Thursday 14 July: A rancorous Tory leadership contest will harm both party and country

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its comments facility (now reinstated, but we prefer 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.

888 thoughts on “Thursday 14 July: A rancorous Tory leadership contest will harm both party and country”

  2. Online Safety Bill set to be delayed by at least three months. 14 July 2022.

    Landmark legislation to protect children from harm online is set to be delayed for at least another three months.

    Ministers are preparing to drop the Government’s flagship Online Safety Bill from next week’s business, postponing its final Commons stages until at least the autumn. It is now three years since The Telegraph launched its campaign for new online duty of care laws.

    BELOW THE LINE.

    Al Dente 7 HRS AGO.

    Shove it in the shredder. Then burn the shreds.

    That’s the spirit Al!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/13/online-safety-bill-set-delayed-least-three-months/

  3. Online Safety Bill set to be delayed by at least three months. 14 July 2022.

    Landmark legislation to protect children from harm online is set to be delayed for at least another three months.

    Ministers are preparing to drop the Government’s flagship Online Safety Bill from next week’s business, postponing its final Commons stages until at least the autumn. It is now three years since The Telegraph launched its campaign for new online duty of care laws.

    BELOW THE LINE.

    Al Dente 7 HRS AGO.

    Shove it in the shredder. Then burn the shreds.

    That’s the spirit Al!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/13/online-safety-bill-set-delayed-least-three-months/

  5. A rancorous Tory leadership contest will harm both party and country

    I think it is a bit late for that warning.

  6. SIR – I understand who the runners are – but who, exactly, are the “riders”?

    J J Hawkins
    Torrington, Devon

    Dear JJ Hawkins,

    We, the population are the riders – we are the one who are being taken for the ride. Net Zero, lockdown, vaccinations, climate change, green renewable energy to name a few.

    1. Just out of interest, how many of the candidates have promised to cancel Net Zero?

      3. Getting it off the Statute Book won’t be easy… until the lights go out.

        ‘Morning, bb2.

      4. Getting it off the Statute Book won’t be easy.. until the lights go out.

        ‘Morning, bb2.

      5. Getting it off the Statute Book won’t be easy.. until the lights go out.

        ‘Morning, bb2.

  8. Good morning, all.

    The, “good day to bury bad news,” ruse remains operative. ONS sneaked out data still thinking that everyone was either focused on Johnson’s resignation shenanigans or driven asleep by them. There are many diligent and wide awake people covering both this disreputable government’s and its agents’ actions. We are indebted to them.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/13892f7d57b507bc52b58572666b274f450dcfe304ea3ed8d124db3baf4b60e6.png

    2. “A good day to bury bad news”, those immortal words of Jo Moore. She is now apparently a school teacher. Those who can, do…

    3. Morning Korky and all.

      Can you direct me to the link for this graph ? I’d like to send it to my MP as there will be a “debate” in September and I want to send the official info. I’ve tried copying your post but it doesn’t work and had a quick look at ONS but there’s so much to go through. If you could point me in the right direction …

      1. Good morning, vw.

        Here is the link to the GETTR account that posted the graph. Also on Twitter is Mark Dolan, a GB News presenter, who has put up more of this info.

        GETTR
        Mark Dolan

      2. Control/Print Screen and Paste into Paint app then Save as a .jpeg which you can attach to an email
        Or Right click on the picture and ‘Save Image As’, you can then attach to email

  9. Good morning all.
    A slightly cooler 9½°C and rather cloudy this morning, I wonder if we’ll get any rain?

        1. The heat’s getting to her.
          On a cooler day, LotL could rustle up a good dozen or more.

  14. Did any Nottlers watch the 5 Select programme on Chernobyl yesterday evening. A salutary reminder. Please let world leaders of all persuasions understand the nature of matters nuclear, and stop this idiocy of even contemplating the use of such weapons.

      1. My preference would be Badenoch then Braverman, with Mordaunt a distant third. The rest can swivel.

        1. Methinks that in reverse order, Feargal, Badenoch is too young but could gain experience as Deputy PM.

          1. Badenoch and Braverman are the same age; regardless, unless it’s the compliant Sunak, whoever wins will be the ‘wrong’ choice as far as the bBC et al are concerned

          2. Age doesn’t necessarily trump experience, that’s why I’d prefer Braverman.

        3. Mordaunt’s awful. I feel that both Badenoch and Braverman would be interesting to know in real life – they both look nice.

    4. If only Hunt had some integrity, we might give his opinion some weight.

  16. SIR – Despite his claim that he would “run the economy like Thatcher” (Interview, July 13), Rishi Sunak did not do so when he was Chancellor. Why should we believe him now?

    It appears he is prepared to promise anything to get the top job. However, I for one have had enough of ambitious politicians who lack conviction.

    Anthony Whitehead
    Bristol

    I can still hear Mrs T saying “We must live within our means.” Judging by our ballooning national debt, I doubt that anyone will believe his latest BS.

    1. Reminds me of the advice Spencer Tracy gave to people wanting to be an actor – “Know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture”.

    2. Biden recently had a visit from the Mexican President who announced that all the US citizens were welcome to fill up their fuel tanks south of the border. Good morning BoB, if that was Trump imagine the press coverage!

  18. SIR – Defence spending, rethinking net zero, tackling wokery – worthy platforms all.

    Me, I’d vote for whoever promises to get GPs back to work. After all, there’s no point being well-armed, warm and open-minded if you’ve died waiting for a doctor’s appointment.

    Michael Round
    London SW19

    You are not alone, Mr Round! And don’t forget all those Snivel Serpents shirking from home and providing a lousy service into the bargain…

    1. Oh, I expect they don’t mind promising that. Shifts the blame nicely away from lockdowns, vaccines and net zero onto doctors.

    2. Watching UK Column news they say the priority of the NHS is to empty Hospitals before autumn, quite how they will do this is hard to reckon with particularly with the vaccine damaged who mainly remain undiagnosed either by GPs or specialists. An impolite way of describing the situation is it is an utter sh!tshow.

    3. Good morning, Light showers inbound on the Clyde coast this morning but dry days ahead for a weekend of golfing in the Dumfries area. The ‘hottest days evah’, as described by the #ScumMedia, will start on Sunday – over 70F – and after almost melting the planet at 80F on Tuesday, will plummet back to the 60s on Wednesday.

      Needless to say, on past forecast ‘accuracy’, I’ll pack my waterproofs.

  21. SIR – With Vladimir Putin threatening to cut off supplies of gas from Russia to the EU, why has Britain not started fracking?

    Surely we should be pumping the stuff into the EU as a matter of national emergency. Such a move would also have the advantage of improving both our national image and our finances.

    Jim Wood
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire

    “Pumping the stuff into the EU”?  Only after we have secured our own needs, surely? And even then only as a bargaining chip to see Brexit properly concluded?

      1. The EU is an enemy of every decent freedom loving person who is forced to live in the shadow of its flag.

        2. Yes, the star-spangled sphincter should instill fear into all those who value freedom, democracy and prosperity.

          ‘Morning, Korky.

        3. Yes, the star-spangled sphincter should instill fear into all those who value freedom, democracy and prosperity.

          ‘Morning, Korky.

    2. You miss the point completely Hugh J.

      Only a few weeks ago the British government banned the exploitation of the Cambo gas and oil field.

      If they were so determined not to upset the Greenies then, why would they ever consider fracking now?

  22. One for our Annie:

    SIR – I was a student nurse at Liverpool Royal Infirmary in the hot summer 
of 1976.

    We wore heavy cotton dresses with starched aprons over them and a starched white collar and stud. The concession to the heatwave was that we might temporarily open our collar studs and remove the belt we wore over our aprons.

    Woe betide anyone who complained.

    Gail Young
    Dundee

    Quite right, Ms Young. All this yelping and whining is far worse than a few days of high temperatures.

  23. It’s probably a coincidence but is there any significance in Rishi being an anagram of “Irish”?

  24. Good morning, dear NoTTLers!

    Coming to your neighbourhood soon…

    “Officers in plain clothes disrupted a peaceful protest outside the capital of Henan. Depositors were protesting to demand that their savings be returned as thousands have been unable to access their money for over a month. Banks in Henan first froze client assets, and then the Chinese government changed the victims’ COVID QR passes to red to deny them the freedom of movement. The most recent protest was among the largest seen in China since the pandemic began.

    Over $6 billion (39 billion yuan) is missing. A reported 400,000 people have been affected. Imagine going to the bank only to realize that your entire life’s savings were gone instantly? You worked hard, saved, and did everything right for years or decades, only to have it all abruptly taken away. Even the most ruthless government is in trouble when the people have nothing left to lose. Imagine if the Chinese were permitted to own guns? There would be uncontrolled civil unrest.

    So where is the money? Chances are that the banks do not have the liquidity to pay out all of the depositors. Instead of cracking down on the banks, the government is coming after innocent people. Officers in plain clothes attacked protestors, including the elderly and women, and civilians were left wondering why their own people would attack them when they were clearly the victims. Governments are completely ruthless and DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE.”

    https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/07/13/400000-chinese-lose-their-life-savings-instantly/#more-274459

  25. 354242+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Thursday 14 July: A rancorous Tory leadership contest will harm both party and country

    Your having a laugh surely, and more importantly putting the tory (ino) party first
    before Country as do many of the electorate,

    These politico’s AKA screws, Kapo’s etc,
    have shown nothing but treacherous rancour towards the indigenous herd time & again while they partied at the mask (balls up )

    Now compo is coming into play for injury / death via needle ALL those hierarchy politico’s / med / phama staff aiding & abetting in putting an untried / time tested
    drug among a herd that is in no way fully compos mentis, the continuing voting pattern bears this out.

    The politic rodents are in the sack,the shuffle has been triggered,the electorate majority awaiting to cast their love of party kiss X on what must surely be the final episode & the curtain comes down on the destruction of blighty.

    if you do disagree with that then on one odious issue alone your kid, grandchild, has not been raped & abused ….YET, the PIE
    ingredients build daily via Dungeness / Dover etc,etc.

    The majority section of the electorate are in dire need of sectioning, the health & safety of decent peoples are threatened daily by their majority actions.

  26. If the BBC is serious about pay, it must sack Gary Lineker. 14 July 2022.

    Last year, the BBC paid Lineker around £1.35 million. For the life of me I’ve never understood why it spends so much on him. I’m not saying he’s a bad presenter. On the contrary, I think he’s a very good presenter. But the BBC doesn’t actually need a very good presenter to host Match of the Day – for an extremely simple reason.

    Which is that it’s football. And, let’s face it, football fans would watch the highlights of Saturday’s big games no matter who was presenting them. They’d watch them even if they were presented by Jedward, Diane Abbott or Larry, the Downing Street cat. Because it’s the goals they’re tuning in for, not the reading of the autocue.

    Why are we paying a millionaire millions for reading an autocue one might well ask? I’ve always been suspicious of Lineker’s payments for his largely irrelevant services. With his personal resources he would be an ideal vehicle for backhanders.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/07/13/bbc-serious-pay-must-sack-gary-lineker/

    1. The list of well paid BBC people does not include those who work for BBC commercial businesses, of which there are many. I think that the BBC has been dividing itself up so that if it is ever sold off there will be lots of money to be made by those who work in these many businesses. It will be business as usual, but better.

    2. His co-presenter is Alan Shearer on £430k
      I’m glad I stopped paying the licence fee

  27. Morning, all Y’all!
    Final check at Mother’s house, all cleared yesterday. By God those lads can work hard, and in the heat, too.
    Finished the day with beers with Kaypea of this parish. It’s great to meet a real Nottler, face-to-face.
    Today, sign the sales contract & visit Mother, then towards Gatwick.
    Looking forward to being home again.

    3. Glad you completed the mission. We avoided grumbling about the world and settled on enjoying the important things in life, beer!

    4. Have a good trip, Paul and keep the happy memories! Hope your Mum is fine.

    5. Well done to all.

      You met Kaypea ! I thought all you Nottlers just existed in my laptop.

      2. Yup, a real person. Generous, witty, worldly-wise & kind.
        He wore a beautifully ironed shirt, I has a tee shirt with the pattern washed off… Scruffy git that I am!

    7. Safe journey and enjoy your return home. Bet you will have a few mixed feelings.

      1. Thanks, Ann.
        The clearance yesterday was brutal – all the memories torn out of the house and rammed into a van, or trashed… Poor house looks so lonely now, and scruffy. They smashed all the glasses in the kitchen, they couldn’t sell them, but the crashing really tore into me.
        Oh, well, there went all the little memories of my parents, and my childhood.
        Sighs deeply

        1. When my mother went into a home the family went to the house and took furniture they wanted, there was quite a bit left so we got a house clearance firm in – they just took the furniture and smashed it up, loaded the bits into the back of a van and presumably took it to the tip. Most of it was good solid stuff which had years of use left and we’d have gladly given it to anyone who wanted it (we tried the charity shops and Salvation Army). Of course we had to pay them to smash it up, it wasn’t nice watching it.

        2. I truly understand. I had to leave my poor brother to continue the clear out in our parent’s house as I had to return to US as then husband had to go back to work. We had been away almost 4 weeks and the company was very accommodating- cannot fault them.
          But turning and looking at the house I grew up in and knowing I would never go in it again was very difficult.

    8. Last night we watched Joanna Lumley in Norway. She can be a rather breathy and luvvie, but on this occasion genuine feeling and humour triumphed.
      Like her, I was in tears when watching the Northern Lights. When all this hoohah – houses and covid – are behind us, we fancy a cruise round that area.

      1. Excellent idea! Keep us posted, maybe we can make a Scandi Nottl party with Grizz! 😃

    2. The intent of the climate change nonsense is to control who can do what. Nothing more. The ultimate purpose is to destroy markets and impose communism. That’s why it doesn’t work.

  29. SIR – Why is the BBC always trying to discredit the Army (“SAS ‘death squad’ claims to be investigated”, report, July 13)?

    Geoffrey Malone
    Shaftesbury, Dorset

    SIR – The BBC claims that it is making every effort to reduce its costs.

