Tuesday 20 December: NHS patients are at risk after 12 years of government incompetence

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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581 thoughts on “Tuesday 20 December: NHS patients are at risk after 12 years of government incompetence”

  2. Good morrow, Gentlefolk. Today’s story. Watch for the punch-line, Elsie.

    Be Very Quiet

    A young man moved into a new apartment of his own and went to the lobby to put his name on his mailbox. While there, an attractive young lady came out of the apartment next to the mailboxes, wearing a robe. The boy smiled at the young woman and she started a conversation with him.

    As they talked, her robe slipped open, and it was obvious that she had nothing else on. The poor kid broke into a sweat trying to maintain eye contact. After a few minutes, she placed her hand on his arm and said, ‘Let’s go to my apartment, I hear someone coming.’

    He followed her into her apartment; she closed the door and leaned against it, allowing her robe to fall off completely. Now nude, she purred at him, ‘What would you say is my best feature?’

    Flustered and embarrassed, he finally squeaked, ‘It’s got to be your ears.’

    Astounded, and a little hurt she asked, ‘My ears? Look at these breasts; they are full and 100% natural. I work out every day and my butt is firm and solid. Look at my skin – no blemishes anywhere. How can you think that the best part of my body is my ears?’

    Clearing his throat, he stammered…. ‘Outside, when you said you heard someone coming…. that was me.’

  4. The stagnant West must rediscover freedom to salvage its prosperity. 20 December 2022.

    We have the values to lead the next wave of progress, if only our leaders would proudly champion them.

    TOP COMMENT BELOW THE LINE.

    Marianne Lindsey.

    Where are these “Western values of freedom and democracy”?

    They are certainly not present in our political systems anywhere much in the West, where politicians of all stripes have eagerly undermined and subverted both our freedom and our democracy as, by fair means or foul, power and authority have been stripped from parliaments and handed over to unelected supranational organisations or to unelected judges.

    Parliaments, the supposed elected representatives of the people, the only pathetic democratic expression allowed to the people and that once every four or five years, have been neutered as states are, Gulliver-like, tied up in treaties and charters and conventions on which the electorates were never consulted. Besides that, supposed election manifestos are usually not worth the paper on which they are printed.

    With free speech and free expression also neutered, with thought deemed undesirable being muzzled, the ordinary citizen is not free, is muzzled, is deprived of any voice at all, except that offered sometimes of responding to articles such as this one but still, even then, under the surveillance of moderators.

    “Western values of freedom and democracy”, the very expression is now, sadly, delusional
    .
    Ms. Lindsey is correct. The West is not stagnant but decadent. A perverted and corrupted society that would do credit to Babylon or Rome in its final days. The values that Jacobs speaks of have not simply been laid aside, but replaced by their opposites. Serfdom for Freedom, Tyranny for Democracy. Lies for Truth.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/19/stagnant-west-must-rediscover-freedom-salvage-prosperity/

    1. My oft repeated point is: read ‘Alone in Berlin’ and factor in blanket CCTV coverage.
      The Quangels’ campaign would fail the first time they left a postcard.

  5. The stagnant West must rediscover freedom to salvage its prosperity. 20 December 2022.

    We have the values to lead the next wave of progress, if only our leaders would proudly champion them.

    TOP COMMENT BELOW THE LINE.

    Marianne Lindsey.

    Where are these “Western values of freedom and democracy”?

    They are certainly not present in our political systems anywhere much in the West, where politicians of all stripes have eagerly undermined and subverted both our freedom and our democracy as, by fair means or foul, power and authority have been stripped from parliaments and handed over to unelected supranational organisations or to unelected judges.

    Parliaments, the supposed elected representatives of the people, the only pathetic democratic expression allowed to the people and that once every four or five years, have been neutered as states are, Gulliver-like, tied up in treaties and charters and conventions on which the electorates were never consulted. Besides that, supposed election manifestos are usually not worth the paper on which they are printed.

    With free speech and free expression also neutered, with thought deemed undesirable being muzzled, the ordinary citizen is not free, is muzzled, is deprived of any voice at all, except that offered sometimes of responding to articles such as this one but still, even then, under the surveillance of moderators.

    “Western values of freedom and democracy”, the very expression is now, sadly, delusional
    .
    Ms. Lindsey is correct. The West is not stagnant but decadent. A perverted and corrupted society that would do credit to Babylon or Rome in its final days. The values that Jacobs speaks of have not simply been laid aside, but replaced by their opposites. Serfdom for Freedom, Tyranny for Democracy. Lies for Truth.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/19/stagnant-west-must-rediscover-freedom-salvage-prosperity/

      1. Given it was a half waning moon last Wednesday, it will be very near to the New Moon, Thursday or Friday evening I would think.

  7. NHS patients are at risk after 12 years of government incompetence

    can’t remember a time when patients weren’t at risk.

  8. The clickbait advertisements are showing one, picture of an Airbus, with the caption “Plane tickets in 2020 might be way cheaper than people think”.

    Hmm, maybe I should buy flights for 3 years ago! Discounted!

    1. Mabe if your flight is taking off in the evening a little after a quarter past eight you’ll be OK.

    2. “Plane tickets in 2020 might be way cheaper than people think”. only to time travellers

  9. I’m wondering if Clarkson is not just another of those controlled opposition types.

    His article, although I haven’t read it has just kept the whole boring Meghan & Harry proper news diversion going for another week.

    I don’t think many people were watching their docubitch programme on Netflix.

    I’m sure they both love the attention Clarkson has given them in the MSM

      1. Apparently it was a laboured reference to ‘Game of Thrones’. I’ve neither watched nor read it, so I can’t judge. Cod medievalism is not my thing unless it’s Monty Python or Blackadder.
        Although I am against self-censoring, maybe he should have reflected that his choice of words gave wings to a subject that was expiring through boredom.
        Passing on to more important subjects, how is Best Beloved?

        1. It was OTT but I dispute the complaints that it was misogynistic or an attack on her because she is ‘black’.
          I just thought that just like me, he doesn’t like her because of what she says and does.

          1. From today’s Terriblegraph:
            “ ELLING a black employee they should be chained to their desk is “intrinsically racist”, an employment tribunal ruled.
            Teresa Mcardle, the boss of a cleaning firm, made the remark to Adele Waring, who kept leaving her work station, a hearing was told.
            Miss Waring, who is mixed race of Caribbean heritage, sued the company over the comment and other instances she claimed were race discrimination.
            Pauline Feeney, an employment judge, said: “Ms Mcardle had said she needed to chain [Miss Waring] to her desk. We find that it was racist to someone of African-caribbean heritage.”
            However, the tribunal ruled the claim could not succeed, as Miss Waring had claimed it was victimisation, while the panel said the remark was harassment.
            It did support other claims and awarded her £18,000 in compensation. The hearing in Manchester was told Miss Waring began working at Tudor Contract Cleaners in February 2017. She took on part-time administrative responsibilities.…”

          1. As per Cersei Lannister’s treatment in ‘Game of Thrones’. For a TV programme that received saturation coverage in the media, between the latest ‘Baking on Ice’ etc, it is mildly surprising that the worldly wise meeja churnalists didn’t realise the connection. Or, they just prefer confected outrage in the hope of selling more papers/advertising space.

            I’ve not watched the tv show but have halted halfway through book five, waiting for the author to regain his quill and continue writing books six and seven.

          3. Don’t rush, he’s only written five so far as he took time away to focus on the TV show.

          4. Thank you for that, Feargal. I somehow thought that George RR Martin didn’t quite know how to take the hare he’d start running further down the course.

          5. Yet the leftie who recommended on TV that people should throw acid into the face of Tories

            was forgiven?

    2. Laurence Fox , stand in for Nigel Farage, got a right drubbing last night from a female journalist on GB News. It was evident at the start from her expression that LF was in trouble. over a comment on the Jeremy Clarkson affair which he had made. It was amusing to watch as she showed no mercy to Laurence Fox.
      Mark Steyn is still not on his slot in GBNews.

      1. I think it unlikely that she will be invited back! I thought he did well not to rise to the bait under such a tirade.

        In case you haven’t heard, Mark S suffered two heart attacks, the second of which came very close to finishing him off. Not likely to be back for a while.

          1. I must say if he did meet a sudden death I would be extremely suspicious that he had suffered the same sort of fate as Dr Kelly.

        1. I was worried that Mark Steyn had been forcibly taken off air by the PTB. I hope he makes a speedy recovery and returns to GB News.

