Thursday 4 May: Balancing the rights of protestors with the need to prevent disruption

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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438 thoughts on “Thursday 4 May: Balancing the rights of protestors with the need to prevent disruption”

      1. Lots of youtubers are using today to lament the dire state of Disney Star Wars.

  4. SIR – I recall taking my much loved MGB Roadster to Avignon on the overnight sleeper train from Boulogne.

    On my return I visited my paternal grandmother in Scotland and told her of the delights of the journey. She then proudly announced to her neighbours that her grandson had travelled through France in a courgette.

    Ian Melville
    Bedford

    I had a grandmother like that. Many years after her death, I used to have a MGB.

  7. Balancing the rights of protesters with the need to prevent disruption

    So now we know what the fake protests were all for.

    1. We predicted this as soon as those dopey protests started and the police did nothing. People have been saying it was just an excuse for authoritarian legislation, and they still did it in plain sight.

    2. These days you have to tell plod where you’ll be protesting. Well, you do unless you’re a favoured group, such as lefties, pikeys, dross, scum and greeniac wasters.

      The joilers broke the law. The police decided not to enforce the law. The joilers had no right to behave as they did but the state enforced their disruption. When big state won’t uphold the law, then the law is meaningless – unless, of course, you’re an honest, tax paying white Briton going to work. Then the law has no interest in you.

      1. …. “unless, of course, you’re an honest, tax paying white Briton going to work. Then the law has no interest in you.”
        Actually, you’re being rather dismissive. The law is interested in us; either to fine us for wanting to get to work or take even larger sums through taxation to ensure the judiciary has a gold plated pension.

        1. 374174+ up ticks,,

          Morning Anne,

          You mean I believe, a sort of domesticated dairy herd, to be milked daily, if so you could not have been rightererer

  8. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    Accidents Will Happen

    A rabbi and a priest are involved in a car accident and it’s a bad one.

    Both cars are totally demolished, but, amazingly, neither of the clerics is hurt.

    After they crawl out of their cars, the rabbi sees the priest’s collar and says, “So you’re a priest. I’m a rabbi. Just look at our cars. There’s nothing left, but we are unhurt. This must be a sign from God. God must have meant that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace the rest of our days.”

    The priest replies, “I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God.”

    The rabbi continues, “And look at this. Here’s another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of Captain Morgan Rum didn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink the rum and celebrate our good fortune.”

    Then he hands the bottle to the priest.

    The priest agrees, takes a few big swigs, and hands the bottle back to the rabbi. The rabbi takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap on, and hands it back to the priest.

    The priest asks, “Aren’t you having any?”

    The rabbi replies, “No… I think I’ll wait for the police.”

  9. Sausage maker scraps vegan bangers because customers don’t want them

    A British sausage maker has axed almost its entire range of vegan products after admitting that the market was over-hyped.

    Heck, which is based in Yorkshire, said it had cut the size of its vegan range from around 15 products down to just two as shoppers swerved meat-free meals.

    Andrew Keeble, co-founder of the company, said that the public “wasn’t quite ready” to completely switch to vegetarian sausages and burgers.

    He said: “We had a huge range of vegan products, because like everyone else, we believed what was being written in the press.

    How come you are running a business God knows. I’m having sausages for lunch. Big fat porky ones from Marks and Spencer. Absolutely delicious!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/05/03/sausage-maker-heck-scraps-vegan-bangers/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr

    2. Morning, Minty.
      Yesterday while I was waiting in the local butchers, a woman asked if they sold vegetarian sausages.
      The lass who runs it tactfully explained that they were butchers.
      Apparently the customers didn’t like the quality of supermarket veggie offerings, and thought a butcher might sell better ones.
      We agreed (after she’d gone) that the addition of meat might improve them.

    3. …like everyone else, we believed what was being written in the press.

      Mr Keeble, in future I suggest you speak for yourself and stop tossing slurs at people who do not believe in what the press writes but who do think for themselves. Building a business model on the biased wittering of what passes for modern day journalism doesn’t sound too clever, as your dumping of 13 product lines shows.

    4. I remember a veganist demanding that they have sausages and bacon like everyone else. I said that no, you can have marbled fungus. If you want meat, eat it.

      They really didn’t like that. It seems they want the same things, but different. Cretins.

    6. I seem to recall that Heck were the targeted boycott of the Leftwaffe for some imagined slight. Perhaps that’s why they went down the non-meat route?

      At the time of the ‘boycott’, I used to buy a pack of Heck sausages whilst enduring my weekly shop in Tesco, and put them in the charity food bank collection point.

    7. I had a very nice cottage pie for lunch (went out with friends). Eschewed the veggie lasagne which was available.

  10. Morning all,

    I’ve asked so many people what LGBTQ stands for.

    So far no one has given me a straight answer.

  12. Good morning all.
    A dry but dull overcast this morning with 4°C outside.

    I’m probably heading back to bed sometime today after a rather disturbed night with a mild headache.

    1. Sorry to hear that, BoB. My stomach cramps experienced all night (from late Tuesday to Wednesday morning) slowly disappeared on Wednesday and I was able to enjoy a long four hour sleep later in the day. And last night I slept like a baby. I hope that things improve for you too.

  13. Latest on the skin cancer lesion on my back where my case was passed from DMC Healthcare Ltd to HealthHarmonie Ltd. I have yet to hear from either HealthHarmonie or my local GP surgery. Last night I spotted another lesion a couple of inches from the main one, which is about the size of a pea, red and starting to swell.

    I spotted it last September. I had a letter from DMC in January offering me an appointment in Malvern, but they sent it to my mobile phone which doesn’t get a signal at home, so I never got to hear about it until after I missed it. Another appointment in Kidderminster in April got a diagnosis of a BCC and a recommendation of an incision with a biopsy within weeks. At this stage, it is not too serious and can usually be cured by surgery. It is a routine procedure.

    I then got the letter saying that it was no longer in the hands of their consultant, and my case notes were being passed to HealthHarmonie. The option to object to this had a deadline one day before the letter arrived, and all they could do is to cancel my case, and start from scratch back with my GP.

    I’ll try again with my GP, but now my health is in the hands of the business sector, I don’t hold out much hope.

    Because I live alone, I have no loved ones who would sue the NHS for negligence when the cancer spreads to my body and renders me incapable of fighting, and because I am not a rapper or a trans lesbian, my life doesn’t really matter anyway. Better get round to writing out my will, as if there is anyone I can trust with my legacy.

    2. Write that will! You could always change it the next day but just in case you did not 100% finalise your old divorce a valid will would if you so wished prevent your ex-wife from collecting the first £100,000.

  14. Good morning, all. Bright with a breeze. Dry.

    Watching yesterday’s UK Column and below is a screen shot of a slide put up around 35 minutes in.

    Who knew that Wirral Council has a ‘nudge unit’? Is this a widespread phenomenon, and if so, why?
    Councils have been exposed planning and advocating 15 Minute neighbourhoods and other restrictive practices: is the ‘nudge unit’ an essential component of the hoped for control orthodoxy these people are so keen on?
    Disturbing development in my opinion.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26b5f161a0354b68cb0a92e3961978e60ab0bd8caab822d4ec2a72ef21b74c3c.png

    1. All the councils have been told to implement 15 minute neighbourhoods, I understood.

      As for the nudge units – well all those wimmin with their useless Psychology degrees and intolerant left wing training at Yooniversity had to go somewhere, I suppose.

      1. I do not doubt that all council leadership teams have been contacted by this duplicitous government re 15 minute neighbourhoods and have kept that contact quiet. Colchester council received a bit of a broadside from the public when ‘sustainability’ was on the agenda. Thetford and Norfolk County council likewise have been under pressure because of their stance on this issue.
        What is worrying is that local control-freaks actually exist. Who is responsible for inculcating these WEF ideas down to local ward councillors?

        1. A few weeks ago I was at our local town hall for a meeting and there was a series of handouts from a presentation up on the wall in the room. The one that caught my eye was the ’20 minute town’

    2. Nudge units have become de rigueur. You can see their activities on the comment boards every week. It’s the Elites way of fighting back against the internet.