    However, it continues to misuse taxpayers’ licence fees by making unwanted programmes on the SAS, which denigrate the Armed Forces and encourage spurious claims against one of our most respected regiments.

    One would have hoped that events leading up to the prosecution of Phil Shiner, the disgraced human rights lawyer, would have shown the unreliability of local witnesses.

    Regrettably, our national broadcaster continues to favour a Left-wing agenda with little regard for the wishes of the public.

    Mick Richards
    Worcester

    I refused to watch it, given that a) Panorama is a shadow of its former self, and b) I just knew instinctively that it would be a hatchet-job on our armed forces.

    Oh, and not forgetting…c) it hates this country and all that we stand for. When the BBC can highlight the Asian rape gangs in the same way that GBN has then I might begin to take them seriously…

    2. Apparently, the bBC Panorama team were as ‘diligent’ as Phil Shiner. Some of the video showing the alleged incidents was of the Australian SAS in action. Not that the bBC care for facts, regardless of their ‘fact-checking’ experts who continue to pour their bilge across all platforms.

      No wonder HMG want to bring in censorship via their ‘Online Harm Bill’, there are so many sources of verifiable information out there and people have learned to screengrab the #ScumMedia’s nonsense and confront them with it whenever the wind of the opinions change.

      I gave up on the bBC TV Tax four years ago, realising I’d given up on livestream viewing about five years ago and haven’t knowingly viewed the bBC this century. I first noticed their tacit support for terrorists around 1991, whilst working in a counter-terrorism unit. Then in the early 2000s a young naval officer I worked alongside was tasked with reporting on a country in turmoil. Of course he had access to all manner of verified and graded reporting and intelligence. He came into work one morning completely flummoxed as he had watched the bBC tabloid newz over breakfast, who were reporting on the same turmoil but in a way that was completely unrecognisable to him. It was explained to him that the intelligence he received from the ground was verified and graded as to the integrity of the source – even ‘bad’ intelligence can be useful – whereas the bBC rarely, if ever, verified their newz or provided sources.

      ‘Some people say…’, ‘It’s been said…’, ‘Sources say…’ are all useful phrases trotted out when they want to push their agenda/view and of course when the truth hits the fan they can shrug their ill-informed shoulders and say they were only reporting what their ‘source’ told them.

      I haven’t missed livestream tv one bit and am sometimes stunned by the things some of my acquaintances say having viewed the latest ‘newz’. It’s frightening really.

      1. The BBC’s facts are merely opinion. The role of the military is to kill the enemy. The more of them dead there, the less there are for border farce to bring here.

  30. SIR – Zac Goldsmith and Chris Skidmore (Comment, July 11) support the phasing out of fossil fuels.

    Commodities such as oil and coking coal are basic industrial feedstocks. Green technology such as railways and wind turbines require steel for their manufacture, and to make steel you need such industrial feedstocks.

    Oil and coking coal will also provide more blue-collar jobs in Scotland and the North, which will be good for the governing party the next general election.

    Finally, more jobs in the North will relieve housing pressure in the southern “blue wall”, thus protecting the surrounding countryside.

    John Barstow
    Pulborough, West Sussex

    But…but…but wot about our ‘carbon footprint’ and all the other pseudo-greenie BS, Mr Barstow? That’s what counts now, not logic and common sense.

    1. Ah, Chris Skidmore. His father is a decent bloke but Chris hasn’t really achieved much.

  31. SIR – Zac Goldsmith and Chris Skidmore (Comment, July 11) support the phasing out of fossil fuels.

    Commodities such as oil and coking coal are basic industrial feedstocks. Green technology such as railways and wind turbines require steel for their manufacture, and to make steel you need such industrial feedstocks.

    Oil and coking coal will also provide more blue-collar jobs in Scotland and the North, which will be good for the governing party come the next general election.

    Finally, more jobs in the North will relieve housing pressure in the southern “blue wall”, thus protecting the surrounding countryside.

    John Barstow
    Pulborough, West Sussex

    But…but…but wot about our ‘carbon footprint’ and all the other pseudo-greenie BS, Mr Barstow?

  32. ‘In my country it is normal to have sex with young boys’. 14 July 2022.

    An Afghan migrant who raped and sexually assaulted multiple young boys and girls defended his vile abuse as ‘normal’ cultural practice in his home country.

    Mohammed Rahman Arsala, 32, moved to Saint-Brieuc in northern France in 2018 where he committed a string of offences.

    He was jailed last year for 15 years for raping a 12-year-old boy and was hauled back before the courts last week to answer for further offences against children.

    Ahhhh! The wonders of diversity!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11009309/Afghan-migrant-raped-assaulted-children-France-says-normal-home-country.html

    1. At least, for once, France has stood up unequivocally, against Muslim Ideology and withstood any backlash from their resident jihadis and queer-bashers.

      1. That Afghan’s perversions are not “normal” in north Africa where the vast majority of France’s muslims come from, that’s why.

    2. In 1994 I worked in Indonesia for an Indonesian telecoms consortium. I was staying in an Indonesian business hotel, quite comfortable, as opposed to one of the soulless international chains. After going to my room I received a call from the concierge asking if everything was OK, and would I wish any additional services. I was informed that the hotel provided excellent “additional services” should I so wish, to which I assured the concierge that I was fine and had no need of such. “Ah, would Sir prefer little boy instead?” was the response.

      1. No surprise that so many of them grow up to have mental health problems after being repeatedly raped.

      2. When I was sailing around the Caribbean in 1984 – 85 I wrote a song called Hey Skip This as about the little boys who came and tried to sell you things when you were at anchor. (Skip is short for skipper) – I added verses after I had visited another island. The first Chorus was:

        Hey Skip, Hep Ship
        Wanna buy some limes?
        I can introduce you to my sister
        I can show your good times

        They approached a friend of ours who was sailing single handed and when he had assured them that he did not want to meet their sister they asked whether he would like to me their little brothers. Again he replied in the negative!

        HEY SKIP! – Richard Tracey (1985)

        I sailed over to de Caribbean
        For de sunshine and de rum.
        I found lots of lovely coloured fishes
        I had me lots of fun.
        But de worst thing about de Caribbean,
        De thing dat I hate most,
        Was de constant pesterin’ dat I got
        From de little boys in boats.
        Wid deir: Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        I can introduce you to my sister;
        I can show you good times!

        I spent me Crissmass in Bequia –
        It was very nice
        Till de little boys came seranadin’
        Dey said it was paradise.
        Dey said dat dey could mind me dinghy,
        Dey could do me laundry for me.
        Dey could sell me grapefruit and bananas
        For lots and lots of E.C.
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip!Wanna buy some limes?
        I and I wish you a rubby-dubby Crissmass,
        We can show you good times!

        When I got down to Grenada,
        De U.S. Army was dere.
        Wearin’ short pants and tee shirts
        And driving jeeps everywhere.
        Dey screamed and whistled and waved machine-guns
        As dey drove by past me.
        It made me think that it is not true
        Dat worse things happen at sea.
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        We can hijack you into a taxi;
        We can show you good times!

        When I sailed up to de Pitons,
        De boys approached wid speed.
        Dey said dat a line tied to a tree
        Was de very thing I need.
        I said:”I’m O.K. – I can do it,
        I’m quite able to cope.”
        Dey said:”If you don’t pay us five dollars,
        We’ll come and cut your rope.”
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        We can take you for a ride on de elephant,
        We can show you good times!

        In Portsmouth, in Dominica,
        De boys are a real pain.
        De little ones try to sell you coral,
        De big ones – hash or cocaine!
        Dey scratch your topsides wid naily dinghies
        And offer you de River Cruise.
        But deir Mafia ensures dat de competition
        Goes swimmin’ in concrete shoes.
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        We can sell you some plastic scrimshaw,
        We can show you good times!

        De French islands are rather different –
        No boys in boats out dere.
        But de way dat de French all try to anchor
        Drives me to despair.
        You go to sleep in Martinique,
        But a Froggy ties a hoop
        Around your anchor and your chain
        So you wake in Guadaloupe!
        So
        Bonjour, Capitaine! Voulez-vous du fromage?
        Je peux vous donner vin et onions
        Pour un trés grand charge!

        When we got to Antigua,
        De beautiful people were dere.
        Dancing to Wadadli Experience
        And de Halcyon Steel Orchestra.
        De white girls smiled at de Rastas,
        But dem Rastas were too classy
        Dey did not want de white girls at all,
        Dey wanted Heile Selasse.
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        Arrow will play at de jump-up
        And we shall have good times!

        And so I’ll sail back home to England
        Before de hurricane.
        I’ll have to cope wid sleet and snow
        And five knot tides again.
        I’ll drop me hook in Salcombe
        To lose de Caribbean Blues,
        But I’ll feel quite kindlily toward dem boat boys
        When I have to pay de harbour dues,
        So
        Hey Skip! Hey Skip! Wanna buy some limes?
        I can introduce you to my sister –
        I can show you good times!

  33. Conservative leadership race latest: Lord Frost reveals ‘grave reservations’ about Penny Mordaunt as leader
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/14/tory-leadership-election-penny-mordaunt-sunak-truss-badenoch/

    The critical moment in the probably now fruitless search for an effective Conservative Party’s next leader was when the Conservative candidate for the Tiverton by election was chosen. Had they chosen Lord Frost and had he won the seat he would now be well on the way to becoming prime minister and the Conservative Party on the way to winning the next election.

    I said at the time on this forum David Frost was probably blocked by Boris Johnson who, for all his bluster, would have felt seriously insecure and threatened with David Frost in the HoC.

    Having said that and if one should judge politicians by their good looks and sex appeal then Penny Mordaunt should be the next prime minister. Her appearance should compensate for her incompetence – after all some pretty good looking women became prime minsters in other countries while we got lumbered with a sexless frump like May who did not even have competence to compensate for her plainness.

      1. Good morning, Ndovu

        Never trust what I say in my posts – the odds are I am being ironic!

          1. You’re absolutely correct.

            It rather reminds me of the story about George Bernard Shaw who was approached by a stunningly beautiful woman who suggested that they should have a child together.

            “Just imagine,” she said, “if we have a child with my looks and your brain what a wonderful person we shall create!”

            “But,” replied GBS, “just imagine if the chid has my looks and your brain!”

          6. Gosh, my memory is nothing that good as that! I’m impressed!

            Are you settling into your new Allan Towers (or would that be the Allan Turret? :o) .)

          7. We’re still sorting out the sale. We have just accepted an offer. Weeks – probably months – of fun lie ahead.
            We have rented our chosen abode for 6 months to give us a breathing space.
            We wish to remain in our patch, and, as this is probably our last move, we would rather speculate to accumulate. Family, friends and even dog walking acquaintances live around us.
            As has been said by several people; in this area, people don’t really move, they merely swap houses.

          9. Of course Penny Mordaunt, like Ms May, has no children which reminds me of the Scottish play.

            Which reminds me of one of the questions in the Scottish play where the answer seems ambiguous so I was tempted to set my pupils a silly essay question: “Did Lady Macbeth ever work as a wet nurse.”

            Can anyone work out why I might ask this question?

            Lady Macbeth suggests that she has had children:

            I have given suck, and know
            How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.
            I would, while it was smiling in my face,
            Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
            And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn
            As you have done to this.

            and Macbeth is worried that Banquo’s heirs will become kings while his won’t:

            Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
            And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
            Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand,
            No son of mine succeeding.

            But when Macduff hears that his own children have been slaughtered by Macbeth he says:

            He has no children.
            All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam. At one fell swoop?

          10. Off the top of my head, Lady MacBeth was on her second marriage.
            I’m not sure if she had children from her first outing.
            MacBeth as a toy boy; now there’s a thought.

      2. 354242+ up ticks,

        Morning N,
        Make jphnson PM he makes us laugh, they ain’t laughing now.

      3. They (so-called good looks) seem to have been instrumental in the support for “Dishy Rishi” by a part of the female population. Personally I think he looks oily, with a low forehead – but what do you expect from a dumbed-down electorate. Anyway, it’s not the Tory members who are going to decide the next PM. Both candidates will be abysmal for this country.

      4. They (so-called good looks) seem to have been instrumental in the support for “Dishy Rishi” by a part of the female population. Personally I think he looks oily, with a low forehead – but what do you expect from a dumbed-down electorate. Anyway, it’s not the Tory members who are going to decide the next PM. Both candidates will be abysmal for this country.

      5. My thoughts are that a robot would be the best option. With no known affiliations, or ways to bend the rules.
        Just feed the correct ongoing information into it and act on the results. A bit like daily weather reports. Information gathered and passed on to the public.
        But of course this depends on who might have access to the gathered information.
        It can’t be any worse than what we have had for around 30 years.
        And if it goes pear shape pull the plug out.

        1. infinitely. Replace all the ego and arrogance with an AI. No more cushy bribery holidays, no more high taxes, no more waste, just efficiency. Clean, cold, hard logic.

          A machine would find those people who have multiple children on welfare and just stop payinng them. Oh, they’d get uppity and complain they can’t loaf in bed all day long, but tough.

      1. I cannot believe than anybody – and certainly not even Miss Sheffield – ever thought that puffy-faced putty face Cameron was either sexy or good looking!

  34. Remember when the first ten pages of the daily newspaper were devoted to the Ukraine?

    Barely a mention today.

    Funny that.

    2. Yes. You might be forgiven for thinking things are not going too well Bill.

      1. Perhaps the revelation that the “plucky little” Ukes were flogging the weapons that the West had supplied has discouraged those who thought the sun shone out etc etc

      1. “We need to stir up anger and indignation”

        Over these bluddy fool mercenaries, who put themselves into danger fighting for a totalitarian comedian.

        1. Minister for Drought the Minister for Floods on consecutive days in September 1968 IIRC.

          3. Of course. The 1968 one was floods in South East. We’d been married 6 months and were living in Maidstone.

        2. I went out with his son before he was tragically killed in a car accident in 1986. Said son was lovely as was pater Howell. Very very sad.

