Tuesday 12 September: The war on motorists has driven shoppers away from the high street

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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440 thoughts on “Tuesday 12 September: The war on motorists has driven shoppers away from the high street”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    Oral Sex
    A young fellow was about to be married and was asking his grandfather about sex. He asked how often you should have it.

    His grandfather told him that when you first get married, you want it all the time… and maybe do it several times a day.

    Later on, sex tapers off and you have it once a week or so.

    Then as you get older, you have sex maybe once a month.

    When you get really old, you are lucky to have it once a year… maybe on your anniversary.

    The young fellow then asked his grandfather, “Well how about you and Grandma now?”

    His grandfather replied, “Oh, we just have oral sex now.”

    “What’s oral sex?” the young fellow asked.

    “Well,” Grandpa said, “She goes to bed in her bedroom, and I go to bed in my bedroom. And she yells, “Fuck You!!!”, and I yell back, “Fuck you too!!!!”

    3. TRI-WEEKLY

      TRY WEEKLY

      TRY WEAKLY

      The three phases of marriage – where do the Nottlers place themselves?

  3. Good morning, chums. Rain forecast hereabouts later this morning. Hopefully it will clear the air.

  4. ‘Morning, Peeps. A welcome reduction in both temperature and humidity occured yesterday evening. What an improvement! Max temp today is forecast to be 22°C, with the prospect of some showers.

    A reminder that the Royal Fail seems intent on cutting its own throat by yet another rise in the price of stamps:

    SIR – The price of a first-class stamp will rise by 15p in October (report, September 9). Well, that is definitely the end of us sending any Christmas cards by Royal Mail.

    Anthony Barrett
    Warwick

    It’s bad enough with only a couple of deliveries here a week now. And there’s no point in buying a first class stamp because they take just as long as the 2nd class service. I predict that the postal service in its present form will soon be gone, thanks to overcharging and a rotten service. Just one more organisation to add to a long list of things that no longer work in this country.

    1. But as you will only be allowed to walk for 15 minutes from your cell home – you can deliver by hand,

    2. 2nd class is 75p, so two letters, contradicting each other, sent to the same person on the same day cost the NHS £1.50. No wonder they are short of money.

  5. Good morning, all. A grey start. Supposed to rain but the radar shows it passing about 20 miles to the west of us.

  7. Good morning all,

    A cloudy day in prospect at McPhee Towers but we should see some evening Sun. Wind in the West-Sou’-West veering to the North by tonight, 16℃ with 20℃ the maximum.

    Kemi Badenoch, once the Great Right Hope in the Commieservative Party, shows that she is really just another passenger on the Ship of Fools.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8a9e3e12d63376a57f30db7a4bc19242143de5aad40b97dae5dfd7b872b1d5ce.png

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/09/11/britain-needs-china-reach-net-zero-says-kemi-badenoch/

    The rapidly growing comments, apart from the odd one from a eco-loon, are merciless. These ones give a flavour:

    Martin Riggs
    5 MIN AGO
    The Tories are on course for net zero – net zero MPs.

    Alan Rowe
    6 MIN AGO
    I might keep a copy of that ICE vs electric car sales prediction graph. Just to compare to the graph of reality as all this nonsense falls over flat on on its face.

    2. She was a known dud ever since she was spotted lunching with Michael Gove, and the spoons were normal sized.

    3. Well said, FM. I had thought she provided a glimmer of hope that there are still one or two true Conservatives in the party…obviously not so in her case. I must say, her ridiculous comment made me laugh out loud, but only briefly. She now joins all the rest of the deluded wokeists.

  8. ‘Morning All

    Off to see a specialist Fang Wrangler in a minute,much pain misery and expense in prospect meanwhile quick medley

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F5oG9koWwAA5gXy.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/df0e3c21ab2ccd2942e3a9306bf076cb598a7e779f2f86a2222dcdc8a7076282.jpg

    http://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52d1a039ac93254ce799a5def7e926f08aae870925b320065a23635dac0161ae.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9990af4e4d8c21846969abaa26f514350b92f1b18833abef058abe3775556737.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/679b7334cf0d144109ff080fe02a4a2a4d45c1463249d78646af245b8a604127.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/033377284fa4eabc2deb5502d814568484309b33ac8c1701577dbcd70bb7bf81.jpg

    1. We spent much time sailing around the Gocek Bays: Boynuzbuku, Tomb Bay, Tersane, Capi Creek, Deep Bay etc.

      Very good vegetables and fruit and spices can be found at the Gocek market on Sunday morning.

      We hope you’ll have a marvellous time – and please post some more of your photos.

      And here are some of ours (from 2006) of the Gocek market, Boynuzbuku and Mianda tied up to the restaurant pontoon.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ecebcc1f2fba61693383e998e9187b8debb48be437ea1ee331b0b074070b2346.png
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/99cb2be8e0996f992b7cd2a686a0e090c6bad5253b507a122cab3b472f86fbad.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7ae16a1c2ad75ef2808641123e71adf6a808e8101ecbd119cd41a275c982bb24.png

    2. We spent much time sailing around the Gocek Bays: Boynuzbuku, Tomb Bay, Tersane, Capi Creek, Deep Bay etc.

      Very good vegetables and fruit and spices can be found at the Gocek market on Sunday morning.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ecebcc1f2fba61693383e998e9187b8debb48be437ea1ee331b0b074070b2346.png in 2001
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/99cb2be8e0996f992b7cd2a686a0e090c6bad5253b507a122cab3b472f86fbad.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7ae16a1c2ad75ef2808641123e71adf6a808e8101ecbd119cd41a275c982bb24.png

      And here are some photos of the Dinan market, Boynuzbuku and Mianda tied up to the restaurant pontoon.

      We hope you’ll have a marvellous time – and please post some more of your photos.

  11. SIR – We don’t need a Royal Commission to save the high street. We need to rethink business rates in order to level the playing field for businesses competing with the likes of Amazon, and introduce realistic car parking charges.

    My wife and I used to shop in nearby Brighton, and sometimes have lunch in a restaurant. We don’t anymore, as the car park charges in Brighton are extortionate. So businesses lose out.