          The woman who attacked Laurence Fox was an exceptionally foul woman called Dr Tessa Dunlop who was was considerably more offensive to Laurence Fox than Jeremy Clarkson was about Migraine Murkle. And yes, Dr Dunlop is just as horrible as she looks in the picture and as I have said before if Laurence can’t grow a better beard than this weedy bum fluff he should not sport facial hair at all..

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3a4abc16f9d5c9426b0e886b060a98a3a681001a549f59d7db551b2f371f9216.jpg

          I think that Laurence Fox must be a masochist – he had another exceptionally offensive trans thing on later in the programme who was also equally rude to Mr Fox – but at least he didn’t tease him about his beard..

        2. Thanks for that news. He does get agitated and noisy at times. He will have to slow down if and when he gets back to GB News. I enjoyed his programmes and hope he pulls through. He will be guaranteed good treatment in France.

  11. ‘Morning, Peeps.  A promise of a heady 11°C today, and swapping yesterday’s torrential rain with some sunshine.

    Today’s leading letter:

    SIR – Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, said that the proposed walkout by ambulance staff would put patients at risk. I was involved in the last ambulance strike 30 years ago. During the five months of the dispute, we never saw ambulances queueing for hours to offload patients.

    If there is a risk to patients, it is due to 12 years of incompetent government – not a one-day strike.

    Graham White
    Kingham, Oxfordshire

    This Graham White, paramedic, of Kingham?  No vested interest there, then:

    https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/12917938.rural-areas-suffering-disgraceful-lack-cover/

    1. Incidentally, while trying to click on GB News yesterday evening, I came across Piers Moron on Talk TV, making a great job of ripping an RCN strike leader a new one. I’m not generally a fan of Mr Moron but I have to say that his demolition of the interviewee was masterful and complete. The nub of it was that a recent report on NHS pay gave very different figures, and she had to admit that she had not read it! By the end of the interview she was completely punch-drunk and couldn’t wait to get out of the studio. Unfortunately there isn’t a catch-up facility, in which case this little gem cannot be revisited.

      1. Twitter apparently offer selected repeats as I’ve scrolled past his latest version of events many times.

    2. It is purely coincidental, I’m sure, that all those supporting the Anychess restrict their arguement to the last 12 years, instead of the last 50 years as ‘Care in the Community’ raised it’s ugly head and before immigration became a flood.

  16. SIR – I was told by a British Gas engineer that one reason for increased delays to service (Letters, December 19) was the use of electric vans. These need to be recharged at least once a day, which has significantly reduced the number of calls that can be made.

    This is a classic example of greenwashing. Appearing to be environmentally friendly is now, it seems, more important for many businesses than providing the service for which their customers are paying.

    Mark Westaby
    Leominster, Herefordshire

    Oh dear, if this is true then someone didn’t do their homework!

    1. UKIP produced a rather interesting analysis recently about the Post Office and their switch to e-vans; higher costs and reduced range all round!

      2. Not sure it was UKIP figures I read but the difference in running a fleet of 41,000 vans rises from the current £240M pa to over £800M pa when the fleet is all electric. Hardly a drop in the ocean as the Post Office sails off into obscurity.

    2. Let’s assume the average range is 200 miles. That accounts for a van full of equipment, spares, a person. An actual working van.

      By reduce the range due to cold weather (heater, radio, electronics) by half. That’s still 100 miles of range on a tank. I cannot believe that the reduciton in service is down to the vehicles going electric.

      Rather I’d imagine it’s a cost cutting exercise to reduce the number of engineers, the holiday season, theft from those vehicles and plain old human error in giving a four hour job only 1 hour of time.

    3. Let’s assume the average range is 200 miles. That accounts for a van full of equipment, spares, a person. An actual working van.

      By reduce the range due to cold weather (heater, radio, electronics) by half. That’s still 100 miles of range on a tank. I cannot believe that the reduciton in service is down to the vehicles going electric.

      Rather I’d imagine it’s a cost cutting exercise to reduce the number of engineers, the holiday season, theft from those vehicles and plain old human error in giving a four hour job only 1 hour of time.

    4. Someone told me they needed a part for some electrical gizmo, but the electric company couldn’t deliver it because the EV van was still on charge!

  17. Morning, all. The just visible patio indicates that the wet stuff has arrived again. A mild ten degrees is a small consolation.

    From the Daily Sceptic

    “Silent Majority” of Car Industry is Concerned About Electric Vehicles

    It appears that seemingly powerful business leaders are loath to speak out on issues that affect their businesses. The Climate Change narrative is holding businesses hostage to providing electric vehicles that currently cannot emulate the overall performance of fossil fuelled vehicles.

    A “silent majority” of car companies is concerned that electric vehicles will not alone be able to end reliance on fossil fuels, according to a senior Toyota executive. The Telegraph has more.

    Akio Toyoda, the company’s president and grandson of its founder Kiichiro Toyoda, said that many concerned senior figures are reluctant to say what they really think because of the pressure to go green.

    1. Volkswagen, Hugo Boss, Thyssen …… Big business and corrupt governments go together like horse and carriage.

    2. The electricity they run on is mainly supplied with fossil fuel electricity. How green is that?

    3. Nothing to do with the soaring costs of materials, the questionable methods of mining, the customer backlash, high prices, and governments refusing to triple the capacity of the energy grid that’d be needed for electric cars leading to manufacturers getting the blame, then?

  19. SIR – I had just settled down to watch the World Cup final and chose the ITV coverage. Within minutes I had to endure a prepared monologue by Gary Neville comparing the undoubted human rights breaches by Qatar to the way the British Government is treating nurses and railway workers attempting to secure higher pay rates.

    I knew by tuning in to ITV that I would have to endure Mr Neville’s questionable punditry, but I do not appreciate being preached at by him on any subject other than football. Why did he choose to express views on a subject in which he is not qualified, and why did ITV allow him this platform?

    Wilson McLellan
    Lutterworth, Leicestershire

    Seems I wasn’t the only one to criticise this wendyball commentator for his reported rant against the government…

    If it was live then I doubt that ITV could do much about it, apart from pulling the plug and claiming a technical malfunction.

    1. Just imagining the faces of all those people that put ITV on and were willing to endure adverts to avoid Lefty Lineker.

    2. We switched on at 1 minute past 3 and turned off immediately the final whistle was blown.

    3. This is one of the top BTL posts, and deservedly so:

      Steven Gentle
      5 HRS AGO
      If Neville actually believed in equality and fairness in society then he should be campaigning night and day for a reduction in the pay of Premier League footballers. Why doesn’t he insist on taking no more than the average wage for his childish and ignorant musings on TV? We all know he is a massive hypocrite as shown by his feeble excuses for accepting a shed load of money from the Qatari regime whose values he claims to reject. He is the epitome of a sanctimonious socialist enjoying the riches and freedoms that do not exist in his version of society.

  20. SIR – Thank goodness we did not have to wake up to photographs of President Macron posing with the World Cup.

    Mick Ferrie
    Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

    Indeed!!

    1. That creepy little Toy Boy has no more interest in wendyball than I do – but he just lurves meaty, athletic young men….especially African ones.

      1. There were aerial images of the massive crowds in Argentina celebrating the victory. I say massive as they were almost as large as the crowds in Brazil protesting their stitched-up election. Sadly, the bBC drones don’t seem to be able to fly that far north.

  21. House January 6 panel recommends criminal charges against Donald Trump. 20 December 2022.

    The January 6 committee has referred Donald Trump to the justice department to face criminal charges, accusing the former president of fomenting an insurrection and conspiring against the government over his attempt to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election, and the bloody attack on the US Capitol.

    The committee’s referrals approved by its members on Monday are the first time in American history that Congress has recommended charges against a former president. They come after 18 months of investigation by the bipartisan House of Representatives panel tasked with understanding Trump’s plot to stop Joe Biden from taking office.

    Anyone with only a cursory knowledge of history will recognise this for what it is; the judicial railroading of the opposition for political ends. It is the Reichstag Fire redux. The words of the accusation are deliberately inflammatory; insurrection, bloody attack and plot just three of the calumnies espoused. In truth it was a minor fracas that had no possibility of carrying out any political change whatsoever. One of the most astonishing things about it is that, in the United States of all places, no one was armed. The only person killed was shot by the security forces. The reaction to it tells us more about the state of politics in the US than the action itself. It reveals a country riven by division. It’s people striving for democratic representation against a corrupt oligarchy.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/19/trump-criminal-charges-jan-6-panel-capitol-attack

    1. The swamp is determined to swallow Trump by hook or by crook and is using every means at its disposal.

      It is why I think the Republicans should try to persuade him to get out of politics altogether, or at a very minimum until after the 2024 elections, to give whoever is selected a clear run at the Presidency and all the House and Senate seats, without having the Donald as a distraction.

