Tuesday 26 January: Vulnerable patients sent on a 30-mile trip to receive their vaccinations

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/01/26/letters-vulnerable-patients-sent-30-mile-trip-receive-vaccinations/

934 thoughts on “Tuesday 26 January: Vulnerable patients sent on a 30-mile trip to receive their vaccinations”

  1. Good morning, all Y’all.
    First!
    Apart from Il Capo, Geoff, of course, without whom all this would not be possible.
    :-D)

    1. Howdy, Bob.
      Chilly snap here, too. Overnight fell from about zero to -15C. Cats firmly indoors & asleep in the sofa.

  3. News horror footage
    SIR – Dame Esther Rantzen (Letters, January 25) is wrong to imply that anyone who does not want to see on television yet more scenes of sick patients, weeping nurses and grave diggers is in denial about the existence or seriousness of Covid-19.

    We have been subjected to such distressing news items repeatedly for many months, but the fact that many of us can’t bear to watch them yet again certainly does not mean that we dispute the virus’s devastating effects.

    Dame Esther would do well to remember that constant bad news can cause yet more depression and despair, especially among the elderly, many of whom are already suffering from isolation and a lack of family visits.

    Marilyn Parrott
    Altrincham, Cheshire

    It used to be called “spreadeing gloom & despondency” and was punishable in law.

    1. One only has to read these pages to know that Dame Esther is 100% right about the level of denial about the existence and seriousness of this illness which still kills more than 25% of those who end up in hospital. For which there are no cheap and easy cures (despite all the claims to the contrary).

      1. Was all that true, or was it part of a slur campaign?
        Honestly, looking at that shower in Edinburgh, I’d say history is repeating itself. The Scots would be mad to go for independence.
        I know we joked about asking all the Hong Kong Chinese to live on an island off Scotland and re-create Hong Kong, but reality is that it would take about five minutes after independence, and we’d have a province of China run by the CCP off our northern border.

        1. What I found interesting was that civil servants are wined and dined at Bute House and that female CS’s saw nothing strange in wandering around the place and ending up in AS’s bedroom.
          IF, indeed, the stories are true.
          Overall, you do get a sense that the Scottish political establishment is as foul and corrupt as it was in the 16th and 17th, centuries.

      2. Ooh! That’s a cutting remark! Brilliant, but cutting! Good morning all, from my cankles upwards!

          3. Every so often I tried sleeping on my side. You will know when you’ve hit the right moment.

          5. I used my common sense; I think it was roughly a month before it felt any where near right. Six weeks before it became instinctive.
            Funnily enough, the counter-intuitive advice that you are better lying on the operated side is right. If you lie on the unoperated side, the leg seems to hover in space and you can feel the drag on tendons and muscles.

    2. My God, Rik, they look positively Medieval. I suppose it wont be long before those batons are replaced by swords and the mounted police are equipped with lances.

      Maybe we need a few phalanxes of English archers to stand up to the bullies.

  8. A special relationship

    SIR – Is there a bust of George Washington in 10 Downing Street?

    Alan Legg
    Brighton, East Sussex

    Silly rhetorical question. GW was the sworn enemy of England and the Crown and Lord North and would never want to be in No10. He promised that he would never set foot on English soil. It was in order to respect his promise that The Gentlemen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shipped 20 tons of American soil with the 3/4 life-size statue of George Washington which they presented to London in 1921 and now stands on the North side of Trafalgar Square outside the National Gallery. The plinth does not touch ‘English soil’.

    1. “The evil Tories are attacking us! We must destroy the attackersbuild bridges instead”

        1. Under good care, apparently. Even had a follow up call from my Doctor. That has never happened before.

  14. Good Moaning.
    Note to all East Anglians …..
    Quick, look out of your window, there’s an absolute corker of a sky appearing.
    Real Bowl of Light stuff.

  16. I may become famous/infamous.

    On my trip to hospital yesterday i noticed a lack of hustle and bustle. On visiting three departments each on a different floor and having to walk long corridors I ended up in quite a lot of pain and could barely walk.

    After visiting the Pharmacy it was time to make my escape. I found the lift and got in. I noticed a man staring at his phone. Nothing unusual in that nowadays.

    Because i was focused on the pain of walking i didn’t take much notice.

    It turned out i had taken the wrong lift and had to find another bank of lifts to get to the ground floor main exit.

    I had to back track when i noticed this chap was still behind me. I fleetingly thought he was either a retard or as lost as i was.

    After finding some nurses and got directions i back tracked again to the lifts and made my way down. This lift also didn’t stop at the ground floor, dammit.

    I asked yet more nurses where the main exit was and finally found the right lift. It was going up !