      1. Yep, just look at the frenzied dog piling you get on any column discussing Liz Truss’ rational tax policies. They were terrified of them. Dozens of accounts frantically trolling away to say the same illogical, emotional tripe that gormless people fell for.

      1. Gosh, that’s a novel idea, don’t think it will catch on…

        ‘Morning, N.

    4. Nudge Unit, Smudge Unit, Fudge Unit, the public sector has to accomodate all sorts.

      1. They know the CIA murdered John Kennedy, and nobody cares now. It was semi-officially admitted last year.

    2. He confuses Iraq and Iran (60-year war) and blames Brexit on the refugee crisis. The wave of immigration that prompted the country to vote to leave began in 2004 when eight ex-Warsaw pact countries joined the EU.

  16. Fake or not, the Kremlin attack is extremely humiliating for Putin. 4 May 2023.

    The image of an explosion on the roof of the Kremlin, with a huge banner advertising Russia’s May 9 Victory Day parade visible on the ground beneath, will be one of the most embarrassing pictures from all the years of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

    Regardless of who was responsible and what their motivation was, it is a very significant image that will forever after be burned into Moscow’s history.
    It is entirely unclear who was responsible; Ukraine’s swift denial in no way makes the task of attribution easier.

    That this was a serious attempt on Vlad’s life is unlikely. The small explosive charge and his absence from the Kremlin at the time tells us this. The distance from Ukrainian territory makes it doubtful that they were involved. The most likely explanation is that it was home grown. Either a dissident group or even an individual opposed to Russian policy. As to it being humiliating. It will be forgotten next week.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/05/03/kremlin-attack-humiliating-vladimir-putin-russia-fake/

    1. Having been round the touristy bits of the Kremlin, I can vouch that it is BIG and SOLID.
      Even a nuke would have problems doing it serious damage.

  17. Good morning, chums. May the 4th be with you all. I’m off now to vote in the local elections – after reading Sir Jasper’s morning joke.

  18. Morning folks. I must be worried about something as I’ve spent the time since 4am tidying up, buying storage boxes (big plastic ones to put fragile bits in), packing away tools and wrapping nieces present. Changed the blades on the knives and chopped upthe old cardboard boxes.

    Just emptied the bins and hoovered. Why is it, no matter what you always miss ‘somewhere’? I put the thing away and find a great lumpy dust bunny.

    1. I still haven’t found the patchwork quilt that took me 2 years to make some 40 years ago.
      However, I have found my cache of coffee filters.

    2. How many nieces were present to be wrapped?
      I think we should be told.

  19. Good morning, all. Sun and clouds. Strong wind.

    The “Vermeer” film was brilliant. If you have a chance to see it – DO.

    1. Looks h’intellectual Bill. Not sure I could manage that. Are there explosions and blowing things up?

  20. Good Day all,

    Light cloud this morning at McPhee Towers but sunny periods forecast, wind persistently in the East, 9℃ rising to 17℃. Continuing dry.

    Had a bit of a whoopsie yesterday whil re-varnishing the garage doors – a whole tin of Sadolin up-ended on the driveway. Spent the next hour cleaning up the mess.

    I don’t know if any one else has spotted the Coronation Oath on the Archbish of Caunterbury’s website. I posted it last night and here it is again for those who weren’t at the screens late.

    The Oath

    Archbishop of Canterbury:

    Your Majesty, the Church established by law,
    whose settlement you will swear to maintain,
    is committed to the true profession of the Gospel,
    and, in so doing, will seek to foster an environment
    in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely.
    The Coronation Oath has stood for centuries and is enshrined in law.
    Are you willing to take the Oath?

    The King:

    I am willing.

    The King places his hand on the Bible,
    and the Archbishop administers the Oath.

    Archbishop of Canterbury:

    Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern
    the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
    your other Realms and the Territories
    to any of them belonging or pertaining,
    according to their respective laws and customs?

    The King:

    I solemnly promise so to do.

    Archbishop of Canterbury:

    Will you to your power cause Law and Justice,
    in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?

    The King:

    I will.

    Archbishop of Canterbury:

    Will you to the utmost of your power maintain
    the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel?
    Will you to the utmost of your power maintain
    in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?
    Will you maintain and preserve inviolably
    the settlement of the Church of England,
    and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof,
    as by law established in England?
    And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England,
    and to the Churches there committed to their charge,
    all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?

    The King:

    All this I promise to do.
    The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep.
    So help me God.

    Archbishop of Canterbury:

    Your Majesty, are you willing to make, subscribe and
    declare to the statutory Accession Declaration Oath?

    The King:

    I am willing.

    The King:

    I Charles do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God
    profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful Protestant,
    and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments
    which secure the Protestant succession to the Throne,
    uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my powers according to law.

    ***

    Leaving aside the fact that he will have no rôle in governing us because the executive in Parliament and the two main parties have usurped all power, whereas he should have a rôle to protect us from parliamentary tyranny, it seems to answer the concerns: “According to laws and customs”, Defender of THE protestant Faith (while ensuring people of all faiths live freely). No mention of people’s inalienable rights but I think this is covered by “maintain the Laws of God” from which Natural Law and Common Law flow. The main thing is he CANNOT sit idly by and permit foreign powers to rule us (take note, EU, UN and WEF).

    The interesting bit is “secure the Protestant succession”. The Succession to The Crown Act 2013 changed male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture, and repealed the Royal Marriages Act 1772. That means if a future King or Queen has a female first-born with a male younger brother the female child will be the future Monarch and a Monarch is no longer barred from having a Catholic spouse.

    We, the people, should make sure he is held to the oath.

      1. Good for you. The number of good people in the world is diminishing. Top of the morning to you.

  22. ‘Morning, Peeps. A dry and sunny day forecast for here, with a whopping 17°C. Thanks goodness the climate emergency is back on track…

    I’m not inspired by today’s collection of DT letters, so I’m giving them a miss. Instead, did anyone else see the programme ‘Coronation Tailors’ yesterday evening, dealing with the making of hundreds of ceremonial uniforms? It was presented by Patrick Grant (he of Sewing Bee) and he was a refreshing change from the usual faces. One might say that some of the uniform detail bordered on the anal, but there was no doubting the remarkable skill and quality of workmanship involved. No mention of cost, but I imagine it is in the ‘eye-watering’ category.

    I am now looking forward to seeing the one-off special edition of The Windsors this evening (recorded on Sunday).

    1. Good morning Hugh J and everyone.
      The Windsors: is the programme about Old Windsor, the Duke of Windsor and the Windsor ‘Framework’?

    2. Some BTL comments on the ‘uniforms’ prog:

      Derek Miller
      9 HRS AGO
      This was a great programme highlighting the work of three wonderful, traditional British factories. The centuries-old craftsmanship was a sight to behold. The level of business and artisanal skill supported by the coronation, and the Monarchy in general, was very evident. On top of that, Seamus the Irish Wolfhound, and proud mascot of the Royal Irish Guards, was absolutely adorable. Well done to all involved.

      Guy SUTLIEFF
      9 HRS AGO
      Absolutely excellent programme, fascinating, informative and with nice human ( and animal !) interest stories. Perfect documentary really, and I thought Patrick Grant was a great choice of presenter. Well done to all involved.

      Pearl Kay
      18 MIN AGO
      What an interesting programme – Patrick Grant and the Kashket family brought such an insight into elements that are taken for granted. Really enjoyed every minute! Thank you.

    3. I didn’t see it, but I do like that sort of detail. All too often you get ‘and here’s some gold braid….’

      Rather than what it is, where it came from, how it’s woven, the material, the tensile strength – and why, the history.

      OK, I’m weird. Going to get Junior that Batman Tumbler now.

    4. A comfortable working temperature up the “garden” so far with the overcast keeping the sun away.

  23. From the Gatesograph Letters 1:

    SIR – Putting ice in malt whisky is an abomination (report, May 3). It is a fantasy that it enhances flavour – a sop to those propping up cocktail bars. From the bottle with half as much water again is what’s needed.