    Ian Lewis
    Wannock, East Sussex

    This mirrors our thoughts about Brighton. What Ian Lewis has failed to mention is the untreated weed growth everywhere, apparently in the name of being ‘green’ and turning a once-elegant seaside town into a scruffy and neglected dump. It looks like a street-based jungle. The council’s war on the presence of all vehicles persuaded us to look elsewhere for the past ten years or so. It’s unfortunate that the council sees fit to deter visitors and, in so doing, is crucifying its traders.

    1. Had I not been distracted and exhausted by a very nasty divorce and having to fight to maintain a relationship with my children, which I lost eventually, I wanted to write a dissertation on naturalistic planting schemes, based on a German book on garden design that explored the idea that it is actually quite comforting if planting schemes mirror natural distributions and symbiotic diversity. All artificial, of course, but then good gardening is an illusion that what is carefully designed and managed is natural and wholesome.

      What you are suggesting about Brighton seems, on the other hand, to be neglect in the hope that nature, in a disturbed landscape such as a city, can produce a reassuringly “natural” environment, rather than rank weeds fighting it out amid the concrete.

    2. Weeds will eventually lift the paving stones and people will fall over. Weeds will also damage drains and block water courses causing flooding. I hope the residents sue the council out of existence.

      1. Cleared earth is ugly and weedkiller is just nasty.

        Better the cracks are planted with appropriate ground cover, such as lawn chamomile or thyme, which suppresses the dandelions and docks, looks fabulous and does not disrupt the paving or block drains.

    3. Talking about a war on motorists, Tunbridge Wells Council has crusaded for years against motorists.

      They’ve succeeded !

      Yesterday on the BBC news there was a politician whining that there are not enough motorists visiting Tunbridge Wells.

      Surely he’s been told why?

    4. Google images – https://images.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl
      Choose ‘search by image’ and then upload a file. You will get a page of where the image, and similar/related ones. If you then click on ‘find image source’ you will see it has been used all over the place. As Richard says it seems to date from a 2019 rally.

    5. Morning BB. Left click on the image you are concerned with and then right click on Search image with Google. This will bring up a Find Image Source dialog box.

      1. Only on the near side of the flag.
        As it’s printed on, the swastika is right-way round on the other side of the flag.

    7. I would find the name of the event and search it directly. As it is, the Federalists wouldn’t have much truck with the Nazis.

    4. Thank you all for your kind wishes.
      As I’ve mentioned you won’t need to worry about me standing out side as the sun goes down and taking my clothes off.
      After our early dinner at one of many good restaurants. My lovely wife and I will be at the St Albans Arena watching a great British band known as the Illegal Eagles.
      A tribute band of the real act.
      But close your eyes and you are there.
      Life in the fast lane eh……encore 🤭

  15. If Ukraine’s advance is slow, we must help more. 12 September 2023.

    Given that the Russians are losing even greater numbers and with no positive results to show for it, it is frustrating that the West seems to prefer a policy of too little, too late, rather than helping Ukraine hit Russia hard and fast. Early in the war, cynics pointed out the moral and practical danger of the West deciding to “fight to the last Ukrainian” and forgetting that Ukraine is the West’s first line of defence. That risk has not gone away. We shouldn’t be impatient with Ukraine for making slow progress: we in the West can speed the progress if we try harder.

    How Moore knows this about Russian casualties is a mystery to me. His assertion about Ukraine being the first line of defence is also false. The truth; and this war is its best illustration, is that Russia is no threat to Greater Europe. It simply does not possess the resources, military or financial to engage with NATO.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/12/ukraine-war-rishi-sunak-military-aid-vladimir-putin-g20/

    1. Russia doesn’t want to go anywhere, the area ‘invaded’ is ethnically Russian and doesn’t much like Ukraine. It’s a complete pig’s breakfast of a farce that should have been ended by negotiation and discussion rather than continuing the conflict

    1. These the same scientists who say ‘the science is settled’? Yeah. They’re not scientists, they’re activists.

      1. Good to know about the support with legal matters though. Just knowing what to ask for is a great help.

    2. ‘Morning, Nanners. This is shocking.

      If it is hair-raising stories about the NHS you are after, look no further than yesterday’s excellent JR-M slot on GB News, about the way that the NHS has resorted to law to prevent a 19 yo, an adult of course, from seeking life-saving treatment abroad. It may well blow your socks off just how far they will go when faced with a situation they don’t like the look of, all in the name of ‘protection’.

      1. NHS so powerful so poor at managing themselves should have been cut down to size with much privatisation years ago.

    4. You’ve been in hospital several times recently Tom – I hope you were treated better than that poor man.
      I think you and my husband have been lucky – at least you came home alive.

      1. But i steadfastly refuse to go again. I had the paramedics out 3 times in a row from Saturday because I fall and cannot get back up.

          1. All over the place but not reachable when I’m on the floor. I have people coming out and will ask for them to be lowered

    5. There is a truly terrible article in the Light paper of someone whose husband was treated appallingly (because he was ‘unvaccinated’) in hospital and he didn’t make it out. What a terrible age, and what terrible people walk amongst us.

          1. We once had student teacher at the school where I used to teach who had no grip or control at all. On one occasion one of his pupils threw desks and chairs out of the window during one of his history classes. This was quite an interesting occurrence as the school generally was noted for the good and well disciplined behaviour of its pupils.

            He was a very decent chap and he had a very good grasp of his subject but he lacked the ability to communicate his knowledge or enthusiasm to adolescent brats.

            He decided not to become a schoolteacher and to finish his Ph.D and he ended up as a don at Oxford where he was far happier.

      2. Amsterdam architecture has become something of a hobby of mine in recent years and I have attended several presentations on the subject. The tax story is true. Additionally, as the houses are built on wooden piles, thus adding to the cost, they used to get as many floors as possible out of the structure, another reason to watch the costs. The “Amsterdamse traphuis”, Amsterdam staircase, is a legendary feature of these buildings – steep and narrow stairs. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bf75a0d4c3571d4ab1dc46a2984e48c92873c01e0e66fa8064d9d2ecf2243ef4.jpg

    2. For every new law there is a loophole. Usually because those imposing the law don’t have the nous to see the full picture. Take the window tax for example; owners got around it by blocking up windows, new builds were built with few windows which encouraged damp living conditions, due to lack of air circulation, and the subsequent health problems.

