Thursday 24 April: Trump’s proposals for peace amount to a total betrayal of Ukraine

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its commenting 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.

274 thoughts on “Thursday 24 April: Trump’s proposals for peace amount to a total betrayal of Ukraine”

    1. We could do with a sort of emergency contact system.

      One where should there be chaos we can still communicate. Have we a whatsapp group or similar?

      1. Hertslass collects and trades our email addresses for those who wish private contact.

      2. I'm so glad that Geoff is OK and has somehow sorted his laptop problem. However, even Geoff – like all of us – will not live forever and one day the inevitable will happen. I hope that day is many, many years away; but when it does, does Geoff have any plans for a younger successor to take over? I think it is important for some thought to be given to this.

    1. I read today that County has given the go ahead for a huge solar park on what was once farm land (they claim they'll still be able to graze sheep, but it will now be considered brownfield so we all know what will happen). The rationale was how much CO2 it will save. If they think covering grass in metal will save CO2 they are completely bonkers.

      1. The first part of that statement is undoubtedly true, but as his remit is to make us all cold and miserable and bring the country to its knees, he seems to have an excellent grasp of that.

    3. Righty, so we need cheap steel masses of oil, masses of very cheap energy and rare earth metals and about 500 tons of concrete per windmill. Oh, and the blades of course. Fibre glass, so that's a different industry. Oh, and we need a ship yard that can build the installer ships. And about 20,000 highly skilled engineers.

      And we also – more than anything else – need a market demand for this stuff so it's not just welfare dressed up as subsidy in an industry that exists on subsidy.

  6. Trump’s proposals for peace amount to a total betrayal of Ukraine

    The betrayal of Ukraine begun when the powers that be imposed their Zelenski globalist puppet upon them.
    The same as virtually all Western countries.

    1. I'd use a woodchipper to dispose of my enemies. I bet he does to. That's why he can appear to be nice, just like me.

  8. Afternoon, folks. Off racing later. I don't have a runner at this meeting (although I have one at Beverley (lovely course, but too far away)).

    It isn't Trump who's betrayed the Ukraine; it's the war-mongering idiots who've shored up a corrupt regime.

    1. The runner at Beverley won at the last gasp! I thought he wasn't going to make it, but he just got there. Phew!

  11. Two doors away from us is a bungalow where a delightful young couple live. The house is on the market. I was musing to the MR when the couple arrived – must have been about the time the plague started.

    WRONG! They have been there eleven years. How memory plays tricks and time flies by…..{:¬((

      1. As a member of Suffolk Hustoric Buildings Group, on visits to unusual and often remote timber framed houses, I noticed some young folk had no interest in the construction and framing.

        Instead they seemed more interested in examining the house contents, furniture, ornaments and so on, taking notes all the while.

        It is much the same when putting property on the market. Many are simply inquisitive or what we once called “Nosey Parkers” so named after Archbishop Matthew Parker of Corpus Christi fame.

    2. We were called 'those lovely nice young people' the other day by our neighbours. I don't think you get accepted until 4 generations have passed.

        1. The husband of one does have dementia. He spends all day sitting in his rocking chair while Ethel fusses around him.

  15. Stop and Search 'would cut knife deaths by a third'.

    Knife crime deaths could be reduced by a third if police brought back stop and search, according to the first research of its kind.
    The study, by Scotland Yard’s former chief scientific officer, found that there would be 30 fewer knife murders per year in London if the practice was restored to 2008-2011 levels. It could also reduce injuries by 16 per cent.

    Official crime figures, which will be published today, could show that knife crime is at record levels amid a fall in police officers’ use of the tactic.
    Stop and searches by forces in England and Wales have fallen from a high of 1.2 million a year in 2010/11 to 535,000 in the year to March 2024.

    Stop and search — probably the most effective deterrent to crime — was only stopped by the bleeding heart liberals who think that a criminal's rights are far more important than a victim of crime's rights.

    1. The liberal fantasists complained that stop and search targeted black youths. Well yeah, 'cause they're the ones doin' it, stoopid! It's a waste of police time searching me ffs. Confiscate that handbag before she coshes someone with it!
      https://youtu.be/Ygy7UDADXDg

    2. If blacks and Asians are knifing each other , so what .

      They do much more of that sort of thing in the countries their grandparents originated from .