      1. Yes. Trump has shaken things up, but age is a against him.
        It looks as if De Santis might be the best bet.

        1. I fear that it is not just age, he’s far more compos mentis than Biden.

          He’s now very divisive in the centre ground, which is where the thing is won or lost.
          Trump may claim he is the reason for DeSantis’s success, and that may have been true out the outset, but now it’s down to DeSantis and him alone.

          I was pro Trump but now he’s badly damaged goods: not all of it of his own making, of course.

      2. Certainly, in the UK at least, he has been demonised and ridiculed by our MSM to such an extent, that your average man in the street thinks he’s the Devil incarnate. Anyone the left hate so much must be decent at heart. But, as you say, he’s become a poisoned chalice.

        1. The way Trump was treated in the UK shamed us all. That pathetic baby blimp approved by Khan was a disgrace.

          One may love him or loathe him, but to try to humiliate the President of the USA in such a way marks one out as an utter ignoramus.

          I hate Biden and his policies with a passion, but I respect what he represents as the POTUS, not who he is, a corrupt and senile old fool.

    3. Bet the guardian doesn’t present it in that manner though.

      The fear the Left have of Trump is staggering. It really defies reality that they are so utterly monumentally terrified of him.

      It is almost psychotic in it’s irrationality.

    4. By bipartisan they mean it comprised Democrats and RINOs, anyone with contrary views to the agenda was not invited. Additionally, it appears that there wasn’t time or space to air the tweets (banned by the Leftwaffe) showing Trump asking people to go home peacefully to avoid being dragged in to left wing shenanigans.

    1. In the era before Amazon and the internet, when buying things to be delivered involved writing a letter and getting some things back many weeks later, in the small coastal town I grew up in Christmas was mostly pointless as no one had anything you’d want.

      You had to drive to a city to even get close to finding what your family wanted – even then you could guarantee mother would want the receipt.

  23. Good morning all.
    After a rather wet night, it’s now dry outside with 2½°C on the yard thermometer when I put the empty milk bottle into the crate.

    Picked up from the madness of the USA:-

    https://youtu.be/lZ746MEi_Fs
    My comment:-

    ‘Ang on a minute!
    So, an 11yo girl feels uncomfortable in the changing rooms after games at school because she and her friends are being watch by a Cock_in_a_Frock as they change, but she is so indoctrinated by the Trans Cult that she thinks SHE is the problem?
    Dear God.

      1. Odd how truth has become bigotry because one group doesn’t like it. I’m sure that redefinition of reality has been tried countless times before.

    2. Why the hell didn’t we think of that when we were boys?!

      Ah, but of course. The world wasn’t insane then.

    2. Good morning, Anne

      Some good articles in the DT and DM today: Charles, Moore, Michael Deacon in the DT and Richard Littlejohn in the DM.

      Charles Moore had some interesting points about younger siblings – I am the youngest of three in the family and my sisters were pretty contemptuous and patronising towards their grubby little brother and thought I should be kept at home and not join in their escapades. As the youngest I resented being treated as child and wished I were older and to my great delight when one of my sisters aged 17 hit me I was strong enough at the age of 10 to be able to respond and more than hold my own in the ensuing fight even though she was 5’11” tall and, as many of us know, girls – and especially sisters – cheat in physical fights!

      Much is made of poor Prince Harry having to walk behind the coffin at his mother’s funeral. But he was 13 – the age when many of us are beginning to grow up and do not want to be cossetted and have allowance for our tender years pandered to. Imagine how traumatised Harry would have been if he had been told: “You can’t follow the coffin – you’re too young.”

  25. Welsh Water have succeeded in filling the town reservoir this morning so hopefully no more journeys to the river to fill the bucket, fingers crossed and legs uncrossed!

    1. I used to have shares in Welsh Water back in the day, they were a good investment until they got bought out

      1. I had to throw the first cup away it tasted foul. I should have stayed with the river water.

    3. South East Water are still struggling to fix anything, it seems. We have been without water since Sunday Evening, they are estimating reconnection by 06:00 tomorrow, approx. 35,000 people are in the same (high & dry) boat.
      I will be amazed if they sort it by then – they will probably claim a ‘new’ leak has sprung up, crippling the system.
      As with all the utilities, NHS, Councils etc. over the last 25 – 30 years, the taxpayer pays more and more and good service is provided less and less.

      1. Good to see you again, Hopon.

        In case you don’t get back before Christmas, we wish you to have a jolly good NoTTLing Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year.

      1. I spent almost 3 hours last night on the Internet Movie Database reading the plot synopses of the original and current films and am none the wiser. Dozens of characters and locations with weird unmemorable names made me come to the conclusion that it was a complete waste of my time attempting to understand this strange production by the – to my mind – strangely deluded film director. (Good morning, btw.)

        1. I saw the first one at the cinema which i enjoyed. Don’t think i will bother with this one or the next ones.

        2. The Dearly Tolerant and Student Son saw it last Friday in Derby and they both thoroughly enjoyed it.

        3. I was completely underwhelmed with the first one, so your crit has backed my judgement! 🌹

  28. 369078+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Tuesday 20 December: NHS patients are at risk after 12 years of government incompetence

    Conscience easing buck passing more like, how can the electorate majority explain the other 20 years and the campaign of continually voting in such a Country destructive manner.

    The sheep are completely innocent tis the peoples
    via you gotta note tory (ino) keep out lab, you gotta vote lab, (ino) keep out tory (Ino) following a mantra set in place by ….. the politico’s.

    Those that shout loudest for a new party will retain their old party membership card, recent history shows us on the 24 /6/2016 the only successful action for decades was taken by a united peoples
    supporting UKIP only to have the successful victory attacked by many of those very same peoples returning to the proven treacherous toxic trio coalition, true is the saying there ain’t NO CURE for mass idiocy.

    1. Government incompetence? Or Government Cowardice?
      A set of Tw@ter posts I keep for such an argument. feel free to copy and use as wished:-

      That the NHS needs to be reformed is undeniable.
      However, whilst what that reform should look like should be a matter of intense debate, but that is a debate VERY noticeable by it’s absence.
      So why isn’t that debate happening?

      For years it has been noticeable how ANY reform of “Our” NHS is immediately greeted by the same hysteric knee-jerk reaction and demented screams of “SAVE OUR NHS” and “THEY WANT TO PRIVATISE OUR NHS” and always from the same vested interests of the Unions & bureaucratic REMFs.

      And note that when they scream “Our NHS” they mean exactly that, THEIR NHS, not ours.
      We, the poor bloody taxpayer, are just an inconvenience who are expected to stump up ever increasing sums of money to pay for the burgeoning number of non-jobs they keep recruiting for.

      1. When did it become ‘Our’ NHS? It isn’t. As if it were, in any way mine, I’d damned well arrange my kidney stone operation for tomorrow.

        It is a statist bureaucracy. No more ‘mine’ than the Taj Mahal. Oh, I own it by virtue of paying for it, but I have no control over it, which is the only form of ownership that matters.

        1. But as I say above, it is not and never has been “Our” NHS. It is their’s. The REMFs, Vested Interests and Union activists.
          The Poor Bloody Taxpayer and the Front Line Workers can go and hang themselves.

        1. Good morning Hugh J
          And that is just one NHS trust. No doubt that will also require a whole department and fancy offices from which to ‘work’ – when they are not wfh of course.

  29. ‘Morning All

    Modern Life

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6b80cc329dc94c9aab291087187de90611295bfd7862d6c5cdf5b44a102589ed.jpg

    https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1604897778005643274

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1afec6ecbb375fa81d0dbbf013fddca3377a3d8d78a6cead73f2d363fb5b54a2.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9889a77b465bf735451320bca63f11c8b317bccfbf10dbaf8323d064687a6e9d.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bc027ac6e410222069882f091cc66ff5dbd4243e7a09f1c8249fe99da0da1ed5.jpg

    Hmm

    Elon getting his card marked??

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1b1637579552bd575f85758fd4b52b220758f008572d7584d881a158c18e4b8b.jpg

    1. Removing people’s freedom to travel has always been the state’s great ideal. Personal mobility is the great leveller of capitalism. It lets you buy what you want, from where you want. Of course big government wants to remove that choice.

      Yet that’s all it comes down to – big government. Government with too much money wasting it on control freakery. The solution is simple – stop funding it!