    4. Hence the the lifting beams projecting from the gables for hauling up furniture or goods as the stairs are steep and narrow.

  19. Yo All,

    SWMBO and and I have been chatting about how things have changedover time

    Hands up, all those who have sharpened knives on the backstep

  20. Good morning all

    Off to Bridge shortly and then off to pass through many bridges via the canal for the next week or two. Do try to behave while I’m away!!

      1. Sgt Major “Jones I didn’t see you at the camouflage training this morning”
        Jones “Thank you sir”

  22. South Korean teachers reveal they are close to ‘breaking point’. 12 September 2023.

    One young South Korean teacher said she was regularly assaulted by a pupil in the classroom, one has faced a lawsuit from parents, while another in her 20s said her hair was already turning grey from stress.

    The Telegraph spoke to five overwhelmed teachers in the South Korean capital Seoul who are among hundreds of thousands demanding more protection against pushy parents and better rights to deal with unruly students after a series of colleagues in recent weeks took their own lives.

    Their mass protest movement was triggered in July by the shocking suicide of a young female primary school teacher at the start of her career, whose diary revealed she was under extreme pressure at work.

    I found this both heartening and depressing at the same time. Pleased that we are not alone in having a totally decrepit education system courtesy of our rulers, but down, in that I had; I suppose naively, assumed that the East had not fallen victim to these progressive fantasies.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/09/12/south-korean-teachers-reveal-close-to-breaking-point/

    2. South Korea is joined at the hip to the U.S.A. No surprise their policies reflect Western ideology.

  23. Morning all 🙂😊😄
    An extra smile ‘cos it’s my birthday.
    The headline needs no explanation. It’s simply because our ruling classes don’t have the slightest clue as to what they are doing.
    600 plus idiots who we have to support all of our lives.

    4. Grattis på födelsedagen, Eddy. Hope you are having a brill day (or, at least a turbot day! 😊) 🍷🎂👍🏻

      1. Probably Anne, we were rather hoping our youngest would be proposing to his lovely lady while they are away in the Caribbean for two weeks. But I guess no news is good news…..

    7. I’m late as usual – only just catching up here.

      I hope you had a very Happy Birthday and enjoyed your day – and many more to come!

      1. Thanks T. We went to St Albans for a very nice meal at the Ivy restaurant and to the Arena to see the Illegal Eagles, it was packed with potential Nottlers.
        A wonderful evening.

  24. Good morning folks, I read yesterday (note to self, start keeping a reference of such points) that the latest edition of the US Farmer’s Almanac has hit the shelves. As per usual it has provided a long range weather forecast for the year ahead.

    Not being obligated to the demented modelling nonsense of the ecowarriors, it has proven to be far more accurate forecast year upon year. Something for which the farmers are no doubt grateful. This year it has freezing temperatures commencing with snowfall in November, running through until March. The only US state to avoid most of the wintery weather will be Florida.

    We can only hope all those farmers have had their air sourced heat pumps serviced…and that the weather doesn’t drop below -5°C.

  25. First, the good news. After 21 weeks, Nurse has signed me off. No more dressings etc. Phew.

    Ref the nazi symbols discussed below. On our journey to and from Brittany, we listened to an excellent reading of a book about the trial of Marshal Pétain.* The whole story – from pre-war to the trial – and the aftermath – really makes one think hard. The whole pursuit of the 89 year old seems to have been a charade. It was the 150% of French people who discovered they had resisted turning on the handful who hadn’t. Sort of.

    It also made us ponder what would have happened HERE had Britain caved in.

    *France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain by Julian Jackson.

    1. Morning Bill. Petain was prosecuted to ease the consciences of millions of French collaborators. The same thing would almost certainly have happened here had Adolf swum the Channel. Witness the present situation!

      1. Thank goodness that back then we had leaders in place who were made of much sterner stuff than the jelly boned shower in place today. The latter are quite prepared go along with the money men e.g. Gates, Soros & Co and to kowtow to another would be World conqueror of German extraction.

        Doubtless that equally weak people existed back in WWII days but they didn’t have their grubby hands on the levers of power, fortunately. Probably a more close run episode than we will ever know.

        1. There were appeasers in Government – thank goodness Lord Halifax didn’t get the job and it went to Churchill.

  26. Terrible Floods in Libya, earthquake in Morocco, they need help. We have just the people who can help out. Half a million would do.

  27. Politics latest news: Angela Rayner vows to strengthen trade unions if Labour wins election
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/09/12/rishi-sunak-latest-news-china-spying-angela-rayner-tuc-live/

    No comments allowed – the Daily Telegraph is becoming more and more alarmed by what its readers think!

    The British economy managed to recover when Mrs Thatcher weakened the trade unions.

    But anything good done by Mrs Thatcher must be undone and Labour is just as determined to wreck the economy as Sunak’s Conservatives are.

    1. Rastus, a wrecked economy will collapse us back into the EU.

      Whether the EU will give us the same deal, we’re doubtful.

      ——–we certainly haven’t noticed any offer of the 40billion back??

      1. A wrecked economy will generate no taxes, would they want us as it has been always our contribution to the coffers they have been after. And the eu is also struggling.

        1. Interesting comment PM. You better ask the Remainers who are so determined to collapse our economy.

          On the other hand a collapsed economy would mean less manufacturing competition for the EU, plus a chance to pick up skilled labour at a bargain price.

          3. Obsessive personalities perhaps in society, and money given to this cause (the politicos themselves) from the WEF. From time to time throughout our history these divisions in our society have always emerged. Now that money can be conjured up electronically then the economy is no longer the forefront of govt focus although this will catch them (and us) out eventually, it is already starting to do so in terms of what is minor inflation. The debt that is being hidden for future generations to cope with is terrifying, if as a society we last that long. As govt sees itself as being no longer constrained by the effects of the economy the Remainers are free to continue with their ideological obsession.

        2. That’s the way of every communist regime. This lot think they can conjure up more worthless money to plug the gap but that has always caused inflation, a la Weimar.

