment.

    “Those who consume plant-based milk alternatives lower in these target minerals should seek to obtain these nutrients through other foods or beverages,” Dr Redan told the New Scientist.

    Nuts, seeds and lentils are a good source of nutrients for vegans, and can help provide a well-rounded diet when cutting out meat.

    Shut up, you sad, vacuum-headed Vegans, and drink your artificial chemical emulsifiers and stabilisers! I shall continue drinking real milk, REAL food.

    “Pea milk”? Don’t you mean Pee Milk?

    2. I’ll stick to cows’ milk, thanks. Whole milk at that – none of your semi-skimmed here.

      And we’re having lamb for dinner tonight.

        3. The lunatic moonbat deserves all he gets! He’s been spouting his nonsense for far too long!

          1. As P.G. Wodehouse remarked, Colney Hatch has its talent scouts everywhere and Sir Roderick Glossop, that renowned nerve specialist, led the hunt.

            The County Asylums For Mental Defectives (as Evelyn Waugh called these institutions) are hoping to get Monbiot into one of their cells and put in a strait jacket and fettered with chains.

          3. That cretinous oaf said “My children won’t know what snow is!” and that year it snowed. He’s a fool.

            Ironically it was at that point that global warming became ‘climate change’. A far more open eneded, catch all for weather, allowing the green fanatics to say that everything was ‘climate change’.

    3. OAT and soy milk have become ubiquitous as people swap dairy for a plantbased diet.

      They have? Is that why the Supermarket milk section is always nearly empty in the afternoon!!

    5. “All the plant milks were inferior to cow’s milk in the experiment.“- ‘Nuff said?

  42. No doubt this is all old hat to seasoned NoTTLers but I have only just stumbled upon it.

    Zuckerberg’s curious confession

    26 August 2022, 7:21pm

    Well, there you have it. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has confirmed that Facebook did indeed censor news of the New York Post’s 2020 Hunter Biden laptop story.

    But The Zuck had a rather curious tale to tell. Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, Zuckerberg was questioned by Rogan on Facebook’s approach to fake news and misinformation. In the discussion, the question of Hunter Biden’s laptop arose.

    Zuckerberg told Rogan that Facebook had been approached, shortly before the 2020 US presidential election, by shadowy figures from the FBI, who bore foreboding news that a malodorous misinformation ‘dump’ was about to drop.

    Lo and behold – a scandalous story hit the headlines. Or rather it didn’t. The New York Post reported that a laptop belonging to Hunter, son of the now President, held evidence of dodgy dealings within the House of Biden, along with a brothel-sized pile of content featuring the President’s son and his friends.

    Such a story should have been a serious blow to the Biden campaign. Facebook, Zuckerberg recounted, took heed of the FBI’s warnings and had the story’s distribution decreased.

    Zuckerberg was keen to point out that he had been as much of a good boy as he could have been, comparing Facebook’s approach to that of Twitter’s, (presumably having received the same news from the FBI) who shut down the story outright and banned the New York Post’s account.

    When Rogan inquired about the extent of the censorship, an uneasy Zuckerberg forgot the specifics, but said that it had been ‘meaningful’. He then jumped to defend himself, exclaiming that there were many who didn’t believe Facebook had cracked down hard enough.

    But here’s the thing. It’s known that the FBI had Hunter’s laptop in 2019. That means that they knew its contents were authentic. Mr S has been left stroking his chin, wondering whether the FBI, which just a few days ago raided Donald Trump’s property in Mar a Lago, might now have to answer some questions of its own. Steerpike awaits new developments.

    WRITTEN BY
    Steerpike

    ********************************************

    Blindsideflanker • 2 days ago • edited
    They have more to answer for than that.

    The FBI were working with the National Archives and Biden regime to plot the raid on Trumps home, it seems the National Archives gave the FBI documentation , and for them to use it Biden removed Trump’s Executive privilege , which is almost unheard of , the Republicans are itching to get into the White house to return the favour to Clinton, Obama and Biden. The Democrats went nuclear and that won’t be forgotten.

