Thursday 6 February: City commuters might cope without petrol, hybrid or diesel cars – but what of other drivers?

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/02/06/letterscity-commuters-might-cope-without-petrol-hybrid-diesel/

826 thoughts on “Thursday 6 February: City commuters might cope without petrol, hybrid or diesel cars – but what of other drivers?”

  3. Ear Infection
    This is so true!
    They always ask at the surgery why you are there, and you have to tell them (in front of others) what’s wrong and sometimes it is embarrassing.

    There’s nothing worse than a Doctor’s Receptionist who insists you tell her what is wrong with you in a room full of other patients.
    I know most of us have experienced this, and I love the way this old guy handled it.

    The 65-year-old man walked into a crowded waiting room and approached the desk.
    The Receptionist said, ‘Yes sir, what are you seeing the Doctor for today?’
    ‘There’s something wrong with my dick’, he replied.

    The receptionist became irritated and said, ‘You shouldn’t come into a crowded waiting room and say things like that.’
    ‘Why not, you asked me what was wrong and I told you,’ he said.
    The Receptionist replied; ‘Now you’ve caused some embarrassment in this room full of people. You should have said there is something wrong with your ear or something and discussed the problem further with the Doctor in private.’

    The man replied, ‘You shouldn’t ask people questions in a roomful of strangers, if the answer could embarrass anyone. The man walked out, waited several minutes, and then re-entered.
    The Receptionist smiled smugly and asked, ‘Yes?’ ‘There’s something wrong with my ear,’ he stated.

    The Receptionist nodded approvingly and smiled, knowing he had taken her advice. ‘And what is wrong with your ear, Sir?’
    ‘I can’t piss out of it,’ he replied.
    The waiting room erupted in laughter…

    Mess with seniors and you’re going to Lose

    1. Doc’s reception has lots of signs up saying why they ask and you rather think… hogwash. You’re not triage, you can’t do anything about it, just take my name and let me see the quack.

  6. For the most part, this is about the staggering silliness of Alan Milburn

    STEPHEN GLOVER: Why must clever pupils hide their exam grades in the name of social engineering?
    https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/00/24371362-7971975-image-a-22_1580950258526.jpg
    Mr Milburn is in effect robbing — or planning to rob — gifted and industrious young people of their accomplishments by editing their CVs
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-7971975/STEPHEN-GLOVER-clever-pupils-hide-exam-grades-social-engineering.html

  7. Former heavyweight boxer who was given the George Medal for saving Princess Anne from a gun-toting kidnapper reveals the Queen paid off his mortgage to say thank you
    *Former heavyweight boxer Ronnie Russell is selling his bravery medal at auction
    *He was given George Medal after he thwarted attempted kidnap of Prince Anne
    *Mr Russell punched loner Ian Ball in the head during incident in London in 1974
    *He is selling medal because he’s suffered strokes and needs to pay for his future
    *The Queen paid off his mortgage to thank him for his bravery, he revealed
    https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/06/02/24375008-7972053-image-m-10_1580957830715.jpg
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7972053/Former-heavyweight-boxer-reveals-Queen-paid-mortgage.html

  8. This came in overnight from Nagsman

    “While creating wives, God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the world.

    And then He made the earth round”

    2. ‘Morning, Citroen, the sooner the Lords are reformed and the dross of life-peerages removed, the better.

      Maybe a village hall might be found outside York for them to go and get on with their witterings and be re-imbursed £100 a day after paying their own train fares to get there.

      In the mean-time the hereditaries and the law lords can get on with overseeing the work of the Commons. That Supreme Court and all its works can be consigned to extinction, in a hell of its own making.

    4. ‘morning Z, despite my loathing for the man, I could just about go along with Ken Clarke – he was an MP for nearly fifty years and served as a Government minister for many of those years.
      On the other hand Hammond has no principles apart from “what is in it for me”, an ineffectual Chancellor and an anti-democratic. He colluded with the EU and other remainers actively against the position of the Government that he was a member of. He should be ostracised from public life not rewarded.

      1. I never heard Clark once declare an interest when speaking in favour of the EU in the House of Commons

      2. Indeed I remember cheering Clarke on when he was Maggie’s chancellor. Then vested interests got to him. As for Hammond…. Once a goth, always a goth.

        1. Hammond was a “wannabe” not a real Goth. I was a Goth (Romantic Division) and we had little time for poseurs such as him. My wardrobe now has reverted to what it was back then, now that I no longer need to work for a living. Black boots, trousers, long black coat, black cowboy hat for poor weather, black BDU cap for everyday wear. Even my bullet-resistant plate carrier is black. Although I don’t need that one yet obviously. 🙂

          When you are out along the cliff paths in constant rain, it is clear why the cowboy hat is that shape. It is exceptionally effective at keeping the rain off, even in the heaviest downpours. As long as you have remembered to wax it.

          I was there as a 19 year old, visiting old tumbledown ruins during the day, and sitting and drinking with friends under the moonlight at night. Listening to the dark poetry that disguised itself as music. Those ladies also looked extraordinarily attractive when they were clad head to toe in black… (But that was a happy coincidence.)

          Happy days. Although I haven’t listened to that music for decades now. It did allow you to confront some darker sides of reality at a young age, and overcome them. 🙂

          1. I have a deerstalker and I was impressed how effective it was in keeping the rain off and keeping my ears warm with the flaps down. No fear of the wind whipping it away, either.

    5. Hammond – a peerage for sticking two fingers up to democracy. Sounds about right as things go these days…vermin in ermine.

  12. Morning all

    SIR – The ban on the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2035 (report, February 5) may well become the Government’s “poll tax” moment.

    While batteries in electric cars may continue to be improved, insufficient thought has been given to drivers making long journeys on fast roads. Battery life drops considerably when travelling at 65-70  mph, or when towing a caravan.

    Battery-driven vehicles may well be great for commuting, but they are not suited to other types of motoring.

    Geoff France

    Holmfirth, West Yorkshire

    SIR – If your electric car is stuck in traffic on a freezing day, presumably you have to choose between frostbite or using the heater, which will flatten the battery in no time. The obvious answer is to buy a hybrid.

    Michael Cheetham

    Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex

    SIR – Can this proposed ban on petrol, diesel and hybrid cars really be the work of the same Government that has cut back on railway electrification schemes?

    R A Stokes

    Bisley, Surrey

    1. SIR – Why the government obsession with dates and deadlines for environmentally friendly issues?

      We should learn from the United State and do our best each year without international commitments. The fuss over electric and hybrid cars will look irrelevant in five years’ time. Other methods of propulsion will have found greater favour by then.

      John Lavender

      Port Erin, Isle of Man

      SIR – By the time it is finished, it will have taken more that 15 years to build one power station (Hinkley Point).

      How can we expect to build the many power stations that will be required all over Britain under these proposals?

      David Walters

      Corbridge, Northumberland

      SIR – Leaving aside the question of whether we have enough spare generating capacity for all these cars, the costs of installing individual charging points at home, in public places and at motorway service stations will be astronomical.

      The future should lie with hydrogen cell cars. These are already made by Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. Even in their nascent form, they get close to mimicking current driver requirements.

      Peter Forrest

      London N6

    2. Is R A Stokes missing the consistent inconsistency of thinking within our Governments?

      1. Just imagine the vast number of breakdown callouts when a major route is closed for hours on end…

        ‘Morning, Korky.

        1. Morning, HJ.

          I caught a Green debate the other day and one subject was about what will replace diesel vehicles necessary for heavy lifting. The debate reminded me of an example: after I retired from BT I worked for a firm that was building the new barracks in Colchester. For the erection of the prefabricated buildings we required the services of a 100 ton crane. The hire firm was in Bristol and the journey took longer than one working day to complete. The size of battery to haul that vehicle and then raise the prefabricated units onto the building doesn’t bear thinking about.
          Another point, how will fire appliances pump the required volume of water for the required length of time if they are reliant on a battery that is running down and then requires a long recharge period? Mobile battery packs? How many of the latter to fight another Grenfell? The more one looks, the more problems arise that need a sensible outcome. The people in the HoC are clueless beyond belief.

    3. Battery powered cars can work for short urban journeys but are useless for long journeys or rural areas. The range of battery powered cars is also exasperated as are charging times. You are looking at at least 10 minutes at very best normally much longer. How that is going to work I have not a clue, In a petrol station you can fill up in a few minutes

    4. BBC Radio reporting this morning that a significant number of Hybrid car owners rarely use their batteries and use petrol to run their cars. This is not surprising. Boris is making a dangerous and catastrophic mistake with his environmental policies

      1. He is beginning to unravel completely as his sheer environmental idiocy reveals. Even optimism that he will effect a proper Brexit is beginning to disappear.

      2. A lot of European designed hybrids are just bodges to get tax concessions. Toyota are way ahead and those far Eastern manufacturers who’ve licenced their technology are also ahead of the game. The Toyota system uses all methods to optimise energy use. Unfortunately these are not easy matters to discuss with politicians who have now jumped on the ‘all hybrids are bad’ bandwagon encouraged by the electric car shysters.

  13. Morning again

    SIR – The inquiry into Ian Paterson (report, February 5), the rogue breast cancer surgeon, has shocked the British public, and rightly so.

    How is it that Paterson could avoid scrutiny for so long? The reality is that there are no meaningful, regular checks and balances on the performance and outcomes of individual surgeons and anaesthetists. Unlike airline pilots, who have compulsory simulator assessments of competency every six months, surgeons can go their entire career without being scrutinised in theatre by their peers. The current appraisal and revalidation system does little to assess a surgeon’s behaviour, clinical skills or dexterity.

    There will be more cases such as Paterson’s until we subject surgeons (and other doctors) to the same rigorous scrutiny that is applied to pilots by the Civil Aviation Authority.

    David Allen MBBS

    Chichester, West Sussex

    1. …”there are no meaningful, regular checks and balances on the performance and outcomes of individual surgeons and anaesthetists.” Or on doctors.
      Or on overall service levels. Or individual cases.
      The BMA exists to protect doctors from patients.

  14. SIR – It is appalling that female genital mutilation (FGM) is happening in the 21st century.

    While the Royal College of General Practitioners supports the overall commitment of the coalition Action: FGM to eradicate this horrific crime by 2030, there is no evidence that GPs screening for FGM (report, February 2) will help achieve this, and the process could carry unintended and harmful consequences.

    Until there is evidence of its benefit, the Royal College cannot support FGM screening being introduced into general practice, however well-intended.

    Professor Martin Marshall

    Chairman, Royal College of General Practitioners

    London NW1

    1. What is appalling is that we take so little notice of it because of fear of Islam. Not of islamists or the radicalised but of Islam whose inherent hatred of women is ignored because of the vicious racism of the liberal left and malevolence greens.

      1. E,
        Worth checking out that
        “far right ,racist” Gerard Battens views on islamic ideology.
        With the far right racist tag it
        signals truthsaying is in progress in many cases.

      2. It’s more of a sub-Saharan Africa problem. Islam is a tacked on belief.
        A sub-section of that area also go in for breast ironing, rather than teach their young males to respect the other half of the human race.

        1. Wouldn’t that be a case of ‘north and Saharan Africa”? It didn’t really feature much in the parts of sub-Saharan Africa I knew.

    2. So scared of being racist etc. Clearly females from a few countries will b e the target foe screening as they are pretty much the only places where the practice is endemic

    3. Morning E,
      Why not eradicate it at the crack of dawn instead of waiting until 8.30 ?
      Once again it will tail off to ziltch as a token gesture has been made.
      Submission, PCism,Appeasement
      can & will kill.

    2. Good morning Minty ,

      Not only do we have the threat of a nasty virus, the release of Jihadists in to the community, climate change … and now we are being confronted by more fear … a wicked storm over the weekend .

      Dare I ask what else?

      1. On the plus side, I’ve got to grips with my Crock Pot and produced scrummy venison shanks.

          1. Yo peddy

            On your recommendation, I snaffled 1/2 dozen 840g tins of Cassoulet from W/rose. It doesn’t say ‘Waitrose’ on the tin but it does claim to be a Product of France, Imported & Distributed By: Empire Bespoke Foods Ltd [I liked the name]

            Excellent. To my taste, it needs a bit more crushed garlic and quite a lot more thyme….plus a fresh baguette feeds two with enough left over to satisfy a small dog.

          2. Glad you like it. Originally I bought 14 cans of it as a pantry-filler: for times when winter weather closed in & I couldn’t go shopping.

          3. Made it up as I went along. Initial slurp of stock suggests I’m onto something.
            The base of it is a couple of venison shanks (Layer Marney Butchers), fry off whatever I thought needed using up; change to slow cook programme, chuck in shanks and left over red wine, herbs etc…
            4 hours cooking. Now has matured overnight for final twiddles.
            Will give verdict after tonight’s dinner.

        2. Good morning, Minty. You say “We are doomed!”. I say “You are John Laurie and you owe me five bob!”

          :-))

  16. Water and sewerage bills set to fall by about £17 a year

    The average household’s water and sewerage bill will drop by about £17 a year in England and Wales.
    Water UK, the industry trade body, said the average annual bill will fall by 4% to £396.60 from 1 April.

    The regulator Ofwat said the drop was down to the fact it had “demanded greater efficiency” from firms.

    Changes to bills will vary from customer to customer and depend on their supplier.

    1. The Chinese are the most prosperous of the UK’s immigrants though they wisely keep this hidden.

  18. VIDEO of fake chemical attack in Syria already complete, White Helmets co-produced footage – Moscow. RT 4 Feb, 2020 .

    The White Helmets have shot a new fake video of ‘Assad’s chemical attack’ in Syria’s Idlib, the Russian MoD has said. The movie, co-produced by the notorious White Helmets, is expected to be released shortly on social media.

    Production of the new film was concluded on Tuesday in the village of Zerba, located in the militant-controlled part of Syria’s Idlib province, the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation has said, citing several independent sources.