  35. Good Morning all ,
    Rant time

    Some time ago I was delighted to see the acclaimed award winning play “The Play That Goes Wrong” was to be performed at The Bristol Hippodrome, much engaged I bought two tickets and waited with eager anticipation to see the production which amongst the many accolades had it being likened unto the best of Alan Ayckbourn’s oeuvre , be still my beating heart. Came the day and as I settled down and the production began I found I had sitting behind me a man with the loudest laugh I’ve ever encountered , ever. His lady friend did a passible impression of Barbara Windsor at slightly less volume, slightly. The slightest amusement sent this pair into paroxysms of guffaws, hoots and giggles. The irony is that within 30mins both myself and SWMBO found we were finding the play crass, frenetic, unsubtle, infantile and desperately unfunny so much so we left at the interval having had our senses so brutally assailed fore and aft.

    In defence of the production some of the attendant Bristolians found it funny so I guess it was our problem

    Where else, I wonder, did we start with such high hopes, with a promise of a great cast and a satisfying narrative only to be disappointed as the whole production degenerates into a farce with 650 players

    1. It can also work the other way. Many years ago my mother and I went to a Proms concert to hear Messiah. To our dismay, a choir of about 16 people came out, no soloists and a small orchestra. Oh yikes, this will be awful, we thought. It was superb. The solos were performed by members of the choir, the choruses sounded like a full choir and not 16 voices and the small orchestra was excellent.
      It remains one of the best performances of Messiah I have heard and totally the opposite to our expectations.

        1. I don’t think so; it’s lost in the mists of time but I rather think it was an American University ensemble. Whoever they were, it was wonderful.

  36. 354242+ up ticks,

    Behold, a very sad state of affairs,

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    15h
    For Britain announces it is ceasing activities as a political party.

    I am not a member of For Britain but I have known Anne Marie for many years & she is sincere. Her exit from politics is a sad & telling event.

    What she says about UK politics being dead is true. It has been killed by the MSM & the thuggery of the left. In the USA they steal elections, here they don’t need to.

    Anyone who dares to go against the permitted narrative is intimidated & attacked by the MSM, & political meetings & candidates face threats & violence from the left. The police will rather shut down a public meeting than confront lefists thugs.

    Where we go from here I don’t know.

    1. “Where we go from here I don’t know.”

      The only hope is for the vote-splitting fringe parties to get over their ‘chutzpah’ leadership, amalgamate and present the electorate with a viable alternative for which to vote.

      1. 354242+ up ticks,

        Morning NtN,

        The man who just made that statement
        built & ran for a year a very successful party in the black financially and gaining members daily, showing it was & can be done.

        If a party is not built on what then is the other options, for a great many it will be the best of the worst AGAIN the very same voting pattern that got us to were we are today, in deep shit via the polling booth.

        1. Pity the UKIP NEC was allowed (and able) to get rid of him – there didn’t seem much of a push-back from the party members to unseat that NEC. Did everyone hate him?

          1. 354242+ up ticks,

            NtN,
            This was a combined effort between the party nec & farage after witnessing the Batten, in one year , success.

            He was judged to be NOT of good standing within the party.
            Have you ALL the known facts
            at hand ?

          2. No I don’t but ALL the known facts are NOT made public. I don’t regard your repiticious witterings as trustworthy – a tad biased, I’d say.

          3. 354242+ up ticks,

            NtN,
            All I can say tom tom in the nicest possible way then is bollocks me old cocker, ALL KNOWN FACTS as witnessed out in the public arena.

            I don’t regard your repiticious ( query) witterings as trustworthy – a tad biased,

            By the same token I do regard the repetitious lab/lib/con mass uncontrolled immigration / paedophile umbrella coalition, as life costing, bloody dangerous.

  37. Morning all, looks like being a nice sunny day so it’ll be back to logging, thank you for all the messages of concern yesterday , I will take more care and wear gloves (finger has healed)

    1. Get out the crop dusters and lettuce spray.
      Whoops I was distracted ……the new variant.

      Spoiler wouldn’t work properly. 🤔

        1. And no chance of a stimulated camera effect, actually live filming. One take. And cuuuuut 😉😁

  40. Nightmare for Emmanuel Macron as his minority government fails first big test
    Opposition politicians deal blow to president after blocking reintroduction of Covid passes for tourists.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/07/13/emmanuel-macrons-government-suffers-first-defeat-since-french/

    Sloppy reporting from the DT. This BTL sums it up:

    BTL

    “i>Opposition MPs rejected a proposal to reinstate the health pass for travellers entering France, requiring them to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test in the event of the emergence of a new Covid variant.”
    This is an inaccurate account of the facts in the DT article. Macron wants to reinstate the ‘State of Emergency’ due to expire at the end of July as this state of emergency allows him to reintroduce tyrannical Covid rules without first having to get the assembly’s approval.”

    In other wants Macron wants to be able to act quickly, unchecked and without having his hands tied if he decides to reintroduce tyrannical rules again.

        1. Thank you, Richard. Unexplained abbreviations popping up in odd places I find maddening.

    2. Micron’s machinations foiled on the eve of Bastille Day; it’s almost poetic.

  41. Was looking at ages and wealth of some of those actively agitating for a return to EU –
    presumably to receive even greater land subsidies. One of their number is 89 years old and a multi-millionaire. Would like to think that most of us, if we ever reach that age with more money than we could sensibly spend, might use whatever time we had left in less avaricious
    pursuits.

  42. Whoever turns out to be the next PM it will be the Queen’s 15th; traditionally crystal.

    No doubt the new government will shatter everything it touches.

  43. Why is Rishi Sunak in the lead for the position of PM? He is the epitome of “the man from nowhere”*. He is also the man who borrowed huge sums of money to buy things we did not need. It is almost as if his career was guided, managed and facilitated by Higher Powers. Is it normal for first time political candidates to be popped into a very safe seat like Richmond?

    * Not the “Dan Dare” story but Emmanuel Macron.

  45. Seems to me that the Conservative Party is going to replace one useless dickhead with the attention span of a gnat – with the same thing.

    What a shambles. Top three = A rich, oily opportunist; two thick women.

    I never, in a million years, thought that I would be hoping (and praying) for a Christian Nigerian woman to win.

    1. 😄🤣

      No worries Bill, it’s the civil service that runs the country all this play acting is designed for confusion.
      As in ………
      Yes minister, Yes prime minister.

    1. Retired Army major claims ex armed forces minister let down veterans…

      That would be one of Tugendhat’s old buddies then?

          3. A dedicated and determined Remainer.

            Today he made a speech on Sky which was all about a wonderful ten year plan.

            However he forgot to mention whether he would try to rejoin the EU.

            I wonder why he forgot?

    2. Funny how that accusation pops up now? (I do hope and trust the government ministers do not get to decide who gets investigated and who gets prosecuted)

    1. You might well be correct Elie but I would suggest that she was only following orders from above her station.

  49. Another dull, cloudy day in the Scottish Borders with a cold wind blowing.

      2. Very hot up here earlier on but now clouded over. Logging finished for lunch Tesco (MM) pork pie (delicious) and tomato

    1. What about the safety of the teenager – presumably that’s not worth considering?

    2. Take his bed and board out of the foreign ‘aid’ designated for his homeland. That way we taxpayers don’t have to subsidise them twice.

    1. I must admit that I may be a bit plump and it is a very long time since I had a figure like a tennis professional but I am nowhere near that fatty on the left. I had Covid in February and, apart from having to have the nurse come out to give Caroline and me the Covid test I didn’t cause any undue threat to the health services.

    2. To be fair to him, Stephen Nolan has a) lost weight since that photo, and b) while he is boringly anti “non vaxxers”, he never actually mentioned Djokovic specifically!

        1. My response: “I’m a bolshie bast*rd. The science is guff and I don’t take orders.”

    1. Oh yeah,the dodgy spieler (gambling club) in the basement of the taxi firm with the “interesting” clientele…..
      Happy Days

        1. 88, East Hill and The North Countryman’s Club in Colchester were the local drinking clubs. Imagine … Drinking In The Afternoon!!!!!!
          The more openly scary and degenerate establishment (coffee and soft drinks only) was the The Pink Basin Teddy Boy caff near the bus park; we uniformed gels used to scurry past, eyes down hoping none of the common young men hanging around the doorway would wolf whistle or make suggestive remarks.

    2. I remember way back going into a few of these places in my early twenties and once on a stag night.
      Where I had my pocket picked and wallet stolen. I’d had a 250 pound Cape bule triangular stamp in the wallet. Probably worth a few thousand today.
      Bastards.
      One of my mates said to a hooker, ”ello darlin’ how’s yer knee,” ?
      She replied “what knee” ?
      He said “yer fan knee”. Her pimp step across and punch him on the nose.
      Poor old John. 🤭

  54. Ah,the bloodied knuckles 3 cars up in a scrapyard stack on a rainy Sunday trying to shift an AF bolt with a metric spanner and a screwdriver……..

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1dc2d2468b8e6368d52b55593623fe8071d39fc39b1b1f5e5ccc1da3e2dda1b2.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5ec77e0cafc033a719939759f1fa800c889e86fc610d6c7787711486e7117572.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1cae7eef97e197ca8e27355b6bf7787432b904d7e759aee774f3e4c26921aa24.jpg

    https://pics.me.me/tool-expectations-please-come-loose-i-hope-it-comes-loose-44132136.png

  55. From what I’ve just seen of her speech, it’s Liz Truss for me.
    Seemingly no bull shite.

    1. I thought she was good now the bbc are trying to pull her apart. Switch off time.

          1. Anyone would think, listening to the Beeb, that it’s an Original Sin to have been born English…

          2. I think it’s in the contracts the recent employees might have to sign. Controlled but obvious hate.
            There aren’t many TV programmes on now were they don’t squeeze diversity in. Have you noticed although there are very rarely black people on Mastermind the question master now makes up for that.
            They don’t miss a trick.
            It’s all getting rather obviously racist and race driven.

    3. Liz “Let’s have a nuclear war” Truss? The Liz Truss that never responds to letters from humble voters (me). The Liz Truss who did the square root of zero in respect of the massive hold-ups at Customs export and import, (that continue by the way) . That Liz Truss? Who is she working for?

    4. The Adulterer to be replaced with the Adultera!

      (Waives his corset and is off!)

  57. My word this country is almost stuffed full with box ticking morons.
    To stop people ‘becoming ill’ carnivals and fetes around the country are being cancelled. zzzzz
    I wonder what they would do if the slammers go out side and are found kneeling in a park.
    Good old Anne Widdecombe went into a well justified rant about the nanny state.

  58. Fo Marrah, 39, said that he was illegally trafficked into the UK and forced to work as a domestic servant. D Fail

    The Olympic champion was actually born Hussein Abdi Kahin Abdul Abulbul Amir and his father is probably still alive in darkest East London, and still trading his offspring for needles and crack.

    2. Moh thought it was all very strange , and feels alarmed .. Trafficking kids for spare body parts must be commonplace .

      What happened to the other Mo.. because the other Mo who spoke to Mo seemed to be much younger than Sir Mo ..

      Everything is very suspicious .. and the Somali family who adopted him and took him away from being a slave were related to the people who brought him to the Uk.

      Do you know what , the British taxpayers have been mugged .

      1. As I child I was always on the side of Abdul Abulbul Amir which we had on a 78 rpm record as his name rolled so well off the tongue.

    4. He’s been dam lucky to have someone fly him in. Many of his kinfolk have to pay through the nose and endure dangerous journeys to get to the land of freebies.

  59. Good morning all

    After a very warm night with a beautiful moonscape , I hardly slept a wink .

    So decided to get dressed and breakfasted early , 7am ish in order to take the dogs for an early gallop .. Moh doesn’t have a golf day but he decided to clear off and go to the practise range and hit a few balls , then play a few holes before his match tomorrow .

    I took the dogs to the heath , it is devoid of bees and butterflies, and very few birds , although I did see a pair of green woodpeckers eating ants .

    Another dog walker appeared , she was walking very briskly with a spanoodle in tow .. my eldest dog is 14 years old and not as sprightly as my 9 year old , so the older chap dawdles and the younger dog bounces along …

    Yes he bounced and ran alongside the spanoodle , the walker didn’t slow down and off he went with the others . The lady dog walker didn’t slow down to let me catch up with mine … she just walked on briskly with my young dog following .. my chap must have sniffed that her dog was on heat , my older dog is deaf as a post and just bimbles along sniffing the heather and gorse , and rabbit pooh .

    I couldn’t catch up , but I whistled and called for Pip , and he didn’t return , I started to feel very anxious.. 15 minutes later I heard a voice calling me , telling me the obvious , your dog followed me …

    I moved quickly put Pip on the lead , and asked her whether her dog was on heat , her answer was … She didn’t know !

    Some people eh?

    Wide open spaces that I feel fortunate enough to walk the dogs in , the moment was ruined .

    1. Perhaps she was ‘a professional’ dog walker.
      I’ve reach a few conclusions since we’ve had our dog and out walking. Other dog walkers always say at least hello and quite often stop for a quick chat.
      Lots of families with young children have never explained to the children not all dogs will attack you. I usually say don’t worry she loves children……but couldnt eat a whole one. Laughter usually follows. Many middle aged couples on their own never even look at you as they approach. I always pass the time of day. One of the biggest problems I have is our Lab will always share her tennis ball when we cross paths with other dogs. The passing dogs quite often walk off with the ball.
      I remember one occasion that a lady with three dogs and it took me 10 minutes to get the ball back as they shared it between them.

      I can’t check the spelling on this post sorry. Since I up loaded new upgrades my phone seems to have taken on a mind of it’s own and the window will not move downwards.

      1. RE

        Thanks for sharing that, I have experienced just the same anti social awkwardness from other dog walkers .

        I often wonder whether people have lost the art of good conversation , I love it when people stop to chat , and dogs can sense cheerfullness and kind voices , but those times are becoming a rare occurrence .

        My keyboard needs replacing .. half the letters have faded , and I have to thump down really strongly.

    1. The daftie in the hat is concerned about his mobile phone, not his mates.

      1. They knew what they were getting into. If you can’t swim don’t go near water.

        1. Quite so. But when there is a an accident to people the first thing you do is save your phone?

        2. Good advice. When I went on a dinghy sailing course they asked, as a requirement for the course, if you could swim. I said” Yes”, of course. I lied.