    The way the FBI went about getting the Warrant was unorthodox , rather than going through the usual channels through the DOJ, they went to a Magistrate in Florida, who had been associated with Jeffrey Epstein, and though Judge Reinhart had to recuse himself from Trump’s civil suit against Clinton for making personal tweets against Trump, six weeks later felt his impartiality was not so compromised to issue a warrant to search Trump’s home

    It is being said some/one of the FBI agents who were involved in the Whitmer kidnapping plot , and under investigation , were at the Mar a Largo raid.

    And what little can be deduced from the Affidavit to search Trump’s home, people are suggesting what they were after were documents on Russia Gate that Trump had officially declassified, Russia Gate something the FBI were up to their necks in .

    Of course our MSM have been sent on a squirrel hunt on Nuclear Codes, which I understand is rubbish as that would have had to have been listed with a ‘Q’ status, and that Q status doesn’t appear on the documents the FBI seized.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/zuckerberg-s-curious-confession

    1. “ The way the FBI went about getting the Warrant was unorthodox , rather than going through the usual channels through the DOJ, they went to a Magistrate in Florida, who had been associated with Jeffrey Epstein, and though Judge Reinhart had to recuse himself from Trump’s civil suit against Clinton for making personal tweets against Trump, six weeks later felt his impartiality was not so compromised to issue a warrant to search Trump’s home”.

      Governments do many unorthodox things, I.E., HMG and the Coronovirus injectates! They just like to have things their own way, legitimate or not, orthodox or not, one way or the other!

    1. The point cannot be made often enough:

      IT IS ENTIRELY REASONABLE FOR STUDENTS TO PAY FOR THEIR STUDIES

      BUT: It is entirely unreasonable to charge them very many times the BoE base rate in interest (Up to 24 times this rate) on their Student Loans because this is usury and nothing other than

      SHEER THEFT

      All civilised countries offer student loans either interest free or at no more than the base rate. In a healthy country young people should not be lumbered with unrepayable and ever-increasing debt throughout most of their working lives. Britain ceased being a civilised country some time ago.

  46. I have just worked out that leaving my microwave plugged in and showing 2 dots on the display is costing me £11 a year, every cordless phone plugged in is costing about £8 a year (I have 4), my bedside alarm clock/radio £8 a year. I expect this would double from October

      1. Already done years ago Phil
        Only put the amount of water in the kettle for whatever you are using it for.
        Never leave anything on ‘standby’ – switch it off at the wall ( a safety thing too)

        1. I also bought a pressure cooker that also has a roast function. Lamb or beef stew in 12 to 15 minutes. Also invested in a dehydrator £39.99 amazon and a vac packer.

          4. Ah! Thanks! Alan has gone into ‘saving’ mode! Not the planet, just his pension! I can’t wait til March when I get mine!

          6. Pressure King Pro cuts out the use of the electric fan oven. And it’s quick. Though it does also have a slow cooker function too

    2. I have just unplugged, and will put away, the toaster and a deep fryer that I got when the children were teenagers.
      Also unplugged the dishwasher.
      I’m going to order two solar power banks for phone and computer charging, plus a solar battery charger for torches, which we will use for going to bed, as people used candles in the old day, instead of mains lights. When I was a child, we all sat in one room in the evening, which was also the only heated room in the house!
      We’ve got two telephones, which could be reduced to one – I’m guessing the cordless one probably uses more power than the cord telephone.
      I know some people will think this reaction is extreme, but we can always start using things again, once we know what we will be paying next year. Our monthly bills for next year will be calculated on our consumption this year plus next year’s estimated price. I don’t want to end up paying hundreds of pounds a month.

        1. I saw one in a shop the other day that was about 35 pounds. Going to check online, but will probably buy from a shop even if it’s a bit more expensive. Still want to find out a bit more about output, size etc.

    3. We could also rub sticks together and die at 50. Our society uses energy, lots of it. Technology has moved us beyond susbistence and into luxury. It has brought good health and varied work.

      I respect your intent and efforts, but frankly, it is time the state were forced to act and increase the supply of energy. To scrap the endless taxes it applies, the market fiddling, the corruption and fraud of unreliables. Lots of people will be upset by that – mostly those troughing away on public money through the scam, but enough is enough.

      It’s likely going to take a few broken bones and defeating the police – who seem intent on drubbing their reputation but until Zac Goldsmith, Gummer and the rest are crying piteously in terror at their coming lynching will the law change and markets be restored.