    I wouldn’t normally quote this as exposure alone would lead to the “attack” being cancelled but the military situation is pretty dire so they have nothing to lose by continuing. The Syrian Army is crushing the Jihadists in Idlib and barring Turkish intervention they are finished and with them their pals the White Helmets who will shortly thereafter be coming to live with us in the UK. So keep your eyes open!

    https://www.rt.com/news/480057-video-fake-chemical-attack/

    1. Isn’t that little girl now too heavy to carry?
      She’s had a starring role for about 5 years.

      1. Exactly. My friends and family are just that; I accept them, faults and all.
        They, in exchange for my tolerance, recognise that I am perfect.

    3. Very interesting to observe the shift in the Canon Dr’s position over the past decade or more.

      Forwarded to my big brother, four children, and both ex-wives. {:^))

    1. Good morning Mr Delboy. A very frosty one here, -3.6 C at the moment. 10 C in the kitchen….!

      1. Down to 1.1 min last night. A bit close for my pelargonium’s comfort… The weekend winds however do look a bit nasty.

  22. Sinn Féin leading in Irish Polls

    The election takes place on Saturday. For various reasons Sinn Féin are unlikely to win. The two traditional main parties have also both said that they will not form a coalition with Sinn Féin

  24. Morning Each,
    I see this johnson chap is building up the anti UK pro eu auxiliary force in the HOl as in nominating clarke & hammond for peerages.
    Surely off the end of the pier,ages would be a lot more apt.

    1. Only Clarke and Hammond? What about May?

      What’s that?
      Oh yes of course, Clarkson

  25. I sincerely hope that the country doesn’t ever again find itself in an armed conflict of the stature of World Wars I and II, especially if compulsory conscription is required to bolster troop numbers.

    There will probably be more than sufficient equipment (arms, uniform, provisions) and training provided for the recruits; but where it will all fall down will be the paucity of white feathers to give to the hordes of snowflakes who will be too traumatised by the thought of discipline.

      1. Morning, Minty.

        Yes. Destroyed by clueless parenting and appalling (lack of) standards in teaching.

        Brainwashing and pampering is no way to raise offspring.

  26. Scottish minister resigns over claims he befriended teenage boy online

    A top SNP minister who is facing allegations that he sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy has resigned.
    According to the Scottish Sun, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay sent the teenager 270 social media messages after befriending him on Facebook and Instagram.
    In a statement, Mr Mackay said he took “full responsibility” for his actions and admitted he had “behaved foolishly”.
    His resignation comes just hours before he was due to deliver the Scottish government’s budget for the next financial year.

  27. China halves tariffs on more than 1,700 US goods

    China plans to halve tariffs on 1,717 goods it imports from the US as the country faces the fresh challenge of the coronavirus.
    Chinese officials said tariffs on some goods would be cut from to 5% from 10%, and on others from 5% to 2.5%.
    The two countries have been stuck in a long-running trade war with both imposing tariffs on imported products.
    A partial resolution was agreed last month with China promising to boost imported US goods by $200bn.
    This latest announcement to reduce tariffs is China’s first response to the “phase one” agreement .

  28. Off topic ..

    Silent Witness .. screened on BBC 1 last night , did anyone here watch it , and did anyone have night mares about chemical nerve agents .

    2. …did anyone have night mares about chemical nerve agents.

      I’m sure that was its purpose. We are shortly to be exposed to a serial about the Skripal business with much propaganda and little truth!

    3. Morning all.
      We haven’t watched SW for years. Since the first series the writer’s seem to be on another planet.
      We have been watching The Stranger on Netflix.
      My word it’s straining the diversity and mental health issues. And after episode 6 of 8, it seems to have become completely tied in knots.

      Anyone seen King Gary ?
      It’s toe curling and cringingly amusing. Perhaps the apostrophe is missing before the first word.

    5. Nah. Watched Rumpole of the Bailey on Talking Pictures. Didn’t sleep soundly but then I never do. The Human Jungle in the 9 pm slot tonight. B/W, with Herbert Lom looking very handsome.

      1. I had fond memories of Rumpole from when it was first on. I did watch some repeats a few years ago and I was surprised at how “humble” his home life was. I think there were tins of beans on the shelf in one episode. I should not be surprised, but I had distant memories of rich finery in his life. It must have been one of the dinners that he attended. 🙂

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b2223b3cb006d8ac70cd04358e61bab76f20293aff7cf9abe54f86d2a2295d97.jpg

    6. …did anyone have night mares about chemical nerve agents.

      I’m sure that was its purpose. We are shortly to be exposed to a serial about the Skripal business with much propaganda and little truth!

        1. I wish I knew someone from Salisbury Anne. I would like to get their take on the whole business!,

          1. Well I live 10 miles N of Salisbury, but I go in very rarely, so sadly cannot provide with any juicy titbits of information.

    7. I haven’t watched that idiotic tripe for years.

      Forensic pathologists get up, have breakfast, go to work, cut up a few bodies, write reports, sometimes attend court, go home, have their tea, watch telly, go to bed. That is their life.

      They do not do the police’s job, negotiate with terrorists, chase offenders, or close down their place of work so they can fly en masse to a despotic African Republic to get kidnapped and shot, so they can rescue some refugee!

      The idiotic writers (and clownishly poor actors) of that utter drivel lost the plot ages ago.

      Morning, Maggie! :•)

      1. Grizz, you don’t know what you’re missing! You can play PC-woke bingo! It’s stuffed with references. The first story of the current series involved the crashing of a plane, a small private jet on a diplomatic mission carrying a couple of jolly decent liberal types who did good work in the third world. Of course, FASCISTS want to kill people like this so the idea was floated early on that the pilot had an interest in FASCISM. As it turned out, one of the passengers (who was also a pilot and had apparently hitched a ride, however unlikely that sounds) was a suicidal nutjob who crashed the plane. The FASCIST angle wasn’t followed up.

        Don’t forget, FASCISTS are everywhere!

    8. Didn’t watch it, but we did watch White House Farm.
      MB and I have lived with cornfields round us most of our lives, but never before had they struck us as sinister. Rather like the silence before the crop dusting scene in North By Northwest.

      1. Good series…but I did wonder during last night’s episode why no one suggested that the mention of a mercenary killer was simply an attempt by Bamber to frame someone else for the crime. Anyway, final episode next week – the arrest, charging, trial and imprisonment in the space of about 50 mins might be a struggle.

        1. Will definitely be a struggle if they cover the whole of his imprisonment. The murderer has done nearly 35 years so far – just under 7 years for each of those he killed. Should he live to 70, say, will still only represent about 9 years for each of those murdered.

          1. He’s on a whole-life term, so no parole. His only hope is a successful appeal, though no joy so far.

    9. I missed the beginning so never really got into it. One thing is for sure though. Those CBRN ‘experts’ were no experts. They all had the trousers of their CBRN suits tucked into their overboots whereas they should be left out, as any fule know.

      1. GOBI-gloves outside, boots inside (the suit) from my NBC days. BTW, when did NBC become CBRN?

        2. When we had to start learning about ‘dirty’ bombs as well – i.e. Radiological – around about 2000

        3. Boots inside?? Never. Who were your instructors??
          How would you brush contaminant off your suit trouser legs without it all going into your boots?

          1. No! Boots inside the bottoms of the suit legs i.e trouser legs over the tops of the boots.

    10. I watched it and enjoyed it but as Porton Down are past clients of mine I recognised the fiction and slept soundly.

      1. OK.
        Your next starter for ten: what are the swooping wooden bits?
        If they’re backrests for chairs, then the designers certainly didn’t consult a physiotherapist.

        1. I think you’ll find the chair’s backrest is the wee black thing behind his lumbar region.

          Dinnae forget, Scots inventors are among the best the world has seen. Alexander Graham Bell, James Watt, and that clever wee laddie who decided that men wearing skirts was sensible because it meant they could dae a wee jobbie in battle withoot having tae get undressed!

          2. I thought it was t’other way roond, Spikey.

            MacDonalds (or was it Burger King?) got wiped oot by the swooping Campbells.

          8. I heard a story from Wullie, our almost incomprehensible engine driver on the test trains, about a lady American tourist enquiring in fort William if there was a MacDonald’s in the town.
            “Not noo there is nae,” came the response from a local.

          11. The architect was a Spaniard. Enric Miralles. Estimated cost 40 million. Actual cost 400 million and it is a complete mess as far as style is concerned.

            Good morning.

    2. A huge waste of public money? (Just like the entire building and its pretendy ‘parliament’ inside.)

          3. The age of consent is 16, so legally speaking, if prostitution was not involved, was a crime committed?

      2. It could be a very small person who is stealthily trying to pick his pocket from behind.

    6. I dont think they’re sticky outie, I think they’re flush with the surface either for decoration or to strengthen.

    7. A huge waste of public money? (Just like the entire building and its pretendy ‘parliament’ inside.)

        1. As the former OLE Engineer for Western Scotland used to call it, “The wee pretendy hoose.”

    2. As I pointed out last night it’s been known for ages that these blades can’t be recycled. I’ve read it (among other places) on Telegraph message boards.

      The media knew, or had the means to know, so why is this news now? They’ve been ignoring it and turning blind eyes for years.

    1. Morning all.
      I don’t see that telling doctors they must screen all women for FGM, in fact, screening any woman is practical. Where are the feminazis – why are they not agitating for the cessation of such a hideous practice in the relevant countries? If it has already been carried out on someone living in the U.K. what are we supposed to do about it? Those who have instigated it will not reveal who actually did it or even own up to arranging it.
      I’m sure doctors in the U.K. believe it’s a barbaric act but surely it’s not down to them to police it after the event.

      1. So far as I know – the only person accused of abetting FGM was a doctor who tried to repair the damage. He was aquitted.

        1. Correct. She apparently tore very badly giving birth due to being “cut” as a child.
          I often wonder if that case was pushed forward in the knowledge it would fail to discourage others from attempting to prosecute the crime?

  32. Sent by NZ Nephew

    HAPPY MAORI MOANING DAY!

    Today our country offers it’s deepest
    apologies to our Maori brethren for destroying their beautiful
    civilisation – denying them their noble traditions of tribal warfare,
    slavery and cannibalism and depriving them of their wonderful culture of
    literature, theatre, poetry, music, architecture, mathematics and
    philosophy.

    In their place the evil Europeans imposed a tyrannical
    system of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, property rights,
    equal opportunity, education, health and welfare on these poor oppressed
    people. Not only this, but these unfortunate victims were also made
    equal citizens of the most powerful empire the world had known to date.

    Obviously
    all this was totally against their will and for these terrible
    injustices it is only right that we send our politicians to grovel at
    their feet and beg their forgiveness.

    WE’RE SO SORRY. PLEASE FORGIVE US. WE ARE TERRIBLE PEOPLE.

    1. When my wife and I first visited NZ Christmas 1976 we experienced a Hungi or Hangi (I think it’s what it was called) where very hot stones are place in a pit and meat and veg is piled in on top all covered with various types of vegetation. By the time it was ready to eat most people present could hardly stand up.
      Give me a BBQ any day.

      1. I spent four months in NZ in 1979 on exchange with the NZ Army. We had a hangi for the whole camp where they had fortuitously started cooking in the morning, so we were only half-refreshed when the scoff was unearthed. Slept well that night. Best trip in 22 years service.

        1. We flew in from Adelaide and went to stay with friends near Auckland for Christmas. We had to borrow warm clothing and due to rain actually had a BBQ in their garage.
          But we loved it, everything seemed quite ‘spartan’ then, all the timber houses and old cars on the roads.
          The friends live near Perth WA now.
          Another great place to be.

    3. It’s what the BAME (or whatever they call themselves nowadays) dine out on. At our expense, natch.

          1. It’s the Russians!

            Although some of it is no doubt a completely different lifestyle precluding the need for this technology.

            However, where it hasn’t appeared, we shouldn’t bung ours on them. Giving those without our technology and education our medicine is just silly.

          2. But unfortunately they still clamour to come to Europe or other western societies in droves often risking life and limb to try and absorb and exist on the myth of the golden pavements.
            Many still become slaves. Or wholly reliant on welfare. And then develop certain scocial chips on their shoulders.
            Nothing gained around, no progress.

  38. There is no more savage or effective warrior than the religious fanatic. Most soldiers are just men doing a job and following orders. No matter how brave or patriotic they may be, they would prefer to avoid injury or death. But the religious fanatic has no such qualms. He actively wants to die, because he genuinely believes that by dying in battle he is securing his place in paradise. This is why Islam has been such a powerful military force over the last fourteen centuries and why we can never, ever ‘de-radicalise’ its most faithful followers.

  40. Tony Blair is back, in fact he never went away!

    ”Mushy One Nation Toryism is already getting a sour reception beyond the Red Wall” by SHERELLE JACOBS

    ”The Tories’ pivot towards woke patricianism could soon prompt Labour ‘converts’ to demand their money back
    Is the honeymoon period already over? While No 10 fully expected the first cheeky glints of Johnsonism to spark discontent among the traditional Tory grassroots, something else intriguing is happening: unanticipated Red Wall resistance towards the Government’s unwieldy brand of enlightened progress.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/02/06/mushy-one-nation-toryism-already-getting-sour-reception-beyond/

    ”For now, though, one can detect in the air the pong of vanilla. The PM’s eloquent eulogies to modernisation are reminiscent of 1997. Back then, Tony Blair played the man of the people while quoting Milton, promising to “liberate” the masses (“innovators, adventurers, pioneers”) from the new elite (“money-shifters, middlemen, speculators”) by unleashing the power of the information age. Today, our Prime Minister frames himself in similar terms, but quoting Churchill.”

    Sherelle must surely mean vanilla envelopes? Sounds about right!

    1. Thanks.
      I was hoping a Nottler would post in full.

      Not to missed Sherelle, always worth a butchers…

          1. ”Is the honeymoon period already over? While No 10 fully expected the first cheeky glints of Johnsonism to spark discontent among the traditional Tory grassroots, something else intriguing is happening: unanticipated Red Wall resistance towards the Government’s unwieldy brand of enlightened progress.