          China seems to thrive, after a fashion, by having capitalism for the elite and communism for the masses, who often die as a result but then life is cheap.

      2. Starmer is bound to take UK back into the EU and Schwab has instructed Sunak to do all he can to antagonise potential Conservative voters to ensure a comfortable Labour win..

        he was also told to hold fire on the Indian deal because it would be annoying for Starmer to have to unravel it in order to get back into the EU

      1. May I fiddle and bring it up todate

        Beer Champagne and Harissa, Halloumi and Honey Toasties with Union leaders in No. 10 again.

  28. Politics latest news: Angela Rayner vows to strengthen trade unions if Labour wins election
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/09/12/rishi-sunak-latest-news-china-spying-angela-rayner-tuc-live/

    No comments allowed – the Daily Telegraph is becoming more and more alarmed by what its readers think!

    The British economy managed to recover when Mrs Thtacher weakened the trade unions.

    But anything good done by Mrs Thatcher must be undone and Labour is just as determined to wreck the economy as Sunak’s Conservatives are.

  29. Putin calls legal proceedings against Trump a ‘politically motivated persecution’ that ‘shows the rottenness of the American system’. 12 September 2023.

    Vladimir Putin has slammed legal proceedings against former US president Donald Trump as ‘politically motivated persecution’ that ‘shows the rottenness of the American system’.

    Trump, who is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is facing a series of criminal cases in which he is charged, among other things, with trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat by Joe Biden.

    The Kremlin, which cultivated friendly relations with Trump during his presidency, has repeatedly spoken out in defence of the former president, who is facing a series of charges linked to election interference.

    What can one say? It’s the truth! Vlad is the friend of every ordinary person in the West!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12508159/Putin-calls-legal-proceedings-against-Trump-politically-motivated-persecution-shows-rottenness-American-system.html

  31. The following letter in the DT today.

    “SIR – Why do we have to endure the New Zealand haka, which appears to be a stylised gesture of violence and aggression?

    Surely this is outdated and unnecessary, particularly in today’s woke and over-sensitive society.”

    I’ve always thought the opposing team should simply turn their backs on them! Does that make me racist/disrespectful? I expect so.

      1. I remember some years ago when an orchestra from NZ played at the Proms they began with the baton lying on the stage and a little war dance being performed before the conductor was allowed to pick it up.

    2. Its tradition, and long may it live. even The Davantry All Blacks do it or did. One of the junior teams came to the Northamption Casuals and did it. great fun.

      1. Long past its sell by date, JN. When one only saw the AB once every seven years or so – back when we were lads – it was fun. Now it isn’t

      2. Good morning Johnny

        Some things are more honoured in the breach than the observance as the gloomy young Dane said!

          1. Excuse me! I am not a misery guts, I would simply like our guys to have some sort of reaction. I don’t want it barred, just riposted (if that’s a word!).

        2. We need to relearn the benifits of live and let live. We are becomming far too narrow in our outlooks.

    5. Wouldn’t it be great if, having lost to France, New Zealand lost its next match too and did not get through to the knockout stage.

      I remember Richard Cockerell; when he was the England hooker he wandered around the gesticulating mock Māoris pulling faces at them as they performed their Polynesian posturing and primitive prancing. He treated the Haka with the lack of respect it deserved and I have always been surprised that the RFU has not insisted that it was banned.

      1. Cockerill went nose-to-nose with All Black hooker, Norm Hewitt.

        Personally I enjoy watching the Haka, it’s just a bit of theatre — a Kiwi Morris Dance — that threatens no one. Traditions are being killed off all the time, it’s about time we saved some of them.

      1. I saw an NZ SA match in Durban some years ago.

        After the obligatory Haka, the SA players parted and a number of large African warriors in traditional garb with shields and spears advanced on the NZ line and stared them down.

        But Morris dancers would be fine!

        Just don’t try this at home with the football team, they would be on their knees to the dancers.

      3. It would be funny to see the opposing team turn their backs, drop their shorts and moon at them – the height of disrespect which would make the AB play even harder

    7. I’ve always thought that the England team could be given the command
      ” Form three ranks;
      front rank FIRE, second rank FIRE, third rank FIRE”

    8. I agree. I am a ‘Friend of the Maoris’ but it is a silly outdated prance. The English team should respond with a two minute Morris dance and end up with a collective V Sign.

    9. I looked up some All Black games from the 60s on YT and the haka was a short and very restrained affair in those days.

    1. Yep. Folk don’t seem to understand just how offensive, just how dangerous this horrific bill is. On the upside, if they get rid of encryption then they’ll find all manner of hell landing on them as every hacker going – including me – will go straight for Parliament’s throat. Every bit of data, every farce, every corrupt, back room deal will come out.

      Comically everyone else is ahead of them, as some browsers simply won’t show you an unencrypted site. You can’t have one single key as no one knows it. Data security will move on and the state will, properly; be left behind.

      https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2023/09/07/uk_government_clause_online_safety_bill/

      For some reason, theregister attracts Lefties who then exhibit Lefty traits – spite, ego, ignorance, malice, so take with bucket of salt.

      I would also point out that the most appalling data security breaches – entirely due to incompetence – have been peretrated by the state itself. It doesn’t care about the data. More, when it has been told about child rape by pakistani muslim paedophiles – it ignored the warnings completely, silenced the reporter, OFCOM then went for the TV station reporting it, plod went for the then child raped by pakistani muslim paedophiles to ensure the entire subject was hushed up and hidden. It’s clearly still going on, but for some insane reason – probably because it would embarrass a peer – the state assault the victims and protects the criminals.

      1. DNA fingerprinting was a disaster for agents of the State. Whilst it was possible that Dr David Kelly died by suicide, it is extremely unlikely that he would or could have wiped all DNA evidence off the knife.