      Otherwise the blob will keep making energy ever more expensive. That’s always been the intention.

      1. This is the way, however, it’s more likely that a few pathetic socialists will take to the streets burning their electricity bills, and the government will launch a CBDC as “The Answer,” making us even worse off.
        Keeping us cold and badly nourished appears to be official policy now.
        I would like to force the state to act AND escape without giant bills.

      2. I agree – my judicious saving of power is because I want to save money not the planet

    1. And this is news because…? There used to be a time when welfare was thought poorly of, that the ideal was to work for your own sense of pride. Now apparently loafing about on other people’s money is lauded.

      Add a zero to the end and it’s a good start. Get all the criminals in a chain gang digging reservoirs.

  48. Interesting.
    An ABBA tribute band has set up in a local fast food restaurant.
    You can hear the drums from Nando’s

    2. Aaaargh! Not you too! Paul was at it last night….Phizzee often kicks off. Help.

  49. The Guardian has turned into a newsheet for a mad cult.

    Beware the ‘ghostliners’: people who downplay Britain’s slavery shame and mute calls for justice

    The row about a Cambridge monument to a slave trafficker shows how far the UK has to go to confront its racist past, say Kris Manjapra

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/27/britain-slavery-shame-cambridge-memorial-slave-trafficker-racist-past

    The only response I can muster is a weary ‘****off’…

    1. If the Blacks of Africa really were and are as superior as they tell us, they would have dominated the world. They were here first, or so we are led to believe.

      They didn’t, humans evolved further and further as they moved out of Africa

      1. I have never heard of any of the descendants taking a trip back to the country they seem to adore so much, to see what they are missing.

      2. Since mankind evolved in Africa, so therefore has been there millennia longer than anywhere else on the planet, one can only assume the remaining inhabitants were slow learners.

    2. Perhaps Kris Ganjapra should read a little more history, and learn about how much the UK spent in money and lives stopping the Atlantic trade.

    3. Tens of millions have placed their trust in the Guardian’s fearless journalism since we started publishing 200 years ago, turning to us in moments of crisis, uncertainty, solidarity and hope.

      I wonder when they are ever going to acknowledge that some of the worse slavery after the invading Roman’s efforts, was committed by Muslims especially at the Alhambra palace. When they sent their pirates to sail around the south coasts on the British isles out to capture young white children for the use of those in charge and kept them in caves. Then fed them to the captive lions when they had finished ‘using’ them.

    4. A collapsing readership of rich Lefties who believe other people should pay more – not them, of course – toadvance their own ideology. It’s kept alive through tax avoidance and a trust fund – much like it’s readership.

      It exemplifies hypocrisy and ignorance.

    5. That seems to be by standard response to so much these days, from rainbow-painted cricket stumps to the never-ending whining about ‘climate change’ and trannies. My wife reckons I’m not nice to know as I’m perpetually angry but I think I have every right to be so.

  50. Finance experts, please what is a Tier 1 Asset?
    (I looked up the definition but I didn’t understand it 🙂 )

    2. Going back many years, Tier 1 Assets were a feature of the early days of the Basel Convention.

      This is the closest reference that I can find on a Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon.
      https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tier1capital.asp

      The Basel conventions were a creation of the Bank for International Settlements ( = BIS)
      with the notion of bringing greater harmony and fragrancy to international thievery/banking.

      I am no longer at the forefront of that sham and cant tell you what the pulse is. Am quite certain that Klaus Schwab could tell you everything anyone needs to know. We really do need a new James Bond to wipe him out.

      1. I was just watching a video where Andy Schectman from Miles Franklin (bullion dealers) said that gold had been declared a Tier 1 asset in 2017 (if I understood it correctly).
        It’s astonishing if gold wasn’t one before that?