            It is, of course, early days. Trade negotiations with Brussels are yet to get going (if there will be any talks at all). Details on the contents of next month’s Budget are considerably less prolific than the swirling rumours of the stink between Sajid Javid and Dominic Cummings. Downing Street’s war on Whitehall has barely begun. Mr Johnson is also poised to clear the dead wood and thorny idealogues from his Cabinet in a reshuffle.

            But the Government already faces a basic problem. In newly-won constituencies, some MPs admit that enthusiasm for the Tories’ spending pledges is tepid. Although the cliche goes that HS2’s opponents are the Nimbys whose suburban piles graze against the edges of the route, for example, one MP for an inner city Northern constituency that stands to benefit confessed to me that, for every constituent who says with a sigh that it must be done, two more complain that it is a waste of limite national funds.

            Things are also already looking iffy for “cultural conservatism” – the medley of values that the Tories are supposed to be espousing, from common sense to tough justice, to cultivate their “emotional connection” with the working class. For once, the Tories are struggling to be dishonest. Pious gesticulations on climate change and agnostic ditherings on how to deal with violent Islamism this week betrayed the party’s hyper-liberal sensibilities. This has caused as much irritation in England’s old mining towns as in the villages of Surrey.

            Perhaps the London boffins charged with calibrating a “data-responsive” One Nation Tory strategy have overlooked the intelligence to be found in our rustbelt’s regional newspapers. Take the Black Country, which has greeted Grant Shapps’ pledge to reverse the Beeching cuts with scepticism. The Express & Star dismissed “promises which sound ridiculous when they can’t even get services working properly”.

            On Jacob Rees-Mogg, they are just as scathing. The father of six’s decision to join in the criticism of a Walsall councillor, who had the temerity to observe that some families in his borough are struggling financially because they have four or more children, has not gone down well. “I never cease to be amazed at the crass comments of people who put themselves forwards as our politicians.. while having little or no idea of life as an average wage-earning person,” seethes Clive Potts from Bilston in the Express & Star letters page.

            Other highlights include Ewan Cowie from Cramlington (of the newly-gained Blyth Valley seat in Northumberland), who wrote into the Northern Echo, appalled by the Government’s virtue signalling eco-hypocrisy. Criticising the decision to award the new North East Metro fleet contract to Swiss firm Stadler – with all the accompanying carbon costs of importing trains hundreds of miles – he vented his disgust at the MPs “in thrall to Extinction Rebellion” who demonise grouse moors and block local coal mining.

            Somehow I suspect the PM has little sympathy. This week, he has partaken in photo ops with Sir David Attenborough and announced a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in 2035, in an imperious act of bureau-catastrophism that could have been ripped from the regulation book of Theresa May.

            In the canteens of Parliament, Tories talk of the need to “consolidate” their northern gains. In fact, they risk reducing post-Brexit Toryism to a blancmange that has collapsed under the centrifugal forces of overbearing hand-ringing and awkward crack-downing.

            For now, though, one can detect in the air the pong of vanilla. The PM’s eloquent eulogies to modernisation are reminiscent of 1997. Back then, Tony Blair played the man of the people while quoting Milton, promising to “liberate” the masses (“innovators, adventurers, pioneers”) from the new elite (“money-shifters, middlemen, speculators”) by unleashing the power of the information age. Today, our Prime Minister frames himself in similar terms, but quoting Churchill.

            Perhaps the similarity in tone is understandable. In the last 20 years, the basic challenge of British politics has not changed: constructing a populist rather than paternalist modernism that taps the riches of globalism without pillaging the soul of the nation state. Blair not only failed, but forsook his original mission on the altar of progressive Western Salvation.

            Mr Johnson must finish what Mr Blair threatened to start. But to do so, he must grasp that it is a myth that you win in the middle. You win in the mainstream – a bracing new confluence between Home Counties Thatcherites and a thrifty, anti-paternalistic working class that has little patience for wokeness.”

      2. Here you go, Sherelle sees it as it is, a pity our PM doesn’t!

        Mushy One Nation Toryism is already getting a sour reception beyond the Red Wall
        Sherelle Jacobs
        Daily Telegraph Columnist
        6 February 2020 • 6:00am

        There is no appetite in Britain for a revival of Blairite salvationism

        The Tories’ pivot towards woke patricianism could soon prompt Labour ‘converts’ to demand their money back
        Is the honeymoon period already
        over? While No 10 fully expected the first cheeky glints of Johnsonism
        to spark discontent among the traditional Tory grassroots, something
        else intriguing is happening: unanticipated Red Wall resistance towards
        the Government’s unwieldy brand of enlightened progress.
        It is, of course, early days. Trade negotiations with Brussels are
        yet to get going (if there will be any talks at all). Details on the
        contents of next month’s Budget are considerably less prolific than the
        swirling rumours of the stink between Sajid Javid and Dominic Cummings.
        Downing Street’s war on Whitehall has barely begun. Mr Johnson is also
        poised to clear the dead wood and thorny idealogues from his Cabinet in a
        reshuffle.

        But the Government already faces a basic problem. In newly-won
        constituencies, some MPs admit that enthusiasm for the Tories’ spending
        pledges is tepid. Although the cliche goes that HS2’s opponents
        are the Nimbys whose suburban piles graze against the edges of the
        route, for example, one MP for an inner city Northern constituency that
        stands to benefit confessed to me that, for every constituent who says
        with a sigh that it must be done, two more complain that it is a waste
        of limited national funds.

        Things are also already looking iffy for “cultural conservatism” – the medley
        of values that the Tories are supposed to be espousing, from common
        sense to tough justice, to cultivate their “emotional connection” with
        the working class. For once, the Tories are struggling to be dishonest. Pious gesticulations on climate change
        and agnostic ditherings on how to deal with violent Islamism this week
        betrayed the party’s hyper-liberal sensibilities. This has caused as
        much irritation in England’s old mining towns as in the villages of
        Surrey.

        Perhaps the London boffins charged with calibrating a
        “data-responsive” One Nation Tory strategy have overlooked the
        intelligence to be found in our rustbelt’s regional newspapers. Take the
        Black Country, which has greeted Grant Shapps’ pledge to reverse the
        Beeching cuts with scepticism. The Express & Star dismissed “promises which sound ridiculous when they can’t even get services working properly”.

        On Jacob Rees-Mogg, they are just as scathing. The father of six’s
        decision to join in the criticism of a Walsall councillor, who had the
        temerity to observe that some families in his borough are struggling
        financially because they have four or more children, has not gone down
        well. “I never cease to be amazed at the crass comments of people who
        put themselves forwards as our politicians.. while having little or no
        idea of life as an average wage-earning person,” seethes Clive Potts
        from Bilston in the Express & Star letters page.

        Other highlights include Ewan Cowie from Cramlington (of the newly-gained
        Blyth Valley seat in Northumberland), who wrote into the Northern Echo,
        appalled by the Government’s virtue signalling eco-hypocrisy.
        Criticising the decision to award the new North East Metro fleet
        contract to Swiss firm Stadler – with all the accompanying carbon costs
        of importing trains hundreds of miles – he vented his disgust at the MPs
        “in thrall to Extinction Rebellion” who demonise grouse moors and block
        local coal mining.

        Somehow I suspect the PM has little sympathy. This week, he has partaken in photo ops with Sir David Attenborough and
        announced a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in 2035, in an imperious
        act of bureau-catastrophism that could have been ripped from the
        regulation book of Theresa May.

        In the canteens of Parliament, Tories talk of the need to
        “consolidate” their northern gains. In fact, they risk reducing
        post-Brexit Toryism to a blancmange that has collapsed under the
        centrifugal forces of overbearing hand-ringing and
        awkward crack-downing.

        For now, though, one can detect in the air the pong of vanilla. The
        PM’s eloquent eulogies to modernisation are reminiscent of 1997. Back
        then, Tony Blair played the man of the people while quoting Milton,
        promising to “liberate” the masses (“innovators, adventurers, pioneers”)
        from the new elite (“money-shifters, middlemen, speculators”) by
        unleashing the power of the information age. Today, our Prime Minister
        frames himself in similar terms, but quoting Churchill.

        Perhaps the similarity in tone is understandable. In the last 20 years, the
        basic challenge of British politics has not changed: constructing a
        populist rather than paternalist modernism that taps the riches of
        globalism without pillaging the soul of the nation state. Blair not only
        failed, but forsook his original mission on the altar of progressive
        Western Salvation.

        Mr Johnson must finish what Mr Blair threatened to start. But to do
        so, he must grasp that it is a myth that you win in the middle. You win
        in the mainstream – a bracing new confluence between Home Counties
        Thatcherites and a thrifty, anti-paternalistic working class that has
        little patience for wokeness.

        https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/02/06/mushy-one-nation-toryism-already-getting-sour-reception-beyond/

        2. Blair not only failed, but forsook his original mission on the altar of progressive Western Salvation.

          Is Ms Jacobs giving Blair a rather easy ride? Rather than try and fail it’s more likely that Blair’s mission tape self destructed 5 seconds after he won the 1997 election. Does anybody know what that man really stood for, including himself? Enrichment excluded, of course.

        1. No she hasn’t so I’ll have to do it myself and have a cuppa. May see you all again this evening. Bye for now!

    3. Vanilla envelopes; when you lick the gum on the flap it tastes so much better than on that of the manilla variety.😎

    4. Well, a lot of people who voted for him didn’t entirely trust him.
      If this is the case, a radical re-think would be in order. Labour voters voted Tory not just because of Brexit, but I suspect because of the raid cal political correctness and identity politics of the far left Labour party. Why would Johnson assume he can keep them inside by emulating the same policies? Or keep the Tory voters, for that matter? The majority of the population are heartily sick of it, so why continue down that route?
      Johnson needs to learn, very rapidly, that Twitter and Facebook are not real life, and don’t reflect the opinions of the majority.

    4. A remarkable life. I heard that his incredible drive was fuelled by complete deprivation of fatherly approval (something i can well understand) – a feature shared with quite a few past American Presidents.

  42. Not sure if it’s been posted this morning but an auspicious day.

    68th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne. Long live the Queen.

    62nd anniversary of the Manchester United/Munich air disaster.

    1. Good grief, I remember both events vividly. The first one, I was told about by my primary school teachers in 1952; the second one was announced on the B&W television news, shortly after I returned home from my secondary school in 1958. In between the two I spent five full years in Argentina (1953 through to 1957 inclusive).

      1. Can you remember those Bibles they gave out in school Elsie? I think I still have mine somewhere!

          1. I had a Coronation mug (pale blue with a white Queen’s head) but it is long since lost.

          3. I had a Coronation mug, now also lost, and a Coronation Crown (five bob piece) placed in the tiny hand of my niece for luck not long after she was born.

        2. I think it was small burgundy coloured New Testaments which the Gideons gave out in my secondary schools, Minty. I no longer have mine but I “earned” a pocket King James Bible (black cover with a protective zip from top of spine to top of spine) which I was given after answering a question from every chapter in the Bible from a local Church youth club. The idea was to get youngsters to read the chapter to find the verse which answered the question and then write it down in full in a notebook. I still have this Bible and treasure it.

      2. ‘Afternoon, Elsie, I was 8 years old and in Ditchingham Primary School when the Caretaker popped his head around the classroom door to announce, “The King has passed.” I wondered what he was doing in Ditchingham.

        1. Sorry, molamola, Evita died in September of 1952, some 6 months before I arrived in Argentina. You may, of course, be mistaking me for the SS Eva Peron, the boat on which I first sailed from Blighty to Buenos Aires.

          PS – I don’t think a million pesos would get you very far these days.

          :-))

      4. It is also the 76th anniversary of the birth of the younger of my two older brothers. Unfortunately he died in 2012.
        Edit 76 for 74.

        1. Alf, you are really Diane Abbot and I claim my seven…three… five bob postal order.

  43. Two killed after high-speed train derails in northern Italy. 6 February 2020.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ebde40e46c171e76f48a5ea0f6fb051697019ce51c841c6567ac309a3d3003fa.jpg

    A high-speed train derailed early on Thursday close to the Italian northern city of Lodi, killing the two drivers and injuring 31 people, local authorities said.

    Right cancel HS2!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/06/two-killed-high-speed-train-derails-northern-italy/

    1. Most of the money spent on HS2 to date has been on buying up land so that land could be sold so the amount that could not be recovered might only be £1B and cancelling it would also lift the blight on a lot of land so its value would increase

    1. Repeating, once again: LGBTQ is just another religion–advocating their own list of ‘acceptable’ marital practices, their own list of ‘acceptable’ sexual practices, and their own list of ‘acceptable’ gender identities. Furthermore, the mantras they repeat (“love is love”) suggest an appeal to a higher power–just like other religions.

      The real battle begins when a number of these groups coalesce to try to overturn laws pertaining to long-detested social mores–social mores like polygamy and child prostitution.

      1. In the red corner: queers, snowflakes, Pinkoes and weirdos. In the green corner: Islam.

        Please may I get out of the ring?

        1. And what if children have an evolution-driven, biological need to have and know both their mother and their father? We hear unconvincing scientific evidence of ‘gay-genes’, etc. What about the convincing evidence of heterosexual parenthood versus the recent practice of same-sex parenthood?

          Do we put a generation of kids at risk because of their parents’ “need” to have a child?

          1. Not sure I can still find it but some time ago I shared on FB a very good Wall Street Journal article which looked at the statistics in the US for children bought via surrogate parenthood who on reaching their teens feel the need to go in search of their biological mothers. There seemed to be quite a strong trend.

      2. Afternoon A,
        There are many politico’s in the governing parties who are running these parties along submitting / pc/ appeasement lines
        regarding the islamic ideology followers.
        From oath taking in parliament to the three monkey treatment of say FGM, mass illegal entry, polygamy is already entrenched,
        and we had two MPs in the 70s in talks with PIE and at that time the age of consent being discussed lowered to 12 if not lower.
        These parties and MPs are still very much in power and are still well supported time & time again.
        Join the dots as to the number of islamic ideology followers are in positions of power nationwide, who is putting them there ?