      If whitey can't get out of the way of knifey bod , they must just steer clear of altercations ..

    1. Mike Dean makes it all about him and does his best to give Cardiff a point bless him.

    3. As a wolves fan, watching with bated breathe

      edit: Does anyone know when this was?

      Dad says they beat Man United on Sunday

      1. It was the season Wolves got promoted (2018?). I think Cardiff were also promoted under manager Neil Warnock). Or, it was the next season in the EPL.

  18. One high school student was killed and three were injured in a school stabbing in Nantes

    Why publish far more information on the nationality of the knife attacker? Are they gonna publish the fact that the massive massive (massive.. James throws in extra one for drama) majority of crimes committed are committed by non-foreigners?
    James O'Brien.

        1. Yet fewer than a quarter of the population commit a completely disproportionate percentage of the violent crimes and it has to be looked at in that context, which the likes of James O'Brien never seem to grasp.

          1. That minority commits about a half of all violent crimes here in the US. That's why I like West Virginia – 90% white and only about 3% black. Also 70%+ Christian – we definitely have a lot of churches and churchgoers.

    2. Are you going to publish that the massive, massive, massive majority of presenters are not as stupid or sanctimonious as James O’Brien.

    1. 404655+ up ticks,

      Afternoon W,
      I thought he was asking was any of them feeling randy.

  20. Shoplifting in Britain soars to the highest level in history: Epidemic laid bare as shock new figures reveal thieves stole every MINUTE last year.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14643409/Britains-shoplifting-epidemic-laid-bare-shocking-figures-half-million-offences-recorded-police-year-time.html

    Number of police recorded knife or sharp instrument offences in London from 2015/16 to 2023/24

    https://www.statista.com/statistics/864736/knife-crime-in-london/

    Mobile phone thefts, including muggings, are a significant problem in London, with the Metropolitan Police reporting a concerning rise in reported thefts. In 2024, over 70,000 phones were reported stolen in the capital, a nearly 40% increase from the previous year, according to a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan Police. This translates to roughly one phone theft every seven and a half minutes.

    Well done Khan. You're doing a super duper job.

  21. Ukraine is this era's Czechoslovakia. Encouraging aggressive and expansionist leaders never ends well.

    1. The last thing Putin wants is to have to deal with Ukrainians.

      He is hoping with Trump’s agreement to hand the sorry lot on to the Europeans to deal with, having protected Russian speakers and the Russian Orthodox Church and having ensured Russia’s security.

  22. Warning.

    Overuse of nasal sprays can burn a hole through the soft tissues of your nose and throat.

    I know this because it happened to me. I overused a decongestant antihistamine spray when my hay fever got really bad and had a nose bleed which i couldn't stop in the usual way. I ended up in A&E. Which as you all know is to be avoided.

        1. Stick your nose in a beaker of lightly salted tepid water and sniff it up into the nasal cavities. It’s horrible to do, but it ensures a hayfever-free day.

          3. Alternatively , buy a neti pot (yoga sort of shops should sell them; cheap, plastic little watering-can sort of doojamiflips) and the job is done a lot more efficiently).

      2. A young lad at work had a blocked nose; we were chatting, I recommended Olbas oil (or in fact Tiger Balm which is illegal over here from memory but is still the best). He had a nasal spray but wasn’t aware of Olbas oil. He said his flat mate had overused a nasal spray and it has caused irreparable damage (I think he became slightly addicted to them).

  24. There will, sadly always be such a conflict. It annoys me that the geopolitics is incredibly complicated but it's all forced down to 'goodies and baddies' to suit the state publicity engine.

  25. He has YouTube channel with more than 2 and a half million subscribers. The old get their gardens tidied for nothing and he gets rich on the monetised videos.

  26. Many people attended the funeral, we were amongst the throng .. Moh wore my father's Fleet Air Arm silk tie .. My dear friend's husband was originally a Ganges boy , born 1940 , he was an air mechanic serving on HMS Hermes , HMS Victorious and many others , and then eventually when he left the RN worked for Airwork in Aden .. before and after the troop withdrawal in 167 and after and all other middle eastern countries .

    The family showed photographs of flight decks and lots of aircraft T had worked on , he was a keen photographer , his favourite aircraft was the Phantom apparently . He was a keen airshow photographer , and got his buzz from jet engine noise and smell .. and had a thousands of photographs which his sons have no idea what to do with !