    I decided i had had enough and would hobble down two flights of stairs. As i pushed through the door. Mr Creepy was still there.

    I stopped and massaged my leg. He was still there. So to get rid of him i dawdled. He eventually moved on.

    It only occurred to me in bed last night that he remained glued to his phone. It also occurred to me that at the speed i was going he could easily have got out of the hospital 40 minutes before i did.

    I think he was filming the almost empty corridors.

    I know QA Hospital has 480 covid cases but they wouldn’t have been on the side of the Hospital that i was on.

    I remember glancing over my shoulder so he may have got a shot of my face. Hope not.

    1. You’ve got a stalker, Philip. You are going to be famous … and then rich when you’ve sued him.

      Get well soon.

      1. Thanks.

        I would have spotted something amiss earlier if i hadn’t been so preoccupied. Just waiting for the knock at the door.

        1. If he was filming, he probably thought you were stalking him, and was thoroughly creeped out too!

    2. I am certain it is people who are filming in those non Covid areas and then posting on Blogs, just to make mischief.

      1. As i said i was preoccupied. If i had twigged to what he was doing i would have dobbed him in.

        This area is not over run with cases unlike some metropolitan areas so not a good example.

        1. You could still let the hospital know, or even the police, it might be an extremist Methodist casing the joint.

          I presume he will pop up on CCTV somewhere.

          1. Can’t be arsed.

            I know Hospital managers are annoyed at the surrepticious filming of empty corridors. It’s their job not mine.

        2. Morning Phil, pleased to hear that you’re receiving treatment.
          In the course of visiting someone in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital last year I was astonished at the total lack of security. I walked in off the street and had a free run of the place, walking into a couple of wards unchallenged.

          1. Morning HK. They did have security on when i visited yesterday. They asked if i had an appointment and when i said yes they just waved me through. Not very secure security.

            The chap to my left was asked the same question by another guard and he said he was a surgeon. They didn’t take any notice of his lanyard and waved him through too.

            If i had been wearing a suit i could have said i’m the hospital manager and would have been waved through.

            Not sure what they are there for.

          2. 🙂 Reminds me of a story, oft told when I was working.
            A little old man appeared on a female geriatric ward. The nurse firmly told him off, put him back in the corridor and pointed out where the male ward was. When she phoned the ward to tell them they had lost a patient, it turned out that he was the new geriatrician.
            In the more lurid versions, he was plonked on a commode and not released until he’d done the business. Picturing the nurse who was supposed to have done this, the story was very believable; she was a big gal with a somewhat forceful character.

    3. Hi again Phizzee

      I guess there are no such thing as hospital porters any longer , people who push wheelchairs containing incapacitated patients?

      1. There are round here. Mind you, that was several years ago; the chap who wheeled me around told me that, when they checked, their average daily mileage was 19 miles.

      2. I did see a porter pushing a bed with a patient in it but only the one while i was on safari around the Hospital.

        Of course no one at the time knew how bad my pain was and i’m not one to complain. I wish i had requested a chair in retrospect.

          1. I’m sure they would. I had no idea how much walking i would be doing. Each department was on a different floor and seemed to be at the other end of the hospital from each other. I walked in and hobbled out.

            BTW if you didn’t see the post. The arm and hand thing could be a separate issue. My Doctor is investigating.

    1. The next proposal is that everyone who steps out of their homes must wear full Noddy suits.

          7. I was an NBC instructor. On one occasion, at Arsbeck ranges, I put about 80 members of HQ Squadron through a 40 minute chamber session in five lots on a hot summer morning. Much fun!

          8. I was an NBC instructor. On one occasion, at Arsbeck ranges, I put about 80 members of HQ Squadron through a 40 minute chamber session in five lots on a hot summer morning. Much fun!

      4. Noddy Suit!
        Evokes memories of floating on the River Weser whilst being fully suited & masked up and working the hand crane for the ramps when doing an M2B bridge!

  19. SIR — On your “One hundred years ago” column (January 22), the headline “The Passport Nuisance – Travellers’ Hardships – Expense, Worry and Delay” caught my eye.

    I was amused to read that “not less than two days’ clear notice must be given for all applications for the issue, endorsement or renewal of passports. Nevertheless in the case of urgency passports are issued in less than half an hour.”

    No doubt there were not very many applications in those days – but if only such hardships existed today.

    John Haiste
    Cirencester, Gloucestershire

    Here, in East Scandyland, when a Swede wishes to renew his pass, he first takes it to the local cop-shop where a local cop (or civvie lackey) will photograph him. He then fills in some paperwork and pays the fee.