  45. Axminster Carpets

    Axminster Carpets is in rescue talks with potential buyers, as first reported by Sky News.
    The 265-year-old royal warrant holder filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Wednesday.
    Jonathan Young, its managing director, said he was “encouraged by the level of interest in investing in our brand”.
    Administrators Duff and Phelps are on standby as the company tries to avoid collapsing for the second time in seven years.
    Up to 90 jobs are thought to be at risk in Devon if the company enters administration.

  46. Priti Patel Orders Officials To Explain Status Of Grooming Gang Review

    How can they not find it., It will be on a computer and would have been backed up . Sounds like a cover up to me and they dont want to release it

    Home secretary Priti Patel has ordered officials to explain what has happened to a long-awaited review into the ethnicity of grooming gangs, HuffPost UK has learnt.
    A frustrated Patel has been met with “obfuscation” from Home Office officials when asking about the probe,

    Her predecessor Sajid Javid ordered the review in July 2018 amid concerns about gangs of mainly Pakistani-heritage men carrying out child sexual exploitation (CSE). But the Home Office was later accused of holding up the work and faced criticism for insisting it would remain internal.
    Patel assumed the review would be prioritised as Javid, whose parents were from Pakistan, gave several high profile interviews after ordering the probe in which he said the abuse made him “feel angry”, and that the men had “disgraced our heritage”.

    A source in the Home Office suggested that Patel was being “given the run around by officials” who were “not being completely up front about this”, and stressed that the home secretary at least wants to see the results herself even if they are not eventually published.
    “She’s not best pleased with the way it’s going,” they said.

    We were promised a review of sorts by the then home secretary and then when it didn’t surface, we were told it was for internal use only.
    “Now it seems nobody can find it.

      1. Definitively. Wasn’t it the HO who refused the right to stay for Pakistani Christians, ridiculing them for their faith??

        2. It was the Home Office who instructed the police not to pursue these gangs and said “it was a lifestyle choice” by the girls.

      2. Surely they must have a project plan for it and they should know the progress of it and where it is and that project plan should be monitored

        1. There is a reason why the HO is being obstructive, which is why it needs investigating.

    2. BJ,
      They should also cut out the abbreviation crap CSE that is PCism / Appeasement in action, and call it what it is paedophilia rape & abuse.
      For any further HONEST views on the dangers of islamic ideology contact one Gerard Batten.

    3. What really causes my hackles to rise is the mantra that most child rapes happen within the home and are perpetrated by someone known to the victim. There was a time when that was probably true but old statistics are still trotted out as if they prove that the Moslem gangs don’t exist.

    4. Here is my review.
      Pakistani men have been grooming, raping and sexually assaulting young white girls aged 11+ systematically for years. A lot of these young girls were in Council ‘care’ and the Council’s didn’t care.
      The abuse and crimes were ignored by social workers and the police and none of these people have been prosecuted for aiding and abetting in heinous crimes. It is only these Pakistani muslims who are allowed to get away with this for ‘social cohesion’
      Findings.
      The police and councils conspired to cover up these crimes and have not been prosecuted. Successive Home Secretaries and Prime Ministers have ignored this uncomfortable truth and will continue to do so because law abiding citizens just don’t count anymore. Anybody who tries to raise concerns about these crimes is called a racist and the discussion is closed down.

      1. Atg,
        I have actually been down voted on here for posting anti paedophilia comments & not only once.

        1. That is dreadful. I never downvote and I have never blocked anyone and have no intention of doing so.

          1. Afternoon Ims,
            In the nicest possible way don’t be blood daft, “worry about it”
            I was pointing out the subject matter and the mentality of
            the kind of person who would down vote an anti paedophilia post.

          2. Probably not your comments. They just downvoted you because they couldn’t make sense of what you were saying.

          3. T,
            “Probably ” lets you down, you prove yourself to be time & again part of the not certain brigade.
            My post in question was,
            Paedophilia is evil or wording similar,you find fault with that do you, assuming you do you would down vote it would you not ?

          4. I congratulate you on spelling the word correctly. So many who should know better get it wrong.

          5. T,
            As with many, you put more emphasis on the spelling of a word
            than the evilness the word is trying to describe as in paedophilia.
            Gawd nose how you types would handle “go make fetchum bring”

      2. In some cases the pimps have been prosecuted. The pimps’ customers have not been.

  47. Is the heating up of the climate supposedly making
    johnson blossom and his true colours unfurl ?
    My feelings are that the people believers are still being led by the nose regarding the johnson / tory true intentions, there is a great deal of “hope” in play and an awful lot of straw clutching going on.
    Maybe peoples facing facts has been made illegal, unbeknown to me, has it ?

  48. Lobby journalists in walkout over ‘selective’ Government briefings barring some titles

    Well No 10 is not that large. May be they draw names out of a hate of have a rota

    Political journalists have staged a walkout after Downing Street attempted to brief a select group of journalists this afternoon and excluded others.
    News agency PA, the Mirror and i newspapers, and Huffpost UK, Politics Home and Independent websites were all barred entry, according to reports

    1. My god and, I’m not religious, if that is their mindset the whole bloody lot should be shipped back to shiitistan.

      1. Yes, people who believe in child rape as a casual thing cannot be allowed to stay. There can be no peace while this cult is allowed to remain. Even the “nice ones” (who are the ones who do not take the teachings of islam seriously) will have children who are vulnerable to start actually believing this satanic creed. We have heard so many times “He was such a nice, lovely boy, always helpful. Then he changed.”

        This change was when he started to take islam seriously, and it turned him into a murderer. It can happen to anyone brought up in the cult at any time, no matter how pleasant and integrated their British muslim parents are. If someone had the misfortune of being born into this cult, but consider it to be utter rubbish and want to stay here, then they can reject islam and never mention a word of it again.

        Before anyone says “They will just say they have converted you fool!” Try using your brain. There are some very, VERY obvious things that they can do to prove whether they are lying or not. No believer in islam is capable of doing them, no matter how hard he is trying to conceal himself.

        In the end, those who really follow islam cannot and will not live in peace with other religions around them. Especially not Christians or Jews, although they murder Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs in their own countries as well. Even though it is “only” 25% of the followers of islam who believe in this genocide of unbelievers, that is more than enough for them to have spread across North Africa taking all of those countries, and it will be enough for them to take Europe and the United Kingdom as well. But only if their spread is not halted.

        The sooner that we start removing those who choose to follow this cult, the less damage there will be to us all. But there will be damage even now. There are already too many here, and they will not leave just because you ask them to. It will be far worse in 5 years time if another 1.5 million men of fighting age are allowed to enter the country.

          1. There are a list of politicians who are following this plan. Sadly it was not Blair’s idea. He follows orders, just like the others. Winston would have had them all in the tower without their feet touching the ground. All is not lost though, as people are waking up across Europe. There is still time for things to change.

    2. The story I recall hearing is that even during the most dire period of “The Troubles”, a woman could walk on the streets of Belfast at 4am without fear of harm or rape.

      This man reveals how far UK society has fallen.

      1. I bet little boys couldn’t do that. Especially if a Priest lived nearby!

        PRIEST: Pædophile Resident In Every Small Town.

        1. Paedophiles and sexual abusers are found in all the professions where vulnerable people are involved. It is the presence of vulnerable people that attracts perverts into the police, teaching, nursing, being doctors, social workers and people in care homes as well as the priesthood.

          1. You’ll always get a few nonces in all professions, but it seems that with the priesthood (and nunhood) in Ireland it bordered on the compulsory.

        2. The vast majority of sexual abuse carried out by priests was on adolescent boys. But I doubt you would accuse all homosexual men of being paedophiles.

          1. I wouldn’t dare. I count some homosexuals and lesbians among my best friends. None of them “advertise” that fact. If you met them you would never know.

            [I hasten to add that I am not that way inclined myself!]

    3. 50 years ago my mild mannered father referred to them as Paki Bastards and it made me cringe. Seems Pop was right.

  52. More than 40 suspected migrants intercepted in Channel

    Why are they not doing anything about this. They are all but certain to have come across in a large boat and then put into dinghy

    They arrived off the Kent coast on several boats and a large-scale search and rescue operation was launched by British and French patrol boats.
    HM Coastguard said it was responding to “a number of incidents” off the coast, along with Kent Police, Border Force and other agencies.

    “HM Coastguard is only concerned with preservation of life, rescuing those in trouble and bringing them safely back to shore, where they will be handed over to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities.”

    How about taking them back to France

    1. Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said: “It is essential that we put a stop to this appalling trafficking trade and protect vulnerable people from making these dangerous crossings.
      “A fresh approach is needed, so wherever boats are picked up in the English Channel they are returned safely and securely to France.
      “We already have territorial agreements for border controls and these should be extended. It’s in France’s interest too – because they don’t want Calais to become a migrant magnet again.
      “Today’s crossings demonstrate why talks on this should progress immediately.”

      1. Key phrase, “protect vulnerable people”.
        As long as those running the country accept this approach the problem can only get worse. They are invaders, criminals, cheats and free-loaders.

    2. Dammit, they don’t just give them food and lodgings, they provide them with a partner. No wonder the birth rate is going sky high.

      1. Simo “Simuna” Häyhä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsimo ˈhæy̯hæ]; 17 December 1905 – 1 April 2002), was a Finnish sniper. He is believed to have killed around 500 men during the 1939–40 Winter War (including 259 sniper kills and the rest were submachine[2]), one of the highest number of kills in any major war. He used a Finnish-produced M/28-30 rifle, a variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle, and a Suomi KP/-31 sub machine gun.[3][4][5] , the highest number of kills in any major war. His unit’s captain Antti Rantama credited him with 259 confirmed kills by sniper rifle and an equal number of kills by sub machine gun during the Winter War.[2] Häyhä never talked about it publicly but estimated in his diary that he killed around 500.[6]

        Wikipedia

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0ab29b6b0c1fedeaaf52b012d9a7c9811ec4e8b4ccd03d6e6f80864595208b71.png

        1. It does show the distinct advantage that you have when fighting on your home soil, where you know the terrain and you believe in your cause.

          1. He also went to extreme lengths like eating snow so his breath would not steam on exiting his mouth and give his position away.

        1. A myth. The study it was based on was flawed.

          They measured the heat loss from someone who was bare-headed but otherwise clothed. Unsurprisingly, since the clothing provided insulation, there was a dispropotionate loss recorded from the uninsulated bit.

          If his body had been as bare as his heard, the vast majority of the heat loss by a large margin would have been below the head.

  54. Rebecca Long-Bailey in last place in Labour leadership race, Evening Standard poll reveals

    Thats a poll though of ordinary voters. It will not be representative of those that will be voting for Labours new leader

  55. Huawei promises ‘Made in Europe’ 5G

    Chinese telecom giant Huawei said on Tuesday it would set up manufacturing hubs in Europe, as it tries to fight off US pressure on EU nations to stop it from operating.
    “Huawei is more committed to Europe than ever before,” said the company’s top executive for Europe Abraham Liu during a Chinese New Year reception in Brussels.
    “That’s why we have decided we want to set up manufacturing bases in Europe — so that we can truly have 5G for Europe made in Europe.”
    The announcement comes just days after the EU recommended that member states could ban telecoms operators deemed a security risk from critical parts of 5G infrastructure.
    But the EU plan, which closely mirrored rules set out by Britain allowing a limited role for Huawei, stopped short of barring the company from the next-generation communications network designed for near-instantaneous data transfers.
    Those guidelines were the fruit of months of agonising within the EU, which has struggled to find a middle way to balance Huawei’s huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns pressed by Washington.

  56. Police launch first ever national crackdown on fraud as gangs target vulnerable old women. 5 February 2020.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3b7819ff9b5ffe14d3460d29ecc5397fa87e4ba58a2b40c61a2e2b64241f9a83.png

    A woman in her 80s was conned into handing almost £1m to a “courier fraudster” as police warn of a surge in the crime targeting vulnerable people.

    Thousands of older people are losing hundreds of thousands of pounds to conmen turning up on their doorstep, The Telegraph can reveal, prompting the police to launch the first nationally coordinated crackdown on fraud.

    The police have absolutely no interest in burglary, drug gangs or stabbings except where they appear in the MSM so what’s this all about? Well it looks like a bullshitting operation to me. For a start it’s spread across the MSM for maximum coverage. The video above looks more like a raid on an al Qaeda hideout than the pursuit of a non-violent crime where detailed technical evidence would be required. It’s also very theatrical in a pantomime fashion.

    As to the supposed crimes themselves the Independent reports:

    The victims, mostly vulnerable women aged over 80, have been tricked into handing over thousands of pounds in cash to fraudsters who have turned up on their doorstep posing as a courier or police officer.

    One couple from Dorset were left with just £187 after they were duped out of nearly £1m, including their pensions and life savings, in October.

    Have you ever tried to withdraw £1M out of the bank? I once tried to close an account and believe me it’s not easy. And how did she carry it? In a spare wheelchair?

    I don’t doubt that these crimes are possible but a phone call and that’s it? Nope. This is a Police Public Relations exercise devoid of truth.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/police-launch-first-ever-national-crackdown-fraud-gangs-target/

      1. He claimed their bank account and funds were at risk and went about a complicated fraud in which the victims were convinced to transfer their savings to a “safe place.”

        The couple became so concerned about their savings and pension that they transferred almost all of their money into an account set up by the bogus detective.

        The operative word here Belle is “complicated”. It wasn’t done on a phone call and one suspects there were personal meetings. What I think has happened here is that the Police have conflated half a dozen different crimes and made them look like some sort of fraud spree conducted by morons who can be caught by battering down their front doors. It’s fake!

    2. This did puzzle me.
      In my experience of dealing with elderly chum, I and her nephew and niece are forever rescuing her from the results of misunderstood phone calls, but that tends to be orders for extra cardigans or garden ornaments.
      I suspect the stories are rather more complicated than we are told. Then I think back to narrow squeaks over ‘home improvements’ and ‘massage chairs’ costing thousands of pounds.
      The £1 million probably involved property transfers; who had power of attorney? How long had this scam taken to set up? Were there any close family or friends to ring alarm bells before matters reached that stage? Look at the crooked ‘human rights’ lawyers; I’m sure they have counterparts in more mundane matters.
      Crooks with that level of greed and lack of empathy are far more imaginative and ruthless than any friends or family.