    There were a variety of friends from all over , a few RN and Army ..and of course family.

    How nice to have family close by ..

    When Moh's elderly mother died 9 years ago, there was just us , alone with the priest at her burial .

    They say funerals bring families together , I have been to enough veterans funerals to know that families are odd things .. People do not know the meaning of being supportive after the event !

    The sun is shining here , and a blackbird is singing away to it's mate , their song is almost like a foreign language , Norwegian perhaps .. .

    Lilac is flowering ..

    Damnation to all politicians .

    1. I was on the RN Intensive Flying Traing Unit, we 'brought' the Navy Phaantom into the world

    2. I myself went to a cremation of a good friend this afternoon, Maggie, then on to the wake at a nearby pub. Good to see lots of old friends again and relations of the deceased, who was clearly a much loved man. A wonderful service and the tributes were very moving. The church was absolutely packed.

      Driving home I stopped at Korky the Kat's house, but alas he was out for the day. I hope to meet up with him again before too long. Friends are very important.

      1. Indeed, Elsie.
        And it takes effort to maintain friendships, effort from both sides.
        Good freinds from Cranfiled days (mid-1980s) have disappeared, no change of address card, nothing. The same for friends from 1990s CEGB days, just disappeared from view. I'd love to renew the relationship, but it seems one-sided wish. It makes me very sad – these friends even visited us several times in Norway, as did we them in the UK and Germany, but…
        I try, but human relationships aren't my strong point, never was. It's a reet bugger, is tha'.

      2. Yes , it is a lovely feeling witnessing families pull together.

        Elsie , we don’t hear much about your family , are you alone , but have you family close by, or just in Argentina.

  27. Annnddd he's stopped.

    Mongo is renewing his therapy certificate and is being walked around an old people's gathering at the sports centre. He was doing very well until – and you can see it – the quizzical expression, the 'why are we going in circles?' question and that's it, he has plonked on his bum and now won't move.

    Thing is, he's also a complete softie so as soon as someone gives him a fuss he'll become the star attraction again but that won't get him his renewed certificate.

    1. It seems renewing things is becoming more difficult. I applied to renew my Blue Badge back in February. I've just been told I need to send in a load more documentation and if I don't comply within 28 days my application will be thrown out! I am sick of it. I had to have a physio assess me the first time as I hobbled down the corridor. No problem once I'd done that. After three years my vertebral degeneration and arthritis have not improved.

      1. It's all a bit silly having to prove you 'can't' do things. I was having trouble signing a document due to my tremors and the chaps said 'if you can't sign it, we'll not be able to get you the appointment.

        I looked at him – well, must have glowered as he shrank away from me – and I thought ' twerp. The reason I can't sign it is because I can't hold, let alone control the damned pen any more!'

        1. Sellotape the pen to your hand and do a squiggle. When they say is that your signature say yes.

        2. What really annoys me is seeing people who are a lot fitter and more mobile than I am in brand new cars (Motability) and with Blue Badges. I'd like the bureaucrats to cope with the pain I experience and see if that improves their understanding.

  28. Putin is not Hitler, no matter what the MSM would like you to believe. He wants a buffer state to protect his country (if only we had one!), not to take over Europe (that's the EU's aim).

  29. Amol Rajan (who was extremely rude about the Royal Family and had to apologise) interviews Gary Lineker.

    Yawns.

    The best the Beeb can come up with. A presenter interviewing a pundit.

      1. It's a lovey in. I doubt he will ask the questions people would really like answers to. Like why are you such a virtue signalling hypocrite?

    2. He is an offensive little shyte. Can't imagine how he got to where he is…oh, hang on a mo….

  31. Lunch time ITV news spoke of the shoplifting in London that in the past 12 months has increased by upwards of 50%.
    That's only I'd guess what has been recorded.
    Something else that our useless idiot politicians have had a hand in.

      1. Frustratingly part of it is. Also, it's part of the problem for the government before that.

        We can't know where we would be if Blair hadn't imported millions of third worlders but I can tell you that the country would have far fewer problems, higher wages, lower crime, lower taxes (lower welfare), lower house prices (as less demand), far lower inflation (as borrowing would be lower) and hundreds of thousands of children wouldn't have been raped by pakistani paedophile muslims.