    Nick Kester
    Wattisfield, Suffolk

    Nick is absolutley right. You’ve just poured yourself a dram of a fine single malt and into it you put a cube of ice made with tap-water which contains chlorine, oestregen and possibly fluoride now. Are you mad? It’s exactly the same with decent bottled water. Every time I have a bottle of ‘fizzy’ with a meal out the waiter brings a glass with ice in it. I tell him to get rid of it and bring a clean, dry glass. I’m just paying up to £5 for a bottle of what I believe to be pure mineral water with a bit of CO2 and he wants me to put tap-water in it?

    1. Fizzy water? The stuff with carbonate in it? And you’re worried about flouride and chlorine?

      You guys is cwazy.

    2. Same when abroad, in Africa or India.
      What do they make the ice from? unsterile tap water. Give yo the runs, so it does.

  24. 374174+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Thursday 4 May: Balancing the rights of protesters with the need to prevent disruption.

    Read between the lines,

    Thursday 4 May: Balancing the rights of protesters “never heeded by politico’s” with the need to prevent disruption and the need by current politico’s for running finger betwixt neck & collar as the emotional feelings among decent indigenous peoples are entering the RED zone,

    Balancing could also mean politico’s listening until such times as a controlling force is ready to deploy, hence the DOVER campaign
    and the mass potential kapo build up.

    The dangerous idiocy element within the peoples ranks say ” the politico’s wouldn’t do that we got a good Mp” the party first brigade will keep that mantra up right up to the shower door.

  25. Gatesograph Letters 2:

    John Lewis misstep

    SIR – As John Lewis makes losses in its stores (report, April 30), it is not doing itself any favours with its returns policy.
    I like to visit the store rather than buy online. Following closures, my nearest one is now some 30 miles away.

    I recently purchased a fairly expensive item from this store that turned out not to be what I expected. The John Lewis returns policy states that store purchases can only be returned to the store (in contrast with online purchases, which can be returned free of charge via multiple means). This meant that, within 35 days, I had to make another 60-mile round trip.

    Hardly an incentive to buy again.

    Barrie Birkin
    Matlock, Derbyshire

    John Lewis’s misstep was surely to appoint Sharon White to any position in its management structure. The decline dates from then. And just look at the way the ‘partners’ present themselves to the public, their customers, nowadays.

    1. The decline started about 20 years ago. I was a regular shopper before then.

    1. It would be unlawful. He REALLY needs to pay attention to each and every word of the oath he is about to take.

  27. Gatesograph Letter 3:

    SIR – On Tuesday I received an email asking me to complete an online survey on the nation’s health conducted by Our Future Health in partnership with the NHS.

    I decided not to proceed, however, after reading the first question: “What sex was assigned to you at birth?” The options were: “Female”, “Male”, “Intersex” and “Prefer not to answer”.

    It’s obvious that results from this survey will be skewed and therefore meaningless. If the answers are used to inform treatment for and management of conditions that are male or female-sensitive, the consequences could be serious.

    What is the point of going to the trouble and expense of surveying the good people of Britain if the data collected are unreliable?

    Veronica Timperley
    London W1

    Well done , Veronica. However my response would have been “Since the question is phrased in the passive voice, somebody, or something must have done the assigning. Who or what did it? I cannot proceed with this questionnaire until you provide an answer.”

    2. Nobody has their sex ‘assigned at birth’. It’s inherent from conception.

    1. 374174+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      Will it alter the voting pattern OG ? no OG major issues don’t concern local by election voters,

      Macabre, hysterical , laughter.

  29. The statement that “The inmates are in control of the asylum,” fits this article like a well-worn glove.

    Scientists Warn ‘WEF Diet’ Will Make Humans Go Extinct

    The UN says its goal is to enforce a completely meat and dairy free human diet by 2050 in order to “fight climate change,” though they have been caught in the past greatly exaggerating how much livestock methane contributes to overall emissions. Even if you believe that there is a real climate crisis (despite there being no evidence to support the hype), there is still the fact that livestock emissions are a negligible portion of supposed “greenhouse gases.” You wouldn’t be accomplishing anything to save the planet by becoming vegan.

    The People’ Voice

    5. My mother – she died in 1989 and I still miss her. Other family members too – aunts, uncles, cousins – all gone.

      Still sunny here at the moment. Saturday looks to be a wash-out.

      1. There is just us ..

        We never ever imagined the doyenne who held the family together would die nine years ago and leave a huge gap . My late father’s twin sister was a star amongst stars .

        1. But you still have your siblings and sons. My sons are not particularly close but I’m glad they are still

          part of my family. Other than them it’s just me and him.

  32. First spry of the roses tomorrow with less wind, so the green and black fly have 24 Hrs notice. We have put out the slug pellets about 2 weeks ago and top dressed the boarder with peat. Selective weed killer for the lawns next week.

      1. No, Saved plants from insect apocalypse. Prove for yourself what these people tell you I did and I take no notice. Where is the evidence.?

    2. Please don’t , please no slug pellets and spray the roses with something else ..

      Don’t do it … consider other options .

        1. Slug pellets are poisonous to many creatures including birds. Use nematodes instead. They are natural and work in the soil.

          1. Birds do not eat dead sligs only live ones. Show me the proof if they do. The only dead birds I have found in 60 years of gardening have been killed by cats or have flown into window glass. Do not be taken in by do gooder tripe.

          2. Hedgehogs are also poisoned by slug pellets indiscriminately sprinkled around. They don’t have to actually eat the dead slugs to pick them up, and nor do the ground- feeding birds. They should be banned.

  33. King Charles ‘must apologise for British genocide and colonisation’ . 4 May 2023.

    Thousands of South Africans have called on Britain to return the world’s largest diamond, known as the Star of Africa.

    The diamond, which weighs 530 carats, is set in the royal sceptre that King Charles will hold at his coronation on Saturday.

    It was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and presented to the British monarchy by the colonial government in the country, which was then under British rule.

    “The diamond needs to come to South Africa. It needs to be a sign of our pride, our heritage and our culture,” said Mothusi Kamanga, a lawyer and activist in Johannesburg who has promoted an online petition, which has gathered about 8,000 signatures, for the diamond to be returned.

    You send this to South Africa it will be fenced in Israel the next week. Lol!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/05/04/king-charles-coronation-latest-rehearsals-ceremony/

  34. Just orf to play at another care home 70 miles away – at least I get a great lunch there
    a tout a l’heure

  35. Ireland’s new thoughtcrime bill is shockingly draconian. Spiked 4 May 2023.

    The new Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, which is currently passing through the Irish parliament, contains some shockingly authoritarian provisions. The bill will outlaw the ‘communication’ of material or speech that might ‘incite hatred’ against people with certain protected characteristics (such as race, religion and gender). In practice, if other European hate-speech laws are any guide, ‘inciting hatred’ tends to mean little more than causing offence. This can be punishable by up to five years in prison.

    As if all that weren’t draconian enough, it even makes it a crime, punishable by two years’ jail time, to simply ‘prepare or possess’ material likely to ‘incite hatred’. ‘Possession’ could mean nothing more than having an offensive video stored on your computer, or a dodgy meme saved on your phone.

    There’s really no point our fighting or even opposing the Chinese. They are us! The world is going to be one huge Concentration Camp with nowhere to escape too!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/05/03/irelands-new-thoughtcrime-bill-is-shockingly-draconian/

    1. The worst aspect is the burden of proof is reversed, apparently, as in Germany – see UK Column News Wednesday 3rd May with Dr Jobst Landgrebe.

    2. Just counting the prune stones …..
      “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor,
      Rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief …….”
      Ooops …. thar goes the front door!