    He returns to aforesaid cop-shop the next day and collects his new passport.

    If the Scandys can make it that simple then why not the British?

    1. The fuzz are far to busy in the U.K to do that. Got granny to harass for having the temerity of sitting on a park bench and track down people who say hurty words on Faceache.

      Besides, they have closed most of the Police stations.

      1. That would be bad if they were yer actual fuzz. Fuzz no longer exist since they’ve now been replaced by Stasi Stormtroopers.

          1. Terminally depressing, Nursey.

            All my former retired colleagues (whom I’m in touch with on a few private FaceBook sites) say the same.

      2. Good morning Phizzee,

        I have just said the same as you.. and if there is a need to talk to the police , you have to wait your turn in the queue.

        How is your foot today?

        1. Good morning, Belle.

          Still keeping me awake but i have seen some improvement. The Clopidogrel, Atorvastatin and Aspirin have begun to work. Thanks for asking.

          Will still need a full CT scan though. :@(

          2. When i got back to surgical after the sonar/sonic scans the nurse sent me to the Pharmacy. She tittered and said ‘oh we are sending you around the houses today’. I said. Ah ha. :@(

            My Doctor just called as a follow up. She is much better than my last Doctor !

            She has sorted out extra meds so i don’t run out. She is querying thee Haematology department about my blood. She is on the case !

          4. Yes. She told me this morning that my Cholesterol levels had fallen from 6.8 to 5.4 after changing my diet. That figure will fall further with the meds. She also said my blood is very thick which wasn’t helping and she is referring my results to the haematology department for further investigation. She said there may be a side issue unrelated to the condition i am being treated for.

            The thick blood and my vein/artery constrictions probably explains the pain in my arm and hand.

          8. MOH is on Clopidogrel and Atorvastatin. Just be careful if you get a nosebleed; I ended up having to call an ambulance for MOH because I couldn’t staunch the flow (blood thinners).

    2. Grizzly, hello, and hello again..

      Where have you been, don’t you know that hundreds of police stations have closed down here in the UK… cost cutting exercises .

      The public have nowhere to run to when they need to speak to the police .

      1. The only direction I run when I see the police is in the opposite direction.
        Writes the daughter of a former policeman.

    3. Same here, Grizz, but the selection of cop-shops is reduced, due to “securidee” of documents.

      1. The passport office in Liverpool is nearer to here than the main police station for the area in Brecon (which is the only one which actually does anything).

    5. I got my first passport in 1979 when I was on my way to New Zealand on an Army exchange scheme (four months liver abuse at taxpayers’ expense). I went to the Services Booking Centre in London and was take by courier to the passport office and in through a side door. Passport was ready in 40 minutes. Oh for that sort of service today!

  21. Good morning all from a Dull Derbyshire at -3½°C. At least the rain hasn’t started yet, but according to the Met Office page, it’s due in a couple of hours.

    1. Morning all.

      Still firing their U2s are they ?

      As is often said in Foyle’s war, “bloody germans”.

    2. If the efficiency %tage is that low, what are the Germans whinging about?
      They’ve plenty of experimental expertise to draw on to develop their own vaccine: though it might make the eyes of twins turn from brown to blue.

    3. More for the younger, then.
      Also, there won’t half be a fuss in Germany if they aren’t vaccinating the elderly. That’ll go down well.

    1. MB has a cousin who is a couple of years older, and, from my observations, no more intelligent and with a family no more intellectually ambitious than my in-laws.
      However, he was educated in Scotland during the 1950s and went to university. MB was educated in England and didn’t.

      1. My cousins lived in Dundee for a few years in the ’50s and their education was better than here.

        1. Over the years we have had several students from Scottish schools such as Glenalmond, Gordonstoun, Fettes, St Leonard’s, Loretto, and Merchiston Castle,

          I must say we have always found our Scottish students to be exceptionally pleasant and a couple of Scottish lasses returned as au pairs to help us when our boys were little.

      2. To be fair (and speaking as someone who was educated in Scotland), Scottish educational standards were already slipping in the 1990s, before devolution in the form of the Scottish Parliament – but Scottish education was always devolved anyway – the Scottish Education Department was run entirely by the Scottish Office. The SNP have certainly failed to halt the slide since 2007.

        Scottish NHS is still doing rather better than a great many areas in England and most of Wales, even though it has its difficulties.

        Sturgeon’s handling of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has been infinitely more assured than that of Johnson, she doesn’t mutter, mumble, lose her point half-way through or change her mind every day. The point is not her assurance, but that her handling as been no more nor less effective than that south of the border.

    1. Households have tucked away £100 billion of surplus cash and are itching
      to spend it. Once we have the corona-virus in retreat, the conditions
      are in place for a rapid and strong bounce.