        2. That monster needs to be behind bars – forever. Instead he and his wife are swanning around rich and (possibly) carefree…

          1. Already with their London mansion and not long after they took up residency in the Buckinghamshire countryside. They built a huge brick wall around the grounds of the mansion. They Already had and still have 24/7/365 armed security including private luxury transport, supplied by the British taxpayers.
            If you haven't seen the film The Ghost Writer. He gets his just deserts in that. But no name is mentioned of course.

      1. I have been banging on about the deliberate disarming of the British for yonks.
        Now only criminals have unfettered access to firearms.

        1. Before the firearms ban, nobody wandered the streets, wearing guns. Now, the incidence of armed crime is higher than everr, none of it by legally held weapons. Strange, that.

    1. A long while ago I lost my special bulky pen with the rubberised grip and what not. I get a ping from the Warqueen 'send me a picture of your penis.'

      I sent back – hang on, you know I have to book time on the electron microscope.

      After a 'wot are you talking about idiot man…'

      I had her read her message.

      Ah, fun times.

    2. A long while ago I lost my special bulky pen with the rubberised grip and what not. I get a ping from the Warqueen 'send me a picture of your penis.'

      I sent back – hang on, you know I have to book time on the electron microscope.

      After a 'wot are you talking about idiot man…'

      I had her read her message.

      Ah, fun times.

    1. Yes! I have bought the Pinto Ranch!
      Yes!
      And why not?
      I have a weakness for blondes…
      and women without mustaches.
      Before you do any hiring you tell
      your partner about your liabilities.
      You know, you have a very big mouth!
      – My sheik!
      – My partner!

      From Cannonball Run II

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9fZI3wBA1o

  38. Good afternoon, all,

    Apologies if this has already been posted – we knew that the PTB were already spraying us with chemicals in chemtrails, but we are paying £50million for the acid!

    UNREAL: Britain to BLOCK THE SUN to stop global warming
    You cannot make this up.
    Peter Imanuelsen
    I have previously reported on how a company called Make Sunsets have been spraying TOXIC chemicals in the air in order to block out the sun.
    But now Britain is about to do the same.

    Within the next weeks the British government will be giving the green light to conduct experiments to dim sunlight to stop global warming they say.
    They are considering field trials which include spraying particles into the atmosphere in order to block out the sun, and the government has set aside a whopping £50 million for this.

    Other ideas they have include creating certain clouds to allow more heat to escape from earth.

    Not long ago, geo-engineering of this sort was called a crazy conspiracy theory by the mainstream media.
    Now they are actually doing it…

    Who on earth thinks this will be a good idea? Blocking out the sun means that people will get less vitamin D. It means that crops will have a harder time to grow. It’s difficult to imagine how anybody thought this was a good idea, nobody has any idea of the kind of side effects that this could cause.

    The company Make Sunsets have already been doing this by spraying sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. When this chemical is released, it turns into sulfuric acid clouds.

    Yes, that is the same things that is in your car batteries. Literally putting battery acid in the air in the name of saving the climate. Amazing. You cannot make it up.

    Thankfully, there have been efforts in the USA to ban geo-engineering. Good.

    Of course, these kind of things wouldn’t only affect Britain, but it could spread and affect other countries to.

    How can this be allowed?
    Shouldn’t this be considered as some form of biological terrorism?
    Surely there has to be some kind of international organization to stop this from happening and polluting the skies for the rest of us!

    Also more fully dealt with on the Daily Sceptic.

    1. Was this in Labour's manifesto? Should this not be a decision of Parliament rather than Government?

      1. Labour seem to be doing rather a lot that wasn’t in their manifesto. Even if it goes to Parliament they will just nod it through – like the pensioners’ WFA.

    2. They've been doing it for years. They also want you to buy solar panels. And believe that 22°C is a heatwave.

      1. I didn’t think it was being publicly endorsed with taxpayers’ money to the tune of £50million, though.

    4. THat shite will blow this way on the prevailing wind. Oh, good. Somebody spray millipede with it.

    5. It is supposedly a global problem, how would blacking out the UK help? It's probably going to end with solar generated power imports from places afar.

      1. It won’t – that’s the idea. we will probably end up as a dark, cold prison island where the criminals of the world are sent. A bit like now.