      1. If these crimes are initiated by a phone call to a landline then for the cost of a few pounds and someone with a little time to spare to set the system up, the problem would disappear. All it needs is the provision of one of the phones that only allow calls through that are programmed into the system. All other calls receive a recorded message and the option of leaving a message. I fitted a system over a year ago and nuisance scam calls have been eliminated.

        1. Talktalk gets a bad press, because it’s a cheap service and thus gets lots of dim clients. But it uses the same cables and exchange gear as the rest and I’m very happy with my 80Mbps broadband, just stay away from their phone support.

          But the service also includes ‘Talksafe’ for free. Any new number calling is asked who they are and the message relayed to the subscriber who has the option to accept or reject. If accepted then the number is added to the user’s database and thereafter the caller is accepted automatically. Using their web pages, numbers can be added or removed at will.

        2. We have discussed this one with regards to elderly chum.
          However, she has complex medical needs, and we are afraid that she will miss appointments because the calls from new departments will not be recognised and be blocked.
          The next few weeks should solve that problem, but, meanwhile there are three of us keeping on very high alert.

          1. Very true, Anne. We don’t answer unrecognised callers, that’s what voicemail is for. No message left? Not important then. More to the point, any NHS appointment reminder calls to us are from ‘unrecognised number’ or ‘number withheld’ and so are never answered. There is a system that passes on the (alleged) ID of the caller, allowing the person called to accept or reject, but fortunately we are not sufficiently gaga yet to need it.

          2. That’s the real bummer. Her nephew clears her voicemail every so often as the box is full and genuine callers can’t get through.
            Then she will answer a scam or sales message … and the problems mount.

          3. That is a shortcoming of the system and the facility whereby the caller announces themselves wouldn’t work either in your case. These scammers really are the scum of the Earth. Your friend is lucky to have you and others on her side. Well done.

        3. Talktalk gets a bad press, because it’s a cheap service and thus gets lots of dim clients. But it uses the same cables and exchange gear as the rest and I’m very happy with my 80Mbps broadband, just stay away from their phone support.

          But the service also includes ‘Talksafe’ for free. Any new number calling is asked who they are and the message relayed to the subscriber who has the option to accept or reject. If accepted then the number is added to the user’s database and thereafter the caller is accepted automatically. Using their web pages, numbers can be added or removed at will.

          1. I used to get 4/5 scam calls per day. Moved to SKY for phone & BB – Talk Shield is free and since switching on I have not had a scam call in 2 years.

          2. We have used TalkTalk since it’s inception and are happy with their service. Yes they have blips now and again but then which ISP doesn’t. I make phone calls and connect to the internet as well as through the Smart TV. When I look at these special offers from the likes of Sky, Virgin and BT I think there must be a lot of people with money to burn.

          3. Ah. That would explain the message I’ve sometimes had when calling people.
            Thinking ahead, is it a service worth considering?

          4. I wouldn’t be without it. Cold callers vanish, even before they’ve got to the ‘leave your name’ bit.

    3. Morning AS,
      Maybe ticket sales to the policeman’s ball are slow, you could find some banks with white windows having moved on for a million quid.

    4. The word “disruption” has started to appear in police statements and reports. As in “we are now working to cause “disruption” in their criminal activities”.
      This has been referred to in the above case of multiple organised frauds. It was also the expression used in respect of the organised muslim gang rapes of children in Glasgow that were clearly kept secret. (Operation Cerrar.)
      The police are now causing “disruption” instead of arresting, charging and prosecuting. We will no doubt see an increased use of this term, in relation to county lines drug-dealing and terrorist plots.

  57. We need a new Law

    WE needs new law that makes it a criminal offence to enter the UK illegally. Anyone that does so will be deported to their country of origin and will be barred from the UK for a minimum of 5 years

    Those that destroy their papers and refuse to state the country they came from will be sent to an overseas camp and will be barred from the UK for a minimum of 10 years. They will be free to leave this camp sat any time

    1. We don’t need a new law! We have plenty of Laws! What we lack are the people to implement them!

      2. We do not lack people to implement the laws that already exist, we lack people with the WILL to implement those laws.

      3. I would say we have too many laws, many of them liable to bring the law into contempt (“hate” crimes, anyone?).

    2. We need a new law to make the act of people doing something illegal, illegal?

      I’ve heard of double jeopardy, but that’s a doozy.

    3. Illegal entry is already a criminal offence, sadly not one that is enforced.
      However, those lacking papers should be medically examined, including DNA, to determine likely region of origin and to confirm that their age is as stated.

    1. Why are we reminded about this tragedy, year after year, yet most other tragedies rarely get a mention?

      1. I remember it because it was one of brothers’ birthday and the date the Queen’s accession.

    2. The policeman who conveyed the message from Bobby Charlton to his mother that he was safe died only a few days ago.

      PC Norman Hadland

      His funeral was held yesterday in the church next door to his old police station.

        1. That’s the one Bob. They built them a new one on the town bypass north of the Grand Corner, next to where the old football ground used to be.

          The funeral was at the methodist chapel just of the left of the photo.

          1. My Uncle Bob used to be head barman at The Grand before moving to Scarborough.
            Do you remember when the car showroom, formerly The Harmonic Hall, over the road from the old Police station used to be used a dance hall?
            I never went to it as such, but my sister & brother did.

          4. I knew of Linda, but we weren’t in the same crowd, although some of our crowd mixed with her and others. There was a lot of overlap. Curly black hair if I remember correctly?

          5. You’ll probably be closer to her brother David’s age.
            Linda is a year younger than me.

          8. There was a wide range of ages in our crowd, most were about the same age as me, but up to three years older, but there were a good few younger ones too. One of my best friends was 1954.

          9. I left Northumberland Avenue on the 2nd of January 1964 and moved to Middleton Hall, near Wooler where Mam had got a job as cook-housekeeper for the Kirkups.

          11. The Harmonic was The Three Ones in my day, a ‘night club’. I had the later part of my stag night with my mates there. It went on for some time, with some notoriety, until someone noticed that although it had been a nightclub for years nobody had actually got around to the formality of sorting out a licence for it (or so I was told). Good for a late night drink once the pubs had chucked everyone out.

            I had more than a few pints in The Grand in the early 70s before they discovered it was full of dry rot and they flattened it in summer 1973. The place is still sadly missed by those old enough to remember it.

  60. This muslim father facing incarceration could have serious consequences when it comes to the islamic ideology followers taking over the host party, we will have to wait and see, should not be to long.

      1. There’s so much irony in diesel cars that there is bigger carbon footprint making them than using them.🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗

  63. Have the French already started to get their own back on Brexit?

    A Nigerian boy who is at a leading public school in England booked to come on a residential “A” level French Course in Brittany with us in ten days time.

    The booking was made at the beginning of September and his parents immediately took the necessary steps to make sure he had the correct visa for France and anticipated no trouble as he has always been granted the correct papers to visit countries in the Schengen area and went to Spain with his family last summer.

    Yesterday, he heard from the French embassy that his application for a visa has been turned down. No explanation was given.

    This is very disappointing for the boy as he was very keen to come on the course. It is also a bloody nuisance for us as we are now having to scurry about trying to find a replacement for his place on the course at the last moment and we may not be able to do so.

    It is always ordinary people who have to pay the price for politicians’ and civil servants’ obstructive buffoonery.

    1. The Official pettiness of the French should never be underestimated! Morning Richard.

      1. It’s crass stupidity and a lack of common sense. For example before I can cruise my narrowboat in France I need to undertake an approved course to prove I can control the boat. However, if you or me decide to hire a large river cruiser for a week, or a month or more to cruise the french Waterways – after a 40 minute intro by the Boat Hire Company – off you jolly well go. Boof!

          2. Did you call the boat Dinah?

            Some girls they use vaseline
            and some girls they use lard
            But Dinah uses axle grease
            because her front’s so hard.

      2. No need. It will destroy any ‘Tupperware’ boat just by kissing it gently. That’s why River Cruiser owners always look so anxious when sharing a lock with a narrowboat….

      2. Di you remember the old advertisement:

        Max Factor knacker lacquer
        Adds lustre to your cluster.

      1. The boy is 16,homosexual sex at 16 is totally legal in Scotland,whilst I find this highly distasteful it is no matter for the police

        2. 25 is in my view to low as they are still not fully mentally developed at 16. At very list the law should be changed to stop predators so it could be say legally as long as the person they had sex with is no more than 4 years older

        3. Wasn’t one Alan Turing convicted of “gross indecency” with a minor? Whatever happened to those laws?

          5. A minor is a minor is a minor. Regarding historical cases, were men convicted of sex with a minor female given a Royal Pardon as well? Or only men who had sex with minor males? And isn’t that discriminatory with regards to sexual orientation?

        5. The boy was likely 15 when the first of the 273 messages was sent. At the very least the circumstances should be investigated.

          Edit: The offence might be grooming a minor.

      2. I’m thinking that Police Scotland will be too busy investigating ‘racist hate-crime’ – in all its manifestations – under the direction of Humza Yousaf, SNP Cabinet Minister for Justice.

        1. No chance they will be going after the fictitious right wing extremists ( I am sure there will be the odd one bout but they are very rare unlike left wing ones)

    2. Good evening

      What is it that makes Scottish men so randy? Is it the whisky, the haggis or the porridge? Before Derek Mackay came along Alex Salmond was waving his saltire about in a rather over-provocative manner.

    1. ZeroHedge covered this story on the 2nd February when it also reported:
      “Ten days ago, shortly after China first started reporting the cases and deaths associated with the coronavirus epidemic, a UK researcher predicted that over 250,000 Chinese would be infected with the virus by February 4” I saw Reed’s original predictions and the higher TenCent figures are slap bang in the middle of his estimates ranges. So if true it is potentially very worrying and helps explain the sheer number of extra hospital beds and isolation facilities being created in china (and to a limited extent in the UK)

    2. Hi poppiesmum,

      Have read this piece, but the risk of dying after having been infected by 2019-nCoV is still reckoned to be 2%.

      Kirk Douglas when he reached 100 must have known that his risk of dying within the next three years would have been pretty close to 100% so a 2% increase in the risk would have made hardly any difference.

      Have a nice day.☺️

  69. One million EU citizens in London apply to stay in UK permanently

    So much for then saying it would make the UK and unpleasant place and they would not want to stay. What is does give an indication of is the true impact of this out of control mass migration, How many are still to apply who knows and there will be illegals on top. It tends to indicate in a decade of so :London population has increased by almost 15% and that’s without non EU migrants who may be a similar number so perhaps 2M in total

    The article gives a breakdown by a number of the EU countries. Kn ow any sane person thinks we can cope with mass migration on similar levels fails me. Of course we constantly need more doctors and nurses. It is to cope with the mass of people coming here

    WE need sensible controlled migration. Sadly I dont see that happening

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/one-million-eu-citizens-in-capital-apply-to-stay-in-uk-permanently-a4355281.html

  70. Why do some people fear change to e-scooter laws?

    THe last thing we need is more lunatics on the pavements. There are enough hazards such as parked cars on pavements, cycles and now they want to unleash Scooter on us. No wonder High Streets are becoming deserted. At least S hoping centres have security staff and these pests and chuggers are kept out

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51375903

    1. I’ve seen a few of these e-scooters on the roads of Cambridge. They go at quite a lick & should certainly be banned from pavements.

      1. I witnessed a girl and what I presumed to be her father whizzing around the High Street in Haverhill on powered mono cycles. These had no handlebars but appeared to work on the same self balancing mechanism as those two-wheeled thingies.

        Edit: Apparently these self balancing wheels are Segway Unicycles.

      1. The laws seems very strange. These Scooters are classed as motor vehicles yet electric bikes are not. Try and work that one out

      1. They will serve their full sentences and then be free to perform acts of terrorism just as before, only later of course.
        Eventually we will just lock them up for good and throw the key away.

        1. T,
          So, there must be a body count first, no change, just delayed
          deaths thereby not infringing on the submitting / pc / appeasement rulings.

  74. Budget announced for March 11th but will Javid deliver on stamp duty?

    This is really a budget for England . It gets very confusing with the strange partial devolution we have. Most will only apply to England but some will apply to the UK and even the experts get confused over it

      1. Could we steal that and Geoff could pin it to the top of each daily page.
        Edit; With a few relevant changes of course.

        1. You mean modify it to support the new laws that will prevent the early release of terrorists?

  75. Ebbw Vale McDonald’s bans unaccompanied youths past 5pm

    UNACCOMPANIED youths will not be allowed to enter a branch of McDonald’s in Ebbw Vale in the evenings after an “increase” in anti-social behaviour.
    A sign has been put up inside the restaurant saying that any youths wanting to buy food from 5pm will have to be accompanied by an adult and leave immediately after collecting.
    The sign adds that the chain is working with Gwent Police to “address this continuing issue”.

    1. So, all those ‘teenage’ refugees who feel peckish will suddenly gain 20 years?

        1. True, Alf, but “long ago” it was May in charge and not Boris. Then, in the more recent past, there was a General Election to be won. And now, there are cost implications of cancelling contracts to be considered. It’s a bit like the Irishman saying (when asked for directions) “If I were you I wouldn’t have started from here”.

          1. There are always implications in cancelling contracts. Conversely there are implications in keeping contracts going which are a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. IMO the latter is not justified, given the costs and negligible benefits of HS2, and probably Huawei. (There are others.)

            Apart from that, I’m surprised that Boris doesn’t see the support he would get from cutting our losses, as opposed to the contempt he is getting from keeping on with two deeply unpopular (and IMO unjustifiable) projects. I thought he was being better advised than that. Or at least bright enough himself to see it.

          3. Hertslass – It is always possible, although it is a dark possibility, that Boris is well advised and quite bright enough to know the effects of the decisions that he is making. It is that with this majority that he has in Parliament, he just does not care.