        1. Please may I respond to you later – Tomorrow?? Visitors here and I have to appear attentive and sober. You are on the right track as regards Gold and Tier 1. The appalling Polly, previously of this parish, was also sniffing in the right direction but had the fatal flaw of being irretrievably annoying. Uncle Bill can reveal all. {:^}}

  51. More and more evidence – meat for the prosecutors, is now emerging as rats desert the globalist cause.

    The bit that I would like to see confirmed, and which I would bet good money on, is the failure of the Wuhan virus to survive in the wild when it was released, that forced the perps to fall back on the seasonal flu for their terrorist attack. Had the virus actually done its work the
    millions so blatantly predicted by Gates after Trump’s election would have died, and we would all have needed no convincing of the drastic
    measures that then, in the blizzard of ignorance and authoritarian enthusiasm, were enacted around the world. As it is I think we can be sure that just such a killer would be a god-send to the scum who brought us this circus. Let us pray that their incompetence prevents it.

    As the CDC and the Rishi camp guards scurry for cover we can only speculate on what the “old money” globalists think of their recent
    allies in crime! The united front of evil has already disintegrated

    1. The problem with a very dangerous virus is that anyone can catch it and die, even if their name is Rothschild. Money is no protection.
      I think the effect was always intended to be got with propaganda.
      I’m more worried about that recent published paper where Fauci-funded researchers are re-creating the 1918 flu virus, and complaining that the results so far are not lethal enough. Of course, they are only doing this so that they can create a vaccine to this flu virus that probably doesn’t exist anywhere in the wild any more…it’s all for our own good…

        1. To kill more people, is the obvious conclusion. I think they have not managed to re-create it yet. Creeps.

      2. The 1918 virus wasn’t lethal. People died from bacterial lung infections caused by filthy face masks. That was the so called second waive that killed more than the first.

    2. 355462+ up ticks,

      Afternoon JWE,

      Have the current lab/lib/con/ukip coalition supporter / members been informed of this splendid news

  52. More and more evidence – meat for the prosecutors, is now emerging as rats desert the globalist cause.

    The bit that I would like to see confirmed, and which I would bet good money on, is the failure of the Wuhan virus to survive in the wild when it was released, that forced the perps to fall back on the seasonal flu for their terrorist attack. Had the virus actually done its work the
    millions so blatantly predicted by Gates after Trump’s election would have died, and we would all have needed no convincing of the drastic
    measures that then, in the blizzard of ignorance and authoritarian enthusiasm, were enacted around the world. As it is I think we can be sure that just such a killer would be a god-send to the scum who brought us this circus. Let us pray that their incompetence prevents it.

    As the CDC and the Rishi camp guards scurry for cover we can only speculate on what the “old money” globalists think of their recent
    allies in crime! The united front of evil has already disintegrated

    3. There’s a heavy police presence in Shepherds Bush today, as we’re just down the road from the stabfest. The mansions along Holland Park Avenue are well protected with high walls but the revelries do spill over. Amazing how many naïve young white kids there are heading up Notting Hill. I hope they don’t acquire enlightenment the hard way.

      1. They will if they have to go to the loo! I cannot get the image out of my head, courtesy of the DM!

    4. Carnival- the embarrassing spectacle of pasty-face Brits trying to dance like Brazilians.

  55. Wordle 435 5/6

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

    Daily Quordle 216
    5️⃣9️⃣
    6️⃣7️⃣
    quordle.com
    ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
    ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟨⬜🟨🟩
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    🟨⬜⬜🟨🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜
    ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. I don’t know Quordle but much to my surprise…
      Wordle 435 3/6

      🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨
      🟨⬜🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. I had a Bogey Five …
        Wordle 435 5/6

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

  56. 355462+ up ticks,

    Dt,
    Why isn’t the Government reacting to the energy crisis?
    Two-month leadership contest looks indulgent while voters ponder catastrophic bills

    First they actively create much of the the problem then they rhetorically seemingly set about curing it
    although no action is seen to be taken.

    They (the politico’s) also know in regards to the voting majority enough loco weed in the
    manifesto feed has them calm & pliable…. ……..again

  57. Time to go back outside for another go – an hour out there left me knackered earlier on!

    2. I much prefer our English, unwritten, constitution that by default, if it ain’t written down, you can do ANYTHING, provided that it doesn’t conflict with the law of the land.

      1. That used to be the case (under Common Law), but since the introduction of EU law (Corpus Juris) we can’t do anything unless the law allows us.