          1. Not to labour the point but i will. Those guys knew they might have up ended. People from the sub continent can’t swim because of alligators, crocodiles, jellyfish and an assortment of sharks. Long may they live. (sharks).

          2. Yes, I know. I’m just fooling around. I certainly would not expect a Nottler to “Labour the point”

  61. Some Laffs

    Yeah I thought the fat man in the stands was the ball too

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7ea9627d4f5c0b7f3f75f2f963679f2e4000fedb57f0dbd2ec98ec7324ddd4b3.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6bf91cbbe1e31d58d68d21f0ca4bbcc99215705998c52a4e994d7a811308aa91.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1a9d3de91a299cf0d46cfe95d984572602948d7060a42baf225cc7a9a3e0e747.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0cee0d7c8337f6757518829f91b37cde280effbc5f0c289fdb6f26b5bd195437.jpg

    1. Rik

      The second pic is hilarious , because I said the very same to my husband yesterday, who is now as brown as a berry, or more like a piece of Biltong.

        1. Of course i didn’t get most of the reference points but i could see he and the audience were enjoying it, so, so did I.

    3. Wonder why he doesn’t push off back home, now that he is rich and famous…..

      1. He was raised here. This is his home. I hope with his wealth and fame he is helping those less fortunate.

    4. Don’t you lurve people with too much time on their hands who are glued to their pooters.

      1. I seem to remember that I posted posted Mireille Mathieu’s rendition here last year on July 14th.

        I must admit that Mireille outpiafs Edith with the famous guttural French R!

          1. In my youth i worked in a French restaurant. Among the Piaf tapes i found Mireille. Always put that on when i went on duty.

      4. It’s by far the best one I know. I’ve posted it a few times over the years, here and elsewhere.

  65. SIR – Defence spending, rethinking net zero, tackling wokery – worthy platforms all.

    Me, I’d vote for whoever promises to get GPs back to work. After all, there’s no point being well-armed, warm and open-minded if you’ve died waiting for a doctor’s appointment.

    Michael Round
    London SW19

    Moh has a golf pal who needed a biopsy on his you know whats .. The waiting list was long .. so he went privately to the Nuffield ..cost over £2 k, and further procedures will cost more .

    People cannot get dental treatment either unless they fork out loads of money.

    2. Paid £345 for my partial denture yesterday. Mostly Lab work not covered by my insurance. Dentist re-seated it and now fits perfectly. The alternative was an implant costing £3,500 plus if they needed to do a bone graft. Not many people could have afforded that except for civil servants and politicians.

  66. 354242+ up ticks,

    If it can be proved beyond doubt that a policeman / woman had eyes tight shut against such odious actions then they should be taken to the market place, stripped and introduced to Roger & the pineapple.

    Over 1,000 Girls Groomed by ‘Asian’ Rape Gangs in Small English Town Amid Politically Correct Police Inaction

    May one ask, what part of Asia would that be then ?

    May one also ask, will this type of odious issue alter the voting pattern in any other way than making the situation worse on a daily basis adding to children carrying mental scars into adulthood… for the “good” of the party of course.

    Who was it said ” For the sake of diversity the victims should stay silent”

  67. Just finished trimming one of the hedges – so that the dahlias have plenty of room. Had to repair the 1986 repair to the hedge-trimmer cable! Now looks like a showerette on its way – to lay the dust and make the “lawn”think that nice damp weather is on its way…. Will be forced to have lunch indoors. Curses.

    G & P oblivious. Gus oddly clingy (well, in a distant sort of way) this morning.

    1. We have driven through some villages in deepest darkest France, like the one in Deliverance
      I checked the fuel level of the car: we did not stop

      1. Afternoon OLT. I was once in Ollerton in Nottinghamshire and had to call in at their Supermarket for something to eat. As I sat there consuming what I had bought a series of Grotesques arrived and left that would have done credit to any backwoods movie. Then I realised that this was the backwoods. These people had probably been living in the surrounding area scarcely touched by modern civilisation and intermarrying for tens of generations

        1. We got lost when visiting friends who lived in the Fens. MB got out of the car and asked directions at a house that loomed up through the fog.
          It was like the opening scenes of the Rocky Horror Show without the music.

          3. I would like, if i may, to take you on a strange journey……….

            Not so strange now is it !!!

          4. We stopped at an isolated pub in the Fens. The beer was off. As we left a couple of greasers at the bar uttered ’don’t come back’.

          5. Similar experience in the Forest of Dean in the late 1980s with genuine backwoodsmen.

        2. Ollertonians may have intermarried for all I know, but certainly in they used to mine a lot of coal and there are 31 names on the Ollerton war memorial. Curiously, that includes L V Bonsall.

        3. Villages in the UK use to be like that probably where most of our politicians can trace back to.

    2. I’ve driven up into that area- not alone I hasten to add. Blood Mountain is the southern end/start of the Appalachian Trial and it’s wild. There is a store/cafe there and then a winding narrow road upwards and upwards. Any people you might see regard you with suspicion and you don’t feel safe to linger or get out the car for a look around.
      It is said that there are people up there and in the Blue Ridge mountains that are not registered anywhere…not births, deaths or anything.

    2. I’ve seen numerous comments over the years to the effect that black GI’s enjoyed being in the UK because they were regarded by the British as being against the common enemy, prepared to die alongside “our boys”, and treated with respect as a result.

      1. We’ve had riots here but were they racist?

        Possibly the Duggan one but he did have a gun.

        1. If you count the Islamic ones and their threats of rioting, then I would say there was certainly an element of racism.

      2. Black troops were welcome in Britain, but Jim Crow wasn’t.

        The whole incident is typical of the clashes on and around bases in Britain between black and white American troops – 44 between November 1943 and February 1944 alone – where the intrinsic racism in a segregated army led to confrontations. This was especially the case in a foreign setting where the black soldiers saw around them a very different reality from that they faced at home – a non-segregated society where they were welcomed as fellow fighters against fascism, rather than tolerated hod-carriers for the war effort as they were generally treated by the US Army.

        . https://theconversation.com/black-troops-were-welcome-in-britain-but-jim-crow-wasnt-the-race-riot-of-one-night-in-june-1943-98120

    3. Something similar is featured in the movie Yanks. Good film and filmed near where I lived in Cheshire.

    4. I Can only read the opening part but………….The Railway Children Return, the long-awaited sequel to Lionel Jeffries’s 1970 adaptation of Edith Nesbit’s classic novel.
      Really,…………. the line (scus the pun) of people who have long awaited this must be at least 12 long.
      But if remember correctly it was a very good film with a lovely story.

    5. Why not make a film specifically about that? Why not show the historical evidence of a British soldier supporting the black GIs? Don’t hijack the past to paint a wokeist attitude where blacks were everywhere, just tell the original, true story.

      1. I believe a film has been made. I think this is loosely based on the Battle of Bamber Bridge in Lancs. A US segregated unit was stationed up there and the American MPs tried to enforce segregation in the pub, village hall etc. Whites one night, blacks the next etc.
        The locals weren’t having it and they sided with the black GIs. The village people didn’t mind about the blacks who were fighting, as they saw it against the common enemy, but they did not want the USA Jim Crow laws in their small town.
        As I stated below, an incident similar is in the movie Yanks but Bamber Bridge happened.

    1. OMG. What the hell are these Aussie parliamentarians thinking of? How much are they being paid? They are out of their minds.

    2. Glad to see fit young man had the right priorities.
      Film it, not actually lend a hand.

  73. Latest Breaking News – Rolex ripper gang caught trying to leave the UK after crime wave.

    A spokesman for the police said he was glad that it never all happened on his watch

    1. On the face of it the story is a bit second hand, but it will be complete in a minute or so.

    1. That is good news. The EU wants it, so will no doubt force it through in other legislation.

      1. From memory, timed out, NI protocol bill took precedence (my interpretation which may well be wrong).

  75. I am more and more suspicious of this “Lord” Frost bloke. If he is such a good, old fashioned Tory, wedded to old values etc etc – why doesn’t he put himself up as a candidate for the Commons? Get elected and stand for the leadership.

    Rather than pontificating about this and that and doing sod all.

    Just saying.

    1. Pass. He’s a politician. They’re all greedy, venal berks. To be honest so little of ministerial roles is relevant nowadays there’s no point him standing. The civil service holds the power. Only until that’s disrupted and broken will things change.

      A Lord on the benches has as much clout as the PM, I’d imagine.

    2. Give up a well paid sinecure, which might not be offered again, on the off chance of becoming an MP and then becoming PM, potentially for only a short term?
      He might be a pontificator, but he’s not a fool.

      1. He may be not a fool but pontificating gets you nowhere – as all of us here know only too well.

    3. Has he had the opportunity?
      You have to be approved by Tory central to be allowed to stand in a by election, or any election come to that.
      Time & time again the local people choose who they want & Tory Central parachute someone in of their choice.
      It happened a lot at Theresa May’s election.

      1. Things may have changed, but this is how it was a few years ago.
        The constituency is sent a CCHQ approved list. Reams and reams of CVs to go through. They are whittled down by constituency officers to manageable numbers and the first selection is held. When we last did it, we laboured under Call-Me-Dave’s diktat that 50% of the finalists had to be women. In order to find two that were vaguely palatable, we had to suffer presentations by desperate strange women doing the rounds.
        The final 4 candidates are chosen. Some weeks later, they parade in a large hall in front of all constituency members who choose to turn up to the bunfight. Out of that process, emerges the candidate.
        About 10 years ago, for a couple of constituencies, the party tried balloting the entire voting population; all the non-Tories understandably took advantage of the situation. It was a very expensive procedure and one that produced Sarah Wollaston – ’nuff said.

        1. Yes we went through that process in Bath.
          However, in TM’s election, as I noted, some of the local selections were over-ridden by central office.
          Obviously this was kept quiet, but Conservative Home was onto it.

    4. Can a bear of very little brain ask, please, when did the rules change to stop a peer being a pm? It hasn’t always been so since, to name but two, Lord North, 2nd Earl of Guilford and the 1st Duke of Wellington both served as prime minister. When in 1876 Anthony Trollope made Plantagenent Palliser, Duke of Omnium, “The Prime Minister” in his novel of that name, he wasn’t being fanciful. It was possible.

      1. The horse is an animal with one of the smallest ratios of brain mass to body mass. Which probably explains the affinity the English upper classes have with equine sports.

        1. I always say that the Connemara’s brain isn’t connected to his legs! Doing pole work (poles on the ground, that is) he doesn’t seem to be able to judge the distance to pick his feet up to avoid kicking them.

      2. They have never changed, Our Susan. It is just a modern convention. cf: the 14th noble Earl of Home.

        In October 1963, Harold Macmillan resigned as prime minister and Douglas-Home was chosen to succeed him. By the 1960s, it was unacceptable for a prime minister to sit in the House of Lords, so Home disclaimed his hereditary peerage and successfully stood for election to Parliament as Sir Alec Douglas-Home.

        1. I remember as an 8 year old being confused by his name. Couldn’t understand why it was spelt Home but pronounced Hume. Mind, at least I could read.

        2. Sort of ditto Lord Stansgate; resigned his title to remain an MP named Anthony Wedgewood Benn.

          1. I spent a lot of time in court during his case – which he conducted himself. It was fascinating.

    5. I worry too, Bill. Like JRM, I suspect he’s part of the problem, not a solution.

    1. I can’t understand why there wasn’t a reply:
      ’11 inches – I can’t get it all in my mouth!’

  79. I have the sprinkler on the lawn (wicked I know)…& a baby pied wagtail is playing games with it – running in & out with the sprinkler shower as it comes around…
    Nice breeze here…much better than steamy Bath!

    2. I fixed the shower last night so instead of it being ‘mostly hot water’ it’s now ‘mostly cold water’ with the boiler hot water set to 0. It’s still some 20’c rise though, but the shower’s down to 20’c.

      Best bit is that the Warqueen doesn’t know how to put it back again…. hurh hurrh hurrhh

  82. Idle thoughts. Reading some articles about GDP. I’m not a finance guru at all, but understand enough to be dangerous. MPs crow about rises in GDP, claiming it is great, and aren’t they great in making the increase happen. But, and a huge but, when you read the detail of what GDP is, it come across as one of the biggest piles of smoke and mirrors in existence. I always thought GDP reflected productivity, but the recent rise of 0.5% in May has in the most part, apparently been created by an increase in doctors’ appointments and NHS turnover. Like most things political nowadays, it seems to be a hollow sham.

    Three charts that show Britain’s economic recovery is a mirage. GDP is up but the cost of living crisis is starting to bite.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/07/13/three-charts-show-britains-economic-recovery-mirage/

    3. The well known revenge on troublesome house buyers: shove a few prawns into the curtain rods.
      If rods are solid, secrete them into the curtain hems.

  84. No, Tories aren’t racist. The leadership election proves it
    Conservative members will vote for the candidate they think most able and most politically sympathetic regardless of their skin colour

    Tom Harris: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/14/no-tories-arent-racist-leadership-election-proves/

    BTL

    But they will still be accused of being racist if they decide to go for a white candidate! Mark my words – on the question of race if you do not always put a person of colour ahead of a white person you are always going to be automatically racist.