    3. Just as well my memes are fresh picked daily and not stored in a file on the ‘puter I’d be going down for decades……

      Have a few more…

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/18d01d27bac168cf9969c0a15ffb856f7e4c5ffa098e3d165a9be24ab4e2a903.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5e4751c33defbf7facda486ffd0279a30405431fc25b4b2e54765347df0f9026.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fa3cb4a63f8b68c2ab46111154b439673a99fe4a0a2189ffca6f8d1dbd952e1b.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1e561faa2dac5e9f5dbcde9a77f0a23fdfce92e0302c7dca0e7525cbb3a466dc.jpg

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0869c5c0ffe4e0c6790ad72b8bfa587ba8829cdd538891d0a144d648bc4ecb33.jpg

    2. Hideously white.

      Soon to be left homeless while some criminal gimmigrants gets a free hotel, eventual house and bennies for life at their expense.

  37. Phew!
    4 x 18mm holes drilled in the big rock I posted photos of t’other week and 4 x wedge & feather sets firmly driven in with a lump hammer to split it rather neatly in twain.
    Just started on the holes for a 2nd split, but decided I needed a mug of tea to let the drill cool down!

    Photos will follow.

    1. I’m just about to paint a fence panel. Your posts make me feel inadequate.
      I will add that the fence wood is very rough and this is the first time it’s been painted since it was installed goodness knows how many years ago.

  39. ‘Morning All

    Apropos Heck Sausages below I eat their pork ones sometimes when my preferred No 1 waitrose are not on offer (12 chipolatas sizzling in the pan as I type) the point??

    Both are very low carb 1g per three sausages go cheaper and the amount of carbs (cheap filler) trebles or more

    I was also struck by the low margins in the business net profit about 1% of turnover

    Now “Plant Based” alternatives?? The only plant they’ve been near is a mega-shed factory……..

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/37b692724ec05ccac6a95e48ee96c396c11d4eb6bcbc3884f80e0a6be46f5756.png
    Eat real meat your body will thank you……..

    1. That must be a large packet with all that printed info.
      Unlike the Packs of sausages from the shop lifting chef. It only had prick with a fork printed.

    2. Each one with an E-number.
      Antioxidants associated with oils, typically butylated hydroxy toluene and butylated hydroxy anisole, are E something, and also used in plastics.
      Ugh. Eat not.

  40. British taxpayers’ money should be spent on cancer care, not a crisis in a foreign country

    The Government has rapidly responded to a humanitarian crisis in a foreign country – while ignoring a crisis in our own backyard

    ALLISON PEARSON • 3 May 2023 • 3:00pm

    Sorry, but I am puzzled by the huge fuss over evacuating British nationals from Sudan. As usual, much of our media class seized the opportunity to bash the Government for inefficiency and callousness.

    I thought the response was pretty prompt under the dire circumstances, although aggrieved reporters seemed to think people could magically be teleported from the chaotic carnage in Khartoum. I didn’t hear anyone ask: “Why is Britain obliged to offer a free rescue service to 4,000 people with dual passports who travelled to a war zone against official recommendations?”

    In fact, UK Government advice is clear. Dual nationals in the country of their other nationality are not entitled to assistance. The vast majority of those being rescued are, to all intents and purposes, Sudanese.

    Some gratitude to the British taxpayer who is footing the (presumably vast) bill would be welcome. I was intrigued to learn that the UK is remarkably generous with dual nationality which many other countries simply do not allow. Germany asks people with two passports to decide by the age of 18 which country they wish to be citizens of. Sounds sensible.

    But this isn’t really about Sudan. What I want to know is, why is it possible for the British Government to mount a rapid response to a humanitarian crisis in a foreign country, while ignoring a humanitarian crisis in our own backyard?

    Maybe if we put all the thousands of patients who are waiting a disgracefully long time for cancer care, people whose cancer operations have been postponed (striking doctors and nurses, take a bow!) or people who now have untreatable Stage 4 cancer (because it wasn’t picked up early enough) in apartment blocks and strafed them with gunfire then, perhaps, they might receive the urgent help the Government was able to whistle up for Sudan.

    Am I the only one watching the 24/7 coverage of Khartoum, who thinks, where on earth are our priorities?

    https://nttl.blog/thursday-4-may-balancing-the-rights-of-protestors-with-the-need-to-prevent-disruption/

    1. Allison is still failing to acknowledge the nature of the cancer infecting Westminster. From their point of view anything that thins the herd is not a problem.

    2. Compare it to the Canadian effort. The Canadian air force was several days late in sending a plane and they only managed to airlift just over 300 people in the time that the cease fires were in effect.

      As ineffective as the rescue of the Afghans that were promised a new home.

      1. Canadians are very nice people, but almost to a person, remarkably ineffective. Dunno why.

    3. In fact, UK Government advice is clear. Dual nationals in the country of their other nationality are not entitled to assistance. The vast majority of those being rescued are, to all intents and purposes, Sudanese. – in fact, it’s in the terms and conditions of the blue passport: HMG cannot protect you against your other government, if you have dual nationality.

  41. British taxpayers’ money should be spent on cancer care, not a crisis in a foreign country

    The Government has rapidly responded to a humanitarian crisis in a foreign country – while ignoring a crisis in our own backyard

    ALLISON PEARSON • 3 May 2023 • 3:00pm

    Sorry, but I am puzzled by the huge fuss over evacuating British nationals from Sudan. As usual, much of our media class seized the opportunity to bash the Government for inefficiency and callousness.

    I thought the response was pretty prompt under the dire circumstances, although aggrieved reporters seemed to think people could magically be teleported from the chaotic carnage in Khartoum. I didn’t hear anyone ask: “Why is Britain obliged to offer a free rescue service to 4,000 people with dual passports who travelled to a war zone against official recommendations?”

    In fact, UK Government advice is clear. Dual nationals in the country of their other nationality are not entitled to assistance. The vast majority of those being rescued are, to all intents and purposes, Sudanese.

    Some gratitude to the British taxpayer who is footing the (presumably vast) bill would be welcome. I was intrigued to learn that the UK is remarkably generous with dual nationality which many other countries simply do not allow. Germany asks people with two passports to decide by the age of 18 which country they wish to be citizens of. Sounds sensible.

    But this isn’t really about Sudan. What I want to know is, why is it possible for the British Government to mount a rapid response to a humanitarian crisis in a foreign country, while ignoring a humanitarian crisis in our own backyard?

    Maybe if we put all the thousands of patients who are waiting a disgracefully long time for cancer care, people whose cancer operations have been postponed (striking doctors and nurses, take a bow!) or people who now have untreatable Stage 4 cancer (because it wasn’t picked up early enough) in apartment blocks and strafed them with gunfire then, perhaps, they might receive the urgent help the Government was able to whistle up for Sudan.

    Am I the only one watching the 24/7 coverage of Khartoum, who thinks, where on earth are our priorities?

    https://nttl.blog/thursday-4-may-balancing-the-rights-of-protestors-with-the-need-to-prevent-disruption/

  42. https://youtu.be/enhCPvVT55Q

    Rod Liddle
    What King Charles gets wrong
    From magazine issue:
    06 May 2023

    Marooned in London for a day between meetings, I walked for miles in an attempt to find something good to say about the city. This was not a wholly unsuccessful expedition – those Nash terraces have an allure, Regent’s Park has been cutely de-manicured to encourage the wildlife and it was possible to buy a plastic replica of Big Ben almost every 15 yards, which came in handy. It was the Londoners I found problematic. Smirking rat-faced hipsters and man-bunned bike dweebs, buzz-cut, granite-headed lezzas, the performative callisthenics of middle-class thirty-somethings who believe they will never die, Arabs flogging tat every five paces, lithe, snake-hipped homosexuals having a pleasant lunch of kale with yeast extract at one of a million cafés with the word ‘plant’ somewhere in its name, overconfident, braying gap-year yankees, Afghans driving Uber cars as if they were in the Lashkar Gah Grand Prix, desperate, half-dead, joggers, young white businessmen jabbering to themselves like psychos as they stepped over the sprawled bodies of dozing Romanian beggars. London – all of human life is here. Except the good bits.