  39. Good afternoon, all,

    Apologies if this has already been posted – we knew that the PTB were already spraying us with chemicals in chemtrails, but we are paying £50million for the acid!

    UNREAL: Britain to BLOCK THE SUN to stop global warming
    You cannot make this up.
    Peter Imanuelsen
    I have previously reported on how a company called Make Sunsets have been spraying TOXIC chemicals in the air in order to block out the sun.
    But now Britain is about to do the same.

    Within the next weeks the British government will be giving the green light to conduct experiments to dim sunlight to stop global warming they say.
    They are considering field trials which include spraying particles into the atmosphere in order to block out the sun, and the government has set aside a whopping £50 million for this.

    Other ideas they have include creating certain clouds to allow more heat to escape from earth.

    Not long ago, geo-engineering of this sort was called a crazy conspiracy theory by the mainstream media.
    Now they are actually doing it…

    Who on earth thinks this will be a good idea? Blocking out the sun means that people will get less vitamin D. It means that crops will have a harder time to grow. It’s difficult to imagine how anybody thought this was a good idea, nobody has any idea of the kind of side effects that this could cause.

    The company Make Sunsets have already been doing this by spraying sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. When this chemical is released, it turns into sulfuric acid clouds.

    Yes, that is the same things that is in your car batteries. Literally putting battery acid in the air in the name of saving the climate. Amazing. You cannot make it up.

    Thankfully, there have been efforts in the USA to ban geo-engineering. Good.

    Of course, these kind of things wouldn’t only affect Britain, but it could spread and affect other countries to.

    How can this be allowed?
    Shouldn’t this be considered as some form of biological terrorism?
    Surely there has to be some kind of international organization to stop this from happening and polluting the skies for the rest of us!

    Also more fully dealt with on the Daily Sceptic.

  42. Looks like the shit is shortly going to hit the fan in India/Pakistan. Both sides ramping up the rhetoric, when does the war become hot?
    Maybe The Donald could see if his calming ways would work there, as well.

        2. Stay – there are already very violent "cultural clashes" between various African tribesmen illegally living in Blighty.

    4. Over the years I've met, known and worked with a number of India people.
      And always got on with them. Unlike Pakistani's the Indian people have much more appreciation towards where they have settled.
      In fact one was one of the nicest people I have ever known. Narinjin Jog Raj from Harrow.
      Come on India……

      1. I find Indians (Hindu, Sikhs) to be fine, upstanding people, clever, hard-working and worth the time to get to know.
        Pakistanis, well…
        I'd stand up for India.

  43. Wordle No. 1,405 3/6

    ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟩
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 24 Apr 2025

    Djinn for Birdie Three?

    1. Good one. Par here.

      Wordle 1,405 4/6

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

    2. Serious thought needed but after finding the last two letters it remained as clear as mud for a long time.
      Wordle 1,405 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Serious thought needed but after finding the last two letters it remained as clear as mud for a long time.
      Wordle 1,405 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. Just a Par. Was staring me in the face but one of those days.

      Wordle 1,405 4/6

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

    5. Just couldnt see it…. B-b-b-bogey….

      Wordle 1,405 5/6

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

    6. Well done.
      Me too.

      Wordle 1,405 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
      🟨🟨🟨⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  44. OT – While driving home from the market, a dustcart came towards us. Above the cab was a sign: "ATTENTION – PERSONS WORKING AT REAR OF VEHICLE"

    Realising that the company could not, natch, use the older, simpler, "MEN WORKING AT REAR" (for obvious reasons…(yawns)…), we could not work out why they did not use the word "PEOPLE".

    Funny old thing, modern life. Confusing, too. Bewildering, in fact.

    1. We (me, mum, dad) have been driving through the Shropshire countryside- beautiful day – looking in bewilderment at all the ugly housing estates springing up everywhere: “it’s the future”.

    2. All those personages that like to don hi viz for photo ops should be sent to Birmingham to clear the shit off the streets from the shits they let in.

      1. I have a theory that they wanted to say “PERSONNEL” but were uncertain about the spelling.

  46. The UK has an ageing electricity grid, which needs upgrading, partly to accommodate new renewable power sources. There are times when wind power is actually paid not to generate, because the grid cannot handle all the electricity that it could produce.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crkep1vx3mro

    There may well be times when it can't. Equally, there are times when it can but there's no demand for it all.