    1. I think that’s called common sense. Not a lot of it going around at the moment.

  87. An anecdote for Paul and those others of you who had had to clear out the house of loved ones.
    When my parents died, almost 40 years ago and three days apart, my then husband, small son and I went back to London. It was a week before Xmas.
    Some preliminary clearing and then time off for the hols. We reconvened for the funeral; Dec 30th and then back to the big clear out. Too much stuff, too many memories but a few strange things.
    My mother was the Imelda Marcos of south London- she had dozens of pairs of shoes. Only six pairs neatly lined up in her wardrobe, all the rest gone.
    We could not find the few bits of silver that Dad had….one day I had a flashback; I recalled seeing Dad pulling out a bottom drawer of a chest, hiding stuff in there and then putting the drawer back in. Hunt of all chests and bingo! Silver was found under the bottom drawer of the telephone table in the hall.
    We could not find my mother’s jewellery anywhere, not that she had much. So we gave up.
    The house was sold to a family named Garcia and one day my brother had a phone call. It was Mr. Garcia. His wife had been taking down the curtains in the bedroom and noticed something in the hem of one of them…..mother’s jewels. Mr. Garcia asked my brother to come and pick them up as soon as he could.
    My mother, for reasons known only to herself, had sewn the stuff into the hem. When I heard that I had another flash back- they always hid the backdoor key in the hem of the curtain there. I should have remembered.
    However, thanks to the honesty of Mr. Garcia I have the few bits of jewellery that she owned.
    Sorry this is long but ain’t life strange at times?

    1. Life is full of surprises. Who among us would ever have imagined, as a child, how it would all turn out 60, 70, 80 years on?

      1. I had old parents (My father was 48 and my mother was 42 when I was born) and I am an old father myself (47 when Christo was born, 49 when Henry was born) so my perception of old people was probably different from that of those of people whose parents were in their 20s when they were born.

        “How terribly strange to be 70.

        When this song came out in 1968 my father was 70 and it didn’t seem a strange age to me at all.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YpK-qrGQrg

    2. Incredibly, but credit to the honesty of Mr/s Garcia.

      Since moving house somee 25 years ago, mother still hasn’t moved anything from the garage into the house. Well, she’s moved her stuff, as that was what she wanted. Nothing of Dad’s moved in. He was barely allowed his stereo set up “only if the wires are hidden!”. His books sit still boxed up, as do his records.

      When mother dies, clearing out the house will be a nightmare. She lives alone and has few visitors, yet three rooms are permanently made up. However, she buys new bed linen and bedding on a whim, so there are 4 or so matresses in each room. All in polythene. All unused.

  89. Ms Braverman is now one of Ms Mordaunt’s leadership rivals and has criticised her over a decision to replace “woman” with “pregnant person” in the legislation.

    https://news.sky.com/story/conservative-leadership-race-penny-mordaunt-suffers-first-setback-of-campaign-as-mps-attack-her-stance-on-trans-issues-12651613

    The choice of Prime Minister could now depend on a pregnancy test:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c2c37686f2520052d02c491b380473a728751baff338dc824661ae0936137075.jpg

  90. You WILL own nothing and BE happy!!

    “BMW Charges Drivers $18 A Month For Heated Seat Subscription in certain markets….”

    It seems money is going to be the first thing one no longer owns….

    1. If you compare the cost of things with the cost of a gallon of petrol then everything seems quite cheap really.

      1. A gallon of petrol costs about £9.
        This could get you 50 miles in an average ICE car.

        On the other hand you need 50/5 = 10 kWh of electricity in an average EV to go the same distance.

        i.e. 10 x 15p at overnight rate = £1.50

        Any clues from PM hopefuls as to where the Government is to make up the shortfall in income from road transport?

        1. When I started driving in 1965 I could drive from my parents’ house near Lymington to London to stay with my sister, Belinda in Twickenham and I could do it on one fill up of petrol in the Morris Minor. This cost about the same as a cheap day return from Brockenhurst to Waterloo. (25 shillings and sixpence)

        2. Worth mentioning that li-ion batteries are not 100% efficient, so to have 10kwh bubbling away in the EV’s tank, you will have to pump in at least 12 kwh from the mains.

          1. I’ve allowed for that by downgrading an EV’s mileage per kWh from 6 to 5.

      2. I should hope not. One expects Wops to be revolting (like the French).

        Max Bygraves (you are too young) talked about being in Rome and going down each morning to watch the changing of the government….

  92. Am I the only one finding the theatre of a new PM disgusting? None of them are any use, the party will elect who they’re told to by back room chit chats and bribery. Bob is offered ‘Treasury’ if he supports Sunak, Home office if he goes for Mordant….It’s just politicking and bollox. They’re all the same. Liars and thieves.

    1. You are certainly not the only one. It is a pantomime. Not one of them has made any serious proposals how they will deliver the last manifesto, which is what they are obliged to do. A new Prime Minister does not have carte blanche to do as he/she wishes.

      1. Brown went to court specifically to say that the manifesto wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.

      2. The PM contestant who can announce the rollout of an effective Monkeypox vaccine will knock spots of the other contenders.

  93. How many of us have experienced massively frustrating problems tying to contact online companies that shy away from contacts with their customers by building a brick wall around ‘customer services’.

    After receiving an ‘no reply’ email from Affinity water i felt i had to tell them this.
    It was headed longing for a lush lawn……….

    Let’s face the real issues shall we ?
    There are far too many new homes being built across England on green belt and agricultural land.
    There hasn’t been a new reservoir built in England for many, many decades.
    How can anyone with an ounce of common sense expected this to continue. The carbon footprint and now increasing emissions per acre of land are going through the proverbial roof. How green is this ?
    You as a company are in a unique position to stop this destruction of land and all this building work from taking place. And should be involved. Most people can handle their grass going dry it usually returns to its previous state after rainfall. But building over green belt and agricultural land is non repairable. And lost for ever.

    1. Government controls what can be built and where, and it fixes the price.

      Reservoir provision is restricted by the EU’s demented green policies, where water should be allowed to do ‘whatever it wants free from human interference. Which is a stupid policy but, because it got the rivers authority out of doing any work, they love.

  94. Bravermann out.

    Rishi Sunak – 101 (up from 88)
    Penny Mordaunt – 83 (up from 67)
    Liz Truss – 64 (up from 50)
    Kemi Badenoch – 49 (up from 40)
    Tom Tugenhadt – 32 (down from 37)
    (Eliminated) Suella Braverman – 27 (down from 32)

    3. At least your elevation of a leader is fairly quick. The Canadian conservative party election has been going on since February with the vote in September.

      Never mind that the way out in front candidate is all but unbeatable, they are sticking to the plan. We might actually get a real conservative leader – Paul Poliviere is being vilified by the press as being a mini Trump.

      In other news from the outpost
      – They have now authorized covid shots for the under fives.

      – two of the freedom convoy leaders are in court this week in an attempt to get bail. There is no limit to what Trudeau will do to suppress criticism.

      – the environment minister (climate jesus) has finally abandoned his plan to do a cross country train trip as a way to gather input on his climate plans. He has finally realized what everyone else knew – trains don’t run to five of the provincial capitals!

    4. How can anyone with a straight face vote for Sunak or Mordaunt to get the country through the end of a fiat currency and a WEF takeover bid? They are all just thinking about their own status in the WEF new order – there is no other explanation.

      1. “Politics is little if anything to do with what is best for the country, it is about retention of power and self aggrandisment.” (Robert Redford)

    5. With the loss of Braverman, the Conservative Party (ino) has thrown the baby out with the bath water.

      No re-election in 2024 and will probably go ‘lame duck’ before then.

  96. This is the advice from Accuweather.

    “The air quality is generally acceptable for
    most individuals. However, sensitive groups may experience minor to
    moderate symptoms from long-term exposure.”

    So what is the answer. Stop Breathing.

    1. They will, probably advise you to wear a mask. After all we know how popular masks are in these quarters.

    2. During the very, very hot days it is like breathing soup – a bad soup that contains no vegetables or meats. On those days I tend to crack out the oxygen.

  97. This is the advice from Accuweather.

    “The air quality is generally acceptable for
    most individuals. However, sensitive groups may experience minor to
    moderate symptoms from long-term exposure.”

    So what is the answer. Stop Breathing.

  98. Just spent about 30 minutes being interrogated by Lloyd’s Bank “fraud protection” team to get an online payment made to my building contractor. Thumb screw interrogation, why am I making this payment, did I get an invoice, how did the invoice come, emailed invoices are not to be trusted, what is the invoice for, if it is an advance payment how am I going to be assured the work will be satisfactory….. my God, what is the world coming to. Am I responsible for my own affairs or not. Anyone else had this sort of experience?

    1. Try going to your branch (I know, a good joke) and saying you want to draw the amount in cash…….

      1. That would trigger the money laundering team big time! I wanted to draw out a five figure sum a while ago to buy a car – what a palava. The fact that it was my money was totally irrelevant.

        2. Same here when I wanted to get the money to pay for the repairs to the house (repointing and roof). I had to go through a whole checklist of questions to which I answered “no” until I finally got to the one to which I had given the answer before the palaver started “are you paying for work that’s been done?”

    2. When we were moving house, largest sums of money were going in and out of our account
      A ‘b’anker asked me what I was going to do with one wiithdrawal: I asked her how she spent her pay….
      It occurred again a week later ‘b’ #1 said to ‘b’anker # 2 “don’t ask”

      1. We had to through similar BS just to list our house for sale and to buy the new place. We had to show that the money was not coming from illegal activities(?)..

        About the only time we were not asked questions was when we transferred my mothers money across from the UK. A few hundred thousand arrived and the only question from our investment advisor was is there any more?

    3. Yes, when I tried to pay for the work done fixing my drains. How had the firm approached me, how did I get the invoice, was there any evidence of work being done …? I rang them, it was a piece of paper and yes, my damned garden looked like the Somme while they were fixing the effing drains (and Charlie left his footprint in the concrete like an American starlet)!

  99. Funny how all the (unpublicised) protests in Italy, Canada, The Netherlands (inter alia)…have one thing in common: the “elected” leaders were all appointed by Schwab.

    1. We have protests over here?

      They have made it hard to protest – bank accounts siezed, heavy handed police suppression, total news blackout by the press.

      Two of the February freedom convoy leaders are in prison awaiting trial on conspiracy charges. They have bail hearings this week but the prosecutors are laying on ever more meaningless charges.

  100. BTL on the Grimes – people are wetting themselves at the prospect of Petty Officer Dormant taking the helm. The encomia are simply vomit-making.

      1. Perhaps she’ll be canonised by Bill Gates, and you can refer to her as Un Stable Seaman Mordaunt.

  101. Sorry this should have been attached to the post about the Offensive Ladies from Torrington!

    It seems that even silly jokes should now be made illegal.

    Incidentally, the late Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones’ drummer, used to live near Torrington and my first job as a teacher was in nearby Bideford..

    1. I wonder how often such protests would be made if the protester had to make their protest at the actual event and in full view of the general public.

    2. “Never ever call me your drummer again. YOU are my (expletive) singer”

      In the early 1960s they used to play gigs in clubs, and at least one wedding, around Richmond.

      Local youths were aware that they were exceptional right from the very start.

      1. How can you tell when the stage is level at a music concert ?

        The drummer dribbles from both sides of his mouth.

        1. How do you know when a drummer is at your front door? – the knocking gets faster

  102. Great Torrington Mayfair and Carnival in Devon has been forced to issue an apology after a float that jokingly featured burly men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’ was deemed ‘transphobic’

    Offensive Ladies from Torrington!

    It seems that even silly jokes should now be made illegal.

    Incidentally, the late Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones’ drummer, used to live near Torrington and my first job as a teacher was in nearby Bideford.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11013313/Town-carnival-forced-issue-grovelling-apology-float-deemed-transphobic-trans-woman.html

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3453434eecd0092ba357f2a8e8de14478467b027ebe06a0a8fb7e9dede159864.jpg

  103. Interesting how the first bribe, sorry, cost of living payment, is due for the Poor from July 14th until ‘the end of July’.
    Just in time for all those Poor Pensioners (etc) to vote for un-dishy Rishi, if you’re a Conservative pensioner…

      1. Possibly an over reaction.

        The school apologised for “the short notice” but said they were acting on advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and are “obliged to follow these precautionary guidelines.”

        Authorities advised parents to avoid very close contact with their child, including hugging with friends and family. Children would be offered the Monkeypox vaccine. They also advised parents to postpone any non-urgent medical appointments for their child and to monitor their child for any symptoms until July 28.

        It makes me suspect that this disease isn’t as difficult to contract as we are being told.

    1. Tried to correct the above, but it’s not having it. In case it’s not clear, these are quotes from Mordaunt’s book, the one that Bill Gates wrote the foreword to.

    2. The book also has glowing testimonials from “Sir” Anthony Lynton B. Liar, “Sir” Reginald Dwight and Joke Ox’s sister, among others. Some Tory, Is Mordaunt…

      3. Anthony Lynton? You mean Miranda who sucked cock in the cottage behind the Old Bailey? That Blair?

    3. Toby also provides a number of quotes from the book – I sincerely hope Dormant doesn’t get any more votes – a real disaster area!

      1. 354242+ up ticks,

        Afternoon P,
        The twisted bastards will say
        there you see plum is satisfied with the status quo, but it would definitely cause an embarrassed stir if omitting to vote coalition en masse plus.
        How peoples can put their names in support of these
        odious creatures is unbelievable, condoning paedophilic rape & abuse / murder etc,etc more such artist arriving daily accommodated at the expense of the tax payer.

    5. 354242+ up ticks,

      Afternoon BB2,

      what peoples tend to purposely forget is the toxic trio ARE a coalition.

  108. Young children have been carried to safety by members of the armed forces as migrant crossings continued for the seventh consecutive day.

    More than 1,000 people arrived in the UK between Friday and Wednesday, with Thursday’s numbers yet to be published.

    This is the joint second longest successive run of crossings in 2022 so far, with a nine-day stretch recorded between April 11 and April 19 resulting in 2,143 people arriving in that period.

    There was another seven-day stretch between June 12 and June 18 when 1,623 people made the crossing.

    Some 14,157 migrants have made the crossing in 2022 so far after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies, provisional Government figures show.

    On Monday, 442 crossed in a single day, making this the fifth time this year the daily total has topped 400.

    The crossings come as Irish premier Micheal Martin warned the UK Government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda may have resulted in an increase in international protection applicants in the Republic.

    The Taoiseach described the policy as a “shocking” initiative which was “wrong”.

    The Government has reportedly put fresh attempts to get the first deportation flight to the East African nation off the ground on hold until after the Conservative Party has elected a new prime minister over fears it could generate too much controversy during the leadership contest. The plane was grounded in June amid legal challenges.