  30. A Ruud joke? Let’s hope so
    Hurrying away from Lusail Stadium after Argentina’s win over Croatia, I bumped into Ruud Gullit. He had a big smile. ‘What do you think of the tournament, eh, Martin?’ he asked. I remembered that on the way home from Moscow in 2018, we’d had a lively discussion about Qatar. It’s fair to say he was an advocate, and I wasn’t.

    So I said what I thought. That the football had been great. But then tournament football usually is. I hadn’t changed my mind on the location. It was a largely efficient World Cup also, but it came at too high a price.

    He seemed disappointed. ‘You guys, you’re always moaning, you never learn,’ he said. ‘That’s why you end up with a referee from South America.’

    And he meant it as a joke, but really? That’s the deal? England get Wilton Sampaio because its media reports on migrant worker deaths. I can’t believe that, not even of FIFA — but if it’s even a quarter true, it’s worse than we thought.

    Part of a long article on the Qatar WC (deliberate abbreviation), it is Samuel’s last column.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11555821/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Qatar-2022-rolled-lie-it.html

    1. This guy seems happy to express his views on the evil Qatari (he doesn’t mention the word Muslim as far as I read) regime, regarding LGBTETC and slave labour deaths. What does he have to say about free speech in the UK I wonder?

  31. Just a quick reminder to all cat owners:

    Now is the time to start feeding gold and silver edible glitter to your cats if
    you want to add that festive touch to your neighbour’s flower beds.

    Follow me for more top tips.

  32. Paddy goes to hardware store to buy a chainsaw Salesman said this good
    value you’ll do about 40 to 50 trees a day with this So paddy buys it.
    Week later he takes it back complaining it was faulty coz he had only
    done 25 trees in a week. Salesman checks everything and couldn’t find
    nothing wrong He then pulled the cord to start it up then paddy says
    what’s that noise?

  33. I’m never buying a Liverpool advent calender ever again. All the windows are smashed in and someone stole all the chocolate.

    1. Good morning Phizzee and all Nottlers. Just wondering if you had heard from Garlands lately? Please give her our love and prayers from me and Alf, thinking of her.

      1. Good morning.

        Busy time of year for Garlands. I believe the lady is okay. Had a couple of texts and a card recently.

        Something else i have noticed is she often ‘goes dark’ and is unresponsive. Also, if you contact her and just make a statement you are not likely to get an answer. I don’t believe it is rudeness, just her way.

        I shall let her know you and Alf are thinking of her in my next missive.

  35. Am I alone in finding that now that it’s got warmer the house has got colder because the thermostat has turned the CH (Central Heating) off?

    1. What is CH?

      We managed to survive the last fortnight without it…. Just extra clothes and the AGA and woodburner.

  36. We had a real treat on Sunday. MUTTON. I haven’t had mutton for years. This was from a woman in the village who has a small flock of heritage sheep which she breeds specially to produce mutton. Food yards…. Mouth-watering.

    1. I buy my mutton from Piper’s Farm. The loin is taken off the bone in such a fashion that it leaves a layer of fat all around it. Makes wonderful Masala.

  37. 369078+ up ticks,

    Post
    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021
    ·
    15h
    Please pass this on.

    The Euro Parliament, voting on a proposal from the Commission, wants co2 emmissions cut by 55% by the end of the decade.

    The EU does not have the power to impose taxes directly but Directives must be passed into law by member states. These cuts will mean higher prices for everyone & will effectively be taxes on individual energy & heating bills, & prices on everything else will inevitably rise.

    Britain is technically not a member of the EU but you can guarantee our Globalist puppet govnt (Tory or Labour) will follow suite.

    Meanwhile, the Globalist puppet Scum MSM will say nothing about it.

    Translate post
    MEPs vote to reform the EU’s emissions system and impose a carbon tax

    The positive votes come two weeks after chaotic scenes erupted in the hemicycle, delaying the three key laws. #EuropeNews

    http://www.euronews.com
    Posted on 6:34 PM · Dec 19th, 2022

    1. Considering fuel is the lifeblood of the economy the setup is simply aimed at hiking taxes. However, it won’t raise taxes one bit, as people will not use their cars to buy things, leading to unemployment. With that soaring due to taxation around the European economy, you’d think that the fools in the EU would not implement this egregious tax.

      1. I missed that. After all, if we can have Islamophobic, why shouldn’t we have Christophobic.

  41. Dutch PM apologises for Netherlands’ role in slave trade. 20 December 2022

    In a speech at the national archives in The Hague, the Dutch prime minister acknowledged the past “cannot be erased, only faced up to”. But for centuries, he said, the Dutch state had “enabled, encouraged and profited from slavery”.

    People were “commodified, exploited and traded in the name of the Dutch state”, he said, adding: “It is true nobody alive today bears any personal guilt for slavery … But the Dutch state bears responsibility for the immense suffering of those who were enslaved, and their descendants. Today, on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologise for the past actions of the Dutch state.”

    It’s bad enough that these people feel the need to confess their non-existent guilt for themselves but they always feel the need to involve everyone else. No one alive today bears the slightest responsibility for the Atlantic Slave Trade any more than they do for the Inquisition or the Crusades.

    There is more than a passing resemblance on the part of the Modern Elites to the Flagellants of the Middle Ages. Far from humility and self-abnegation both seek to gain Kudos and Approval for their activities and endorse and promote their beliefs through it!

    The State itself is a dead thing, it feels neither pity or remorse it is a human construct devoid of any sentience or existence independent of its creators.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/19/dutch-pm-apologises-for-netherlands-role-in-slave-trade

    2. When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, they were welcomed by the natives. When the war was over, the allies left some of the Japanese soldiers there to act as a police force. The Dutch didn’t like that.

    4. And while he says that, he is busy forcing farmers of their land, which is preparation for mass hunger in Europe.

    2. I got it on the…well, try number 3.
      Wordle 549 3/6

      ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
      🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Par Four for me.

        Wordle 549 4/6
        ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
        ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  45. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/20/sun-must-take-action-against-jeremy-clarkson-duchess-sussex/

    Do you know what we cold do without? MPs Close down westminster. Nothing useful comes from it. It is a meddling, stupid, backward and spiteful organisation full of windbags, idiots and fools. Shut it down until 2024, have a change of seating then keep it shut down for the next 50 years.

    In the meanwhile, a select group of individuals with start scrapping taxes and repealing moronic laws.

    2. The Palace of Westminster is a delightful building. Repair and restore and re-open as an hotel maybe?

          1. No, the building is beautiful. Much easier to move them both into ‘temporary accommodation’ of shipping containers. Then shove the whole lot off to Africa, where we send the rest of our waste.

          2. Oh (deeply crestfallen), you’re right. I’ve heard Narfulk has lots of wide empty spaces perhaps … nah, maybe not!

    1. Over here i is being used to warn of the dangers of government control of what is published. The media have already been bought but this will give Trudeau absolute control over what we are allowed to see.

  47. My place of work is frezzing cold again today. My employer being very keen on green etc, the thought did cross my mind that we might be suffering for the planet but no, the boiler is on the blink and “there are engineers on site”. Same scenario in church and colder still there. 12th C building with high ceiling and all that. Sod’s Law. Grrrrr.

    1. Yo Sue

      12th C building with high ceiling and all that. Sod’s Law. Grrrrr…. no typos then!

    3. Our church is so hot. They installed a wood chip burner. It is of course the other extreme when they can’t get delivery of the chips.

        3. St Bartholomew the Great or Less, Sue. I was born just up the road from there between St John’s Street and Goswell Road.

          1. That’s the gate house for the Great, the priory church. The Less is via Henry VIII Gate at the hospital. You’re a real Londoner then?

          2. Genuine cockney. Lived there for first 21 years of my life until vw, Highbury, and I got married. My mum never lived more than 100 yards from where she was born.

    5. I go into the office so that I can use hot water without worrying about the bill! If the boiler packed in, I might as well work from home!

    1. Get real. None of that ilk has any trouble getting appointments or treatment. They all go to the front of the queue.

  50. Good morning. The Telegraph persists in promoting the Illusion. A leader today talks pompously about our sovereign government. The fact that our sovereignty has been subverted by the WEF criminals now strutting around Downing St, with the connivance of our media, including the Telegraph is the reality.

    We have brain-dead ministers telling strikers that their action gives power to Putin! You would be pushed to make it up. Repetiteurs for a drooling criminal in the White House and his fascist handlers. Not in my name.

  51. Good afternoon, everyone.
    Trying to convince myself to enter the loft for trees, lights and other Xmas stuff.
    Always put ours up on Xmas eve so we wake on Xmas day and the house feels festive.
    Feeding the birds and although cold (for me anyway) no ice!
    Lunch and then this on the hifi.

    https://youtu.be/OLsSan9koAU

        1. One of the highlights of our visits to Russia; the emotional impact goes right to the core of your being.

    2. With Choral music like this it’s easy to understand why the majority of Ukrainians wereare members of the Russian Orthodox Church…..