  34. A MUST read.

    I assume that what this letter exposes is some of the ‘small print’ of the legislation being forced through. The MPs supporting these measures must be really lazy and ill-informed, stupid or down-right nasty. The actions of this government and the prospective actions of the government waiting in the wings will bring such misery to the people that it’s unbelievable that people will vote for them. A lazy electorate will elect a mostly lazy and disinterested bunch of MPs and that action will allow the activists of the WEF/UN/WHO to carry on regardless.
    When will the so well named, but ineffective Reform, Reclaim et al. parties take the gloves off? Posing from the side lines and the TV and radio will not cut it.

    https://twitter.com/LeeHurstComic/status/1701481112613048684

    1. The vicious spite of the state knows no bounds. I hate them. Every single one of those fools must be removed.

      1. Funny, I was just thinking exactly the same words.

        “Low-carbon” = spiteful tyranny

        Higher CO2 means bigger plants, more wildlife, more animals, happier humans.

    2. It seems to me that the U.K. is the testing ground for the power of the WEF/UN/WHO. U.K. is the Guinea pig, with all the ideas for impoverishment, freezing death, starving death and/or total wipeout of the population.

  35. RAIN! At last. A heavy burst – now just useful precipitation for a couple of hours. No need for outdoor watering…phew!

          1. Yes, few flying insects this year; poor for butterflies, though average for moths. Am being troubled by large wasps looking for hibernation spots; I would label them as hornets, but am uncertain.

  37. Well, as far as MB and I are concerned, the next few days certainly back the premiss of the DT letters.
    On Sunday, we are meeting with friends for afternoon tea at a Colchester hotel.
    We have had to plan our (literally) roundabout route to get to it and we have had to warn our friends not to drive down the High Street – unless they fancy a very expense trip.
    On Saturday evening, the family is treating us to a birthday dinner – at the George Hotel which is in the High Street. It has a car park, but the hassle is now so great that MB and I will walk in and get a taxi back. OK, it’s an occasion, but as a regular thing, it all too much work.
    I also realised today, that I have visited M&S more times since they moved to an out-of-town shopping park, than I had in the previous decade.
    Well done, Greeniac council. And you are no doubt wondering why the town centre is drab and depopulated.

    1. Happening everywhere. My town council has just demolished the multi-story car park and replaced it with a flat space to park. No need for the big car parks as everyone has been driven out by pricing.

      Enjoy the birthday dinner and don’t talk politics or news. Just keep to a safe topic like weather.

  39. The war on motorists has driven shoppers away from the high street

    Which was the intention from the outset and part of the 15 minute neighbourhood agenda, They don’t want people travelling about.

    1. But they’d still have to travel more than 15 mins to get to the out of town stores (at least, here they would).

  43. Ooh! Am flying @38,000 ft somewhere over Croatia (maybe?) en route to Athens! Happy Nottling!
    Sorry! 28,000 ft!

    2. No! Diversity strength! More foreign! More gabbling. More machetes. More stabbings. More pakistani muslim paedophiles! More welfare gimmigrants.

      More tax, more debt, more state to lie, cheat and steal to say you are wrong and they are right as boatloads of criminal vermin are poured on us like excrement.

      Would someone, anyone please explain why the state is doing this?

      Why is it forcing more criminals on us?
      Why is it destroying our culture and society?
      Why is it taxing us to death?
      Why is it pursuing a truly insane agenda of coercion over this green farce, when we are literally insignificant?
      Why is it dead set on destroying businesses?
      Why is it destroying jobs
      Why is it crushing the family, the bedrock of society?
      Why, the harder you work do you lose out the most?
      Why is woke everywhere, cancerous and poisonous?
      Why are fake charities given money to pour perversion into society?
      Why is Drakeford forcing a 20mph speed limit?
      Why Is Khan allowed to make life more expensive for working Londoners?
      What the hell happened to democracy?
      Why do they ignore the obvious problem with the highstreet?
      Why are our military being run down and used against the public?
      Why do plod not investigate crime?
      Why does the state force it’s way into every element of our lives?
      Why is the tax code over 125,000 pages and so egregiously appalling?
      Why are so many people utterly uneducated, unable – no, unwilling to think prefering the dogmatic easy lie parrotted by big government?
      Covid gave us the incompetence and stupidity, the unprofessional mendacity of our politicians and yet people still look to government.
      Why, in the name of decency and sense does the state want to control every aspect of normal people’s lives and yet deliberately ignores the thuggery, criminality and putridity of the invading horde – going so far as to protect them?
      Why does HMRC not answer the sodding telephone?
      Why can we not demand that companies stop lying about wait times and just say ‘we want to make more money’?
      Why are remoaners still allowed to whinge and lie when they’ve got precisely what they wanted?

      I hate this government. I hate every single disgusting thing about it. I hate it’s refusal to act against the globalist ellite. I hate the disinterest and spite of the state machine. I hate the crushing weight of taxation. I hate it’s endless, vicious legislation. I hate it’s lies. I hate it’s sheer, unadulterated illegitimacy.

      Given the chance I’d take a nail gun to every joint of Sunak and Hunt’s fingers and toes and then set fire to them and every member of the sodding lying, treacherous cabinet – and Starmer’s, as they’re all the damned same.

      Do you know what I hate most though? That we cannot remove it. That we cannot make it act. That there is half the country who want it this way..

      1. More than half the country I would think – they just don’t realise what’s happening to us and our country. Many are asleep and believe the lies peddled every day by the BBC.

        1. Yet when they’re so damned obvious, when the ever more authoritarian, draconian policies come in, when the tax burden continues to rise and rise, when we are all made poorer by the state even the thickest person has got to…

          Ah Of course they don’t. If folk understood that companies don’t pay tax I wouldn’t have to rant it on fora. I assumed those were statist stooges, the 1 comment accounts posting the same usual tripe.

          I’m so sodding tired of the endless bull spewed out by the state in it’s desperate efforts to crush this country. When there’s nothing left, when there’s no joy, no future, no hope, just an endless now, will they stop then?

          2. You would have thought that there were enough decent Conservative MPs to have seen through Sunak and have got rid of him by now.

            You would have thought ——— but if you did you were very wrong – the Government is full of nasty corrupt spivs at the top and its backbenchers are limp-wristed jellyfish.

            (Mind you I have not seen many jellyfishes with wrists – let alone any with firm ones.)