    Note also the sly line implicitly blaming gas for high electricity prices.

    And when will such articles refer properly to electricity, rather than energy or power?

    1. They'll only reflect reality when sanity returns. When that will be the Lord only knows.

  47. The UK has an ageing electricity grid, which needs upgrading, partly to accommodate new renewable power sources. There are times when wind power is actually paid not to generate, because the grid cannot handle all the electricity that it could produce.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crkep1vx3mro

    There may well be times when it can't. Equally, there are time when it can but there's no demand for it all.

    Note also the sly line implicitly blaming gas for high electricity prices.

    And when will such articles refer properly to electricity, rather than energy or power?

  49. That's me for this chilly and uninviting day. Time for a drink to make up for it.

    Have a spiffing evening.

    A demain.

  50. India orders all Pakistani nationals to leave the country and slams borders shut..

    What? Just like that. Impossible. The International rules police & judges won't allow it?
    Apart from that.. if you live in Leicester tape up the windows.

  51. I've just been sitting watching Flog It.
    From St Albans Abbey. I recognised a lady I know from our village. She was even at the sale room. Not selling or having her goods assessed for valuation. If that's the correct description.

    1. I tire of watching “Flog It” simply because the host waves his hands around so vigorously as to likely put someone’s eye out. The valuations are weird especially the recurrent aged postcards with bloody Beatles autographs (signed by John Lennon on behalf of the others) and those damn Clarice Cliff teacups and saucers with impractically stupid triangular “ears”.

      Then we have the Fijian and similar carved wooden cudgels used to break skulls that feature so regularly on the Antiques Roadshow, another annoyance.

      I also have grave doubts that a lot of the stuff brought along for valuation was actually bequeathed to the dodgy semi-literates by a little old lady or distant great aunt. A lot of the stuff is clearly stolen or swiped from the sideboard of a dead person.

      2. ' Absolutely charming, but, I'm afraid, completely worthless…'
        ' Oh, I'd never sell it!, it holds such wonderful memories' grrr gnash grrr

      3. ' Absolutely charming, but, I'm afraid, completely worthless…'
        ' Oh, I'd never sell it!, it holds such wonderful memories' grrr gnash grrr

    2. Oh LIR! How are you feeling? I remember selling my first car! An H reg (first time round!) Mini Clubman!

          1. Ha! My friend reminds/tells me that every Saturday in November in Cardiff will be taken up with Home Internationals, so my idea for a nice meal out in Cardiff has gone for a Burton. I am back at the drawing-board stage…

      1. 😂

        My Triumph Triple was much more sexy. Let me find a photo if i can

        Edit. I used to have one of these. After we got Jasper, about 4 days in fact, i took the children out for the evening, it was midsummer and they did wakeboarding. Jasper wanted to come, and I said he couldn’t. When we got back, he was sulking. That night, the bike was stolen from our drive. I know if Jasper hadn’t been sulking, he would have barked.

        He was a lovely dog. It was a beautiful bike.

          1. Nice bike – I'm more of a Norton man myself……although my Dad very nearly died in an accident on his Dominator, and as a result I may never have been!

          2. Nice!
            Firstborn rides a Triumph Rocket 3 – inline 3 cylinder. Stupendous machine.

      2. 😂

        My Triumph Triple was much more sexy. Let me find a photo if i can

  53. Evening all! I see we have Thursday now!
    Been out most of the day meeting my old school friends.

  55. If our government signs away our fishing waters to our bullying neighbour for a few magic beans, how can it possibly be against Ukraine giving up Crimea to Russia for a peace deal, it is the same thing, our bullying EU neighbour will just want more and more control over our sovereignty if we surrender to them so easily.
    Just more two tier principles as usual.

  58. Stephen Daisly in the Spekkie. I think someone's been feeding him meat; his style has definitely become more ascerbic. A masterly take down.