      Not when Rishit has taken his cut.

      1. Yes. We will be very cautious.
        Even if – if – we are ever allowed to earn or spend money, we know the government is quite happy to shove us back into house arrest at a moment’s notice.
        Rule by Arbitrary Diktat bankrupts countries.

      1. Please, oh PRETTY PLEASE put me in a locked room with that slimy scumbag.

        Just half an hour will do. I promise, the world will be a better place.

          1. Morning, Spikey. I can assure you I’m not. I would want to extend the pleasure (mine, not his).

  25. Good morning, all. Very late on parade for some reason.

    No news, again, I see – apart from the EUSSR being bloody.

    When will BPAPM start reacting toughly to them? Single queues at airports etc for EU arrivals. Three hour border delays. Lorries turned back etc etc. Bullies only react to being bullied.

    1. I swear when the buffoon next says “our friends and colleagues in Europe” I am going to go to Downing Street and stick my boot up his ass!
      Those that he refers to are neither.

      Edit for typo.

      1. Fifty years ago we had very good friends (millions of them) in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the British Commonwealth with whom we traded. We also had good relationships with the EFTA countries with whom we also traded.

        We then decided to chuck them all away for membership of an exclusive ‘club’ among countries of which we had nothing in Common.

        Stupidity was nearly as rife, back then, as it is today.

        4. We didn’t chuck them away at all. We took them with us. Canada now has a far better deal with the EU than we do, and Australia and NZ have had huge tariff free quotas for their produce for years – and still do.

          3. Wot?
            Surely you know what an orgasm is???

            {Ducks behind sandbags and dons tin hat to await incoming}

  27. Blood Donor

    An Arab Sheik was admitted to Hospital for heart surgery. But prior to the surgery, the doctors needed to store his blood in case a need arose as the gentleman had a rare type of blood, and couldn’t be found locally, so the call went out.

    Finally, a Scotsman was located who had a similar blood type. The Scot willingly donated his blood for the Arab.

    After the surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman as appreciation for giving his blood, a new BMW motor car, diamonds and a substantial sum of money.

    A couple of days later, the Arab had to go through a corrective surgery.
    His doctor telephoned the Scotsman who was more than happy to donate his blood again.

    After the second surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman a thank-you card and a box of Quality Street chocolates. The Scotsman was shocked that the Arab did not reciprocate his kind gesture as he had anticipated.

    He phoned the Arab and asked him: “I thought you would be generous again, that you would give me another motor car, diamonds & money… but you only gave me a thank-you card & a box of Quality Street chocolates.”

    To this the Arab replied: “Aye laddie but I now have Scottish blood in ma veins”.

    1. A judge, a doctor and an Arab are in an old folks home. They were chatting one day and the judge says “You know I’ve been retired for 20 years and they still call me ‘Your Honour’ here”. The doctor says “Well I’ve been retired 15 years and they still call me ‘Doctor’ ”
      The Arab says ” I haven’t had sex for 30 years and they still call me ‘That Fuckin’ Arab’ “

  28. Excellent BTL Comment:-

    Colin Thomasson
    26 Jan 2021 7:45AM
    The ‘ Conservative’ Party in the recent past went out of its way, and succeeded in destroying everything with the word ” British” or ” Royal ” in its title. ( With the sole exception of the rabidly anti-British bbc.)

    For example , in case you forget or are too young to remember, here are just a few of the British industries the ‘ conservatives ‘ did away with, in their frenzied hatred of everything British and Royal ;

    Royal Ordinance, Royal Mail British Coal, British Electricity Authority , British Energy, British Leyland,
    British Rail, British Steel, British Shipbuilders, British Telecom, British Utilities ( various )…

    There has been a relentless attack British Industries of every sector by the Conservative Party down the decades.
    Inevitably resulting in the transfer of British national assets, capital, know-how , companies, utilities and intellectual rights to foreign owners who pay no tax, and could not possibly care less for the long term interests of the British people.
    Other than any one apart from the Conservative Party, whom are alway only too willing to sell us out to the lowest bidder.
    So that it can all be subsequently resold at a vast profit to their hedge funds and bankers.

    The Conservative Party has been a constant accomplice to British Industrial and national decline, who can deny it, and now, they lament the decline in self belief in everything British ? ?

    When they were the short-termist spivs effectively selling off the kingdom at knock-down prices to foreign interests with no loyalties, long-term commitments or even good intentions towards the British state and peoples.??