      1. The Russian history, culture, music and authors, would be sadly missed if the western political establishment continues it blind adherence to American hegemony.

    3. With Choral music like this it’s easy to understand why the majority of Ukrainians wereare members of the Russian Orthodox Church…..

      2. Don’t go there: common sense doesn’t come into the thinking of those who follow the cult of Gaianism in its ‘Green’ equivalent.

      1. Totally agree. On a positive note, my ex (and still best friend) moved to a ‘zero-carbon eco-home’ in Devon around three years ago. Built to a very high standard by a relatively small local developer, of which at least one director lives on the estate, they’ve retained an oak tree which features on the First Series Ordnance Survey map, from eighteen something-or-other.

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66de6cc9eeffaba01055895c13aa16e57a5cf74897676c840c2d6cf1600fc69e.jpg

        Hers is the house on the right. It’s finished now…

      2. Totally agree. On a positive note, my ex (and still best friend) moved to a ‘zero-carbon eco-home’ in Devon around three years ago. Built to a very high standard by a relatively small local developer, of which at least one director lives on the estate, they’ve retained an oak tree which features on the First Series Ordnance Survey map, from eighteen something-or-other.

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66de6cc9eeffaba01055895c13aa16e57a5cf74897676c840c2d6cf1600fc69e.jpg

        Hers is the house on the right. It’s finished now…

    1. Fortunately most people won’t: it’s all part of the continuous denigration of the Christian faith.
      As an agnostic, even I can see that there is, at every opportunity, a desire for some to belittle a faith that for hundreds of years, has given comfort to people around the world.

      1. Snap, Andrew, I am also agnostic but, I believe Christian values are how we should run our lives.

        1. Far better to obey “love thy neighbour” and believe “the meek shall inherit the earth” than “behead the kuffar” and “kill the unbelievers”.

    2. Fornication is the order of the day isn’t it, in all its forms. Much is made of the fact that Jesus didn’t define all forms of fornication and hairs are split over it with claims that some forms are acceptable because they weren’t named. Shirley in first century Judea and Samaria it wasn’t necessary. Everyone understood which activiities were illicit.

      2. In fairness, John, I’ve heard fairly senior CoE clergy refer to kiddyfiddling (usually by Church musicians, I’m ashamed to say) as “the usual problem”. In 50-odd years as a church organist, I’ve directly encountered at least three convicted paedophiles. One gave me organ lessons, one was a member of a choir I ‘inherited’, albeit a disgraced former priest and teacher, and one was the local Royal School of Church Music organiser.

        It’s beyond depressing.

        1. I agree it is beyond depressing. I think these people, men, are deficient in something and the clergy have access to more vulnerable people than most other professions. I’m not sure how you stop it, an impossible task, but are interviewing techniques rigorous enough?

    4. Make celibacy a condition of the priesthood and it is bound to cause sexual tension in these men. It also attracts sexual deviants. The celibacy rule should be abolished (Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism and are already married are not required to agree to celibacy as a condition of ordination).

      1. I thought that was because they formed part of the Ordinate – sort of like a special case offshoot.

        1. No, the relaxation of the celibacy rule and the Ordinariate are two separate issues. Not all Anglicans have joined the Ordinariate. The celibacy rule is just that – a rule, not part of dogma. It can be waived or scrapped altogether with the permission of the Pope.

      2. A close realtive worked at Birmingham’s Catholic cathedral where one of their priests has a father who is also a Catholic priest.

    1. At least they are admitting the problems they have caused. Whereas, in the U.K., silence as far as I know.

    3. Yo Phil. Whilst agreeing that lockdowns are probably implicated, the pachyderm in the room is being ignored. Namely the effect of the mRNA boosters on people’s immune systems. And it’s not for the better…

      1. Today at my work, I sat quietly while my vaxxed colleagues agreed among themselves that this year’s viruses seem to be worse than usual….

        1. I would agree with that, bb2, and as you know I am unvaxxed. I am now into Day 12 of a truly horrible bug(ger). I am wondering if I will be ok (ok, note, not better!) for Christmas. The tree and decs are still in the loft, I simply don’t have the energy. The throat was the sorest ever, 4-5 days, then it was cough, cough, cough – I have only just stopped coughing at night. My husband, also unvaxxed, has sneezed just a few times only each day!

          2. My daughter has just had that, it was horrible. Nobody else has got it yet, touch wood. Look after yourself, won’t you!

          3. Thank you. It is strange how it is so selective. Thank heavens for Lemsip. It gives me a slight lift and enables me to function (somewhat). Day 12 now and the juices are just starting to run clear..! (TMI, I know..). I hope you don’t get it.

            Merry Christmas!

        2. As a church organist, I’m surrounded by compliant wrinklies (and a handful younger than me). And I now live in a retirement bungalow. I’ve lost count of the people I encounter who proudly announce they’ve had the latest booster, who then go down with Covid…

      2. There is only one rope on a vessel and that is the Bell Rope. Those are lines and the one in the foreground is about to be used!

      1. Red Board warnings are issued when the current is so strong one is advised not to navigate. One can ignore such warnings. However, in the event of a serious mishap one’s insurance will be invalid!

      2. Red Board warnings are issued when the current is so strong one is advised not to navigate. One can ignore such warnings. However, in the event of a serious mishap one’s insurance will be invalid!

    5. For a non-boater, what are Red Board warnings (apart from warnings about something posted on red boards, obviously)? Are they like NOTAMs for bargees?

  56. Just back from a 45 minute walk in the sun. Weird to think that less than 48 hours ago, the road was impassable and the verges lethal to walk on.

  57. A couple of days ago the lanes around here were impassable with snow and ice, a small amount of rain and now its all gone, but haven’t been out yet. Its already getting dark at just 3.30 .. in the afternoon . Come back Spring .

    1. I only like two seasons; summer, the hotter the better. Winter when the snow is deep and crisp. Unfortunately neither happen very often in UK.

    2. 15:50 here in the borders and I had to turn on the kitchen fluorescent.

      Still a glow in the western sky at 16:21.

    3. Tomorrow the year starts to turn. You won’t see the benefit at first, but you can tell yourself spring is on its way 🙂

  58. A couple of days ago the lanes around here were impassable with snow and ice, a small amount of rain and now its all gone, but haven’t been out yet. Its already getting dark at just 3.30 .. in the afternoon . Come back Spring .

  59. I’ve found some more Christmas recipes for the Brioche loaf In the freezer that was accidently delivered here .

          1. A lot nearer than I was this morning, but sadly not close enough to saunter in for a glass. Raising a toast back in your direction!

    2. Warm it up just a bit, then cover it in real chocolate spread (nutella is too buttery). Add cream if you want. Or fudge slices. Or both.

          1. Fruit! Thank you for the reminder. I had prepared a sweet pineapple a day or two ago and I had forgotten it was in the fridge. 75 pence for the pineapple (from M&S) and I’ve just eaten a slice of the tropics. I have to say in terms of quality, M&S’s vegetable produce is stunning. Prices are competitive with the major supermarkets – credit to their suppliers who are producing top quality veggies.
            (Disclaimer: I don’t have shares in M&S or any of their suppliers).

          2. My Ocado M+S Christmas food arrives this evening.

            Pineapples and bananas are ridiculously cheap and they have been shipped half way around the world.

  60. Well – the good news is that the chimney sweep came as promised and has re-roped the stove door. Brilliant to do it within 24 hours of my asking and at his busy time.

    The bad news is that we cannot re-light the stove until tomorrow at mid-day. A chilly evening awaits us…..

        2. What’s the current hourly rate of pay for:

          a) a plumber;
          b) a chimney sweep;
          c) a solicitor; and
          d) a freelance teacher?

          and which is the most useful?

          1. Plumber = £80
            Sweep = £60
            Solicitor = these days I shudder to think.
            F/L teacher = Minimum hourly rate….

            Their relative usefulness depends on ones need.

      2. Why should he?
        I’ll give ‘waiters in a restaurant’ a tip, if the service is good and in their hand, not! on the bill or table.
        Otherwise, for those doing their job and charging appropriately, no.

        1. He came out at short notice and fixed the problem in Christmas week. I would tip in those circumstances.

          6. Stop being a silly Billy. I am already paying £6.99 for delivery. The £10 is to see wether she would be interested in my New Years Eve Orgy Party !