    There were, to my slight surprise, plenty of Union Flags on display, although I couldn’t work out if this was for the tourists or to remind the locals of King Charles’s forthcoming big bash. Coronations have become a once-in-a-lifetime event, but even outside London, where both tradition and the monarchy have more of a pull, there seems to be little appetite for celebration. There are no street parties planned in my little northern town and I know of nobody who is planning a trip to London to watch the proceedings. That might be simply because everybody is skint, but I don’t think so. Maybe they should have invited the ghastly Meghan so at least we’d have something to boo.

    We are all expected to swear our pledge of allegiance to our new King: ‘I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law – so help me God.’ To which I can only say: ‘Up yours, jug-ears.’ I wonder how many people will do it? Perhaps 25 per cent of the population? I might have sworn a pledge of allegiance to his mum when she was alive. But then she never felt the need to ask for one, did she? This fatal misstep by Charlie is an intimation of why the coronation has not quite captured the hearts and minds of the population. Perpetually convinced that he is ahead of the curve, Charles stakes out his territory, but is wrong on almost every count, even if – to a certain degree – he means well.

    Take, for example, his commitment to a slimmed-down monarchy and therefore a slimmed-down coronation. There are very good reasons for abolishing the monarchy: it is anachronistic and undemocratic. There are also good reasons for keeping it: it is anachronistic and undemocratic. But if you keep it, then all the stuff that surrounds it must be kept as well. You cannot run a monarchy on a shoestring, because it is an exemplifier of great wealth. It cannot be made democratic, precisely because it is the antithesis of democracy and no matter how fervently the sovereign might wish to be in closer touch with his subjects, that is the thing which kills the monarchy. A king should be kingly: he should be regal, he should be distanced from his subjects. Otherwise he is not really a king at all, just a kind of unaccountable and wholly unqualified president – which is what I suspect King Charles would really like to be. His coronation, therefore, should be a lavish affair and no expense should be spared. There may be joy in it, but it is a ceremony of great solemnity – one which, I would gently suggest, is not entirely enhanced by having Lionel Richie singing at it. That’s what they do at the Superbowl. A monarchy speaks of history – and is proud of that history. It does not cower before the tyranny of now: it ignores the tyranny of now. Which is why, I think, the King’s decision to make his coronation and thereafter his reign ‘diverse and inclusive’ is another misstep.

    He has already put his foot in it, of course, by signalling his support for an investigation into the links between the royal family and slavery – and therefore, perhaps, the payment of reparations further down the line. Listen, Chas. How about you open an investigation into the monarchy’s links, down the years, with the oppression and subjugation of the poorest of our people, the theft of land and money, the persecution and murder of people for their religious beliefs, the expulsion of Jews from London, serfdom… hell, I could go on all night about the cruelties and iniquities visited upon the people of Britain over the years by their sovereigns.

    What sort of stunted intellect does Charlie possess if, in an attempt to right wrongs and make amends, he thinks the only thing the royals have done wrong is to have profited from slavery? He cannot be quite so dim as to think that – the answer is that slavery has become, among a certain section of our liberal elite – very au courant, very much the flavour of the day. In other words, he is paying obeisance to the views of the liberal middle classes when he should, if anything, be a counterweight to those views.

    And what will he do, I wonder, if when asked to sign up to a pledge of allegiance, the vast majority respond much as I did? The latest opinion poll suggests that only 9 per cent of Brits care very much about the coronation and 60 per cent don’t give two hoots. If democracy is your way forward, Charlie, then look what it is telling you…

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

    artemis in france
    4 hours ago
    In my mid-seventies, I don’t think I’ll be around to see the dull, uninspiring William be crowned, and in fact I wonder if he will ever be King, so Charles is all I’ve got to look forward to. It’s not an appealing prospect. He’s on the wrong side of so many arguments now. If he’d been crowned a decade ago he might have had several years when his views accorded more with the population, but even avid recyclers (like my sister-in-law) now think Net Zero is nonsense. Views like this are now widespread and most accept that education is to blame – or rather the lack of it. Charles has never addressed important issues like the NHS because he never needs it. But he likes to preach on so many green fronts that people now clearly see his hypocrisy as he continues to live like the rich man he is. So, he should shut up. And advise William to keep schtum instead of setting him up to be his spokesman on all things woke. Proposing that his subjects swear an oath of allegiance suggests an inflated view of his own role. It’s really the Crown that monarchists love, Charles, not the current monarch.

    Birdy
    2 hours ago
    Charles is heading down the same route as the ‘Conservative’ Party. Kowtowing to lefty middle-class tools who would rather pluck their own eyeballs out with rusty knitting needles than support, or even tolerate, his, or their, existence.
    The opening ‘greeting’ on each and every occasion should be a kick in the spherical objects, followed by a planning session for the day, over coffee, on how you can kick them more frequently and harder.
    It’s difficult to know what it will take before the ‘Conservatives’, Charles, or the so called ‘right-wing media’ get this basic message through their skulls.
    This IS a Culture War (or at least it would be if one side fought back) and upon the result depends not just the future of this country, but western civilisation.

    1. He is very good.

      “There are very good reasons for abolishing the monarchy: it is anachronistic and undemocratic. There are also good reasons for keeping it: it is anachronistic and undemocratic.“

      1. Indeed.

        I think Rod’s “Up yours, big-ears” sets the right tone towards KC III’s bloody mindedness in messing up all the serious, traditional parts of the Coronation just to be trendy.

        2. I can just imagine Anne, on hearing of his plans, driving around to his gaff and saying: “You really are a bit of a twat, aren’t you?”

          1. Sisters can be very judgemental when it comes to their younger brothers! I know – I have two elder sisters whose adage is pearls before swine.

            But when it comes to her brother I cannot imagine that the Princess Royal bothers with flattery. Age before beauty is her adage!

      2. I promise to do my best, to do my duty to God & the Queen. To help other people every day especially those at home.

        Brownie and Girl Guide promise we used when I was a little girl .

  43. Morning all 😊😉 Some how lost the log in.
    Still sunny,……… amazing.
    Balancing the rights of protesters eh ? I saw a chap on TV earlier (republic) saying he could confirm that nearly 50% of people had voted against the monarchy. No body asked me or any one I know. How about Nottlers ? Probably just this chaps close friends. I wonder how many none indigenous people are against the monarchy, if it’s that many perhaps they need to consider turning round and going back from whence they came. But let’s face it, they know they are much better off here because they get a free life, and kindness and generosity are in abundance, probably because of the fact we have almost a democratic system that includes a long standing Monarchy. And we are not a country with a single dictator. So many of which have failed in the past.

  48. 374174+ up ticks,

    Dt,

    British taxpayers’ money should be spent on cancer care, not a crisis in a foreign country
    The Government has rapidly responded to a humanitarian crisis in a foreign country – “while ignoring a crisis in our own backyard

    “While ignoring a crisis in our own backyard” to all politico’s concerned with financial laundrying that is to near to home, whereas a foreign “humanitarian issue ” can be funded with plenty of scope for regular creaming.

  49. The promised photos of Splitting the Rock:-
    Before drilling:-
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/46b1083edef3f06770d51cbe7c8390abc5a9d37ab893f44d265d5a936f744e4f.jpg

    Drilled and with wedge & feather sets inserted:-
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/57285ceb1adf65e6ac8798a6fa433dd3e3db8bd46b362374fba59b03a51dbfd2.jpg

    Five or six firm blows with a lump hammer to each wedge and it cracked:-
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a79aa9822374b85ca7d84029c44be589fe6546ffbd2d744e9ac63b091633ced.jpg

    A couple more blows and it split:-
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9f3a58e2999800afff5d1640800d11a061171c40ca10a5123d5b525d8306ad14.jpg

    Levered apart with the crowbar and then drilled a second time and set up for the 2nd split:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ef36d10adc38b3d1643eecd5177c20f2cedcc81a6045cfb671f27198675f80a3.jpg

    The third split wasn’t quite so clean, but I still ended up with some useful sized lumps:-
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad5221ce2616fc67115a9b719bacba44c43817e1f1cbb74a99b8782923a92870.jpg

    1. Alas, poor Rocky! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.

      1. Very seldom are cover versions any good but this cover of Rocky Raccoon is excellent. The Other Favourites – a group of young Americans – is an exceptional little group and well worth listening to. I very much hope I shall be able to get to see them when they next tour Europe.

        https://www.google.com/search?q=Rocky+Raccoon+nideo&oq=Rocky+Raccoon+nideo&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13i512j0i5i13i30j0i8i13i30l2j0i390i650l3.10287j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:cdd7e5a0,vid:yLIBbQVhoDA

    2. My word Bob

      Do you really exist on a diet of spinach and copious mugs of tea?