    Earlier this week armed forces minister James Heappey faced accusations the Navy had become a “tour guide for illegal migrants” since the Ministry of Defence took charge of tackling crossings in the Channel in April.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/james-heappey-micheal-martin-conservative-party-government-kent-b1012460.html

      1. Phizzee

        After my dog walk this morning , I passed our little local school , children and mothers were there at the gate , and for the first time ever , and I mean ever in the village , a mother , not Syrian or Afghan but African in her garb deposited her 2 oungster in the school playground .

          1. I was in the car, but had I been walking I would have spoken a little Arabic that I know , if Arabic was her mother tongue .

            I guess our village must feel like a safe sanctuary.

          2. If you had spoken Arabic to her she might have taken offense. Which is why i said ‘Hello’.

        2. Conjarni weyna enni wuna enza mangee.
          Hello how are you what are you doing now. in Xhosa.

  109. Town carnival is forced to issue grovelling apology after float that jokingly featured burly men dressed ‘as the Olympic 2024 female athletic team’ was deemed ‘transphobic’ by a visiting trans woman: D Fail

    More insidious is the attached demand from the Daily Mail Gaystapo – Do YOU know the men and women involved? . What are they going to do if the find the names?

      1. I’m surprised they haven’t done the ‘Ban grumpy Bill’ at the village fete yet !

        1. What on earth is “grumpy” about dismissing a tiny minority of a tiny minority of people with bigoted views?

    1. Double Bogey Six … very unimpressive!

      Wordle 390 6/6
      ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
      ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
      ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Me too, a par 4.
      Wordle 390 4/6

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

    4. Only just. Lucky last guess.
      Wordle 390 6/6

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

    1. It’s notable that government is desperate to say the science of climate change is settled but the proof of two sexes isn’t. Could they be… lying!? Surely no!

    2. I wonder who will be the first expectant male birth giver to demand an abortion as a right?

  113. I listened to Rishi Sunak being interviewed on Radio 4, he was being put under pressure .. he reminded me of ALEXA or a GPS system .. ( my younger son has the Alexxa facility in his flat ) Sunak is flat monotone .. and doesn’t actually answer the questions thrown at him …

    He appears to be pre programmed and I fear everyone has made a huge mistake .

    This cannot be the correct way to select a leader , it cannot possibly work .

    The selection process should be based on practical team leadership .. similar to the Admirality interview board .

    The MPs who are being selected are selfish egoists , and care not a jot for Britain , gainsayers , aren’t they.

    We need Raab to take responsibilty, and the motley crew discarded for their disloyalty.

    1. He had a statement he wanted to say and he kept to it. The man isn’t a PM. He’s a functionary.

          1. On that , who should take the reins .

            I always thought the back room boys made most of the decisions anyway .. and ministers etc were just signatories to the made decisions

    2. Sunak, like most politicians, comes from a background where they can cope if everything is going to plan. As soon as something comes up for which there are no precedents, they are out of their depth. They are managers, not leaders, and 40 plus years of being under Brussels has developed a political and civil service mindset of process and rule following. Original thinking is a capability that has been long lost.

        1. Indeed, that goes without saying. Rule following doesn’t require initiative, and if I follow the rules I can’t be held accountable as I am only doing what the book says. De facto I can’t be held responsible.

          2. The old comment on officers’ reports – “Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of idiots – I suggest you follow the rules to the letter”

          3. I always said the purpose of officer training was to develop an officer’s initiative – but not too much! Organisations cannot cope with those who show too much original thought.

          4. Reminds me of Peter Ustinov’s school report: “He shows great originality, which must be curbed at all costs.”

        1. The so called civil service are just as bad now. Wasn’t Tichard a WW2 scientist, or was that Tizzard? (just kidding!)

    4. I have been banging on for some time that Lord Frost is probably the only leader who could save the Conservative Party from annihilation at the next general election but as they made sure he couldn’t be put into a safe seat to get selected they have blown that chance.

      I am becoming more and more certain as each day passes that I shall be proved right.

      If there are any committed Brexiters still in the Conservative Parliamentary Party they must make it perfectly clear that if any new leader strays from the one thing that got them elected – i.e. getting Brexit completed as quickly as possible – then they are prepared to resign their seats and stand again under different colours.

      But would even Steve Baker, Mark Francois and Richard Drax have the guts and the integrity to put their own seats on the line?

      1. I take the opposite view, Richard and am becoming increasingly suspicious of the Noble Lord, Lord Frost. All mouth and trousers.

  114. Don’t throw your corsets away just yet!

    Those of us with a fuller figure could do with a Truss right now!

    (I liked to delude myself into thinking that I might have made it as a copywriter in an advertising agency!)

  115. 354242+ up ticks,

    May one say it really does NOT seem to matter just what pile of shite the lab/lib/con mass paedophile ; mass illegal immigration
    coalition current supporter /member / voters
    leave on decent peoples doorstep, it is of no consequence as long as there are always three party’s, and three chairs when the music stops and, once again the suffering starts.

    1. Oggy, it won’t make one iota of difference who is chosen- nothing will change, nothing. I have been disenfranchised because there isn’t one person or party I would vote for.

      1. 354242+ up ticks,

        Evening Lotl,
        Personally I don’t give a damn as my name will NOT be in support of the more of the same only worse, toxic trio.

  116. Being in Britain at the moment must be similar to what being a Stasi prisoner was like. You are placed in an environment over which you have no control, your senses are inhibited, you have no idea what the future is likely to bring, you have no idea whether what you are being told is true or false, you have no idea what drugs they are injecting into you, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

  117. Being in Britain at the moment must be similar to what being a Stasi prisoner was like. You are placed in an environment over which you have no control, your senses are inhibited, you have no idea what the future is likely to bring, you have no idea whether what you are being told is true or false, you have no idea what drugs they are injecting into you, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

  118. Today I received a long awaited phone call from the NHS!

    I was asked how would I like to be addressed …Miss, Mrs. or Christian name.

    IT will do nicely, I replied.

  119. If Boris had had the outstanding honest qualities of some of our top bods in industry , Richard Branson, springs to mind , life wouldn’t seem so bad .

    Does Sunak have any connection with Tata steel?

    1. Branson? BRANSON?? HONEST? The man who just avoided jail because he did a deal with HM Customs and Excise and paid £100,000 fine…for illegally importing LPs.

        1. Ask any rich man how he made his first million. Almost every single one cut some dodgy deal.

          4. Off topic – I’ve never claimed to have ‘perfect pitch’, insofar as I couldn’t give you an F sharp or B flat off the top of my head. But I saw the video title, and started to mentally ‘play’ the theme. Wen the music started, it was spot on. I genuinely don’t understand how this works…

          5. Hey, little Bro’. My brother, a very gifted musician and composer* had perfect pitch. He couldn’t sing to save his life!
            * Nearly typed composter;-)

        3. The man is a crook,after the vat scam he made his money price fixing transatlantic fares with BA,when it was all going to come out he did a deal giving evidence against BA and getting off scot free
          Not to mention Virgin Records where he promised hippy staff on crap wages a big bonus if the business was ever sold
          Needless to say he reneged and they got nothing
          Utterly utterly despicable liar and thief

      2. It’s the Navy, Bill, Ever since Mordaunt has risen to potential heights they have lost all sense of proportion.

    2. Maggie, I would never classify Richard Branson as having “the outstanding honest qualities of some of our top bods in industry”.

      A top salesman perhaps: LPs, transatlantic flights – or his granny …

      1. I knew my comment would create a response , I had a glance at the CBI listings , and couldn’t really identify anyone .. the ones I have met are all dead , Lord Stokes , Monty Finnistone , Alan Bristow and so on .. oh yes and Sir Freddie Laker .. etc

        Should Britain be run like a company.. a business .. and everyone in every department be made accountable and answerable for errors .

  120. That’s me for today. Much cooler – so the GREAT HEAT of 24ºC tomorrow will be an even greater shock.

    Have a smashing evening. I hope to watch a prog about this new space telescope. I simply cannot get my head round the concept of billions of years of development in the solar system. I fear the explanation will be no clearer as it will be given by that black lady astronomer who talks at 300 words per minute.

    A demain.

        1. A mere 106 here on Monday; even the pool is like a tepid bath. Getting my distances swum isn’t as much fun as I like.

          If this breaks with thunderstorms we’ll be having power outages, I suspect.

          1. I experienced that sort of temperature only once, in Turkey.

            It’s 23°C here at the moment, outdoors. Indoors, despite every window being open, with a through draught, it’s 24.5.

            But what I find interesting is that friend Dianne’s “zero carbon eco home” in Devon (she’s away at the moment, but I can access her heating thermostats remotely) is currently reporting indoor temperatures around 27, while it’s 22 outside. Despite her triple glazing and state-of-the-art insulation.

            The difference is presumably because her windows are all closed. Her Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation system doesn’t seem to help much in summer. And I have read that this is an issue with all modern houses.

          2. When we lived in Germany we had +40C every summer. dry heat not humid. Sat at the side of the Rhine in beer gardens as the water was so cold it created outside aircon.

          6. Simple solar gain through the glazing. Early morning our room facing the sun rise with 5metres x 2.4 metres of glazing registered 34oC before opening the doors….

          7. 110°F in Phoenix Az in 1976. The same day it was120°F at Gila Bend – always notoriously hot there.

        1. Oddly enough, I could have told you that.
          I did the reverse to get the temperature for a later post.

    2. I love progs about cosmology and theoretical physics although I understand not a jot.

      1. Apparently, when we look at Betelgeuse tonight, we are seeing it as it was in 1380…… My mind is boggled.

        1. Look on the bright side – Bliar, May, Blobby……none of them were around then so you are looking at a time,,,,,,,,,,

  121. Woe, woe and thrice woe, I’ve got the covviwobbles.
    I was sick this morning so violently I was afraid I was going to give myself a heart attack.
    I’ve had a day in bed sleeping off and on and feel better, but terribly weak. 🤢🤮

      1. And I had avoided it for tow years – I started to think I had natural immunity.
        Cases on the rise tho’ over half our team was off last week.

        1. Poor you, bad luck .

          Covid is everywhere again . So sorry you feel uncomfortable .

          Pepto Bismol helps with bad tums , makes your tongue go black , thats the only thing

        2. Nothing to do with the nice weather, then?

          As a Type 2 diabetic, I’m supposedly vulnerable. So far, I’ve avoided the plague. My only concession has been to add Vitamin D3 to my meds. As I returned from a shopping trip this arvo, I passed a neighbour on t’other side of the road. “I’ve got Covid”, he said. “But I can’t stay indoors, I’m going nuts.” In fairness, he didn’t appear to be at death’s door, but he’d tested positive, so who am I to argue? “Have you had it?”, he asked. “No, not at all”, I replied. “Then you’re bloody lucky. Stay safe”.

          Seems to me it’s like the old days, when you tested positive for a cold, and stayed home. Oh, wait…

          I dutifully took my AZ jabs, against my better judgement. Thankfully, I regained some of the feeling in my right hand after a couple of months.

          Being involved in the CofE, there are lots of elderly sheep .. er, parishioners. Far fewer than before March 2020. But the brave ones who venture back into the building keep going down with Covid. Without exception, they’re fully jabbed. It’s almost as if the jabs are neither safe noir effective…

          1. Jabs award limited immunity I think .

            So many of Moh’s golf pals succumbed , some told me that Swanage had many many new cases .. retirement area like here but touristy and busy.

            Hospitals are groaning again ..

          2. “I’ve got Covid”, he said…

            For most of the population every RTI is now Covid. The nasty little cold I reported on on Monday has turned out to be persistent: tonsillitis, laryngitis and bronchitis (with some very interesting early morning, er, products), all in one bumper package and afternoon temperatures running at 100. It’s a cold virus and I have had similar before but more than 20 years ago.

          5. I had the AZ jabs too, with no ill effects, just so they’d let me in to Kenya. I think I’ve been lucky and am definitely not up for any more jabs. I may have had covid in Jan 2020, with a cough that lasted for weeks, so perhaps I had some immunity from that. Also from the vit D and C which I will start taking again in the autumn.

            It’s quite clear to me that the jabs are neither effective nor safe. The more jabs people have the more likely they are to have the bug as their immune systems are shot.

          6. No more for me or MH either.
            With every passing day, the more I read and listen to, more and more BS appears.
            And it will give power to people like that bitch at the hospital who want to make people/patients do what THEY want. Whether it is sensible, good for people or humane.
            God, I used to be so proud of being British…

          7. I’m glad I had the AZ jabs, rather than Pfizer, against my better judgement. I expected to have to produce a vaccine passport merely to have a normal life. As it happens, Boris weakened in this respect, and has had his comeuppance.

            I wouldn’t have accepted the mRNA jabs under any circumstances.

            Nevertheless, half of my right hand has around 50% of the feeling left. It has more or less been committed to paper that my ulnar nerve palsy is an adverse reaction to the jab.

            But my heart is still working, so I may have got off lightly…

          8. You did – though as a musician it’s not so good. I think I was very lucky and I did have to get the vax pass for my trip. Kenya dropped the vax requiremement later in the year so if I do go again I certainly won’t have any more jabs.

            I’m not sure which one is worst – the AZ seems to have cause even more adverse effects than the Pfizer but perhaps less damage to the immune system. If you read the list of harms they publish on TCW you definitely wouldn’t want to risk another.

          9. You should contact Mark Steyn at GB News and tell him about your vaccine injury.

          10. Vaccines never stop transmission, they don’t give immunity as in bugs bounce off you. They simply prime the immune system to deal quickly with invaders so you don’t get too sick. They are not bulletproof vests. Your body can still deal with invading bugs it hasn’t seen but the response time is about 4-6 weeks. If you’ve been vaccinated the response time is more like 1-3 days. So your viral load stays lower, you don’t get as sick, and you get better quicker.

          11. If that’s the case, why are the double/triple vaccinated filling the hospitals and why are young people now dying?

          12. Most are vaccinated. Most of those in hospital don’t need ventilation. Remember when it first hit, we didn’t have enough ventilators to go around. Young people have always died sadly. One of my best mates died at 23 from an undiagnosed heart complaint. What are the young dying from now?