  59. Hello from a Saxon Queen with blooded axe and pursed longbow.

    Happy Sunday

    Shall be having the last cream tea of summer in the garden at about 4.30 pm .
    I was trying to work out the perfect weather this coming week for it , but decided today is lovely . 21c with a breeze and just a few fluffy clouds which are white atm .
    Most of the summer has been too hot to be outside or too noisy with children and other neighbours outside. We’ve some nice wild strawberry jam, clotted cream from Devon,
    shall have warm scones, soft butter and a big pot if assam tea ( loose leaf ). I hope the sun remains out .

      2. Devonians would throw a wobbly at that. Personally I prefer fruit scones [I rhyme mine with ‘stones’] with lashings of good butter. Cream and jam are superfluous.

        I asked the girl with dulcet tone
        To order me a buttered scone.
        The silly girl has been and gone
        And ordered me a buttered scone.

  60. Royal row erupts over Steve Coogan film about Richard III. 28 August 2022.

    King Richard III did not deserve his evil reputation, yet battles waged in his name have raged on long after his death more than five centuries ago at the Battle of Bosworth. Now, on the eve of the premiere of a starry British film about the amazing discovery of his remains under a Leicester car park, the great “lost king” of England is again the subject of conflict.

    Since his death, Richard III’s defenders, known as Ricardians, have argued that he was never the scheming malcontent that his influential detractors, such as Sir Thomas More and Shakespeare, portrayed. Neither was he the murderer of “the princes in the tower”.

    Many have sought to rehabilitate Crouchback. Usually by distraction and pointing to someone else but he had the three cardinal criminal indicators. Means, Motive and Opportunity!

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/28/royal-row-erupts-over-steve-coogan-film-about-richard-iii

    1. Watch it Minty – you are trespassing on dangerous ground as is inevitable if you are going to be idiotic enough to quote from the Guardian, you buffoon. You are going to have to endure the full wrath of Ann, all-knowing Lady oTL, a lifelong Ricardian, my dearly beloved 2nd cousin, the late Sir Havelock Hudson who was head of the Ricardian Society (Ted Hughes, then Poet Laureate, gave the address at his funeral), and my hugely ancient forebear (only Bob of Bosworth would fully understand the connection) John Haggerston was Richard III’s standard bearer at Bosworth and was slaughtered alongside him, although the are no signs of our ancestor in any Leicester carpark, much to our family’s chagrin.

    2. “Now is the winter of our discontent”. At least Dick the Shit doesn’t have to worry about keeping warm.

    2. As much as I look askance at homosexuality, male or female, I am very much in sympathy with the women on this one, ESPECIALLY when they are being called TRANSPHOBIC for refusing to have sexual liaisons with Cocks in frocks.

      1. The transgender political movement is the natural consequence of the feminism and gay rights movements. It couldn’t have happened without them.
        We need to get rid of the entire concept of special groups favoured by the law, and return to one law for all.

  62. The newspapers were complaining that the water companies were pouring untreated sewage into the rivers and seas around Britain. Looks like they have all diverted their stinking effluent to the Notting Hill area.

          9. Did not finish. Through driving into the side of another car.
            ”
            Lewis Hamilton branded ‘an idiot’ by Fernando Alonso after Belgian Grand Prix collision

            Furious Spaniard suggests former team-mate can only race at the front of the grid”

    2. The bloke behind him is thinking ‘Flips sake I’m going to be associated with that pillock.’

  64. ‘Give us name of Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s murderer’: Police launch fresh appeal
    anyone withholding information about the nine-year-old girl’s killer has been warned they must give it up
    DT Story

    Yesterday they were asking the perpetrator to come forward and give himself up.

    Am I being over cynical in thinking that anyone capable of committing such a vicious and violent crime against a child is not likely to be the sort of person who will volunteer to come forward and confess?

    I wonder what the current odds are on the police catching this monster and if they do what are the chances that he will spend the rest of his life in prison?

    1. Who is going to voluntarily go near the dancing police who are only taking a short break from harassing people for wrongthink?
      We know they ignored thousands of child gang rapes for years, who thinks they genuinely care about another little working class girl?

    2. The judiciary have just let out a bloke who tortured a child so much he lost his legs. There is no justice.

      Both the parents in that instance should have been flayed alive and flogged to death.