    3. The blecks were complaining they didn’t get enough coverage on TV so they are now broadcasting Crimewatch every night

    4. Why can’t we just leave them to kill each other?
      It’s what they would do back in the old ancestral lands.

        1. Bert Ambrose? Quite shocking at the time, if I remember correctly. (Still prefer the Doris Day version)

      4. From what I have seen on the interwebby thing, Holly Willoughby does not have the personality that Kathy Kirby had in her day.

        2. She’s one of those universally pleasing people, whose real character and opinions are well hidden. Probably a good qualification for her job!

        3. She’s one of those universally pleasing people, whose real character and opinions are well hidden. Probably a good qualification for her job!

  47. I see that Vogue – a magazine I have never bought and only read a couple of times when it was in a doctor’s waiting room (remember when piles of very old mags were available?) – seems intent on self- destruction. First they appoint an aggressively black black man – after sales dropping like bricks they sack him (by “promoting” him to be chief executive of bin-emptying) and now appoint an Indian woman. Presumably to pander to Mrs Fishi.

    Funny old world – “fashion”….

  48. Shock headline in the Times today “revealing” that one in three female surgeons have been the subject of “sexual assault”.

    It is interesting to look at the statistics. The devastating survey resulted from a questionnaire sent to some 1400 surgeons. Of them, 420 responded. Of THEM a third said that they had had unwelcome sexual advances. About 140 people.

    Well, there are 67,000 surgeons……

    I leave it to you to decide whether the headline is, er, a tad misleading…..

    2. It’s like the 97% of scientists who believe man has ruined the climate – only about 6 responded to the questions.

    4. I saw one of the accusers on the news earlier she as usual told a descriptive story which sounded terrible. But i wondered why her colleagues didn’t do anything to stop the assault.

    5. Like the cat food advertisement: “8 out of 10 owners (who expressed a preference) said their cats preferred it.” Self-selecting majority – if they hadn’t been assaulted, they probably wouldn’t bother answering the poll.

      1. Yes, that thought occurred to me. You’re more likely to respond if you have a grievance, less so if you’re content.

  50. To divert you briefly from the horror that is modern life – some cat news.

    Since our return from yer France, G and P have not been “clingy” but have kept closer to us and the house. Sort of following us round.

    They are both partial to a sliver of cheddar. Most of the time, a handy reward for medical stuff. Today is the day for their monthly anti-tick and flea treatment. Drops on back of neck. Pickles – no problems – took it like a man and gobbled his cheese. Gus – who really goes for cheese – determinedly REFUSED the cheese when proffered! Sat stony-faced.

    Ticks are a terrible problem round here, so they just have to put up with the minor inconvenience.

    1. Kadi has discovered he has a clock in his head. I have to give Oscar medication about 3.30/4.45 so I’ve split both their feeds into two and they each get a second part at that time. The last couple of days Kadi has started pawing me around 3.30. At first I thought he wanted to go out, but when I looked at the time, I realised exactly what he wanted!

        1. I love the fact the clocks are going to return to the proper time! I wish they didn’t mess with them in the first place.

  51. Unless she got out en route, Sue M has landed in Athens.

    Edit: Where the temps for the next week are: Daytime up to 32ºC; Night-time about 17ºC.

    So just like Scotland… One wonders why she went!!

  52. Damn. They found a plane, blackface is on his way back to Canada after yet another failed diplomatic visit to Canada during which Modi gave him a right dressing down and even Biden was seen giving boy blunder a finger agging.

    The Indian news Channel NewsX has some truly wonderful commentary about Trudeau and his apparent support of Sikh terrorist activities.

    If only liberal voters over here would open their eyes and see the damage that the government are doing. Hell. We might even get some MPs to say no.

    2. I’ve noticed that Indian news tends to be very nationalistic. A big difference from our own.

  53. Afternoon, all. I’m on earlier because a) I had to reply to an urgent email and thus put the computer on before I normally would and b) I have (yet another) meeting to attend tonight. It isn’t just the war on motorists that has driven shoppers away from the High Street. It’s the war on our wallets as well!

    1. Is that supposed to be Putin scraping the bottom of the barrel. The little figure with the missiles might be North Korean. Are the Russians buying missiles from them and, if so, is it meant to be a sign of desperation? I don’t much follow the news these days so I’m just guessing.

    2. I doubt we’d ever see anything like that in the UK! US law enforcement is a bit different, to say the least…

          2. And if they don’t move, shoot ’em in case they do? Most of the US isn’t anywhere near as bad as made out.

          4. No need for the passive-aggressive stuff. It’s as simple as looking at the stats. Take out the major cities (Democrat-run) and the US is actually very safe. It’s not about knowing best.

          7. Yes. I am lightened up, old chap. That’s why I don’t like the backhanded remarks. There’s no need to be rude. There’s enough of that in the world already.

          18. I don’t think it was meant like that. People on this forum bring a lot of knowledge and experience, so one generally assumes that they do know what they are talking about* – unless otherwise proven.

            *I do sometimes put quite controversial stuff up to see what other people think about it.

          20. I had a gun pointed at me by a very burly cop at Raleigh Durham airport in NC when I was visiting relatives late in 2001. They were a bit touchy about men with beards on aeroplanes at the time (which is how I got a cheap ticket). You are right though – he didn’t actually shoot me after I complained in my best top-hole British accent that his damned machine had swallowed my luggage and I was looking for it. “Welcome to America. Have a nice day” was his response.

            This shows that they don’t shoot all idiot foreigners.

          21. Perhaps he mistook you for Father Christmas and had a bone to pick over receiving yet another pair of comedy socks for Yuletide? When it comes to politeness, US airport staff definitely deserve their poor reputation!

          22. When I was in Germany during the Cuban missile crisis I was on QRA with a Canberra all bombed up with the American H-bomb. We had American guards as well as our own and the bomb bay was a no-go area without a guard accompanying you. I forgot and went in the bomb bay to check the accumulator pressure and I felt the muzzle of a gun between the cheeks of my arse accompanied by the words “Get outa there” shouted by the biggest black guy ever. I got out….quickly!

  56. Time for a little drinky-poo. Have a jolly evening. The rain here has been most useful – though it is looking dry for the next few days.

    A demain.