          13. You probably missed the figures posted recently. (by Korky??)

            It would appear to be Covid is a major contributor, but mainly amongst the triple vaccinated.
            Correlation/cause, who knows?

            Child deaths (under 18) would appear to be rising.

          14. I don’t see everyone’s posts nowadays. Some people blocked me so I don’t see their posts. A bit annoying but c’est la vie.

          15. Because most vaccines work that way but these ones don’t. The more jabs the more illness.

          17. I can only argue from my own experience. I am fat and 76 and so they tell me I should have had the gene therapy jabs and not relied on Vitamin D, Zinc and Vitamin C.

            So why, when Caroline and I got Covid this year was it very mild and not nearly as bad as a cold or flu when virtually everyone I know who got Covid at the same time as Caroline and I did and were all triple jabbed were very much more ill than either of us were?

            Just a coincidence, or just good luck I suppose.

          18. The virus seems to affect different people differently. I had it in january 2020 when it was at its strongest pretty much and to me it felt like a cold, and I usually get badly ill with these type of things due to a lifetime of smoking and a bad chest. My wife also caught it at the same time and she took 3 months to shake it off and was bad though not bad enough for hospitalisation. I didn’t even have to stop working.
            The form of the virus circulating lately is a lot weaker but seems more transmissible.

        4. Nurse friend of my daughter’s turned out to have a high antibody count even though never vaxxed and never having tested positive (daily testing).
          (They still wanted her to get vaxxed).

    3. Man ‘flu, eh? Terrible isn’t it! };-))
      I hope you recover quickly.
      Good luck.

          1. Thanks Rik. I couldn’t be any worse than I was this morning without being dead.
            Better tomorrow, DV

          1. Poss. I’ll do another test on Monday before going back to work.

            We’re being lined up for monkey pox jabs now. First patient clinic for high risk MSM was today.
            Staff jabs next week. Fortunately, I’m old enough to have had the smallpox vacc.

            It’s a bl**dy nightmare. We have to have two rooms set aside for barrier nursing with a deep clean between each pt. Last thing we need with so many staff off and not enough rooms to hold normal clinics.

          4. It would be interesting to know how the monkey pox jab compares to the smallpox vax. I had the latter in 1970 and have the scar to prove it of course.

          5. I had mine as a baby and it left no scar, but when I was young that small patch stayed white if I had a slight tan everywhere else. As I never sunbathe or wear sleeveless tops it’s not noticeable now.

          6. I believe that it is very similar, if not the same, but rebranded.
            However, it also appears that having had the smallpox vaccine you are not immune from monkeypox.

    7. Hope you have not had any covid jabs, if you have that is where the problem will be.

    9. I’ve had that kind of sickness…it really does completely debilitate you, …I hate that gut wrenching thing that one can’t prevent….
      So lots of sympathy…& wish you lots of rest & calm.
      It will pass…

        1. Nope, resting in the Horsham Travelodge. Flight tomorrow from LGW. Lost me bottle of rum… so likely to shut down soon due to temper tantrum! Grr!

          1. Sorry, from earlier posts I had the impression you flew today, mea culpa!

            The East Grinstead one isn’t bad as TL’s go and it tends to be one of the cheaper ones in the area, not that I think you’ll be returning too soon

            Have a good trip tomorrow

          2. Thanks, Sos.
            At least the scope of work was compketed, and the only bit that didn’t go to plan was the YMCA didn’t rock up to collect beds – so the house clearers delivered them to YMCA, so in the end all sorted. Much sweat expended in the process.

          5. Indeed
            I cannot think of anywhere I have visited, worked or lived that even gets close to Chateau sosraboc
            If there is a Heaven on Earth it must be near us

  123. Last post. Promise.

    Apparently, if Penny Dreadful (© BT) gets the job, Leadsom (LEADSOM) will be Chancellor.

    Hope you don’t have nightmares.

    TTFN

  124. Dirty rotten scoundrels , all of them ..

    A former Tory MP claims a government minister pressed her to help advance a party donor seeking a knighthood or peerage, court documents have revealed.

    Charlotte Leslie told a colleague that Lord Agnew – then a Cabinet Office minister – insisted she appoint millionaire Mohamed Amersi as chairman of an influential group she led.

    Ms Leslie also claims Mr Amersi told her such a role would help him secure an honour, the court documents allege.

    Mr Amersi is suing her for defamation.

    The documents have been disclosed by the courts for the first time as part of the legal action, which is pitting the two Conservative Party figures against each other.

    One is Mr Amersi, a businessman who has donated more than £500,000 to the Conservatives over the past four years. His Russian-born partner donated a further £260,000 to the party between 2017 and 2018.

    The other is Ms Leslie, who was MP for Bristol North West from 2010-17. She is managing director of the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC), which promotes friendship between Tory politicians and the Middle East region.

    ‘Impose himself’
    The court documents show Ms Leslie refused to appoint Mr Amersi to chairman of CMEC in 2020. She wrote to party colleagues and “national security individuals” about her concerns that Mr Amersi was trying to set up a rival organisation, the papers show.

    “I have been told the party’s board rejected two previous attempts because it concluded that Mr Amersi’s primary objective is to secure a knighthood or peerage,” she wrote to the CMEC’s honorary president, Sir Nicholas Soames, in December 2020.

    “Indeed, Mr Amersi has repeatedly been clear about this motive to me during his long and persistent campaign to impose himself as chairman of CMEC.”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62043590

      1. As I mentioned earlier today officially politicians don’t actually get paid as much as some train drivers. But how on earth do they all live and revel in such aparent luxury.

        1. Expenses, consultancy fees, directorships etc etc.
          Most holidays are free, fact-finding trips to the Caribbean, the Maldives, etc.

          2. If any of us had MPs’ expenses and perks we wouldn’t need to have a salary

  125. 354242+ up ticks,

    I would very much like to say tis my mindset also, the mongrel dog politico’s / followers are devouring their own indigenous truthsayers ,and their tails of honest facts.

    From Anne Marie Waters, Party Leader.

    13th July 2022

    I am writing to you today with some very important news. I know you may be disappointed by this news, but I also hope you’ll understand the decision.

    For Britain has decided to cease operations as a political party with immediate effect.

    This has been a very difficult decision but one that must be taken.

    There are a couple of important reasons for this decision, certainly from my own perspective.

    Firstly, support for patriotic politics has collapsed, at least publicly, in recent years. This does not mean that the people don’t agree with us, it simply means they have stopped offering support – especially public support. So successful has been the campaign of fear and propaganda by our opponents, that many people believe that to aspire to live in a democratic nation-state is an act of hatred. It is not.

    Many believe that politics is corrupt by its very nature, and while this may be true to an extent, the current conduct of politics is worse than I’ve known it in my lifetime, and has rapidly deteriorated in the 18 years that I have been involved.

    Masked black-clad activists who intimidate people and threaten (and use) violence against opponents, are now commonplace. Such thugs have the support of the mainstream media and mainstream politics.

    Those of us who believe in the nation-state and a return to evidence-based policy based on a firm moral foundation, are routinely smeared as racists and Nazis and never afforded a sufficient right of reply. We are not allowed to attend events and if we do, we can expect to be met with a violent mob.

    Our democracy has therefore collapsed.

    More and more British people have abandoned party politics altogether. Those who do vote tend to opt for the status quo. If we combined all votes received by small parties in recent elections, we still would not come close to threatening the establishment. Support across the board has collapsed, it is a sad indicator of the death of our democracy.

    Since Covid, things have gotten steadily worse. This followed by the cost of living crisis means people have re-prioritised and are unable to continue to support us financially.

    From my own perspective, I have decided to take a break from electoral politics, though as I’ve always promised, I will never give up fighting.

    I will return to politics when the country is ready, but for now my energies can be better spent. I intend to return to my roots and seek to educate our country about the incompatible cultures that grow in strength and presence every day. To this end, I will revisit Sharia Watch. I will continue to make videos, write articles, and I will update my grooming gang report from 2015. I will examine what has happened since that time.

    Perhaps most importantly; last year on a livestream I mentioned my intention to start a support service for victims of rape and sexual assault. This will be my primary work – but only with your support.

    The service I will create (and I have been making steps on this for some months) will provide support groups, person-to-person counseling, and a unique service for rape survivors who wish to report their attack to the police.

    I will personally accompany rape victims to police stations and record every move made by police, and hold them to account for it.

    I will document all of this, and more, and make sure the British public, and our politicians, are fully informed.

    This means I can go right to the source and offer real and important help to people who will be harmed by the huge influx of migrants and the lack of justice for victims of sex offences.

    I will call upon my experience in law, and indeed in victim support, to take this work forward. I will keep everyone informed of my work in this area via articles and videos.

    I can only do this with your support. If you can spare just one or two pounds per month, I can spend as much time as possible on this project. If you can support me with this, please do let me know.

    Once again, I know some of you will be very disappointed by this, but I’m in no doubt it is the right thing to do at this time.

    I hope you stay connected and remain a firm family of truth-tellers – people with courage and strong morals.

    I will return to politics as a stronger and more experienced advocate for the British people. But for now, I must go to the people who are directly harmed and do all I can to help them.

    I cannot put in to words how grateful I am to have had this most incredible experience. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your hard work and your support.

    I feel thoroughly blessed by my life and For Britain has been an era of such significance that I will always remember it, and very fondly.

    The party will cease functioning straight away, but I will begin other projects immediately and keep you updated.

    Members, if you pay via standing order please contact your bank to stop payments. The process of closing everything down has started today. If you need help then please email Sharon on enquiries@forbritain.uk

    Thank you for some of the greatest years of my life.

    Anne Marie

    1. Such a pity that she never persuaded her party to amalgamate with Reform and Reclaim to stop the vote-splitting and put together a manifesto for which the electorate might well vote – thus breaking Ogga’s Lib/Lab/Con coalition.

      1. ogga may be well be right that Nigel Farage did not serve UKIP well at the end.

        However it is sad that none of the parties and groups of the right are capable of uniting against the left which should be their common enemy.

        United they have not stood and divided they seem to be falling like ninepins.

      2. 354267+ up ticks,

        Morning NtN,
        There again, did you read her letter of resignation and then asses what she had said.
        If the electorate were to put any stock in the coalition manifesto’s then they are bigger dangerous fools than I first thought.

        Example, UKIP’s manifesto under Batten, many agreed was what was sorely needed, seemingly it was needed so much they continued to support & vote lab/lib/con.

        As for ” vote splitting” check that out with the tory (ino) party’s hero farage and his hill marching troops £ 25 a pop to stand down.

        Now also known as reform to protect the guilty.

        The time was missed to build on the Batten success has past, many preferring the odious historical party’s that were rotten to the core then and now when the state of these party’s can no longer be concealed ( shite is shite)
        the move is on for the bale out
        ( wasn’t me guv) and into a party that must be credible with NO build needed.

  128. Lord Frost: I have grave reservations about my old Brexit deputy Penny Mordaunt

    The former chief Brexit negotiator says the Tory leadership candidate was not ‘fully accountable or always visible’ when working with him

    By Marcus Parekh • 14 July 2022 • 10:55am

    Lord Frost, the former Brexit chief negotiator, said on Thursday that he would have “grave reservations” about Penny Mordaunt becoming prime minister. Citing his time working alongside her during the Brexit negotiations, when Ms Mordaunt served as his junior, Lord Frost said she “wasn’t fully accountable or always visible”.

    Ms Mordaunt, a former defence and international development secretary, served as the alternate co-chair of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee for six months during the Brexit negotiations. She is currently one of the favourites to succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, with the second round of voting to take place among MPs this lunchtime. She secured 67 votes in the first ballot, second only to Rishi Sunak’s 88.

    “To be honest, I’m quite surprised she is where she is in this race. She was my deputy – notionally more than really – in the Brexit talks last year,” Lord Frost told Talk TV.

    “I’m sorry to say this, she did not master the necessary detail in the negotiations last year. She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the European Union when that was necessary and I’m afraid she wasn’t fully accountable or always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. I’m afraid this became such a problem that after 6 months I had to ask the PM to move her on and find somebody else to support me. From the basis of what I saw, I would have grave reservations.”

    Asked whether Brexit would be safe in Ms Mordaunt’s hands, Lord Frost said: “I would worry, on the basis of what I have seen, we wouldn’t necessarily get that from Penny.”

    A social media link to a clip of his interview was re-tweeted by Simon Clarke, the Treasury Chief Secretary, who is backing Liz Truss for leader. Mr Clarke said: “Lord Frost’s warning is a really serious one. Conservatives – and, far more importantly, our country – need a leader who is tested and ready.”

    https://twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1547478831610695684
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/14/lord-frost-have-grave-reservations-old-brexit-deputy-penny-mordaunt/

    2. Yes, she’d be the worst…she so stupidly Woke for a start, & was ridiculously loyal to Theresa May, making things even more difficult than they were.
      She just doesn’t seem to ‘get ‘ things.

    3. Lord Frost is notably absent from the contenders for Conservative Party Leader/ Prime Minister.

      I find it disgraceful that he criticises and compromises his former assistant; at the very least, its ungentlemanly.

      His invective should be directed at Michael Gove – he f**ked his deal re Fisheries and Northern Ireland.

      Lord Frost has no backbone …

      1. I think there has been (probably by Stig) a detailed breakdown of why Lord Frost could not become party leader and PM, so it’s a bit much to criticise him for not standing when the current timetable would make it impossible. Should people not speak their mind if they have reservations about the suitability of someone based on their own experience? Or would it be better to wait for the disaster and then say, “I could have warned you about that”?

        1. As I posted earlier Boris Johnson was terrified of having Lord Frost in the House of Commons which is why he made sure that he did not run in the Tiverton by election. This ensured that Frost would not be an imminent threat and a rallying point for those who thought Johnson had bungled Brexit.

          As things turned out Boris Johnson was kicked out anyway and the Conservative Party is going to be led by a leader who will have no hope of winning the next general election because David Frost is not in the field.