    3. From my reading of this sorry tale, the perpetrator was trying to force the door, and seems to have accidentally shot her.
      Same result, poor wee lassie, but different intent.

  65. Mars bar shortage causing gaps on UK supermarket shelves. 28 August 2022.

    Shoppers looking for Mars bars have been encountering empty shelves and “out of stock” messages on supermarket websites, with some stores warning they are not expecting deliveries for two weeks or more.

    When asked about the apparent shortages, one major retailer told the Guardian that “[it] looks like a production issue on Mars’s end may be causing gaps across retailers”.

    In response, Mars Wrigley, the company behind Mars, Snickers, Bounty and Twix bars, said it was “experiencing high levels of demand”, but added that it wanted to “reassure the British public that our much-loved brands are still available nationwide”.

    Vlad’s closed the Mars Bar mines has he?

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/mars-bar-shortage-causing-gaps-on-uk-supermarket-shelves

    1. The company is re-gearing the production lines to produce smaller bars for the same price.

    2. One of the best evenings I have ever spent in my life was a tour round the Mars factory in Slough! Someone at my work knew someone who worked there, and they did these informal tours for us. We saw the whole thing, from the huge gob of nougat mixed in a giant cauldron and then turned out onto a belt and squashed into a giant river, to the finished product zipping ready wrapped off the line at a rate of about one per second.
      Absolutely fascinating.

      1. Afternoon BB. I actually worked in a toffee factory in my teens and one of the perks was all you could eat and a free bag at the weekend. I’m afraid the stories are true. After a little while you lose all interest. In fact it is almost a lifetime cure. Why this should be so is still a mystery to me!

        1. The smell was so wonderful, you could satisfy all your sweet craving without a single calorie, I should think!

        2. My late cousin spent one holiday working in a chocolate truffle factory – she said after seeing what went on there you’d never want to eat one again.

        3. Your body worked out, for itself, the fact that sugar (especially fructose and glucose) are poison.

        4. I used to like those toffee machines in shops that stretched it out on a couple of oscillating arms. Probably banned now on hygiene grounds,

        5. Mother worked in an ice-cream factory back in the day, and she said exactly the same as you do, Araminta.

          1. Going up to London Bridge on the train, on the left was the Sarsons vinegar factory that got all the tums rumbling for fish and chips. A bit further up on the right was Peak Freans bickie factory and the overwhelming smell of chocolate. Cue more tummy rumbles.

  66. I was talking to a friend the other day, I pointed out that we’ll have to light our fires more this winter. She agreed and pointed out something I didnt notice before which was the amount of those new build houses that have no chimneys, I’m not sure I’ve seen a new build with a chimneys. Mind you older houses can be damp, especially big rural houses and period properties . It’ll be more beneficial in rural areas with the ability to grow own vegetables, keep chickens or at least come to a special deal with farmers and farm shops that provide for rural communities.

    We should also start fracking.

    1. I think some of the new builds around us have fake chimneys. Much good that will do them…

      1. They may only be cosmetic, though. A new build near us has a fake chimney (to fit in with the appearance of the other nearby properties).

        Sorry I missed seeing the word ‘fake’ when I read that – you’re right.

  67. I was talking to a friend the other day, I pointed out that we’ll have to light our fires more this winter. She agreed and pointed out something I didnt notice before which was the amount of those new build houses that have no chimneys, I’m not sure I’ve seen a new build with a chimneys. Mind you older houses can be damp, especially big rural houses and period properties . It’ll be more beneficial in rural areas with the ability to grow own vegetables, keep chickens or at least come to a special deal with farmers and farm shops that provide for rural communities.

    We should also start fracking.

    1. When someone posted that picture of the idiot wearing the tea cosy earlier, I didn’t realise it was Lewis Hamilton and was expecting your picture to be the same one, rather than the picture I have of Lineker in my mind’s eye anyway!

          1. The chair is great. Doesn’t cope with cambers though. Lucky i had had a drink and didn’t put my seat belt on. Otherwise i would have been like an upside down tortoise.
            No minibar yet. I’m thinking of getting a trailer.

          3. I’m a sophisticated Southerner don’t ya know! We don’t drink brownish coloured drinks here ! And we don’t do sheep either !