      I think you would be well at home here amongst the stone masons doing stuff with Purbeck and Portland stone .

        1. I certainly would not have made a ballet dancer – I have never been renowned for my elegance and the training cannot do your body any good. And it is the same with gymnastics – many gymnasts’ bodies are completely worn out by the time they are 40.

    4. In hundreds of years’ time archaeologists will marvel at those masonry marks.

    6. Gosh, that looks like fun! I do hope you have another one for if I slither by again!

      1. I’ve a bloody huge on to reduce in size once I’ve used up the bag of concrete ballast I’ve got lying on top of it!

  50. 374174+ up ticks,

    Now we have a New King why not a new
    PEOPLE’S RESET GREAT CHARTER.

    The old one has suffered to nigh on destruction via the politico
    anti decency lab/lib/con coalition worms.

    I mean we have stood by and swallowed the nations children being raped and abused by mass foreign paedophiles, mass potential invasion forces being garrisoned in 5* hotels, a multitude of killings, maiming, welfare abusing do we NOT as decent indigenous peoples think it is time to go to the root cause
    of ALL this treacherous, treasonable trouble in a very, very serious manner

    Just cudgels to start with, nails embedded later if needed, beating a warning pavement tempo outside the HP sauce factory, and buckingham palace.

    There ain’t no free dinners ( only for illegals) 39/45 showed that

    You fight to protect what is yours (Country / family) or submit, those are the current options.

      2. It must be how your computer responds to Twitter if you are not a user, it may be something in your settings? Poppiesdad wouldn’t dream of being seen on Twitter – perish the thought – but he can open the things I occasionally send him on his iPad.

        I hope you are feeling better today and that the antibiotics are doing their stuff.

    2. Excellent, plus the following clips bringing the lying so called experts to their weak and pathetic knees.

    4. When I click on a twitter post all I get is a picture of a poodle and “nothing to see here. Looks like this page doesn’t exist”.

      1. If you click on the heart you can ‘like’ it, or click on the blue bird and it goes to the post.

  52. Are there any white people involved in this “Coronation” malarkey?

    Just asking.

      1. Can anybody here admit, honestly and truthfully, that they think Ant and Dec are entertaining in any way?

        2. In and of themselves, no. However, if they were to be filmed being eaten alive by a crocodile that would be very entertaining.

          1. A body of an Australian was found in the stomach of a crocodile. They take their hide & seek very seriously over there.

        3. They are just another turn off.
          But at least they are both indigenous born and bred.

        5. I find them quite amusing, and harmless fun! Perhaps because I’m a Geordie?

    2. No white men, because as we all know from TV adverts, they don’t exist.

      1. A limp excuse for a name his real surname is probably ED if you know what I mean.

      2. I’m hazarding a guess he might have pressed the wrong voting button. Reading his contributions on other media it seems his views accord with those of most of us on here.

    2. I can’t open that properly Ogga but there was an article in the Herts Advertiser a few months ago about something monetary he had been up to, but I can’t find it now.
      I met him a couple of times, he seemed to be Okay. Until I wrote to him about the disgusting situation regarding the illegal immigrants landing here. I can’t find the letter at the moment but his reply lost my vote. Some BS about the UK having a long record of being kind to people who were persecuted and come from war torn regions. Most of these scroungers as we know have been living in France for months if not years.
      My neighbour wrote to him and asked him why he didn’t vote against this invasion. He didn’t even vote. The made some pathetic excuse for not being in Parliament that day. But seems to over emphasise that he spends most of this time in London during the week. I’ll bet he has ‘a fat cheque’ every month for his expenses as well. He has a website where he seems to emphasise how busy he’s been recently, working hard for his constituents. Like most of them are, perhaps he’s just another Pathological and Habitual Liar.

  54. Supper this evening as a trial run for when Ashesthandust descends upon me is baked figs wrapped in crudo ham and Roquefort topped with panko.

    Not for the peasants…they can eat quiche…

        1. Fresh broad beans are my favourite vegetable but this is an idiotically improper use of them.

      2. Three plates. Macarons. Smoked salmon blinis with caviar, chive sour cream. Figs etc.
        Lots of gin and singing. After all…the lady does have to sing for her supper !

    3. I do like a man who pays attention to cuisine! 😎

      Bon appétit!

    2. Ah, a petition! Which big fat state will ignore.

      The correct solution, of course, is to drag Sunak by his wretched neck, kick him a few times and demand Bridgen be both listened to in the full house and his information noted.

      This arrogance and supplication is moronic.

      1. 374174+ up ticks,

        Afternoon G,

        It would not surprise me to see something like that happening yet,
        shotgun ammo over the wall had a meaning behind it

        #

        1. From the time of the Ancient Britons all the way to WWII, would-be boarders (invaders) were invariably and immediately repelled by the use of maximum force.

          Why then, in the wake of defeating Hitler, were our borders opened to all and sundry?

          2. 374174+Up ticks,

            My personal take on it G is it’s a case of revenge via a Bow street verdict of yesteryear and an uncovered cottaging
            future PM.
            The blair chap lifted the latch releasing the hoards of child raping, murdering
            welfare abusing cretins no other country wants.
            The political top rankers of the tory (ino) party had to follow suit in the race, since then, to the bottom.

            Talking of bottoms I believe we will see a multitude of flying bottoms taking to the air when the mullahs take over.

          3. …and then Starmer managed to persuade Bliar to pay them benefits. It’s now costing us £6,000,000 per day.

          4. 374174+up ticks,

            Equal blame ,they are ALL in this together lab/lib /con coalition.

            The original fruitcakes were trying to point this out for years.

  58. More good service from my GP surgery. The MR concerned about the percystent cyst. She can see it: I can’t – just know that it hurts. Anyway, at the MR’s request, I e-mailed the surgery at 11.30. 11.45 someone rang. Apptment at 2.10 pm. Been there and had a “special” dressing applied and extra ones provided PLUS an apptmt for Wednesday – to check how things are going.

    I must look out a saucepan to bang….

    1. Cowshit poultice, as it, Bill?
      ;-))
      Glad you got the kind of attention that ought to be normal.

      1. Interestingly enough – the overweight nurse did not know the word “poultice”. I explained it to her. And how one used a boiling hot slab of kaolin….. I don’t think she believed me.

        1. I remember being shown how to do those. Luckily for any patient, I never had to apply one.

          1. Bread poultices were common in my youth. Cheap and everyone had bread or stale bread.

          2. As a child I had over 100 boils – over four years. Thus several hundred hot-to-the-touch kaolin poultices…{:¬))

        2. We used to apply kaolin to the horses’ legs if they had any heat in them.

    2. Bill ,

      Ask your dearly beloved to take a photo or ask the nurses to do so on Wednesday, it is your back, and you need to see just to satisfy your curiosity .

      We have had a right royal downpour in the past hour , lucky we had a long walk through a wood this morning .

      1. No, they seem to have the juice from several virgins, that’ve been squeezed. That’s my translation (using basic Swedish).

    2. In Spain you can buy kosher wine; cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is kosher.

    1. Fecking shoot the scum. Why are they brought here? Destroy the boat, let it sink. Have them swim back to frogland.

    1. My old English history is lacking – I did not know that Sweyn Forkbeard was king for 41 years.

      1. Matters are made confusing by the existence of several English kingdoms.
        At this stage they were down to 5 (or was it 7?) but there is still overlap with names that sound horribly similar. (Hence 1066 And All That’s joke about kings called Egfroth and Eggwhip.) Further complications were earls who were as powerful as the kings and whose estates were as large as some kingdoms. And then there are the Scandinavian neighbours, who treasonous relatives tend to invite at awkward moments.
        There are several versions of The Anglo Saxon Chronicles written at different monasteries and each slightly different. Some are contemporaneous, others are Anglo-Norman adaptations.
        To put it mildly, A-S history is not straight forward.