          I am reminded of a phrase of Mark Antony’s words when I think about how Johnson helped scupper Lord Frost”schances of becoming prime minister.

          The evil that men do lives after them.

          but I cannot think of much good that is interred with Johnson’s political bones!

        2. Talking of references which are double-edged and ambiguous:

          You will be very lucky to get this person to work for you..

  129. Lord Frost: I have grave reservations about my old Brexit deputy Penny Mordaunt

    The former chief Brexit negotiator says the Tory leadership candidate was not ‘fully accountable or always visible’ when working with him

    By Marcus Parekh • 14 July 2022 • 10:55am

    Lord Frost, the former Brexit chief negotiator, said on Thursday that he would have “grave reservations” about Penny Mordaunt becoming prime minister. Citing his time working alongside her during the Brexit negotiations, when Ms Mordaunt served as his junior, Lord Frost said she “wasn’t fully accountable or always visible”.

    Ms Mordaunt, a former defence and international development secretary, served as the alternate co-chair of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee for six months during the Brexit negotiations. She is currently one of the favourites to succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, with the second round of voting to take place among MPs this lunchtime. She secured 67 votes in the first ballot, second only to Rishi Sunak’s 88.

    “To be honest, I’m quite surprised she is where she is in this race. She was my deputy – notionally more than really – in the Brexit talks last year,” Lord Frost told Talk TV.

    “I’m sorry to say this, she did not master the necessary detail in the negotiations last year. She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the European Union when that was necessary and I’m afraid she wasn’t fully accountable or always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. I’m afraid this became such a problem that after 6 months I had to ask the PM to move her on and find somebody else to support me. From the basis of what I saw, I would have grave reservations.”

    Asked whether Brexit would be safe in Ms Mordaunt’s hands, Lord Frost said: “I would worry, on the basis of what I have seen, we wouldn’t necessarily get that from Penny.”

    A social media link to a clip of his interview was re-tweeted by Simon Clarke, the Treasury Chief Secretary, who is backing Liz Truss for leader. Mr Clarke said: “Lord Frost’s warning is a really serious one. Conservatives – and, far more importantly, our country – need a leader who is tested and ready.”

    https://twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1547478831610695684
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/07/14/lord-frost-have-grave-reservations-old-brexit-deputy-penny-mordaunt/

  130. The insidious spread of 20mph zones is about to backfire badly

    This is a political, anti-car statement calculated to make driving as pointless and unpleasant as possible

    SALLY JONES • 13 July 2022 • 7:00pm

    A 20mph speed limit near schools has always seemed fair enough to me, in part because of a headstrong eight-year-old classmate from the 1960s: deaf to everything except the seductive clangour of the ice-cream van broadcasting a jangly ‘Greensleeves’ outside our school, she shot heedlessly into the road and bounced off a truck tootling merrily past at 40mph.

    She survived, but it was months before her badly broken leg was strong enough to walk on. In those innocent, pre-speed-trap days, the driver was never prosecuted.

    Today, though, 20mph zones are proliferating, and found even on through routes with heavy traffic and few pedestrians. Whole boroughs of London and swathes of other towns and cities in the UK are being colonised by those infuriating little electronic emojis: smiley face if you’re within the limit, sulky frown if you’re cruising at 22mph.

    And now comes the latest lunacy from Wales’s first minister, Mark Drakeford. From September next year, the dreaded 20mph limit will be imposed on virtually every built-up area in the country – at a cost of more than £32 million.

    Wales is one of the most deprived areas of Europe, where, thanks to inadequate public transport, cars are vital for many workers, yet the scheme’s proponents still trot out the usual arguments: forcing vehicles to go at walking pace on pain of swingeing fines will, they say, reduce pollution from exhausts and cut the number and severity of collisions.

    The problem is, these assertions are highly contentious. Think of the long queues of vehicles in 20mph zones idling at traffic lights amid a haze of fumes, then crawling in a low gear to the next intersection. You can’t help but treat Welsh ministers’ claims with scepticism.

    Moreover, a recent Department for Transport survey showed that cutting the urban speed limit to 20mph caused no “significant change” in casualty rates. Another major evaluation recorded that on 20mph roads, 87 per cent of cars exceeded the speed limit on weekdays, and 89 per cent at weekends. This shocking statistic suggests that imposing the new limit could well criminalise the majority of Welsh drivers, who feel themselves quite capable of driving safely at 30mph, thank you very much, and resent their leaders’ bossy style.

    While cynics insist that this extreme new initiative is simply an over-zealous exercise in bureaucratic fundraising via the predicted avalanche of speeding fines, others see it as evidence of a far deeper malaise.

    It demonstrates this Left-wing Welsh government’s passion for controlling every aspect of citizens’ lives, and is symptomatic of “devolution derangement” – a specifically Welsh version of small-country syndrome, designed to compensate for the leadership’s feelings of insignificance.

    Another example is the Welsh Assembly’s proposal to ban under-16s from buying tea and coffee. As the granddaughter of a Penrhyn slate quarryman, I know first-hand the importance of even minor treats to bored teenagers slouching round Bethesda on wet Saturdays.

    Most of all, though, the 20mph imposition is a political, anti-car statement calculated to make driving as pointless and unpleasant as possible, even when, for many families, alternatives such as walking or cycling are not realistic options. To paraphrase Orwell: “Two legs good, four wheels bad.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/13/insidious-spread-20mph-zones-backfire-badly/

    1. Are Drakeford and Sturgeon trying to outvie each other in a race to make their respective countries as unattractive as possible?

      2. Just trying to be different from England – but 20 mph zones are in more and more places here.

        1. In selected areas, but as I understand it, in Wales they will become much more widespread, replacing 30mph with 20mph in residential areas.

    2. 30 km/h zones are the norm in built up areas in Germany. They’re much more pleasant to live on.

      1. In particular safety-sensitive zones locations maybe, but this will be far more widespread than that.

      2. I seem to remember in France that the limit displayed at the entrance to towns and villages display a 50km ph sign which equates to 30 mph.

        I cannot speak for today’s Germany as I last drove there in 2001.

    3. Debate about mph zones are wholly inappropriate in the week we choose the next Tory Leader/ Prime Minister …

      1. Quite.
        BUT:

        “We choose”?
        Ha ha.
        It will boil down to a very small proportion of the UK public.

    4. The next aim is to reduce main roads and MWays to 50mph. There are already 2 sections of the M4 and 3 A roads that have permanent 50 limits. They won’t be happy until life grinds to a halt (for the productive section of society).

      1. It might seem odd, but in France, because everything is so much bigger, 50 or 60 mph makes little difference to our few trips to the UK
        We might arrive two beers later at stopovers but so what?
        In the UK driving 400 or 500 miles with a 50 maximum would be a nightmare

    5. The daft bit is that Somersham (Suffolk) primary school has had a 20 mph limit sign erected on both accesses to passing the school but…

      … part way through that zone, there is 30 reminder sign.

    1. That’s very sad.
      She probably wasn’t that old, hope she wasn’t jabbed etc…
      The children will be sad, & also Donald Trump has lost a friend.

      1. I see she was 73, & help was called because she was going into cardiac arrest.

        1. Who knows, but I always thought that that was to differentiate her son from his father

    1. NOT merely paedophile protectors.
      Protectors of the Muslims who were perpetrating the abuse..

        1. Not just them; apart from ultra-right-wing-fascist-pigs like Tommy Robinson, who says anything?

          And for the benefit of NtN that was sarcasm.

          1. I always think explaining sarcasm and irony is not necessary. If people are daft enough not to follow, so be it.

          2. True
            But I do sometimes get fed up with those who don’t “get it”, picking me up for what I wrote because they didn’t understand the post

          3. But I didn’t ‘pick you up for what you wrote’, I merely inderstood and commented on the amount of irony on here..

            The insults started with you (as seems usual).

      2. Neither am I. As far as I am concerned the whole point of swimming is to keep one’s head, especially the breathing apparatus and hair, well above the water level!

      3. I have two ‘set in stone’ attitudes

        Why swim, if the ship is not sinking.

        Why jump out of a serviceable aircraft

        1. Have you any idea how far I am from the sea? The rivers round here are constantly having drowned bodies fished out of them due to the treacherous currents (they aren’t close either) and the lakes (ditto but generally without the bodies) are prone to blooms of algae. I shall test Oscar’s liking of water when I finally get around to putting his paddling pool up.

          1. Fair enough

            Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to ride the Connemara for a half, or a full, marathon whilst drinking a gottle ‘o geer every
            mile

            The beer’s the swimmy bit

          2. Sounds like shades of the old Newcastle Brown challenge, they’d pay £100 to anyone who managed to drink 24 pints in 24 hours.

            I was told this in boy service in 1960-61 but have yet to have it verified or if anyone did it.

            Any Geordies available to verify?

    3. And if you don’t believe it’s a “doable” challenge, HG who swims like a close relative of a brick, has just clocked up 15 miles and she stops and does lots of muscle, joint, spine exercises every150 yards

      1. I love swimming but haven’t been able for a while- lockdowns and now my mush which prevents me from doing so, right now. Gawd, I miss it.

        1. I live through the winter for the joy of my pool in the summer

          We run a gite, and it gives me a lot of pleasure watching how much the guests enjoy it
          The two here now were still down at the pool well after sundown

          2. You could always rent the cottage, although this year, for the first time since Covid, we are fully booked

  134. Evening, all. Have had a very busy, but enjoyable day. Paid a bill, hopefully sorted out an on-going framing problem, oversaw the Sweep’s visit and then, out of the blue, a friend rang up and asked did I want to go and have a look at some antiques and have a meal. As I’ve got a few items on my list to acquire and I wanted a change from having to prepare my own meals, I jumped at the chance.

      1. Every bit of it. Found a piece of furniture I wanted and we had an excellent (and plentiful – I had to take some of the pie home for Oscar) pub meal to end it off.

        1. Whenever we have lunch out we always bring some home for Poppie, one of us makes the non-fish choice so that she can have a share of our lunch. She knows the procedure, she lies quietly under the table whilst we’re eating but as soon as we get through the gate at home she is dancing round our legs. She knows!

          3. Oscar hasn’t quite got the hang of it yet (I think he’s really thick, to be honest!). Charlie would “hoover” me the moment I got in. Oscar disgraced himself this morning; I tried to entice him out from under the table so he could go for a walk, using a biscuit. He must have thought I was teasing him and lunged at the biscuit, snatched it and took the skin off my thumb! He was not flavour of the month! After a whap and a shout to remind him that this was NOT what he did, I made him come to me, sit, and take the biscuit gently. As I say, thick! It’s 13 months after all. Sometimes I despair of ever getting him to come right 🙁

          4. Poppie has never responded to ‘come’, she backs off, trots off round the table to the most inaccessible point, she is the only dog I have known who once she sees the harness in preparation for a walk says “I don’t think so!” and goes off under a chair… we have to get down on our hands and knees to prise her out. Having said that, after 13 years she is starting to improve…! I think it is something to do with Maltese genes. However, she is a very soft and gentle dog who has never growled nor shown her teeth to anyone, and she is especially good on the “wait” command, though “sit” is a case of “I will if I feel like it” but she will plonk her backside down pretty sharpish if food is involved. And even though she is 13 she will still tear round the room if she is in the mood. She involves both of us in this game, I have to do the ‘chasing’ after her and my husband does the ‘saving’!

            It sounds as though Oscar may well have been teased at his previous home, and old habits of many years die hard. I suppose part of the problem is that the dog cannot judge precisely where his nose is in connection with the your fingers and the biscuit, especially if he is worried it is going to be taken away from him. Despite your skinned thumb it does sound as though you are making real progress when you look back on your year together.

      1. It certainly was. I managed to find an occasional table* at a reasonable price and can tick that one off my list.

        *Sometimes it thinks it’s a chair 🙂

        1. Yo Conners

          Found an occasional table.

          What was it, when it was Not a table?

          1. Sometimes it thinks it’s a chair. It’s like my travel iron; that sends me postcards when it’s away 🙂

  136. I hope Stormy feels better and I hope Paul is home safely. Best wishes to all.
    Am off to bed- feeling rather unwell.
    See you tomorrow.

  139. Oh boy!

    Since the 1950s, British politics has been an unedifying descent from largely dignified statesmanship to a sort of tawdry, sleazy food fight. Not long ago, almost the only Members of Parliament (MPs) who had been to jail in living memory were incarcerated in connection with the Northern Irish “Troubles.” More recently, Claudia Webbe, Labour MP for Leicester East, was given a 10-week suspended sentence for threatening and harassing a love rival, including threatening to throw acid in the woman’s face. It was no surprise to learn that she claimed the sentence was an example of systemic racism, and that her lawyer credited the sentence to the “white privilege” of Webbe’s rival.

    https://www.takimag.com/article/the-boris-johnson-show-is-over/

    1. “… just today on BBC2’s lunchtime show Politics Live, the presenter Alex Forsyth called my GB News colleague Inaya Folarin Iman, a guest on the show, Kemi three times. Presumably she got Inaya, as a young black woman, confused with the Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch.

      But as Inaya tweeted this afternoon: ‘I was called ‘Kemi’ three times by the host of BBC Politics Live today. There was obviously no bad intent but it really shouldn’t be something that occurs at all, let alone multiple times.’

      Oh, I don’t know. Working for GB News means she has the wrong views on the world for the BBC. It was probably their way of calling her a race-traitor.

    2. “… just today on BBC2’s lunchtime show Politics Live, the presenter Alex Forsyth called my GB News colleague Inaya Folarin Iman, a guest on the show, Kemi three times. Presumably she got Inaya, as a young black woman, confused with the Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch.

      But as Inaya tweeted this afternoon: ‘I was called ‘Kemi’ three times by the host of BBC Politics Live today. There was obviously no bad intent but it really shouldn’t be something that occurs at all, let alone multiple times.’

      Oh, I don’t know. Working for GB News means she has the wrong views on the world for the BBC. It was probably their way of calling her a race-traitor.

  144. An early good morning to one and all.
    DT & Self woke to pump bilges so we’re sat up with mugs of tea.

Comments are closed.