            There is a Holy Grail concept that many people are clinging to, almost in desperation to ward off the alternative, which is: “Well if he does that he will not get re-elected!” What if getting re-elected does not matter to him and those closet around him, compared to the rewards that they will receive for pursuing another agenda?

            Then comes the idea: “But he wants his name to go down in history as a great British Prime Minister!” What if he knows that most of European countries histories will be erased and the books burnt in a few years? That is certainly the goal of many in the EU. To remove the history of a nation robs the people of cultural identity and focus. The people become citizens and not patriots. It is no accident that totalitarians like to rewrite history.

            This is just an alternate view of why these decisions are being made and some subjects are being avoided. Not long now until we know which path our leaders will take us down in the next 5 years.

          4. Of course I agree that is one scenario. The last paragraph of my previous post begs the question; and your view is quite a likely one, given our politicians over the last 50 or so years.

            I think that unfortunately Boris is already giving us an insight into which path he is going down: do just enough to make the people grateful for getting us out of the EU, and as for the rest – God help us…We’ll need him. I hope I am wrong.

            His current bedfellow is a Green [ed. sympathiser] and no doubt pro-EU. All in all Boris may well be taking the line of least resistance on other matters…

      2. I haven’t see anything official, but certainly the ‘mood music’ seems to be that it will be. I hope to be proved wrong.

        1. You say that you hope to be proved wrong, JK, yet your initial post suggested that HS2 would indeed be allowed to continue. (And, by the way, we all know that HS2 is no longer value for money yet cancelling it now might possibly cost more – in cash terms and in “aggro” from opposition parties. Just like Huawei, in fact.)

          1. I sincerely hope HS2 is cancelled. Surely some of the £9bn spent on it could be re-couped by selling the land which has been bought? It will cause huge environmental damage, bring no tangible benefit to ordinary people and it was originally ordered by the EU. Scrap it!

            Over a year ago I was working for an Austrian firm which was working on HS2 (I felt like a right hypocrite and quit as soon as I could find another job). Most of the Austrians were flying home every weekend (think of the carbon!) and everyone, Brits included was on massive salaries. And yet, most people were bored and had nothing to do, there is only so much planning and designing you can do before you need to actually get on and build something. What on earth all those well-paid people have been doing for the last year I cannot imagine, but what an enormous waste of taxpayer’s money.

          2. I know someone who was in the top management team but left – I daren’t tell you what his salary was

          3. I can guess. It’s just a huge gravy train for the contractors. I wasn’t happy that an Austrian firm was making money off a British taxpayer-funded project. How many British contractors work on Austrian or German projects I wonder?

    1. I copy these, Rik. I enlarge them and stick them on my workshop wall to wind-up any visiting Pinko.

      1. Which just goes to show your tolerant nature, Grizz.

        Me? I wouldn’t allow a ‘Pinko’ to cross my threshold

        1. Four years ago I noticed a car with a British registration pull into the next petrol pump to me. I introduced myself to the driver who had recently moved, with his wife, to live in Sweden. The couple were nearly 70 and had sold up in England because they wanted to live in a ‘socialist country’ so they bought a house here despite not really knowing anything about the place and not being able to speak the lingo. We invited them around for a meal and politics didn’t raise it’s head.

          We get on fine. We later found out that the woman is a rabid Pinko and wants socialism to rule the world. Her husband is also Left-inclined but never talks politics (we have a shared interest in woodworking). On the first occasion she brought up her political leanings I told her, very firmly, that I enjoyed their company as long as we kept off the subject of politics, which is taboo. They both realised that I meant it, so we retain a “friendship” where politics is not mentioned. They are also arch remainers but kept well off the subject when I told them that I am an ‘arch’ leaver!

          They go back to stay with their daughter and grandson in Scotland every October remaining there until March! I get the impression that Sweden is not what they expected and is nowhere near as ‘socialist’ as they hoped. I can cope with their company in small doses (especially the wife) but if she ever does sound off about socialism, I am ready for her and she will get the biggest political lesson of her life.

  80. Coronavirus: Chinese doctor who warned about outbreak dies from infection – latest news. 6 february 2020.

    The Chinese doctor who tried to warn other medics about the coronavirus has died after contracting the infection in Wuhan.

    According to local media, Dr Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist, died from the virus on Thursday.

    That’s really reassuring!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/feb/06/coronavirus-live-updates-in-china-wuhan-coronaviruses-outbreak-death-toll-latest-update-news

        2. ‘They’ are being cagey about the ethnicity of the 3rd UK victim – only that he caught the virus in Asia (not China).

        3. I have suggested that it is. I took the DNA marker for the epicanthic fold as being the entry /attack route for the virus, as an example of the possibilities.. ( I know little about molecular biology etc.)

        4. If the heathen Chinee have developed a bio-weapon targetting their own ethnicity, it can mean only one thing.

          Aware that the massive increase in the human population is placing an unsustainable burden on our world, the Chinese race has selflessly decided to commit some kind of ‘hare krishna’ – or whatever you call the ancient custom of ritual suicide – thus lightening the load by removing almost 1.5 billion mouths to be fed.

          Their unselfish scheme will have the additional advantage of freeing-up almost 3,700,000 square miles of vacant land.
          :¬)

          1. Ethnic targeted virus you say………………….
            First you would test where you had unlimited test subjects to refine your processes…………

          3. It won’t remove 1.5 billion, but could thin the population out considerably.

            This might tie in with the African swine flu that hit their pig herds very hard, plus crop losses due to bad weather. Maybe they’re trying to avoid mass starvation instead.
            This could put Stalin into the shade…

          4. They realised their one-child policy had failed so now they are trying a different way of reducing the population. Kill off the old and frail.

          5. Well, I suggested that the Chinese were using the corona virus targeted at ethnic Chinese as a trial run. To target a white or Slavic ethnicity would be tantamount to a declaration of war and would invite savage retribution. So to check out how efficient the tailored virus is, they used themselves. This also allows them to test and develop their anti-biological warfare defences.

            As for us, Prof Chris Whitty (England’s chief medical officer) said “doctors will now test for suspected coronavirus in patients who have recently travelled from a range of Asian countries, which will be specified later“. He does not say how they will be tracked down, as Chinese are now arriving here from lots of other places and by various indirect routes from China.
            “The NHS was “well prepared” to manage cases“, Prof Whitty added.
            As there are around half a million ethnic Chinese in the UK is the Chief Medical Officer for England saying that the NHS can cope with that number?
            These preparations, such as they are, are clearly predicated on there being hardly any cases in the UK, that is, are based not on established crisis management practices, but on pious hope.

            https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51398039

      3. Not only, but also:

        https://www.projectveritas.com/2019/08/14/google-machine-learning-fairness-whistleblower-goes-public-says-burden-lifted-off-of-my-soul/

        Google “Machine Learning Fairness” Whistleblower Goes Public, says: “burden lifted off of my soul. I felt that our entire election system was going to be compromised forever, by this company that told the American public that it was not going to do any evil”

        A Google insider who anonymously leaked internal documents to Project Veritas made the decision to go public in an on-the-record video interview. The insider, Zachary Vorhies, decided to go public after receiving a letter from Google, and after he says Google allegedly called the police to perform a “wellness check” on him.

        Along with the interview, Vorhies asked Project Veritas to publish more of the internal Google documents he had previously leaked. Said Vorhies:

        “I gave the documents to Project Veritas, I had been collecting the documents for over a year. And the reason why I collected these documents was because I saw something dark and nefarious going on with the company and I realized that there were going to not only tamper with the elections, but use that tampering with the elections to essentially overthrow the United States.”

  81. QT tonight…

    Panellist Robert Buckland
    Panellist Stella Creasy
    Panellist Ed Davey
    Panellist Rachel Shabi
    Panellist Adam Pearson

      2. Ed Davey appears on QT with monotonous regularity. Apparently he is aiming to become the next leader of The Tits and Teeth Party.

        As with his Liberal Democrat predecessor, the perjurer Huhne, he has all the necessary green credentials and has shares in wind turbines.

      1. I’ve missed every QT since it started with Robin Day.

        I have a happy and contented life without having politics rammed down my throat every hour of every day, thank you.

        It’s bad enough being force fed it on this forum! :•)

    4. We know that they are panellists, peddy!

      Robert Buckland MP, secretary of state for justice, Conservative;
      Stella Creasy MP, Labour;
      Ed Davey MP, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats and former energy secretary in the coalition government;
      Rachel Shabi, journalist and author of a book on the Middle East; and
      Adam Pearson, actor, campaigner and TV presenter.

      1. Atg,
        The result of an intended
        campaign, UK paper tigers uni out pour, tradesmen via brussels been that for years.

    2. I thought students came out of university with about 30K of debt, with 3 loans, one per year?

      If electricians earn 80K a year then Junior’s retraining, as I had him set to be a vet.

  85. New John Lewis chair warns staff of store closures and job losses

    Sound as if this one is keen to finish off John Lewis particularly when she waffles on about needing more diversity in the stores

    The new chair of the John Lewis Partnership has warned of potential store closures and job losses as part of a plan to shore up its finances.

    Sharon White told this week’s private meeting of the employee-owned group’s staff council that it faced making “difficult decisions about stores and about jobs” during what was its “most challenging period” since its inception in the 1920s.
    Despite the hard work of staff, trading results were disappointing and not generating enough profit to invest in the business, she told the meeting.
    Decisions at the group, which includes department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, would not be taken lightly, White said, and the business would set itself apart from conventional rivals by showing “humanity” to staff affected.
    White, who previously ran the media regulator Ofcom and is the first woman to chair the mutual founded by John Spedan Lewis, also told managers they needed to “improve the diversity of the partners we are hiring”.

    1. Lifelong snivel serpent,no commercial experience whatsoever
      What could possibly go wrong………………….

      1. Certainly zero retail experience and you really need to understand that market to survive and clearly she does not. It seems the John Lewis decline is likely to accelerate

  86. Germany AfD: Thuringia PM quits amid fury over far right

    I would not say the AfD is far right it is certainly to the right but is not far right. It seems the main reason or the resignation is to force another election

    A German state premier elected with the help of the far-right AfD says he is resigning to pave the way for fresh elections.
    The election of liberal leader Thomas Kemmerich in the eastern state of Thuringia prompted national outrage.
    “Resignation is unavoidable,” he said. For years Germany’s main parties have shunned Alternative for Germany (AfD).
    Chancellor Angela Merkel – whose own party also backed Mr Kemmerich – called Wednesday’s election “unforgivable”.
    The AfD has grown in popularity in recent years but has been condemned for its extreme views on immigration, freedom of speech and the press.
    Wednesday’s vote was described as a political earthquake as it was the first time the AfD helped form a government in Germany, breaking a consensus among the main parties to never work with extremist parties.

  88. Everything you need to know about the’ Strongbow Tax as it comes in next month

    n March 2, we will be seeing a big change to the way alcohol is sold in Wales with the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP).
    It has been dubbed the Strongbow Tax as it will have the biggest impact on the price of strong but cheap beer and cider, some of which will double in price.

    That price is based on how much alcohol is in each drink. The minimum price that’s being set in Wales is 50p per unit of alcohol.
    A unit of alcohol is 10ml (two teaspoons) of pure alcohol.

    Whether a drink is beer, cider, wine, spirits, or any other kind of alcoholic drink, its minimum price will depend on how much alcohol is in it.
    So, for example:
    A standard strength pint of beer or cider contains around 2.5 units of alcohol, so it can’t be sold for less than £1.25 (2.5 x 50p)
    A bottle of wine has about 10 units of alcohol in it, so the minimum price for it will be £5 (10 x 50p)
    A bottle of whisky or vodka contains around 26 units, and so could not be sold for less than £13 (26 x 50p).

    oday, you can buy a 20 pack of Strongbow in 440ml cans for £11 in Tesco or £14 in Asda.
    As Strongbow is 5% alcohol, a 20-pack contains a whopping 44 units – and would have to to cost a minimum of £22 at a minimum price per unit of 50p.
    Supermarket own brand ciders would also be hard hit. Tesco sells a 5% Apple Cider in four packs of 440ml cans for £2.20. That would have to be at least £4.40.

      1. I suspect Bridge cruise to England will become quite common. Most of the Welsh Population is in the M4 corridor and places like Newport, Chepstow and Cardiff are not far from England

    2. BJ,
      🎵
      At the foot of the hill was a neat little still where the smoke curled up to the sky,
      Buy spec-saver shares.

      1. “Tis an unweeded garden that grows a seed. things rank and gross in nature possess it merely.

        [Hamlet].

    2. When I was about 9 or 10 I managed to get into our local cinema Saturday matinee on two consecutive weekends to see films that should have been certified well above my age.

      Their titles and subjects remain with me to this day. The first was ‘The Beast From Hollow Mountain’ and was about some cowboys fighting a tyrannosaurus that had been awakend from its slumbers.

      The second was ‘The Monster From Green Hell’ and was about a giant (as in bloody huge) wasp that they’d found in the jungle and it wasn’t at all happy.

      My advice on Green Hell is to stay well away from it at all times.

      https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21dhr3

  91. Has anyone heard about the Bursar of St John’s Oxford’s response a day or two ago to the students demanding the college divest itself of its oil shares? He said it was complicated and would take time but he was quite happy to turn off the oil-fired central heating straight away, in the meantime.

    Trinity College, Cambridge is flying the LGBT rainbow flag as a symbol of solidarity for a month, outside Great Gate. The first of many manifestations of the idiocy of choosing that ex-Health Czar woman as Master. I hope all the silly bien-pensant dons are having second thoughts

    1. It seems the mostly closed Mental Health Asylums have been replaced by present day universities

    2. Let’s hope the hot water is off too and to be completely green all electricity should be cut off in student accommodations.
      Cold food in Hall too.