    All for a fast city buck at the expence of fundamental essentials such as ownership, control, sovereignty, tax collection and long term value creation

    The result now is that our ports and airports, our utilities and transport systems, our informatiin infrastucture and power generation, our communications and more than half our businesses and economy are foreign owned and controlled.
    By corporations that pay pitiful little or no tax to the British exchequer…

    So, what is the present mock- Conservative Governments’ priority ?
    ( Apart from actually wercking what remains of the economy and laying liberty and the Common Law to waste ) …
    Reforming the tax system ?
    Overhauling the pathetically useless regulatory quangoes ?
    No, never even occurred to em ;
    More green third de-industrial revolutionary Marxism designed to enact the despotic will and Year Zero ambitions of people who cannot win power honestly !
    What else did anyone expect… Conservatism ??

    Or even a British government promoting traditional social institutions, culture and civilisation to accord with the central tenets of the natural, civilised British conservatism the voters who elected them still somehow hold to, in spite of everything ?

    If so, how do you reconsile your conservative vote with whatever it is that is in control of Boris’ panic-stricken government,
    Evidently Boris blundered straight into the coils of a pandemic serpent.
    And now its coiled around our dying democracy as surely as some giant boa constrictor.
    Tightening its grip with each successive temporary perpetual emergency cycle.
    Squeezing down on the life blood of economic life until, at last, the beating heart of liberty cannot push back against it , and that ancient heartbeat stops…

    at which point, the kingdom being dead shall not require any more pandemic lockdown boa- constriction therapy to ” save the nhs”

    Flag7Like
    Reply

    1. 328828+ up ticks,
      Morning Bob,
      May one ask Colin, over the years was this done covertly or openly because
      openly in the course of time, it surely would have been spotted and reflected in the voting pattern and if ignored would show the peoples to be in collusion and backing the governing party.

      1. BTL Comment:-

        Bob of Bonsall, Matlock, United Kingdom, moments ago

        For too many countries, re-forestation means a monoculture of planting acres & acres of Eucalypts in place of the native species simply because they are fast growing. Then they wonder why the incidence of forest fires increases.

      2. I always thought it daft to plant deciduous trees in built up areas and then have to hoover out all the drains in the Autumn.

          1. Tell us about it. The garden a couple of doors down has some form of bloody great evergreen.
            The prevailing westerlies whirl the needles over our roof, where they then slide down into our gutters,

      3. “However, research indicates that an area around the size of Denmark of tropical forest is lost every single year.”
        Let’s back Britain, they could have said “twice the size of Wales”.

    5. What does BT stand for if it’s not British Telecom? (although I could think of a few)

    1. I like some shit-kicking music, but when they start that over-the-top good ol’ boy yee-haaing, then I cringe and switch off.

        1. I do like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. I can cope with the odd bit of Marty Robbins, but that’s about as far as it goes.

        1. Yippee-Aye-A, Spikey. I love it. Especially the banjo in the background and the fiddle in the middle. It’s The Grand Ole Opry next for you, Hank. 👨🏻‍🌾👍🏻🪕🎻

  30. BBC covering their backs….

    For some weeks now the BBC has been recording deaths as “Died WITH covid” rather than “OF covid”.

    Today Victoria Derbyshire was at pains to say “With covid on the death certificate”.

    The BBC now see people wising up to their propaganda scare tactics and are preparing their defense for the repercussions that will come in the near future.

    2. The demise of MiL will be added to the statistics, but so far as the family is concerned, it’s Old Age assisted by the Wuhan Virus.

    3. It’s 2 separate numbers on the ONS virus tracking website – covid on certificate, and within 2 weeks of a positive test.

    4. It’s 2 separate numbers on the ONS virus tracking website – covid on certificate, and within 2 weeks of a positive test.

    5. The BBC was for some time announcing two figures: the official ‘death within 4 weeks of a positive test’ and ‘mentioned on a death certificate’, the latter being significantly greater.

  31. 328828+ up ticks,
    Morning Each,
    Tuesday 26 January: Vulnerable patients sent on a 30-mile trip to receive their vaccinations.

    It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to visualise a gauntlet of guardians of the law with raised truncheons en route with closed in sections & pop out images of abbot,major,harmon, clegg, bliar, cameron, brown, may, along the way.

    Plus subliminal input you are doomed, submit & quit, the end is nigh.

    Realise the saviour & benefits of re-set,re-set, re-set, via
    the lab/lib/con, lab/lib/con, coalition party your continuing support & votes are needed to achieve the re-set aim.

  32. OT – one feature of the recent snow is that it has revealed a large amount of rabbit activity on the lawn in front of the house. Footprints all over the place. One never sees a rabbit here, normally.

    4. We have rather fewer rabbits here than we used to have. There was a time when we were able to count as many as 30 at a time in our garden.