        1. We studied English History 1815 to 1910 for O Levels. That was it, life didn’t exist outside those dates.

          I remember the course started with the statement “After the Napoleonic Wars and the end of the Continental Blockade” but it gets fuzzy after that.

          1. For A Level I studied European history from the end of the Hundred Years War to 1914 (just think of all those wars, treaties and dates! No wonder I failed!). If that weren’t enough, I also had to get my head around British History 1812 – 1914 – all those Factory Acts and Edwin Chadwick and his passion for drains.

        2. We did 1789 to 1871 (European) and 1604 – 1649 (English) but I had an after-school job as a doctor’s receptionist* on the 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm shift so I didn’t get home till
          7.30pm earliest.

          *first come, first serve, for people who worked only and had taken ill during the day. One of my duties was to weed out those who didn’t fit that category. If they lied to me and the doctor caught them out, he wouldn’t see them. “This surgery is for people who work. You can make an appointment for my other clinics.”

  63. Had a CT scan of my thorax last Friday and was told the results would take 7-10 working days. On Tuesday afternoon at about 3.30 saying there has been a cancellation and could I make 9.30 yesterday morning. Didn’t get called until 10.15. Doctor introduced himself and apologised for keeping me waiting. Asked lots of pertinent questions and finally came to the scan which he explained in detail and checked for understanding. Said he would arrange a lung capacity test, had call this morning and arranged for 5th June. Will also arrange echocardiogram. Quick off the mark and, without doubt, the most courteous doctor I’ve met. I have total confidence in him and he allayed various fears we had. vw was in the consultation as well and taking notes. Credit where credit is due an amazing service. Well done that doctor and his staff.

    Been and cast our ballots.

    Also had filling at dentist yesterday pm at a cost of 3 triple 20’s – £180. The cost was more painful than the filling.

    1. £180 for a filling? A bargain, that is about what our Canadian private dental system would charge for a scrape and checkup.

      Compare your experience with the nightmare that Lottie and her hubby are going through. It definitely is lottery

    2. Fairly reasonable for private dentistry. I paid £350 a couple weeks ago for a small composite filling front tooth and the build up of the side of a right upper molar. Plus a little bit of gum prodding to assess the state of my gums and a little bit of scraping. My teeth are the bane of my life. I had two implants (an arm and a leg) in February.

  65. Signing off early, chaps. Still a bit under father.

    Have a nice evening, knitting your bunting.

    A demain.

    1. Cut various appendages off them, then send the remains back where they came from +1,000,000 others.

    3. Back at home perhaps he might have had a hand amputated. Here, as he’s stealing from an infidel, it’s kosher (so to speak).

    5. And not long ago some smart ar*e leftie journo on BBC Country File was blaming domestic dogs for this sort of thing.
      And only a year ago just after that recent ‘religious event’ several fresh sheep carcasses were found dumped just off the M1 Near Radlett in Hertfordshire. Not far from Luton.

    6. I remember, about a year ago,they found the remains of a cooked and eaten swan
      alongside the Thames….

      1. I worked with a Moslem who enjoyed chewing pens, but that’s extreme.

  68. Phew! Double Bogey Six today.

    Wordle 684 6/6
    ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
    🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. A little birdie here.
      Wordle 684 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟨⬜🟨⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Bogey five.
        Wordle 684 5/6

        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
        ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Five for me. Made a dumb mistake.

      Wordle 684 5/6

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

  71. ‘Night All

    Spot the mouse

    https://twitter.com/IVnext/status/1654144214421196806?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/511a0fb8cb82a61dfde2274909085a8ea29808909a180a339290f5b7568703cb.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4111a4849f0cc20fa5164488fca5b72eed88c5422dfe706585400d468c33bde.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19b016fba458d8c9cc7549772e727d4fb24a4f81da80d0c68644e1574d2dbff0.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a5d34cc4975dbdc4efdcc69ab6f7c4424755fe382f80d839d48867337ba308f0.jpg

    1. Atlas moths, largest in the world. I’ve got one I caught at sea, after a long chase around the gundeck.

    2. So, when will Zelensky be hauled into the Hague for his Azov brigade (on his orders) slaughtered over 14,000 Ukrainian Russian Speakers?

  72. There is a request to our Canadian broadcast authorities to have Fox News banned from all cable and satellite sources in Canada. Some snowflake decided they did not like the channel and in the standard lefty manner, they want it banned for everyone.

    This is the same week that an internet censorship bill was passed so it is not unlikely that they will be banning the online version soon.

    vpn here we come.

    1. When Lefties demand something be banned they should be kicked by everyone who disagrees.

      2. I saw one of your comments in the Press Reader. 👍. But it was 10 minutes ago so can’t remember what the article was.

    2. So I’ve looked at the Coronation Quiche. I can’t buy one from Waitrose, and – apparently – fresh Tarragon in now made from Unobtainium.

      There’s a Coronation Picnic in Seale on Sunday. I don’rt live there any more, but I’m playing the organ there.

      So I’ll take Coronation Chicken sandwiches, a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz, and to Hell with the consequences…

    1. In 1960 at age 15½ I joined the RAF as a Boy Entrant and was trained for 18 months as an Air Radar Mechanic. My pay at that time was £6.00 a week of which I received 10/- a week to buy cigarettes, razor blades etc., but when I went on leave I would be paid all that back pay, approx £75.00. Riches beyond avarice in those days.

      1. In ’58 when I joined as a Brat I was on 30/- a week of which I received 10/-. The balance went in the POSB. The pay got slightly better during the next 3 years of training but after passing out as a J/T the pay was only £9 a week anyway. Thankfully I got Cpl/T after a year which gave me an extra couple of quid reaching the dizzy amount of £20 a week when I got my ‘third’. If I remember right that went up to £25 a week as a Ch/Tech – then I left and got a lot better pay. Of course in those days our accommodation was free

        1. Never got further than Cpl/T but by then I was married and had a daughter so was very dependent upon RAF help with Hirings and Married quarters. Then I was posted to RAF Germany at Laarbruch. If you want more, buy my autobiography from Kindle called Not A Bad Life and costing 5 USD.

  75. Fourth visit from Virgin Meeja enginerr this afternoon. This one was much more thorough and diligent. Changed TV box and all cables and connectors. Found a fault in something across the road and fixed that.
    Result? My tv still not working.

    3. We might have only got four channels but an old coat hanger aerial was almost reliable especially since as eldest son, I was not expected to stand in a corner waving the thing around.

    4. Twice, I’ve explored Virgin Media’s offers. They have cables on this small estate. So I enter my address, and the say they will contact me. They never do. Fine. They clearly don’t want my custom. Currently, my broadband is from Vodafone. I’m on FTTC, but the copper wires to my place struggle to provide the bare minimum speed promised by Vodafone.

      They gave me a £4/month discount because of this. Meanwhile, they keep sending me emails, offering ‘full fibre’ for less than I’m currently paying. So I apply, And they responded, apologising for the fact that full fibre isn’t available here.

      I’d like to switch to mobile internet, via a 4G router. I can get a faster service from Smarty (which uses the Three network), but they block the Disqus comments on TCW.

      Meanwhile, two attempts to extricate myself from my Vodafone broadband contract have taken well over an hour, and come to naught.

      1. When we moved we were offered full fibre internet if we switched to the big local service supplier.

        A little bit of investigation and it turns out that they were not offering fibre, just a 9600bps copper connection. Well fibre will be coming next year..

      2. I have a 4G router from 3. It is faster than my previous VM broadband which cost over £40 pm. The 3 router costs £15.67 pm. Bargain!