  58. Arnaud Bertrand
    @RnaudBertrand
    Wow! Absolute bombshell of an article on Xinjiang: https://nzz.ch/meinung/xinjiang-china-kampf-gegen-terrorismus-und-separatismus-ld.1753509

    Very courageous of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung
    @NZZ
    to publish this!

    First of all the article is written by probably the 2 most highly respected German sinologists: Thomas Heberer, a senior professor of Chinese politics and society at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, a senior professor of Chinese studies and the director of the China Centrum Tübingen (CCT).

    They wrote this article after having themselves done their own private investigation on site in Xinjiang in May this year with 2 other German China scholars and an international lawyer.

    If you don’t speak German or are too lazy to translate it, here is what the article says (I summarize):

    – They confirm that what happened in Xinjiang was the result of “massive Islamist terror between 2010 and 2016” with “twelve separatist-Islamist movements” active at the same time.
    – They remind that “in 2016, extremist Uighurs declared in an ISIS video that they planned to ‘drown Han Chinese in a sea of blood.'” And that “they began recruiting young Uighurs as fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan in southern Xinjiang”.
    – All this “almost led to a loss of control by the central government”. As a result of this “Beijing felt compelled to respond with undoubtedly excessive measures to curb the terror and regain control. The internal security of all of China was at stake. It should also not be overlooked that the Uighur population itself suffered from the terror.”
    – Beijing’s response was “a transitional phase” between “2017 to 2020” where “Beijing was forced to declare a ‘state of emergency’, move military units to Xinjiang, and establish a strict discipline regime.”
    – Since new Party Secretary Ma Xingrui, who has been in office since December 2021, the goal is “a return to ‘normalcy’ as quickly as possible”. They write that “the various camps established during the peak of the fight against terror have now been largely dissolved” and that “clear signs of a return to ‘normalcy’ are evident. In the regions visited by the group, police street checkpoints are clearly no longer in use.”
    – They write that “among the Uighur population, the modernizations initiated by the central government in education, medical care, and employment clearly receive noticeable sympathy. […] With the introduction of fifteen years of free education (kindergarten, school, and vocational training) for young Uighur men and women, the state has initiated a new development boost. Additionally, initially in the southern part of Xinjiang, there is state-subsidized healthcare. […] This is complemented by regionally divided and adapted development aid and resource allocation from the wealthier eastern provinces of China. This is evident in modern vocational training centers in each Xinjiang county. Students receive 200 yuan monthly in addition to free education to support their parents. State-sponsored settlements of modern branches in the agricultural and industrial sectors, which must employ almost exclusively Uighurs at nationally valid minimum wage standards, are intended to help solve the employment problem.”
    – They write that even though “the travel group could not ascertain general discrimination against the Uighur language and culture, in Xinjiang, as in all areas of ethnic minorities with their language and script, the main language of instruction in schools from secondary level is Mandarin. The native language is always offered as a subject in compulsory schooling.”
    – Their conclusion: “If the human rights situation continues to normalize demonstrably, the EU should initiate dialogue and reconsider the sanctions imposed on China due to Xinjiang.”

    https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/xinjiang-china-kampf-gegen-terrorismus-und-separatismus-ld.1753509

      2. This does feel like the Chinese narrative…but still, we have now had both propagandas, so we are balanced :-~

  59. Well, I certainly know schools are back.
    In a couple hundred yards of path running beside Philip Morant School, I picked up 15 discarded drinks cans, 6 plastic bottles and several crips packets that didn’t appear to be contaminated by foxes. The paper detritus I didn’t touch as I had no gloves with me.
    There are 3 waste bins and 1 dog bin on that short bit of route.
    After a massive clear-up on Sunday of a discarded and torn plastic bag of takeaway packaging, I am getting really sickened.
    I walk around these fields several time a week, so I know when the rubbish is new.
    I think at the weekend I will be writing to the school. It used to have a good reputation; our younger son went there and was given a good, solid education.

    1. Write a furious letter to the headmaster/mistress or better still tip all you collect over the school fence.

    2. With all the environmental propaganda children are bombarded with, you’d think they’d be more conscious of litter. Then again, little acts of rebellion might include the defiant dropping of drink and snack packaging between home and school. More likely, it’s merely thoughtlessness and laziness.

      1. Tut tut, Stig – just THINK of the hours, months, years of anti-smoking stuff fed to children. And they STILL smoke

    3. I’ve just seen (2338h) 5hat 8ts your birthday.
      I hope you’ve enjoyed your day,
      🎂🍾🥂

  60. Keep hearing about people suffering from gall bladder problems, is this another side effect of the mass vaccination programme ?

    2. Funnily enough Caroline, myself and Henry have all had to have our gall bladders removed – but this was done ten years ago before Covid reared its ugly head.

      1. Gosh all three of you including young Henry!

        I had a gall bladder problem a few years ago – painful and made me vomit, but I was ok after a few days and it’s never recurred (yet). My GP actually came out to see me at home, twice.

      2. Twenty years ago for you and me! and then ten years later for Henry. All done by the same surgeon who was very bemused but it all and said that he didn’t know gallstones were contagious.

        It was a wise GP who told me when I was diagnosed with gallstones that our sons might well be genetically predisposed to them, as both their parents were affected. So when Henry started having transitory and unidentifiable pains, I was in a position to request the relevant examinations, and so he was diagnosed much earlier than might otherwise have been the case.

    4. Interesting. We’ve recently heard of someone in the village who had to have his gall badder removed. This was followed a few months later by appendicitis which developed into peritonitis. The gentleman in question is surviving, at 78, for the moment. We also heard of someone else in the village who developed appendicitis which went on to peritonitis. He was elderly and did not survive. Appendicitis is mainly a young person’s illness. We are a small village of less than a 1,000 souls. The wife of the first person mentioned, to whom we were talking, is recovering from a terrible chest infection which has required antibiotics after antibiotics and has taken weeks to recover. Both poppiesdad and I suspect the jab is responsible. Next week I will be gong to a funeral, again in the village of someone younger than myself who has died from two aggressive brain cancers, until end June she had no idea that she was ill. The young girl next door was hospitalised in York where she is at university and working at a vacation job nearby, she suffered continuous vomiting and fainting, she was transferred to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge and the last we heard a cardiologist was being called in. Friends of ours from France, the wife had sciatica post AZ jab, then last February we heard she had had a fall and fractured the C2 vertebra in her neck. It turned out that she had been sitting at the table and she had had some sort of heart attack and fallen from her chair. She has had to wear a fracture collar for six months. She has been diagnosed with myocarditis, and there are complications. She will require a pacemaker and a defibrillator inserted. This is someone who, for early 70s was very fit, until ‘covid’ struck she ran tens and tens of kms for charity. I could go on and my circle of friends and acquaintances is not very large – all of the above instances are post jab.