          8. Do you tip your solicitor when he pops round to draw up yet another codicil to your will?

            If not – why not?????????

          11. No i wouldn’t because my solicitor has already included what he thinks his tips and fees are !

            Someone who comes to my house to deliver a curry or tidy my garden or for that matter sweeps my chimney………..deserves a tip.

        2. Young Phil’s problem (one of them) is that he has too much money.

          I do not tip artisans who are doing their normal job. Phil tips the oil delivery man, for heaven’s sake.

          1. I don’t have an oil delivery man.

            As far as having too much money is concerned, i believe in spreading a little happiness.

          2. Some would say we need to spend it before the reset devalues it. So called decimalisation was just a currency reset, wasn’t it? 2.4 pennies became one penny but everything cost the same number of pennies as before, therefore 2.4 times as much.

          3. Spot on, Our Susan. Instant, overnight inflation. Same thing happened in yer Europe when the Euro came into being. Everything went up overnight.

          5. Moreover any increase that used to be an old halfpenny, now was a minimum new halfpenny, ie 1.2d. Of course, the new ha’pennies were such tiddly little things they soon disappeared and the lowest price rise was 1p – 2.4d. No wonder inflation soared!

          6. False argument, Sue. I still remember that a pack of butter used to cost around a shilling in old money, but the day after we decimalised it was 6p (approximately one shilling and tuppence ha’penny) which is certainly not 2.4 times as much.

          8. Oh i’m stacking as fast as i can but personal services are rewarded.

            Good film that……………………..

  61. Oof. Just driven, with the van, through a massive flood!! Pondweed in all sorts of unlikely places. River hadn’t just broken its banks, but evidently decided to have a ball while free. Can’t believe my car made it through!

    1. In low ratio, my Landrover Discovery 200 series, would quite happily go through water upto its bonnet, but don’t stop!.
      Was not brave enough in the LR. 2 replacement.

        2. Worth checking where your air intake is. I know at least a couple of folk who destroyed their Ford turbo diesel engines driving through not especially deep floods, purely because the air intake sat low in relation to the engine.

      2. I had an elderly Disco 2 Td5. Never had the opportunity to teach it to swim, though my ownership coincided with the snowy winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11. I was glad of the M+S tyres, and towed several lesser vehicles out of trouble.
        Speaking of wading, I once followed an OS book of walks near Odiham, which led us to a ford. More like a lake. But this was in an Alfa 156 24V V6. I have no idea how we made it across. Both ways. And the water stayed outside the car. The ‘P’ reg Alfasud I had briefly would have filled with water via the rust holes, and probably sunk…

        1. Sunk: that happened to a Toyota Land Cruiser that I was a passenger in. We survived because it was new, so good door seals and we bumped up against a sumerged lorry.
          Land cruiser lights stay on even under water for at least 2 hours.
          Not a happy nights travel as I saw a number of people die that night.

          2. I had a fab Rav 4 which was as good as, if not better than my old man’s Discovery! 2010/11 was brilliant as I was delivering shopping and meals on wheels to out of the way oldies!

          3. A freind of mine had one of those and yes it was good. But, like the Land Cruiser, not happy when being expected to negotiate extreme off road conditions.

          4. But it did! It was superb in deep snow, ice and hills! I wish I still had it, despite one of our tech guys telling me it was a ‘hairdressers car’!

          5. Then (I mean this with all sincerity) you must be a good off-road driver.
            They and the Land Cruiser would get bogged down in sand, mud and sabkha frequently. Don’t ask them to negotiate rocky terrain because the chassis clearance was not good.
            But like all things, what one has confidence in: I’ve always driven Landrover vehichles, even when they had the red and yellow gear change leavers.

          6. Thank you! Started quite young on a SWB Defender on a farm, then we had several Discoveries and finally got the Rav!

          7. That SWB, like the light weight military air drop version, would go anywhere you asked it.

          1. The Sud was the newest car I ever bought. From a mate, for around £100. I couldn’t believe such a recent car could be so bad. Mechanically, it was great. Boxer engine, unusual inboard front disc brakes. You could stand a cup of tea on the air filter, rev it to the max, and barely get a ripple in the tea.

            But the rust protection was so bad, that the rrear parcel shelf collapsed, despite never having been exposed to the elements. The floor wasn’t attached to the inner or outer sills, and you could press down on the front wings, and achieve considerable deflection movement without moving the suspension.

            Two years after scrapping it, I had a letter from Alfa Romeo, recalling the car for corrosion issues in the front suspension arms. I replied, saying that – as far as I could remember – the front suspension arms were the only surviving parts when I scrapped the vehicle. If I could find them, would they be willing to attach a replacement car to them? Strangely, answer came there none.

            I had three 156s, the first being a company car. All V6 24V models. Despite reported reliability issues, none of them let me down. It was impossible to drive them without a smile on one’s face. Quick, and sounded brilliant. And I can confirm the quoted top speed of 143 mph, having achieved same on a deserted M23. Just don’t tell West Sussex Plod…

          2. My BiL in Greece had a sporty Lancia which when you put the aircon on the speed dropped by about 20mph!

          3. A/C units fitted in Europe/UK cars are not as robust as those fitted to the same car sold in hot countries, so will always gobble HP on a reasonably hot day.

          4. Air con, even today, can gobble up engine hp.
            Two things for non-injection engines that would cause problems especially above about 8000ft was:
            1 AC
            2 Fuel tank air pressure: for this, one needed to stop and open the fuel filler cap and let the pressure stabilise.
            AC units fitted to cars in Europe and UK, are not as robust as those fitted for the same car sold in ‘hot’ countries.

          7. I may not be compelled but i do it anyway ! No matter how tedious they may be but i feel i need to keep an eye on you all just in case the FBI decides to make things less interesting.

          9. The Alfasud was beyond Ziebarting. There was no evidence of paint. let alone rustproofing, in the box sections. The Disco had no rust issues, since it leaked oil and transmission fluid like a sieve…

          10. Love it Geoff! Ziebart was the mot du jour when I was of an age to want a Fiat X19! Fortunately I was persuaded to keep the Renault 6 (with canvas foldy roof and dashboard gear stick) I’d passed my test on!

          11. A friend had a Renault 5. Sunday nights, we used to visit various rural watering holes. Another friend from the same circle had the use of his Dad’s Merc. One snowy Sunday night, the R5 towed the Merc fom Talkin Tarn, otherwise it would prolly still be there. What fun…

      1. Good advice, although not always possible. I would often walk over a running wadi before committing, but once in a while.
        The same with ‘sabkha’ waterlogged sand with a hard crust. Go the wrong way and watch your vehicle sink slowly above the roof.

        1. I’ve had that problem, especially in the dark when going round a bend and thinking ‘ho sh+t’.

    1. In first century Judea, Joseph could have handed Mary over to be stoned to death. The baby wasn’t his. In Moslem states today that could still happen and mother and baby would die without any outcry, just some pathetic wimper about cultural differences.

      1. Good observation, but I would add that Mary would not have voluntarily gone to be stoned to death, nor do those Muslim women.

      2. Fortunately (sadly, that’s the only way to look at it) this barbaric punishment is only carried out in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan these days.

        1. I suspect it still happens elsewhere in the Badlands of countries where Islam is the curse on its humanity.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoning#Modern

          In recent times, stoning has been a legal or customary punishment in Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, northern Nigeria, Afghanistan, Brunei, and tribal parts of Pakistan, including northwest Kurram Valley and the northwest Khwezai-Baezai region though it is rarely carried out.[1][2][3][4] In some of these countries, including Afghanistan, where stoning is not legal, it has been carried out extrajudicially by militants, tribal leaders, and others.[2] In some other countries, including Nigeria and Pakistan, although stoning is a legal form of punishment, it has never been legally carried out. Stoning is condemned by human rights organizations. Punishing adultery with stoning has varying levels of public support in the Muslim world, ranging from 86% of Muslims in Pakistan to 6% of Muslims in Albania and Bosnia.

          Read it and weep.

          1. Unfortunately, Where there’s a will there’s a way. Be it Sunni or Shi’a, they can both be dogmatic in their interpretation of that book.
            It’s a bit like Catholics, Protestant, Calvanists et al, in the same period ‘the 1400’s’.
            Fortunately for us, we have moved on, although Gaianism and its adherents could very easily reintroduce their form of the inquisition and who knows what that might result in.

          2. Unfortunately, Where there’s a will there’s a way. Be it Sunni or Shi’a, they can both be dogmatic in their interpretation of that book.
            It’s a bit like Catholics, Protestant, Calvanists et al, in the same period ‘the 1400’s’.
            Fortunately for us, we have moved on, although Gaianism and its adherents could very easily reintroduce their form of the inquisition and who knows what that might result in.