        1. I agree. Three of our four churches are now on 4G, for card payments, mainly. The routers cost around £80 to buy outright. One church has an LTE tablet. Two have 4G routers. Total cost (Vodafone/Vodafone/Smarty)was around £19 p.m. It’s gone up with inflation, but we’ve taken around £1290 in card donations since August…

      3. There’s no more fibre involved in virgin’s offering than there is in BTs phone line crap.

        If they’re providing fibre it will come with an ONT. Ask them for that (optical network terminal) and see them lie.

        1. I agree. But they seemingly don’t want my custom, so it’s a moot point.

          Just connected to the 4G router, and Smarty provides 28.99 Mbps download and 6,35 upload speed).

          Vodafone broadband (OK – it’s reliant on Openreach’s disintegrating copper cables – manages 20,56 and 1.4 Mbps by comparison. And Smarty is much cheaper.

        2. I wish people would recognise that ALL their service providers, have to rely upon BT for their signals – same with mobile phones. I’m with BT and EE. BT costs £28.99 and EE (for mobile) is £9.00.

          2. My BT is £20 a month for unlimited broadband and unlimited mobile calls and that’s just gone up from £13

        3. Ah – the ONT.

          My friends in the C17 house have that. As I implied above, they’ve put it in an outhouse, around a metre below the floor level of the main house. The WiFi discs work well. The “Digital Voice” cordless phones – not so much.

    5. Parishioners who live in a large C17 house, betwixt Seale and Puttenham, were switched by BT from an analogue to a digital phone service. Having managed to get 4G broadband into St John the Baptist, Puttenham for around £150 (when BT quoted £300 to provide a quote), they asked my ham-fisted amateur advice. Their cordless phone doesn’t work beyond the kitchen.

      Their new router is essentially in an outhouse. They have numerous BT WiFi Discs, and – in fairness – there’s no problem with WiFi in the house. Their internet speed dwarfs Virgin. But the many cordless phones they have been supplied with, don’t work beyond the Kitchen. No fewer than nine BT operatives have turned out to deal with this,and failed

      It seems that none of them were aware that BT Digital Voice uses the router as the base unit for cordless phones. The range is limited. I trawled much of the interweb before i found a relevant forum post, but that confirmed what I’d worked out on site.

      I’ve suggested raising the router, since it’s currently below the floor level of most of the house. Failing which, running network cabling to a more central position, and relocating the router should work,

      But what do I know? I’m not employed by BT… 🙄

      1. That would be BT Openreach. Those signal boosters seem to work for a couple of weeks.

        1. The WiFi discs seem to be working throughout their house. And the other problem – of not being able to make mobile calls – was easily solved by turning on “WiFi Calling”

          I’ve found a 3D-printed wall bracket for his router. If raised up as far as possible, it may help. But if it doesn’t, it was just a tenner.

          My gut feeling is that Cat 5/6 cabling to a central position, and re-positioning the router will work.

  76. Quote of the day

    ‘She’s not even started the job and she is already the story. If you become that well-known, like Dominic Cummings or Alastair Campbell, it’s only a matter of time before you go.’

    – A No. 10 veteran to The Spectator’s Katy Balls on the inquiries into Sue Gray’s links to the Keir Starmer’s chief of staff job.

    1. Sue Gray is a unique and epochal disgrace to the Civil Service – and should be forever labelled with ‘insider scandal’.

      She should be hanged from a great height; the Big Ben clock face would suit.

    2. The advisor should not be more widely known than the politician.

  77. There was a time not so long ago when a report like this would have been regarded as a rather poor piece of satire.

    British Rowing ready to defy world governing body over transgender rules

    Members asked whether women’s category should be restricted only to athletes declared female at birth in defiance of World Rowing

    Oliver Brown, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER • 4 May 2023 • 3:06pm

    British Rowing is considering banning transgender athletes from the women’s category unless they were born female in an unprecedented members’ vote, defying the sport’s global governing body.

    In an attempt to resolve a bitter transgender row that has created tensions at board level, British Rowing is asking its 31,500 members to vote by 5pm next Friday on their preferred trans policy, with one option to “adopt a new approach to the women’s/female category in particular, that allows only athletes who have been declared female at birth to compete in the ‘female’ category”.

    The move is highly significant in that British Rowing could yet become a test case for national federations seeking to deviate from the transgender inclusion rules set at a global level. World Rowing’s latest criteria allows trans rowers to compete in elite female races so long as they can demonstrate their testosterone serum levels have been below 2.5 nanomoles per litre for a two-year period.

    Rest of report here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rowing/2023/05/04/british-rowing-defy-world-governing-body-transgender-rules

    1. Oh dear I expect we’ll get it later.
      Number one came and cut the grass for me good onya Matty boy 😉🙂

  79. A new study just out claims that humans eat more bananas than monkeys.
    It’s true!
    I can’t remember the last time I ate a monkey!

  80. My son, who’s into astronomy, asked me recently: “Dad, how do stars die?”
    “Usually as a result of an overdose”, I replied.

    3. Tell him that Betelgeuse – the big red one – hasn’t snuffed it yet, AFAIK, Obers.

  81. The BBC 2022 article about 4 Sci Fi films that didn’t get the future right.
    Perhaps why 1984 isn’t on the list.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z7p3g7h?at_mid=AVCedqcrRA&at_campaign=Four_Movies_That_Got_The_Future_Wrong&at_medium=display_ad&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_origin=frontpage_billboard&at_product=bitesize&at_ptr_name=bbc&at_ptr_type=media&at_format=image&at_objective=consumption&at_link_title=Four_Movies_That_Got_The_Future_Wrong&at_bbc_team=BBC

    1. Me, any company pension rise goes in tax because of the state pension rise

      1. And the income tax increase, by stealth, by Jeremy Rhyming Slang, by freezing the personal allowance. vw has not paid income tax since she retired in 2010 until this month. I think the financial term for this is called ‘clawback’. We call it theft.

        1. Yes Alf my net company pension is virtually the same as it was 10 years ago inspite of it being index linked

    2. I often wonder what would happen to a brit who was dropped off in Calais and joined a boat party to Dover. No ID. All they would have to do is keep quiet. And see what happens. Everything for nothing whilst keeping quite about it.

  84. Had a great time at the Coronation party at the care home today – alas they don’t have a FB site so no photos. Fantastic lunch and I had them rockin’ away afterwards, those that couldn’t get up to dance were hand jiving. Day off tomorrow then another party in the local home on Saturday

    2. Watch your weight, Alec. All those jellies and blancmanges at all those parties may result in you putting on weight! Lol.

      1. I had to forgo a lovely strawberry cheesecake and cream – it would have sent my blood/sugar off the scale

  85. Haven’t been here lately, but wanted to pop in to wish y’all a happy and uneventful Coronation weekend!! Keep calm and enjoy, in the true English spirit! Cheers.

    1. 😄😉
      I hear it’s going to rain ☔ it won’t be unusual. 😊

      1. I sometimes find the negative comments too much, so I take a break every now and then!

        1. Which I why I am rarely commenting these days, Jill. The dislike and venom poured onto the royals, especially the King is too much for me.
          Far too much negativity on this page.
          Hope you’ve got your flags flying!

  86. Off to sleep again. Perhaps another two five hour stints with just one visit to the loo. 🤞
    Good night all.

    2. I quite enjoyed it! John Cleese and Michael Palin usually were amusing.

  88. Before I go to bed, we are playing our music game- subject kings and queens….one of mine was the Queen of the Night aria from the Magic Flute. I used to be able to hit those notes…no longer, sadly but probably good for the windows.
    God save the King.

  90. Evening all! Had an evening out – at the Everyman in Cheltenham. English Touring Opera – Handel’ s Julio Cesare. A great piece for counter tenors – some seriously good singers too. Front stall seats right by the orchestra so we could see them as well. Dinner in the theatre restaurant first and that was good too.
    Donizetti tomorrow evening.

      1. That will have to stay on a tab for a few days whilst I dip in and out of it.

        1. Mostly unfamiliar to me apart from one aria with the two countertenors tenors and some argibargi with a poisoned chalice… some very good singing and the orchestra with period instruments was great too.

  93. Good night, chums. A long day for me, so I’m off to bed now. Sleep well and see you all tomorrow.

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