  62. One of life’s trivial irritations which irks me disproportionately is the hand heart gesture. I know it’s silly to be grumpy about it and it’s not easy to explain why. If pressed, I’d say it’s easy virtue signalling that’s so ubiquitous it cannot help but look insincere, rather like the hollow “have a nice day”. Suffice to say, I do not imitate it.

    https://media.istockphoto.com/id/636260586/photo/hand-shaped-heart-against-beautiful-sunset.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=xKvGnolDprakslU7d9E6QVf-48IePIISI08Uo3v70mw=

  63. When will our leaders admit that achieving net zero will cost trillions and is unachievable? 12 September 2023.

    It was only a matter of time before the green bandwagon of pipe dreams crashed into the Jones family’s 12-year-old internal-combustion-engine people carrier with an almighty bang. The net zero target has vast social and economic costs, costs so dizzying, so deleterious to our way of life that few of its proponents have bothered to find out what they are. Well, I have, and it’s terrifying.

    You may have missed it, but at the G20 summit, Rishi Sunak just breezily wrote a £1.62 billion cheque from the UK to the Green Climate Fund to “support the world’s most vulnerable to deal with the impact of climate change… And this government will continue to lead by example in making the UK, and the world, more prosperous and secure”.

    Was there really nothing better at home to spend that money on, Prime Minister? You know, all those special needs children whose funding your government just cut by 20 per cent, or are 1.9 million kids struggling with talking/understanding language insufficiently “vulnerable”? How about building a couple of new hospitals and creating bursaries for 1,000 desperately-needed nurses? Or maybe put up some new houses to deal with the pressure of the 606,000 immigrants you allowed into our country last year against the very specific wishes of the majority of the population?

    The whole of it is almost too depressing to read. Just accept that it is all going to collapse and there’s nothing we can do about it!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/09/12/net-zero-will-cost-trillions-and-is-unachievable/

    2. And HMG is considering changes to the pension triple lock to save a whole £1 billion a year…

      1. I thought the chap responsible for the portrait of the Witch Bitch May comparable to those great Renaissance painters given the task of painting the Popes of their time.

        One can see in all of these portraits a portrayal of pure evil cloaked in fancy dress and other finery.

  64. Calling Wordlers, par today.

    Wordle 815 4/6

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

    1. Also par four.

      Wordle 815 4/6

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

  65. If anyone is interested in the Wendyball international being played in Jockland, the current score (half time) is:
    Cowdenbeath 0 England 2.

    2. Enjoying it as I haven’t seen a Scotland England clash for years. I love all the booing and hissing from the porridge wogs (any Nottlers from north of the border please forgive me).

    3. The English National Anthem (God Save the King) was completely drowned out by the Scots booing (it’s the UK’s National Anthem as well).
      The time is long overdue for an official English National Anthem to be played at occasions such as this. ‘Jerusalem’ would be my favourite, but ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ or ‘I Vow to Thee my Country’ would be other contenders.

      1. In 1975, a nineteen-year old me was sent to my firm’s Glasgow office for a few weeks. The boss lived near to Hampden and one evening, he took me home to dinner with his family and afterwards, to a Scotland vs Portugal friendly at the stadium. The crowd booed the national anthem, which I just ignored.
        However in the second half, the English ref gave an unpopular call and the crowd began chanting: “We hate the F…..ing English!” The boss looked a bit embarrassed and I just kept my mouth shut for the rest of the game. I would cheer for the other home nations but not for Scotland.

      2. I’ve said the same for a long time and Land of Hope and Glory is my favourite. I baulk against ‘Jerusalem’ simply because of its Middle-east association (even though it was written by Blake).

          1. Did Blake attend the pop festivals, wading though the mud, using the hedgerow for a lavatory, and leaving his tent and assorted litter behind when he left?
            😉

          2. Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea brought the young Jesus, during the 12 years of His life not accounted for in the gospels, to England and they landed at Avalon, now Glastonbury. Hence, “And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England’s mountains green”.

    5. Time was when an England-Scotland football match was an event to rouse the passions, something you might mark in a diary or on a calendar, and a must-see on the tv. I forgot this match was on. I no longer think of Scotland as part of my country and I know that many north of the border feel the same way from their perspective. It’s time for an amicable separation.

    1. Thousands of unidentifiable foreigners, some of whom will certainly be of a jihadist bent, but all of them costing our country, us, a fortune that we don’t have. Our current and former governments (and oppositions) of whatever colour are our enemies as surely as Japan and Germany were in the second World War.

    2. Let’s be honest. The state is deliberately importing these scum out of revenge for Brexit.

      They could have repealed the acts that stop us refusing them. They have chosen not to. There is no interest, no will to do what must be done. The state would far prefer an authoritarian approach to the natives.

      1. It is UN policy. Any body with the initials UN in its acronym is part of the same abominable organisation.

        It is about destroying the national sovereignty of nation states such as the UK and diluting the populace with alien cultural imports on a massive scale. The globalists do not care whether these aliens are Muslims or Zulus, it is all the same to them.

    4. There was a time when Speaker’s Corner was a lively but peaceful place with several Speakers advocating from wooden steps or orange boxes.

      There was a Methodist chappie who was a regular but I forget his name for the moment.

      How times have changed and not for the better.

  68. I wonder if any bookies will take a bet on The Fakir to be the first UK PM to abdicate? Not resign but abdicate.

    There’s one neck looking for a new kind of Indian rope trick.

  72. A definite change of season in the air this evening. Signs of autumn include a cool temperature, a fresh north breeze, a damp drizzle in the air and a very noticeable leaf drop on the ground. There will be warm days to come but autumn has made its imminent arrival felt.

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