  63. Jeremy Clarkson’s biggest mistake was to capitulate
    He could have defended his right to cause offence, but instead has given all the wrong people a chance to crawl onto the moral high ground
    Ross Clark: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/20/jeremy-clarksons-biggest-mistake-capitulate/

    A line of Monarchy that has survived for nearly 1,000 years looks as if it will soon disintegrate as the result of the incompetence of a buffoon king and his two sons – one of whom is just an idiot and the other who is also an idiot but an idiot married to an evil and manipulative woman who has taken complete dominance and control of her pathetic baby of a husband.

    This BTL comment echoes what I have said here before.

    BTL

    By far the more serious mistaken apology was that given by Lady Hussey to Marlene Headley.

    The poor old woman was set up by a scheming ally of the Duchess of Sussex who used a false sounding African name (Ngozi Fulan)i and was wearing what looked like African clothes. Lady Hussey was not trying to be racist but Ms Headley was undoubtedly trying to entrap somebody and her victim turned out to be the Queen’s best friend who was also Prince William’s Godmother.

    I am outraged by the trick that has been played on an old, trusted and faithful servant and friend of the Queen. I am even more outraged that she felt she had to make an apology but I think that the way her godson and his father behaved was a disgrace which showed that they lack both common sense and loyalty but also more importantly, they lack judgement.

    But the worst is that the apology gives credence to the false allegation of racism in the royal family and now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are demanding an apology too!

    1. Clarkson apologised for the outrage he caused. He didn’t apologise for saying she should be paraded naked and have shit thrown at her.

      1. But the (faux) “outrage” arose because of what he said. The two are inextricably linked.

        He gave in because he feared losing all his work opportunities.

      2. Yes but the point made above is that the apology given to the Fullanus woman has been far more damaging. Already Migraine and Harry are claiming that this apology is an admission that there is racism in the royal family and they are demanding an apology.

        1. Ngozi and Lady Hussey have kissed and made up. Harry and Migraine should wind their necks in.
          U.S Media and European Media are already turning on them.

  64. Ok just had time to read Sherelle Jacob’s piece. I like Sherelle Jacobs. But the PressReader app suffers from the same problem that other btl sites do – trolls. Oh well. Below the second half of her essay. If you disagree with her, you will find plenty of friends in the comments section of PressReader.

    “… There is no point mincing words: Thatcherism and Reaganomics have been demolished by the very animal spirits of the free markets that, some 40 years ago, they unleashed in good faith. History has come full circle, with neoliberalism, like the mythical monster Ouroboros, devouring its own tail. The same problems can be seen elsewhere. In Germany, not only has the dream of globalisation crumpled, but it is dragging down chunks of the country’s industry with it. In America, libertarianism has died with a whimper, as the Republicans, even after Trump’s demise, morosely swing behind protectionism and high spending.

    Thus the West is confronted with an ominous ideological vacuum. The Right is trying to fill it with a renewed emphasis on order – in particular with a crackdown on illegal immigration. The Left, meanwhile, envisages a new march towards equality.

    It is, therefore, more urgent than ever that the Western nations come up with a framework for furthering their core value of freedom.

    The first step is simple: to acknowledge that this is a worthy value under threat. Indeed, it is startling how few political leaders are willing to stick their necks out in condemning Covid lockdowns, which curtailed freedoms we had taken for granted for centuries. One of the few exceptions is Ron Desantis, the governor of Florida, who has dared to acknowledge that the West (not just China) made a mistake in imposing such draconian policies.

    Second, Western leaders need to fill the gaping hole left by the demise of the “end of history” narrative (that is, that the world had reached a final stage of harmonious globalisation), ideally with a new galvanising story about freedom. For the value of freedom desperately needs a telos, an ultimate goal. Cultivating the kind of entrepreneurial, creative and intellectual freedom needed to make the most of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a worthy place to start.

    This project should be pursued not from a place of hubris but with a new humility – acknowledging that neither liberty nor progress is inevitable. Rather than conceitedly declaring the “end of history”, for instance, the West should draw more detailed historical lessons from the past. After all, the computer – a new general-purpose technology to rival steam and electricity – was supposed to spur a new wave of civilisational progress. As the bursting of the tech bubble followed by a bout of flat productivity suggests, something has gone badly wrong.

    It is likely that the West is stagnating because it has grown neglectful of freedom. After all, history teaches us that previous industrial revolutions were driven by a specific set of ingredients, many liberty-related. The emergence of a rural English capitalist class endowed with an almost divine faith in the glories of “improvement” and competitive production was crucial. This was in contrast with the rest of the Continent, in particular France, where elite power was rooted in state-bestowed privilege and seigneurial rights.

    And yet today’s entrepreneurs are suffocated by high taxes and meddlesome regulations. Moreover, a middle class bolstered by artificially inflated property prices has become bogged down with securing access to limited professional – often publicsector – posts. In short, the West increasingly looks less like England before the first industrial breakthrough, and more like France on the eve of its ghastly revolution.

    Equally problematic is the EU model that emphasises economic integration and regulatory alignment over national competition. We seem to have forgotten that a big reason that Europe blazed the trail of modernity is that the Roman Empire’s decline spurred healthy competition between individual states.

    Finally, libertarians deflated by the Truss experiment would do well to take a closer look at the economic ideas emerging from the underrated post-schumpeterian school. Many of their policy proposals are pertinent, such as the need for central banks to prioritise growth over inflation and their blunt insistence that states must be willing to redirect welfare funding to fund innovation.

    Things may look grim, but there is still cause to have hope. With chaos comes opportunities. Dejected lovers of freedom should try to grasp them.”

    1. I’ve picked out just one paragraph from this piece.

      “Equally problematic is the EU model that emphasises economic integration and regulatory alignment over national competition“.

      I really have been very naïve. whilst some nations dreamed of “globalisation” what exactly did they mean by it? I never dreamt of the “elite”, the bankers, or the WEF or WHO wishing to take complete control of my life, I thought it was all about trade and existing in a mutually respectful world. I thought that governments the world over would look out for and after their own peoples, not try to enforce their opinions/ways of life on others. The USA is warmonger extraordinaire. The unfortunate thing is the U.K. is happy to follow in its footsteps.

      The west has thrown away what we understood as freedom, quite deliberately in the case of 2019 scamdemic reactions and delivered us into the hands of the globalists. TPTB have signed the U.K. up to different treaties that remove liberty and bodily autonomy, we don’t live in a democracy as evidenced by imposition of a Prime Minister and a Chancellor of the Exchequer. Gotta stop now. Expecting grandson to arrive to help rehang a blind. Slayders.

  65. I am signing off now – a bit early. The house is chilly. After supper, instead of watching t’telly in a cold sitting room, the MR has decreed that we’ll sit in the warm kitchen (thanks AGA) and play Scrabble..

    So – have a jolly evening.

    A demain.

      2. Oi! Don’t cast asparagus in my direction. molamola. Lol. Oops, I meant to write “aspersions”. Lol.

      1. My late mother-in-law always won at Scrabble. We discovered that she could “feel” the letters when she selected the tiles from the bag…

  66. Nations seal global deal to preserve the natural world – 200 nations sign up to the United Nations biodiversity accord.

    Oh dear, what horrors are they going to spring on us now under the guise of preserving the planet.

    I see more taxes and loss of jobs and freedoms ahead and power power going to unelected globalist s lining their pockets.

    1. “Preserving the planet”, Bob? I don’t mind if the planet is Mars because I find that one a day helps me work, rest and play. Lol.

    2. We already know – they want to declare a third of the planet as “nature conservation areas”
      Guess where that third of the planet will be?
      It’s obviously their plan for herding us into mega-cities.

    3. I do note however that from the BBC News report yesterday that looking at countries whose populatons have trashed their homeland the most, UK is amongst the world leaders at 54% trashed. Nevertheless one of the global agreements was to restore the indigenous populations of member nations! 🤔

    1. The Stamford one would come within about 5-6 miles from us. There is strong opposition locally but quite a lot of gullible people think it’s a good idea because, ‘Without it, where are we to get our electricity from?’

      1. People are so brainwashed! I hope your reply is “with it, where are we going to get our food from?”

      2. Remind them that solar in this country barely produces about 2%.

        Tell them nuclear, coal and gas – as we always have.

    1. Here they are telling us to drink less while the ambulances are on strike! Waiting times are so long here, they’ll probably be back at work before one would be scheduled to turn up.