      The greatest pests in our garden are the moles which we have found impossible to get rid of so we have given up the fight. When the weather is wet and the ground is soggy their extensive ranges of taupinières means that one’s boots are constantly coated in sticky mud.

      1. ‘Afternoon, Richard, my son-in-law found that connecting the exhaust pipe of his diesel truck to the nearest ‘used’, i.e., newest, molehill and leaving the engine running for about half an hour certainly damped down the activity.

    1. Caroline’s father was a geologist who was convinced that an ice age was far more likely than global warming.

      I did enjoy the phrase this chap used to describe those who believe in global warming:

      if you are a global warmist: “…..you have an ego incommensurate with your knowledge. “

      1. Hello Richard,

        Funny you should mention Caroline’s father and his ideas .
        We had a teacher who taught geography at one of my schools who was convinced we would experience another ice age and that China would dominate the world , and referred to China as a parasitic nation .. we are going back 60 years there , when I was a young teenager..

        1. I well remember that the big fear, in the seventies, was a new Ice Age. Then they discovered they could make more money out of global warming climate change.

    1. Rather similar to climate science and the UK covid briefings.

      It is not clear where the eight per cent figure emerged, with a
      political correspondent at the German paper saying senior sources in the
      government had given it to him without scientific data.

      A leak to test the water, or cause panic, or undermine a company. Typical of a politician.

  35. Anyone else having trouble with Facebook “upgrades”.

    I sent this off to them, for all the good it will do, since it’s quite deliberate:

    Hi Mark

    This was a genuine attempt to get in. It is getting increasingly hard to fight my way past all the disabling popups and autoredirects and trick clicks that have taken over your website. Sooner or later, I am going to have to find another platform to find friends, since Facebook is clearly broken, and no longer able to provide a service. It’s going the same way as Yahoo! did a few years back. I do not want to upgrade, since I prefer an operating system, a browser and websites I can trust. I’ll also have to advise the groups I belong to to archive their content just in case it gets any worse.

    I trust anything done after 2010 in the same spirit I trusted Sir Nick Clegg when he made that pledge to the students.

    I would rather it just worked, as it did once.

    Best regards
    Jeremy

    Here are some examples of what your developers have been doing to your interface:

    Unsupported browser

    You’re using a browser that isn’t supported by Facebook, so we’ve redirected you to a simpler version to give you the best experience.

    ———-

    Accept cookies from Facebook on this browser?

    We use cookies to help personalise and improve content and services, serve relevant ads and provide a safer experience. You can review your cookie controls at any time. Learn more about cookie uses and controls in our Cookie Policy.

    Accept All

    ———

    Welcome to a fresh, simpler Facebook.com

    We’re introducing a new look to Facebook.com, and we’re excited for you to start using it.

    Turn on dark mode to give your eyes a break

    Catch up quickly with faster loading times

    Find things easily with a cleaner look and bigger text

    1. You’re wasting your time pleading with Zuckenberg, Jerry; he’s one of the New World Order‘s generalissimos.

      1. Germans, inevitably, have a word for it: Schlimmbesserung – the improvement that makes things worse.

  36. Makes yer prahd to be a NOTTLer. Corking riposte from Nagsman in TCW to somewhat self-regarding post.
    1. Kat

    It is oversimplifying a profession.

    Nurses need to know why they are doing what they are doing. A nurse can be shown how to do dialysis but have no understanding what it is actually doing. When something goes wrong, they’d be clueless.

    The old diploma nurses were 1-2 years in hospital. The new goal is a 4 year degree with 50/50 classroom to hospital time. They get the same hours at the bedside. The rest of the week, they are practicing how to insert a catheter, doing every kind of wound care, inject subcut/IM/intradermal/IV and the plethora of infusions. Then more advanced skills such as PICC and Central Lines. That is one class in school that ensures every nurse is exposed and trained regardless of the area they go to in hospital.

    In hospital for 2 years, a nurse may never see a code blue, may never help deliver a baby or have a patient die. They may not see adverse events and when they are finally autonomous, things may not go smoothly and if they don’t understand (say, how the kidneys filter or dont) they may make huge and life threatening mistakes (giving the dialysis patient as much water as they want).

    You can delegate the cleanliness of a ward to a janitor who doesn’t need any of the same education.

    Orderlies can bath, brush teeth, had out meal trays and the basics for a fraction of the price.

    Nurses at the same time will be pulling out medications, doing dressing changes, giving insulin, tube feeds, hanging IVs, inserting IVs, working on trach or ventilator patients (pressures, secretions blocking the tube, internal suctions, inner cannula changes, emergency trach changes if it becomes dislodged), puffers, some nurses administer chemotherapy, some units nurse deliver babies if the doctor is held up at another birth… the list goes on.