          4. They don’t do sheep in Masham either.
            They do some excellent beer though and it’s not that ‘nats pee’ I see drunk straight from the bottle that I noticed when I was last down south of Watford Gap. 🙄🙂

          5. They don’t do sheep in Masham because the Black Sheep of the Theakston family left to set up his own brewery in direct competition with his family. He thought his family was Old … and very Peculier. 😉

          6. And doing very well thanks to the local authority letting him reopen an old brewery.

          7. I have sampled a pint or three of Black Sheep bitter, in my time, and I have to say it is a most quaffable beverage.

          8. Their Riggwelter Ale and Black Sheep Milk Stout are very enjoyable if you see them.

          9. I’ve enjoyed the odd pint of Riggwelter, but not the stout as I’m not a huge stout — or mild — fan (though I do enjoy a decent porter).
            Living out here in the ale desert of Sweden I don’t have the luxury of enjoying cask-conditioned ale. I promise you, though, that the next time I find myself back in the old country I’ll be seeking out an establishment that sells Timothy Taylor’s fine beers.

          10. It was the same when living in Oman, although the suppliers of alcohol would try their best finding some (to them) obscure requests.

    2. I’ll bet he sets off the alarms when he goes through the airport scanners. But then again, does his passport photo bear any resemblance to how he looks now?

    3. He has already declared as mixed race will he now come out as transgender and multi-sexual?

  69. Logging off to spend an evening (with a whisky bottle) chatting to an ex- WRAF who holds similar views to mine.

    Later, probably much later.

          1. Working on it here;-) We had a picnic outside at our table today and very nice it was. Crusty rolls and some soothing beverages. And nice weather.

          2. I’m looking at a very nearly empty bottle of Shiraz.
            Do I drink responsibly or open another – life can be hard sometimes 🙂🍷🙏
            Decision made, new bottle and more tunes on the hifi.

          4. Either of those would be my downfall.
            I’m listening to LP’s so need a relatively steady hand when positioning the stylus.
            One advantage of CD’s or FLAC files I suppose, load and forget.
            I do have some 18 year Bunnahabhain but I would not mix grape & grain.

  70. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dbf23f7e1d62a3cab2cdc722bc53bf37744ef55754e88209c700eb2ddc43666f.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/98a3a5345674b4a9d5e177ee7c2d4351c1fe9a463a073a8e570d3b86b1751163.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/153a1a87f97f0aaa941357910267082561cd3ab46a40053bb52bf2e5e8b463f0.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5760b9c66e740a3f40b19f72b6b39a3110cc9e86a9fccccce12e17d38d5ff53b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/121013e4d888e61509d82d885588d9fd9ffe7ec2b083eaa797c553101c57ed37.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/725d78c9566549f5b522c6cb32fb9bed5a23cd9f5059a1b309a323efc9e11486.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/858da2f338fdfff1432379e6eb6045fae1fb5e42cde70d8bce50985038fb2a76.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ae52a86bc640dba977d90988bafd9ea2cdff7326321d2318bb6b8d2b512e3676.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/92ca7b9dd8a41deec570ce557f586af63768e288ff141ebf7155541c1ff082fb.jpg

  71. Dubious followers are beginning to latch on to profiles. Probably the FBI or 77brigaide. Speaking of the FBI….Agents ordered not to look at Hunter Biden laptop and Mark Zuckerborg saying he was told by shady men to suppress the story. His defense was he didn’t suppress the story as much as Twitter…At least we all know who the enemy is….

  72. Well, I’ve had a rather relaxing and enjoyable day today, yet have accomplished many of the tasks I set myself. So I will now sign off with “Good night, everyone.” I may not sign in tomorrow as I shall be getting ready for a 10 day break. See you all in September.