        2. I did that a few years ago. Had a slight accident whilst slicing a new loaf with a rotary slicer. Much blood ensued. Drove myshelf to the hoshpital A&E. Was referred to an outpost in bloody Slough. Drove home, and took a train and an Uber. Index finger is mostly recovered, but not quite as it was before.

          1. One of my friends did that when he was having a heart attack! It’s a damned long way to Shrewsbury A&E from these parts. Thankfully he survived.

          2. I’m the same, subject to MCI (Myocardial Infarction).but A & E 25.3 miles away and no driver but me!

            I don’t fancy that, I’d rather lie down and die.

          4. None taken – it’s true! Shropshire is the largest inland non-metropolitan county in the country. It’s also very rural and habitation is wide spread. If you live in a large town (Shrewsbury, Oswestry or Market Drayton, it isn’t too bad, but in the villages you don’t have a lot going for you.

          5. I nearly ripped my finger off a few years ago, my ring got caught up in equipment. A colleague drove me to the nearest Minor Injuries unit where I was told there would be a lengthy wait.
            For some reason I was seen rather promptly after placing my hand on her reception desk which then covered her paperwork in my blood.
            Finger made a nice recovery as did the two half’s of my wedding ring after a visit to the jewellers.

    2. The first one looks like: the Pub with No Beer, BoB;
      The second one looks like: the Mill with no Pubs 🙁
      ???

      1. The Via Gellia Mill, also known locally as Hollin’s Mill.
        That was where the yarn Viyella was first spun.

  72. 369078+ up ticks,

    May one ask, what is the real reason for the mass invasion that has now slowed to a daily torrent of
    soldier types garrisoned all over these Isles.

    Being of a suspicious nature when regarding what I consider to be a foreign semi covert militia in waiting.

    Perfect set up , a multi language force, reinforced daily, enough to run an 8 hour 24/7 shift system
    no English patter needed, the club gets the message across, has happened before, Mr Ian Tomlinson, RIP, lest we forget.

      1. 369078+ up ticks,

        Evening Mir,

        Good link, thanks, our councils / political overseers are fast becoming like ships biscuits, riddled with islamic weevils.

  73. Evening, all. The funeral went off well and Kadi behaved himself impeccably in church (he was very vocal outside). Oscar lay on the blanket and dozed, but I was a bit concerned when I got back to the pew with Kadi after my contribution that Oscar appeared to be missing – he’d just moved himself (and his blanket!) a bit further along under the pew! As to the headline; it’s been more than 12 years of government incompetence and failure to grasp the nettle. Blair and Brown started it all off, with unlimited immigration and PFI coupled with messing with the doctors’ pensions and remuneration scheme.

    1. Well done to Oscar and Kadi. I hope that your contribution mentioned you taking over ownership of Kadi, and that he received a lot of pets (pettings) from the congregation at the end of the service.

      1. No, I read a poem. There was nothing about me. Kadi (and Oscar) got a lot of fuss both before and afterwards.

  74. You know they’re poison when even horse-face rejects them…

    Jacinda Ardern distances herself from Harry and Meghan: Office for New Zealand PM says her involvement in new Netflix show on ‘inspirational leaders’ was not to do with Sussexes
    A trailer for Harry and Meghan’s new series was released by Netflix yesterday
    Today, her office released statement in response to questions from journalists
    Made clear PM’s involvement in the series had nothing to do with the Sussexes
    She’s considered friends with the royals after their tour of New Zealand in 2018

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11558451/Now-Jacinda-Ardern-distances-Harry-Meghan.html

        1. Imagine this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mum and dad at breakfast every morning …Yes Lilbet honey but you have to do it again because the cameras didn’t catch you throwing up the first time. Let me help you sweetie…………….

      1. We want to have fun this festive season and plan on doing so. Sod this stupid government.

        1. That’s the spirit.

          Increasingly i really do wish this entire government – present and future would just sod off for the next fifty years until I’m dead and gone, then the next 500 so Junior can have a life free of meddling, stupid, gormless, petulant, ignorant, egotistical, useless, spiteful wretched bunch of over paid fools.

  79. I have tried to watch the RVP at the Albert Hall; it is appalling . . .

    There are no senior royals – perhaps, they are well-advised?

    1. Just switched it off, having endured an hour.

      The worst bit for me was Cabaret.
      Absolutely dreadful.

    2. I used to feel sorry for Her Majesty having to sit through some of the performances and not look bored.

    3. The Royal Vice President, lacoste? PS – Just realised you meant the Royal Variety Performance.

  80. Has anyone seen a post or heard from Nvodu? (I never spell it right.)
    Maybe she has gone to get her husband.

  82. Goodnight, folks. The Rayburn is stoked, the dogs have been out and I am just contemplating having a nightcap (as opposed to the one I wear when the weather is really cold).

    1. I’m glad you added the last bit, had visions of you dressed in something from a Charles Dickens novel.

      1. I do wear such a thing when the weather is cold! Imagine me in a four-poster with a Wee Willie Winkie striped nightcap with a bobble 🙂

  83. Bit of a stressed out day for me .

    No 2 son rang last night to tell me that he had slipped down a few steps at the week end London Bridge underground , fractured his ankle and foot bones .. had to taxi to A+E St Thomas’s hospital .. spent the night there , partner then had to drive to London from Worthing to pick him up..+ pay all the Sadiq Khan road tolls or whatever they are … then drive back home .. then the next morning a lengthy wait in A+E Worthing hospital .. Notes from London on the wire were lost, so he had to be re scanned / xrayed / issued with pain killers / and anti clot treatment .. and wait for a date for an op to fix his foot .. plates and screws.. Life cannot get anymore complicated for him .

    Moh has a funny chest , he keeps gasping , and I had another phone call begging me to have my Winter Covid jab ..

    Moh says he is playing golf tomorrow .. but what about your chest .. oh well..

    1. Oh no – what a bad day! I hope he gets the op to fix it soon.

      We got J home this evening – I thought it was a bit soon after the op but he seems to be coping and he’s very glad to be home. We had to wait a few hours for the pharmacy to issue a bagfull of medication and discharge letter and finally got away from the hospital at 7pm. At least Jim was able to do a bit of work on his laptop while he was waiting. There wasn’t much traffic at that time either.

      2. So called you are both home and dry safely.. and especially so.

        The healing process will be quicker at home .. It seems to have been a short stay though ,

        Glad you are together, you will both sleep well .

      3. So glad to hear you have oh home with you, hope you have help over the holidays, take of yourself and the patient!

    2. Oh bugger! Not good at all.
      Hope your lad’s ankle heals ok and your OH is feeling better.

  84. Well, underneath and far beyond what our stupid mobster government have set out to do to the NHS once your are past the nettles and weeds surrounding the health-service it’s still filled with kind careing people who take care of its patients. Which is where I am at thus moment in time. Despite having to sit in a ‘comfey chair’ for 22 hrs before being admitted.
    Most of the staff are not originally from the UK. But many of them seem to have adapted to our sense of humour.
    It was worrying to see all those forlorn people sitting in the A&E reception area.
    I manage to get a letter from one of my doctors at our GP practice stating my condition and the urgency of treatment mainly due to the consequences of not being seen. Fingers criss. crossed.

  85. Last night we had our first evening out for a long while , an outing to a pub in a village about 8 miles away , a group of us took part in a skittles do , in the cellar, very enjoyable .. I dunno but the balls were as cold as cannon balls and just as heavy , and in these old pubs , you just don’t know what they have hiding away .. We had a very tasty basket of scampi and chips at half time , and the daftest GK competition.. the answers were very strange . for example , Which country has KFC for Christmas day, Which world leader was born in 1971…… eh?

  86. Well, folks, today was a busy day doing my final Christmas shopping which will probable last me until mid-January. I also filled the car with petrol and had a haircut perm and treated myself to a pensioner’s cod chunk and chips. Tomorrow I have a last outing to a Film Club friend’s for tea and cake. Just a very small gathering of old friends I initially met on my Rotary days and nothing to do with Rastus and Caroline’s post which I suspect they will post on this site shortly. So I will just close now and wish you all a very Good Night. Sleep well and awaken refreshed. See you all tomorrow.

    2. Goodnight Ndovu! Delighted to hear you have your husband home! Best wishes to you both! And your lovely cat – I bet she’s in heaven!

  88. Goodnight and God bless, Gentlefolk. No guarantees that I’ll be up betimes with a new story but I’ll try.

    2. Thank you so much, Richard and Caroline. A year ago I was singing “76 Trombones” from The Music Man, and for the past week I have been anticipating singing the above theme from the well-remembered TV show.

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