    It’s not the cowardice that offends, it’s not even the dishonesty, it’s the sheer insubstantiality of the man. There is nothing there. No conviction and no principle, neither passion nor purpose, a vacuum of personality and philosophy. He is a simulation of a Prime Minister, the non-playable character of British politics, a phantom premier who makes Number 10 emptier by his presence.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/keir-starmer-is-a-shallow-hollow-man/#comments-container

    1. A lawyer then. No morality, just goes with the money. Not that our resident legal eagle would do as such of course…

    1. Where I grew up in Mill Hill at the end of our garden we had a large field with around a dozen horses in.
      The stables were infested with rats. With a couple of friends and our home made catapults we use to shoot dozens of them. Using selected small stones and even old marbles as ammo.
      We became very hand eye
      co-ordinated.

  60. My sister, who lives in the Netherlands, has recently gone to the Dutch equivalent of the Antiques Road Show with a bronze cat, which my father and grandfather always said was probably worth something, as they thought it was possibly a medieval bronze copy of a Bastet, an Egyptian god. Beautifully made, lovely proportions and sitting on an ornate plinth.

    My grandfather was a great collector and all his stuff was valued when he died. The expert wrote off the cat as not worth anything much and my father took it, because it was so lovely. When he, in turn, died, my sister got it as she is nuts about cats and has always loved this little statuette. Egged on by her son, she took it to the Show for a bit of fun.

    Below is a photo of the one in the Louvre; our family one looks pretty similar, including the gold earring.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bbd799eef0ed671a75f7d38a668a9344c5a5550698d5780d5cb78eb6a70723e4.png
    It turns out that our cat that "might be worth something" is actually two and a half thousand years old…

    3. Beautiful surprise and what a lovely bronze cat , perfect m and goodness me what an age .

      Does it feel nice and how large .. small and neat or larger ?

      1. Not particularly, actually. My other sister, who hates cats, always thought it was an ugly thing; I've always liked it as it is beautifully proportioned.

    9. Good grief! It's older than Jesus!
      And it's lovely. Don't sell it.
      (love the ear-ring!)

  61. Hopefully Mrs Eddy might be well enough to get up tomorrow.
    This is the problem with us oldies having very young grand children. They pick up so many new bugs and pass them on.
    I'll be popping orff soon, I went for a short walk in our road had a nice chat with two of our neighbours earlier. One elder lady has had water seepage through her outside wall. I suggested that her down pipes might be blocked by moss from her roof via guttering.
    And Dave and family opposite have been in Cornwall for a week celebrating his BiLs 60th birthday. Very niasch.
    Goodnight all Nottlers. 😴

    2. SWMBO brought a mini-flu back from England with her, and is now being waited on in bed.
      My vitamin D3 makes me invisible invincible to illness. That, and lots of garlic and ginger in food.

  65. Should we expect rivalries and street wars from warring Asians (Think Kashmir)

    Does the government have any contingency plans in case things flare up?

    1. Does HMG need a plan? Just let them get on with it I say. And the police are usually very good at keeping out of trouble.

    2. Shout ”islamophobia”, imprison hWite people and chuck more money at mosques?

    3. Shout ”islamophobia”, imprison hWite people and chuck more money at mosques?

    2. W e had this yesterday -when I suggested that you had much inside info about the delightful transperson.

  67. Pope John XXIII today is affectionately known as "il papa buono".

    I share that view.

  68. Just received a video sent by a friend (Geoff) to a small group (4) of us local anglers on WhatsApp on my phone.
    It's a video of Trump and Musk taking the piss out of Starmer. No sound (that I could find), just subtitles. It's amusing is all.

    While looking for sound I pressed the 3 vertical dots in the top right of the phone screen. The options that were listed were as follows;

    Edit
    All media
    Show in chat
    Share
    Save
    View in gallery
    Delete
    Report Geoff

      1. Thank you m’dear.
        I did.
        Until the Dearly Tolerant started coughing at 10 to 5!!

  71. Wel, chums, it's way past my bed time. So I wish you all a Good Night. Sleep well and I'll see you all tomorrow.

  73. From Coffee House the Spectator

    26 Apr 2025
    Coffee House
    Freddie Attenborough
    The danger of banning face coverings at protests
    24 April 2025, 4:38pm

    As the government’s Crime and Policing Bill makes its way through parliament, MPs on the Public Bill Committee are scrutinising its clauses today – including, potentially, Clause 86. If passed, this provision will make it a criminal offence to conceal your identity at a protest. For some people this may sound sensible enough. But for dissidents from authoritarian regimes – and their families thousands of miles away – it’s a very real threat to their physical safety.