  92. Greta tolds to cut down on her travel and CO2 emissions and told she should do the Green thing and use Video Conferencing

  93. UK weather forecast: Storm Ciara charts show BRUTAL jet stream unleashing HELL in 36 HOURS

    If they keep claiming it they must get it right eventually but their track record is not good. If they do get it right there will be lots of work for wind Turbines engineers fixing all the broken ones

    Widespread gales have been forecast over the weekend, with gusts predicted to reach 80mph or even higher. Severe yellow warnings for wind are in place on both Saturday and Sunday as travel chaos on the roads and railways are expected. Net Weather forecaster Jo Farrow has warned there will severe gales on Saturday.

  94. EU on alert as report warns of bankruptcies across bloc – Ireland at risk

    Surely this cannot be right. They kept telling us the EU would boom and the UK would go into recession. The experts cannot be wrong yet again ?

    THE EU is on alert after an economic report warned economies in the bloc will suffer because of Brexit, with bankruptcies anticipated in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

    The end of the EU transition period at the end of the year is set to have detrimental consequences for EU member states, according to a report by insurance company Atradius – which is based in Amsterdam. The company warned that EU economies will suffer because of Brexit and highlights those most at risk were export-orientated countries, such as Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The spokesman said Brexit is expected to cause most bankruptcies in the manufacturing and automotive industries, as these industries are the engines of exports.

    1. And still the EU insist on free access to UK fishing waters in return for a trade deal…

  95. Oh dear, Leo! Irish election humiliation looms for Varadkar – shock poll

    LEO VARADKAR faces an Irish election humiliation, as polls have forecasted disaster for his party ahead of Saturday’s vote.

    The Irish general election will be held on February 8 at the request of the Taoiseach, but his plans may well backfire. The poll showed Mr Varadkar’s party, Fine Gael,is trailing in the general election run. It revealed Irish republican party Sinn Fein, which is dedicated to the reunification of the island, is ahead with 25 percent of support from the electorate.

    Trailing behind in third place, Mr Varadkar’s party is expected to gain only 17 percent of the vote.The poll is promising for Ireland’s Green Party, who gained 2.7% of the vote in the last election

    1. The average Paddy, of whatever political viewpoint, realises that crapping all over the UK is not a good idea for Ireland as a whole.

    1. We must enjoy it while we can Sos
      Takimag is dangerously subversive,it will be lucky to last much longer

        1. It’s new to me too!

          There are a lot of ‘gems’ to be found among the articles in Taki magazine.
          :¬))

  97. Evening, all. Just a brief visit as I am tired with a K; too many late nights and early mornings, plus the stress of fitting things in when the unexpected occurs as well. The people didn’t arrive to sort out my drains yesterday, as they arranged; they arrived this morning when I had appointments. The light faded and my garden now looks more like the front line at Wipers with a deep trench running across it – although,on the plus side, both the loos are now working. Hoorah! I need to keep the dog on a lead when he goes out for a pee break and make sure he stays in the front garden to avoid tramping traces of effluent into the house. He did escape and make straight for the trench earlier and had to be cleaned and disinfected, a procedure neither of us enjoyed!

      1. Very true, but marginally less so than when the sewer pipe was actually broken; this is just residue 🙂 It should all be cleaned up (power washed and everything apart from my flower beds restored) tomorrow.

        1. Consider yourself fortunate.

          When it happened to my sister’s and her neighbours’ houses they had to dig up her kitchen and living room, because the pipes went under her home. The neighbours got off very lightly by comparison.

          1. Fortunately, the outflow is external and the pipes go across the garden to the main sewer. A lot of things in this house were badly designed, but that seems to have escaped the curse of bad planning.

          2. Are you sure they are your drains. Quite often common drains go across your property and if they are common drain they are the water companies responsibility

          3. What would you call the pipe that runs from the outfall of our lavatories into the chamber that connects with next door’s drains? Of course they are our drains (sewer, grey water and rainwater). We do know that the shared bit is the water company’s responsibility.

  98. Chancellor’s economic growth goal unrealistic, says think-tank

    It is ambitious and is probably to ambitious at present as we will not really know where we are going until the end of the year so trying to make a forecast o that basis is almost impossible. 1% to 1,5% looks to be more sensible until we know the direction we are going in

    Chancellor Sajid Javid’s goal of doubling the pace of economic growth has a one-in-five chance of success, an economic think-tank has warned.
    He is aiming for growth of about 2.8% a year and will use next month’s Budget to set out plans to achieve this.
    But the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said hitting this growth rate, not seen since 2006, would be difficult.
    Niesr forecasts growth of about 1.5% this year and the same in 2021.
    “The chancellor’s aim of raising growth towards the post-war average – nearly 3% – is quite unrealistic,” said Arno Hantzsche, principal economist at Niesr.
    To get there, growth in output per hour would need to average about 2.5% per year, Niesr said.
    Official data to be published on the UK economy is expected to continue to show the sluggish pattern that typified last year.

  99. Grenfell Tower inquiry backs protection for refurbishment firms giving evidence

    How an earth can he give that commitment. It is totally wrong in my view and surely if it goes to court they will have to provide that information commitment or not

    The chairman of the Grenfell Tower inquiry has backed a request from firms that refurbished the building that evidence they give should not be used against them in criminal prosecutions.
    Some firms had threatened to stay silent in the inquiry into how Grenfell was covered in flammable cladding.
    Sir Martin Moore-Bick said he had asked Attorney General Geoffrey Cox for the assurance “as a matter of urgency”.

    Representatives from organisations including cladding company Harley Facades, building contractor Rydon and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation had asked for a guarantee that anything they say in the hearings would not be used as part of any potential future prosecutions.
    The inquiry – which is in its second phase – was paused while Sir Martin considered the firms’ application, which was vigorously opposed by lawyers representing a group of the bereaved, survivors and residents.
    The Metropolitan Police is conducting its own investigation into possible crimes ranging from gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter to health and safety offences.

    1. Given the huge number of fraudulent claims already coming out of Grenfell can you blame them?

      They would be sued by every chancer who had even the tiniest connection to the tower block.

      If silence is an available option they will take it, otherwise why would they possibly wish to speak, unless with some degree of whistleblower protection.

  100. Today’s top comment BTL@DTletters

    John Birkett
    6 Feb 2020 8:40AM

    Cambridge University Students’ Union, having voted against proper recognition of Remembrance Sunday, has now voted that having military personnel at its Freshers’ Fair is “alarming” and could “detrimentally affect” their mental health (report 5 Feb).

    Maybe instead, the university authorities could require freshers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and watch “The Railway Man”, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and a typical ISIL video of a decapitation or a homosexual being thrown off a high building, to educate them in the reasons why our military are necessary, are honourable, are extraordinarily brave, and are the real “peace activists”.

    The students’ Welfare and Rights Officer could then concentrate on her studies or be reassigned to other duties as she is clearly an inappropriate influence on current students.

    1. How on earth is it that our universities have come to this? And it’s happened so quickly. All of a sudden it seems our university lecturers are just as infected with this weird lefty, liberal, wokery virus.

      And the government isn’t immune either what with Boris wanting to phase out diesel/petrol cars by 2035. Absolutely bl..dy ridiculous. He’s going the right way about losing support from erstwhile labour supporters and doubting conservatives.

      1. “All of a sudden it seems our university lecturers are just as infected with this weird lefty, liberal, wokery virus.”
        All of a sudden? No chance, they’re part of the whole foul agenda and have been for a mighty long time.

          1. We’ve reached that point, at which a sufficient number of Lefties, Libtards et al. have consolidated themselves in positions of power and influence and they no longer feel the need to disguise their agenda.

            Now, the mask has been dropped and the gloves come off.

      2. Thinking back to the early days of Essex University; now over fifty years ago.
        I think graduates finding a degree from Wivenhoe Park guaranteed unemployment changed attitudes.

        1. I went for an open day there in 1965…… fortunately I couldn’t take up my place as I fluffed my A levels.

    2. Cambridge University student have voted for a 1 day week as studying 5 days a week is far to stressful and is harmful to their mental health

    3. I’m a regular donor to my college. I stopped for one year a while back because the college supported one of the African woke-loons.

      This latest episode is making me rethink any donations to the college or university.

  102. Ban on New Petrol; & Diesel Cars

    Have they even thought this through? First there is no way we could even build enough in those times scales. Second the infrastructure doe not exist to charge them. It would need massive investment in the grid and local wiring and it would great a massive peak load

    Domestic premises do not have the supply to charge up cars. The normal supply is rate at a maximum of a 100A. The household ring main can deliver a maximum of 3Kw from a Socket so you would really need a separate high power circuit but even that can only slow charge a single car over several hours

    TfL converted one route to battery powered buses, The National grid had t run several KM of new cable to the garage and a new sub station had to be installed in the garage. It was claimed they could keep going all day on a single charge but this has proved not to be the case. A lightly loaded bus in the summer can but in the winter with a full load they need to be charged up half way through the day/ Battery powered buses would have no hope on rural routes

    THe other problem they have not considered is taxes and duty. There is almost none on battery powered vehicles so the government will have a big black hole in their budget

      1. These battery car fanatics seem to think electric cable can deliver any amount of power amount of power. I cannot see how it can work. Imagine a whole street with each house having two of 3 cars plugging them all in to the grid. It would also unbalance the supply

        1. Yes I can Bill……my wheelchair battery has a life of 2 years…lol. I am already on my third…that is one person in a chair!!! All the traffic on the grid. Call me Mrs Thicky but I am concerned about this plan.

        2. Nobody would be able to afford two or three electric cars, Bill! Haven’t you seen the price of them?

    4. If they are hell-bent on electric cars why don’t they erect overhead cables, like on electric railways, so that cars can drive around like dodgems with a big pole sticking up from the roof that has a contact point for the overhead cable?

      If electric locomotives, trams, trolley-buses and dodgems can work this way, why not electric cars? This will save the necessity of having to charge the car’s batteries up.

      Good grief, I should be PM, me!

    5. Houses in my area have many with 2 cars which need charging and some have 3 or 4 cars parked in the driveway and on the street. Multiple chargers may be needed for some houses.

  103. Sunday Mirror and People to fall under Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips with jobs at risk

    Not surprised. The Sunday papers used to have huge circulation but that’s no more. It can only be a meter of time before some close. This might be the first step towards that. I cannot remember the last time I bought a Sunday paper

    The Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers will fall under Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips as Reach moves to a seven-day operation for the three titles.
    Staff were told by email this morning there would be a “small number” of jobs at risk of redundancy as a result of the changes, while others will see their working practices altered.
    The email, sent by Reach group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley, said: “This change is not a decision which has been taken lightly.

    “But at a time of falling print circulations we are constantly having to look at making our working practices as efficient as possible so we can protect the resources needed to break big stories and run great campaigns across both print and digital.”

    Alison Phillips, who has edited the Daily Mirror since March 2018, will become editor-in-chief of all three titles.

    6. I m sure it is a totally innocent mistake and it will all resolved and she will carry on being a Councillor

    8. For goodness sake. Did no one check where her income was coming from?

      Or is it because she is black?

  105. Living in the sticks as I do, there is no way that I could cope without a conventional car. Distances are too great, charging points (even should the manufacturers get their act together and make them compatible between different makes) too few and far between. It’s like the brilliant idea of getting us out of our cars onto public transport – first you need to provide public transport for us to use! The only time I use my bus pass is when I’m in London; I know that if I miss a bus there will be another one along in less than five minutes. Here, I would be lucky if there was another one that day! Assuming I do manage to get somewhere by bus, there is also no guarantee I would be able to get back.

    2. It is almost as if someone thought: “These peasants have far too much freedom now. Leaving the valley and seeing the wider world has filled their heads with big ideas such as democracy. Let us change the world to bottle them back up again and shrink their ideas.”

      The first car that I had, once I had passed my test, certainly opened up the local world beyond the places that I could cycle to. To be able to drive anywhere you liked, whenever you liked, broadened the mental horizons as well as the physical ones.

      2. Yet that’s the point. The state wants to control our lives and personal transport was the first thing to be limited.

        Of course, GDP dipped due to the lesser mobility but the state didn’t care about that. It just hiked taxes somewhere else.

        Oh, and then GDP dropped again.

        And another tax hike… and another fall in GDP. Ad nauseum.

      3. It’s not that long ago.
        MB’s oldest uncle (born c.1892) lived in a village about 5 miles south of Colchester.
        He was a sandwich short of a picnic and was rejected as C3 in WWI.
        He visited Colchester once on his life: when he fell off a ladder and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
        His ‘difficult’ youngest sister Dorothy (my late mother-in-law) was cook to the local posh family who had a holiday home in …. gasp …. wait for it …. Scotland.
        Worse still, she married a Scot.
        Her more staid siblings only took jobs in and around Colchester.
        Mind you, their father was a bit iffy; he came all the way from Danbury.

    3. I use my bus pass if I go to London – or over to a friend in Gloucester (park at hers and go into town). Otherwise, to get a bus from here I’ve got a long walk or drive into town.

      1. I don’t go to London. If I can possibly help it.

        I was born and brought up there – nuff said.

        1. Last time I was there was in April last year – for a march against trophy hunting. I don’t go very often.

        2. It is quite safe as long as you go in an armoured car and keep the doors locked and dont leave the car

      2. I would have a relatively short walk, but if I wanted to go out in the evening and get back, I’d have to take the train, not a bus. If I wanted to go ten miles to a nearby town, it would take THREE HOURS! I’d have to go into Shrewsbury and catch a bus out as there is no direct connection. Even getting to Chester is a marathon, by bus or train. No wonder I drive!

    4. Took a bus back form town today.

      There was, as Jasper Carrot terms them a ‘nutter’ on it. I’m sure he was perfectly harmless but leaping about and talking to himself, dancing to the music in his head in the middle of the bus just makes you think ‘fecking heck. Where do these people come from?’

      That and the bus was as noisy as a bin bag full of bottles, it stank of vomit and wee. Public transport is dreadful.