    4. Have a delightful holiday Elsie! Look forward to hearing about your adventures when you return! 🌹

  73. With Organised Crime being uppermost in the MSM and the lack of traditional classical music at the RAH here’s the duo with their organised rendering with audience participation of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture:

    https://youtu.be/DIfUxJ_2cmc

    1. While the music might have been correct, the pictorial and side effects left much to be deired.

  74. With Organised Crime being uppermost in the MSM and the lack of traditional classical music at the RAH here’s the duo with their organised rendering with audience participation of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture:

    https://youtu.be/DIfUxJ_2cmc

  75. Notting Hill Carnival costing mega £millions .

    Police injured , property damaged … and mass insubordination, blacks are out of order … Where is this , Lagos , Entebbe, Kinshasa, nope , it is Central London

  77. We had our dinner – roast lamb, new spuds, green beans and roasted cherry toms (excellent!) then sat down in here.

    The two swift chicks in box 14 (a late brood, hatched on 19th July – my birthday and our silver wedding anniversary) – were doing their press-up exercises. The parents had been absent all day. As we watched, the two chicks walked up the tunnel to the outside world and disappeared. What a privilege it’s been to have watched them grow for the last 40 days – all the others had left by the end of July so this extended period has been a real bonus. Photo from yesterday evening.

    Now we have to wait till next May………

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee56cffa88388caf0b8eac79ce7036ec4a80973a4cc9f2ef7c118b0682f8d8df.jpg

    1. How delicious …
      We had salad .. cold chicken and ham , and bits and pieces, followed by a yoghurt each .

      How do swifts learn to hunt if their launch is the first one and only .. don’t they return to their nest ?

      1. Once they fly they go to Africa and stay airbourne for the next two years – they return here to breed – a young pair will choose a nest site and return the following year to raise their family. That’s why it was a surprise that the pair which moved into box 14 in mid-June laid eggs and stayed here till today. They don’t land except when they are nesting.

  78. A little AA Milne to send me and you to bed:

    There are lots and lots of people who are always asking things,
    Like dates and pounds-and ounces and the names of funny kings,
    And the answer’s always sixpence or a hundred inches long.
    And I know they’ll think me silly if I get the answer wrong.

    So Pooh and I go whispering and Pooh looks very bright,
    And says, “Well I say sixpence but I don’t suppose I’m right.”
    And then it doesn’t matter what the answer ought to be,
    ‘Cos if he’s right, I’m right, and if he’s wrong- it isn’t me.

    I wish I knew why all these rhymes are going through my head these days- guess it means I’m not quite senile ….yet;-))

    2. I remember I used to half believe and wholly play with fairies when I was a child. What heaven can be more real than to retain the spirit-world of childhood, tempered and balanced by knowledge and common-sense.”
      ― Beatrix Potter, The Journal of Beatrix Potter from 1881-1897

      Good night Lotl

      We all say our rhymes and prayers , it is what comforts and reminds us of who we are .. not were … our inner child !

    2. One of my favourite recordings. Artistry through passion. Thanks!

      PS may be coming past where I think.you are at the end of September and would love to say hello. Do get in touch if you fancy a cup of tea – Hertslass (bless her cotton socks) has my email address.

      1. I most likely will be near Bristol for the end of September and early October but another time yes.
        It’s Driffield East Riding.

    2. I watched the film The Pianist recently. There were several themes regarding neighbourhood, betrayal, unspeakable cruelty and above all the desire to seek a better future.

      I thought afterwards that the Germans have done it again. They have not gunned people and bombed them out of their houses but by more nefarious means than a bunch of ill educated morons taking against the Jews. As one Jew in the film remarked that everything was a result of the American Jews profiteering from the War and refusing to allow its government to intervene.

      Today we have the same cabal of German nutters in league with the Jewish bankers and others who shall remain bloody obvious, trying to
      exterminate the greater part of the world population.

      Our government so crassly represented by the gross oaf Boris Johnson and his own feckless cabal of useful idiots, the governments of the USA, Holland, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (to name a few) are all complicit in the continuance of an agenda designed to fuck us all.

      Hell would be too good a residence for these damnable bastards.

      1. 355474+ up ticks

        Morning C,
        Shades of old shaky in your post, I do consider it to be very well said.

    1. What parent with an ounce of sense would allow their children to be experimented on by this gang of Mengele wannabe’s?

    2. What parent with an ounce of sense would allow their children to be experimented on by this gang of Mengele wannabe’s?

    3. 355474+ up ticks,

      Morning BB2,

      You do NOT have to listen to hard to hear the haunting echos of the concentration camp orchestra.

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