    In fairness to those currently grappling with the issue, the legislation responds to a genuine problem: the adoption in the UK of the ‘black bloc’ face-concealing tactics pioneered by radical anarchists in the US. Since Hamas’s attack on Israel and the subsequent military response, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have regularly taken place in British cities. A sizeable minority of participants have clashed with police, brandished anti-Semitic placards and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. Many of the protestors have hidden their faces with masks or scarves.

    The law as it stands allows police, with proper authorisation, to require someone to remove a face covering. But wearing such a covering is not, in itself, criminal.

    Clause 86 of the new Bill seeks to change that. It would allow police to designate areas where ‘wearing or otherwise using an item that conceals [your] identity’ becomes an offence. A police inspector may do this if they reasonably believe that a protest ‘may take place or is taking place’ which is ‘likely to involve or has involved the commission of offences’ – and that it is ‘expedient’ to impose the restriction. No definition of ‘expedient’ is offered. No judicial oversight is required
    So far, concern from civil-liberties groups has focused on how these powers might operate alongside the UK’s facial recognition surveillance. Although Clause 86 doesn’t mention facial recognition, the new law will essentially criminalise anyone who attempts to avoid it.

    A far greater danger, though, comes from the fact that, if masks are banned at British protests, it won’t be just the British police doing the filming and carrying out the facial recognition. The not unreasonable presumption running through this debate is that anonymity implies evasion of the law. Yet for foreign dissidents, it’s not necessarily our law they’re looking to evade. For them, a mask is often their only defence against a government they fled but which continues to monitor, threaten and punish them.

    One UK-based activist told the Atlantic in March that after he joined a pro-democracy protest in London, Chinese security agents harassed his family back in Hong Kong. His parents were summoned for questioning and shown photographs of him demonstrating on British soil. He was warned that unless he stopped protesting, his family would face the consequences.

    The government of Iran has used similar tactics, with its agents orchestrating campaigns of harassment, surveillance and intimidation in the UK. During a 2021 protest in Whitehall, Iranian activists holding anti-regime placards noticed they were being extensively photographed and filmed. One of them was Shadi Amin of Justice for Iran, who was later quoted in a UK government report on Iranian anti-dissident activities. ‘We live with the threats,’ she said. ‘They make threats against our families in Iran.’

    The right to wear a mask at a protest is not absolute. Certainly, it’s not easy to justify in the case of those hoping to get away with anti-Semitic hate crimes. But surely it’s a different matter for people trying to protect themselves as they protest peacefully against some of the world’s worst regimes. Clause 86 threatens to override this distinction completely.

    Proponents of the Crime and Policing Bill may argue that the powers to ban coverings will be used sparingly, and only when a genuine threat exists. But the threshold for designation is low, the criteria are subjective and, once available, such tools are rarely left on the shelf. In practice, the powers could well be used ‘just in case’, following a vague risk assessment or a prior history of violence.

    Which brings us to the other major problem with Clause 86. Authoritarian regimes – with their networks of loyalists, provocateurs and online propagandists – are uniquely positioned to ensure that face-covering bans are implemented. These regimes can easily manufacture threats and violence that will trigger a face-covering ban from the police. They can then use this to identify and punish dissidents still bold enough to protest.

    Already, there’s no shortage in Britain of anti-dissident violence from authoritarian loyalists. In 2021, for instance, several pro-democracy Hongkongers were hospitalised after being attacked in London’s Chinatown by what Chinese state media called ‘patriots’. Only last year, five Iranians holding a peaceful protest outside a memorial in Wembley for Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi were set on by supporters of the Tehran government. Four of the five ended up in hospital, including one woman who later warned that the ‘IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] are on British soil’.

    The more violence, the more face-unmasking orders. The more unmasking orders, the more photographs and the more names. Clause 86 is a law is built for a national jurisdiction – but the threat is transnational.

    A power designed to preserve public order in a liberal democracy could end up giving authoritarian governments exactly what they want: the identity of their dissidents. This may not be the intention of Clause 86. But unless Parliament wakes up to the dangers now – while the Bill is still in committee and amendments are possible – it might very well be the effect.

    Written by
    Freddie Attenborough
    Dr Frederick Attenborough is the Digital Communications Director of the Free Speech Union

Comments are closed.