    We didn’t have these things (e.g. IV insertions and medications) as of 100 years ago. Doctors used to do most of these tasks. Nurses are doing more so doctors can do more and see more patients. Thus, nurses need to know why. You can’t just give insulin and monitor the numbers without understanding more than a lay person about diabetes. You can’t monitor potassium and other blood values without understanding how electrolytes and fluids work which is extremely complicated (e.g. a potassium level must be 3.5-5.0 any deviation causes severe cardiac issues and that is one of dozens of electrolytes and nurses need to understand the levels, consequences and how to treat them). There are more diseases known than ever before. 50 years ago, no one would have known how to treat Addison’s disease and Aids/HIV didn’t even exist.

    So many are oversimplifying things dramatically.

    It’s like saying, accountants just do a little counting.

    Engineers just put legos together, why do they need a degree?

    Lawyers just memorize the law code and regurgitate what they memorized when you ask them a question.

    An editor just proofreads.

    Stock broker just buys and sells.

    Air traffic controllers just find a plane parking spot…

    None of them need any education in a school, just on the job training is that what you are saying?

    2. Nagsman

    So, in view of the poor quality of my training as an SRN please explain to me how I managed to run a ward, ensure hygiene and patient comfort, look after my Nurses and administer drugs, and change catheters? Furthermore how did I manage to take a post grad course in Phsychiatric Nursing and rise through the profession to become a Night Superintendent in charge of 800 bed hospital.

    Oh – and during my General Training I did the rounds and assisted in delieveries, did obstetrics, geriatrics, general & medical & theatre.”.

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/negligence-and-complacency-behind-the-nhs-crisis/

    1. Good on ‘er! If Nags was in “Phsychiatric Nursing”, she must have been one of a kind. 😉

          1. I recall reading once that Dame Sarah Mullally, now “Bishop Sarah”, had quite a lot to do with making nursing a graduate management career churning out people too proud to nurse but if I try to find that information now, it’s completely disappeared and become impossible to prove. Or maybe I did imagine it?

    2. When I was a child, my father told me repeatedly that the best question you can ever ask is, “Why?”

      And keep asking it until you get a reasonable and logical answer.

          2. Indeed, especially since we are fortunate
            to have such professionals as we have, as
            posters.

    4. So, in short, she didn’t answer at all. Just the usual “I know better” – when it is very, very evident that she didn’t, and doesn’t.

    5. So, in short, she didn’t answer at all. Just the usual “I know better” – when it is very, very evident that she didn’t, and doesn’t.

  37. I lived in Briston, north Norfolk, between June 2001 and October 2011.

    In all that time I only once saw a policeman walking alone down our street. I was so taken aback by this event that I stood in the street staring at him with an open-mouth. He saw me and nodded a short, “Hello.”

    I replied with a similar greeting before saying to him, “Am I dreaming? This is the first time since I moved here that I’ve seen one of you walking down our street.”

    He replied, “Our chief wants us to do more beat work. You’ll probably see more of me from now on.”

    Famous last words. I never saw him, nor any of his colleagues, again.

      1. I see lots of police cars racing up and down Shepherds Bush Road with their sirens blaring. If they’re heading towards Hammersmith, I assume the crime was committed in Shepherds Bush and vice versa.

    2. We’ve twice seen police here in 26 years – one came to ask if they could use our house as a stake-out, and the other came in response to a call by OH when he saw next-door’s ladder being stolen.
      The policewoman scarpered when she saw snowflakes swirling in the air and thought they’d not get home, and the ladder was found abandoned a mile away.

  38. Watched a repeat of the BBC’s Antique Roadshow yesterday….

    The subject included a picture taken at one of the ice poles during the 1930’s showing melting ice and green areas of the landscape.

    The picture was very similar to those shown today by people like David Attenborough to convince us that global warming is causing the ice to melt at an alarming rate.

  39. Good morning, my friends

    The actual concerns of people trying to run their own small businesses is of little interest to politicians or to the MSM. But still, in a futile attempt to bring this to people’s attention I bung off letters to the DT for them not to publish so if you don’t want to see it just look at tomorrow’s DT letters and it won’t be there and don’t look at the following:

    Sir, My wife and I moved to France 31 years ago and set up our own business offering Sixth Formers residential French courses in Brittany. However, because we run a business in France for British clients our courses have been particularly hard hit having to overcome unsynchronised Covid lockdowns and Covid travel restrictions of both the UK and France. And of course the cancellation of public exams in Britain has not helped.