      1. Erm, music in his head – would that have been traditional British, like Walton, perhaps?

      2. Like Conway, my bus pass is under-utilised, since they keep moving the nearest bus stop further away. However, there are occasions when i have no choice but to walk the two miles to the nearest stop. Without fail, every bus that I board has its nutter (no – it’s not me). A former Rector of mine once observed that at each Institution and Induction, the Almighty issues the new incumbent with his(/her) nutter. He wasn’t wrong…

    5. Evening C,
      The governance parties are counting on full support as usual, no change in the voting pattern so the conversion of villages to towns towns to cities will soon be complete.
      Please take note gridlocks are becoming more numerous.
      The final gridlock will witness babies born, live & die within.
      The last tree in England will be in a museum the viewing fee far too expensive for the average punter to see.
      Most of Europe and the world will have an NHS insurance number,
      along with an English / GB address for welfare payments.
      The priority building agenda will be for
      vertical peoples sleeping apartments
      AKA pacemins & mosques.
      Your personal choice will be public transport, or shanks.

        1. Evening J
          Being a far right, racist ,real UKIP member I welcome your reply
          but there is a serious thread within my post.

          3. I am very happy thank you. I have so much to be grateful for despite many limitations. I still enjoy so much in this life and will continue to do so.

    6. Be, lucky, Conway, here, in Flowton, deepest Suffolk we have NO bus service, nix, nada, zilch.

      Will I be expected to walk 3 miles with COPD and aschemetic heart disease to the nearest main road?

  106. Wha hey, the powers of TV are resurrecting and improving a Weekend treat:

    Billy Cotton-bud’s band-wagon show.

    Wokey, Wokey…

  107. Well done, Democrats, Spiked 6 February 2020.

    The impeachment farce has only boosted Trump’s electoral prospects.

    This is absolutely true. The Democrats are Trumps greatest allies. From the very beginning their accusations have served only to make them look like the liars they are and boosted Trumps credibility! It needn’t have been like this! They could have sat back and watched as he made a dog’s breakfast of Foreign Policy leading to Domestic Fears among the electorate and reaping the rewards at the polls. Instead they’ve made a complete cockup and there is talk in the States that their situation is akin to the Labour Party in the UK where their political extinction is a real possibility!

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/02/06/well-done-democrats/

    1. I must say that The MSM in the US make the BBC look like rank amateurs when it comes to Bias. I would have thought that their MSM would want to ask very strong questions about Biden getting a Ukrainian Prosecutor sacked because he was investigating corruption in a business in which Biden’s Son was a Director….

      1. I would have expected it to be Trump’s responsibility to pose questions about Biden family involvement in the Ukraine and for the MSM to be behind him over it.

        As always, Orange man bad.

      2. I agree entirely as I imagine will most sentient Americans.

        On the plus side, and following the Iowa caucuses, Joe Biden is now fallen out of the running for the presidential candidate nomination. Of course he might resort to lawyers to have the winning ‘votes’ overturned but that would let in Bernie Sanders.

      3. The days of Independent analysis are gone Stephen. The whole system is now like some Medieval Struggle where winner takes all and the serfs pay for it!

      1. The trench was about that deep! No hard hats or suits, though; they must be wussy southerners 🙂

  114. Contradictory Councils

    Ah they are declaring a climate emergency and saying we should use public transport more. So far so good but then you find they are cutting bus services as they dont want to support them but they are at the same time subsidising car parking. Talk about mixd messages

  115. “A flood of senior German politicians visiting the UK this week have been
    left confused and unnerved by the hardline rhetoric set out by Boris Johnson

    on trade talks, prompting warnings that the risk of a breakdown, or a no-deal Brexit, is as high as it has ever been.”

    Oh, diddums den ? Poor ickle Germans still think that Great Britain is going to do what nasty EU tell them to do.

    1. And poor ickle EU fishermen face what the EEC did to British fishermen? Tough titty – you did it to us – see what it’s like to be on the receiving end..

      1. Yup. Boris had better stick with the program and enforce the protection of our fishing grounds.

        A good sign would be the placing of orders for fishery protection vessels from our moribund shipyards and the commission of new corvettes and frigates to give muscular naval support.

    2. Had the EU not allowed peasant ‘acquisition’ countries to join its ranks they would have bargaining power. As matters stand the Germans are now left having to support hundreds of millions of people unable to support themselves, from agrarian Polish peasants to Transylvanian Romanies.

      This despite the fact we have ploughed countless billions into propping up these hopeless backward economies and thereby enabling a greater Germany in the long run.

      Sorry but the UK has finally pulled the plug on this incredible drain on our resources. Get used to it!

  116. Terrorism & Casualties

    At the moment there is a problem and the Streatham attack highlighted yet again. Ambulance were called and arrived within about 5 minutes as the police would not let them near the casualties for over half hour

    Firearms officers receive advanced first aid training. The solution would appear to be that the police give immediate first aid and the casualties are taken in a police van to where the ambulances are they can be given full medical treatment

  117. The Saxon Queen shall go to sleep .Up early birdwatching tomorrow
    at Abberton ( nice bacon sandwiches too 😉 and then stuff on
    the laptop, if I dare.
    Batten down the hatches this weekend it’s going to be very blustery,
    I am really not too keen on heavy winds.
    Goodnight .

    2. It is not only the being buffeted about by strong winds, but the constant noise which starts to get on my nerves after a while.

      1. Yes the sound of strong winds chill the bones.
        Lots of trees around here too as live on the edge of
        woodland and constantly worry about them coming
        down and also power cuts. I find strong winds very unpleasant .

          1. Yes. I’m thinking of putting it on the short list for next year’s class reader, although the language is sometimes a bit ripe.

          2. Glad you’re enjoying. I, perhaps, should have said before that they are not books that I myself have read.

  119. R4 carried yet another report this evening that boys are doing less well than girls. They omitted the detail that it is white working class boys who are failing in education.

    They scratch their heads wondering what can be done to remedy the situation.

    I find it obvious. Stop telling white working class men that they are responsible for all of the ills in the world and that they are worthless. Motivaion is hard to find when you are told there is no future for you unless you are female or a person of colour.

      1. Why is that happening in your opinion?

        Is it because of the desire in certain circles to create ”A Shared Future”?

          1. Do you think it’s because of the desire of certain individuals to create ”A Shared Future” as looks quite likely, and, if so, who do you believe are those individuals?

          1. Quite possibly but the source is quite likely to be the same as the individuals promoting ”A Shared Future”, as it is for the ”compliant broadcast media”.

            Do you know who they are?

        1. N,
          Up to a point & with some maybe for a lifetime but remember
          for every negative there is a positive.
          A child is only a captive audience for so long.

          1. It doesn’t take long to turn a child away from enjoying education. Just a term or two of being called useless and a stain on woke humanity. Once they withdraw and loose the will to take part, they will quickly fall behind.

          3. Hell, I went through it. My parents were continually told that I did not deserve to have passed the 11+ and be given a place at grammar school.

          4. R,
            Seems to me that you underestimate kids when it is the adults who should be check out from this form of child abuse.

          6. T,
            “Can be” if you allow it to be.
            Tell me if this form of child abuse is in evidence how long has it been active and why is it allowed to continue ?

        2. They used to call it an inferiority complex. Instilled at an early age, it tends to last for ever.

      1. I think it’s now evident that the government’ has no bloody idea where we are or where we’re going.

      1. If they tried releasing “Donald where’s your trousers” now you could see some desperately unimportant people falling over themselves to say that it is a lazy representation of the Scottish culture, which is a minority one which needs to be protected and given special status. Then someone would whisper “The Scottish are white” and they would lose interest.

        Another good song from years gone by of a Spanish Mexican mouse who liked a drink, and was also accused of being a bit stereotypical.

        https://youtu.be/v4s2AMKPHnE?t=4s

        1. No, it’s Swahili for ‘sleep well’. Ndovu (Swa. for elephant) & I sometimes banter in that language.

  124. Look out I am on the way. Expect some nice canadian snowy winter weather arriving Friday morning.

  127. Can we have a list, please, of all the names that make comments with an indication as to whether they are masculine, feminine or neuter. ?

    And when they are new names, can the previous names be given?
    Things have got very confusing…………….

    1. ‘Morning, Tony, I have an idea that they are meant to be. Polly and all her pseudonyms seems to enjoy giving herself away but possibly, there are others and it’s a trifle unfair to expect the mods to discover and unveil them all.

    2. I’m Ndovu and I’m female. My previous account was also Ndovu – just a different image.

      There is no list – people can choose to use their own names or a pseudonym.

  129. I am off as well. I mentioned a sci-fi series called “The Expanse” recently and I said how impressed I was with it. I have been watching 1-3 episodes a night since then and tonight is when I run out of the boxed set at the end of series 3. Series 4 is currently steaming on Amazon Prime, but I will wait until the boxed set is available. They started filming series 5 in October, so there are at least 2 more for me.

    For any sci-fi watchers out there who have not seen it – it is superb. It has been consistently far above-average in all 3 series. The physics in at are as realistic as they can make them and you find yourself thinking: “That Rail Gun has hit that ship and shot a hole straight through it. That is what would happen to a human body if it was standing in the way.” It is well worth watching, even the political cold war side between Earth, Mars and the Asteroid Belters keeps your attention.

    The worlds have a flavour of Bladerunner, but on a wider solar-system scale. Have a good night. 🙂

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/660f3ebb42b08e2acb4f232803814ecdc82806b711e96ab33f153855b3d2909a.jpg

    1. Yes I’ve watched series one Meredith, its only drawback is poor production values but it is still well worth watching. There is no series two in my local HMV store at the moment so I shall have to wait!

      1. If we’re recommending TV shows, Cobra Kai.

        It really is refreshingly good. Never twee, always honest with some real character driven portrayals.

        1. I watched Death In Paradise the episode transmitted tonight. They have yet another detective, this one of course follows the well worn storyline of being allergic to everything on the island, sun, heat, sand etc. He spent the whole program scratching himself.
          I got a feeling I shall have to stop watching it in future, I was itchy and scratching just watching the bloody program!

          2. And they say BBC viewing figures are dropping, they must have had at least a couple tonight, well for an hour or so.
            It is of course about the only BBC program I watch these days, perhaps the local news occasionally. If it ever becomes a subscription service, they are in deep doo doo if they are banking on the likes of me to keep them afloat.
            💩💩

          3. They could always depend on us foreigners to buy a subscription for old times sake.

            What we cannot access content outside the UK? Ah well, there goes another revenue source.

          4. You’re too easily influenced.

            Mind you, that sand fly rash on his ankle looked pretty realistic.

    2. Thanks to your comments a couple of weeks back and decided to give it a go. As you so rightly say, it is superb. Thanks for the recommendation.

      1. It is quite rare to come across science fiction of this quality, so I was happy to pass on how good it was in case there were others who would enjoy it. 🙂

  130. I have looked closely at any recent planning applications and the resultant estate housing in Braintree District where I live.

    I reason that the deals done between councillors (planners) the major housing developers and housing associations are rigged.

    It seems obvious that the developers build a load of shit ‘executive’ housing then the fields are filled by the supposed ‘affordable’ housing. This supplementary housing is anything but affordable but given to the housing associations who then let It out to a motley assortment of immigrants and problem families.

    The whole formula is self defeating because no one with a desire for a peaceful family life would wish to buy a property surrounded by hideous ingrates and their wretched indisciplined offspring. Our planning system is a complete mess, a socialist construct now utterly devoid of useful purpose.

    Wake up Boris and stop this nonsense.

      1. Hi Geoff. I have not just noticed. I have been dealing with planners for fifty years.

        I have developed the means and language by which I might be utterly obsequious in my dealings with these amateurs in order to gain important approvals for many clients over the years.

        I simply regret that as an educated man I have to resort to such means in dealing with morons and in order to properly serve my clients .

        1. Alas, it is a bent world. It is not just planning. I’m sure you know that.
          Those who criticise African corruption should not throw stones.

        2. About 40 years ago, a builder cousin applied for permission to build a bungalow in a village to the South East of Carlisle. It was surrounded by single-storey buildings. So – the planners insisted that he built a two-storey house, which stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. Fast forward to last year. Dianne, my ex, has moved to a new “zero carbon eco home” in Topsham. It’s stunning. The estate has won awards. The house itself has a standard of workmanship that I haven’t seen in 20 years. I’m keeping an eye on the WiFi thermostats. She left for New Zealand two weeks ago; the “Away” setting is 12 degrees, and the house resolutely refuses to reach that temperature.

          The original purchaser specified a conservatory (an orangery would be more accurate).. So, beneath the patio, there’s a substantial foundation, with a beam and block floor slab. At each end, the garden wall has been raised to that of the adjacent garage. So, in structural terms, a new orangery would simply need a roof and one wall. Yes?

          So Di contacted Exeter Council, to be told that the original planning application (i.e. what the developer built) had been rejected, but a later proposal had been accepted. This involves building a three-sided glazed conservatory, two sides of which would overlook a three metre high boundary wall. Apparently, the original plan would damage the visual amenity. It’s only be visible from the adjacent bin store, FFS…

          1. Presumably the glass can be coloured/opaque. Might be nice and light without letting in the “view”. Alternatively, glass windows doesn’t mean there can’t be an internal screen of some sort, does it?

    2. It’s not just Braintree. Here in South Norfolk, the requirements are that 1/4 of all new housing must be for social housing, so we have the situation where I am where there are 8 large detached private houses, and 3 tiny terraced houses that are barely habitable for social housing. The only upside is that these social houses are specifically for people in the village. There are possibly several elderly people here who would like to downsize, and would move into the social houses if possible, though I’m not sure they realise how tiny they are. Last thing we’d want is to have, as you say, “hideous integrates” move in, and they’re too small for offspring.
      I totally agree that mixing private and social housing is nuts. It’s ideological,and comes from central government.

      1. We have a similar situation here, a tiny village in Somerset. The developer claims the low cost (!) units will bring new young families into the village. It was pointed out to them at the Parish Council meeting that it was more likely they would be bought by downsizing retirees!

  132. “The commander of al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),
    Qassim al-Raymi, was killed in a counter-terrorism raid in Yemen, US
    President Donald Trump has stated.

    “Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought
    to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” the president said in a statement on Thursday”

Comments are closed.