    We have made a good living from our business for thirty years – but it took a certain amount of foolhardiness for us to give up our safe, secure jobs and strike out on our own. The fear that governments and the media have engendered may mean that fewer people will be able to summon up the entrepreneurial and optimistic spirit needed to set up new businesses and the future of the economy must surely depend on new businesses.

    1. That’s the whole point of the Great Reset isn’t it? To remove the troublesome class of independent business owners who might resist being made slaves?
      Can you give French lessons to German teenagers, or English lessons to French teens unable to travel to Blighty?

      1. I find it very troubling that this so-called “Conservative” gummint has not cottoned on to the fact that 85% of the economy is made up of SMEs (Small to medium enterprises)

        3. Over 85% of businesses are SMEs (more like 95%). But they only make up a very small proportion of the economy.

        4. Over 85% of businesses are SMEs (more like 95%). But they only make up a very small proportion of the economy.

      2. Actually Caroline already gives English and Spanish lessons to our friends’ children. She also gives them French lessons but we do not charge them.

        When our son, Christo, was in primary school he corrected his teacher’s French. The Frenchman was not pleased especially as Christo was aged 6, English and right!

  40. Willie Vague writing in the DT: Heading and Sub heading:

    Constitutional tinkering won’t stop the Scottish nationalist juggernaut
    To save the Union we must end the perception that the UK is run mainly for Home Counties Tories.

    If he were to actually ask some Home Counties Tories he would be told The Government can’t be trusted to run a bath even for the benefit of the Home counties….

  41. The heading on the Third Leader in The Grimes today:

    “The Times view on the World Economic Forum: Network Fail
    Something is lost when the annual gathering at Davos takes place only online”

    I won’t make you feel ill by posting the article. It is vomit making.
    My BTL comment was, “Traditionally, The Times third leader was always supposed to be funny. Good to see this tradition is being continued.”

    2. The Davos set daren’t gather in one place. It would only take one bomb, one avalanche, one fire, one poisoned banquet. They’re safer – and not from the virus – scattered around the globe in their high tech high security bubbles.

  42. I see that the Telegraph’s Orange Man Bad-in-chief, US ‘Editor Ben Riley-Smith is now returning to the UK after 3.5 years, presumably due his mission being accomplished.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/25/behind-scenes-trump-circus-three-years-reporting-washington/

    In line with his other ‘articles’, his final piece as US Editor did not allow reader comments. Presumably they’ll be relative silence from teh Telegraph on the failings (or asking questions of) the Biden administration. The difference between the DT and CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post or New York Times, which are all Democratic Party, has reduced from a Gulf to a stream. Presumably the DT will soon reconsider its view on Brexit.

  43. https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/01/19/the-witch-hunting-of-lockdown-sceptics/

    We have entered a new era of demonology. The hunt is on for heretics and
    witches who might be held responsible for our current predicament, for
    the plague of Covid.
    As in pre-modern times, sinful speakers and thinkers, those who dare to
    bristle against the political or scientific consensus, are being
    demonised and publicly shamed as assistants of the plague, as Covid’s
    willing helpers. They have ‘blood on their hands’, the lockdown fanatics
    cry, blissfully unaware of how similar they sound to those who in
    earlier times of disease would drag eccentrics to the stocks in the
    warped belief that those eccentrics either brought the plague or at
    least aided its spread.

  45. Being much in need of a boost to morale, have just bought tickets for the first day of the Lord’s Test vs India, Thursday 12th August. Full refund if we are not allowed to attend which will be spent on lobsters & champagne in the garden listening to TMS.

      1. Yes. Two tests – tickets not on sale yet….and I fear that we could still be in some sort of cockdown. K & I thought the India Test looked like a better bet for a day out. Would you be interested?

          1. K is contacting Lord’s right now to get another seat. She’s become quite chummy with a young chappie in the booking office.

          8. Not allowed to buy more than two tickets. We’re in Row V of the Compton Stand. K will telephone you and tell what to do to get a spare seat in Row S. I will call later.

  46. There are many things that frighten people today…

    Here is a list of examples that don’t worry me…

    Covid19.
    Nuclear war.
    War with China.
    War with N. Korea.
    War with Russia.

    Here’s the one I do fear…

    All out civil war on home soil.

    1. There is one thing, and one thing only, that has bothered me for a long time and continues to do so.

      That is the gross overpopulation of the planet by self-regarding humans and all the ills that brings with it, which are far too numerous to mention.

      1. ‘Afternoon, George, whilst I agree with your premise of overpopulation, only a combination of the four horsemen in an integrated, concentrated and concerted effort will achieve any significant reduction in World population.

        I have to also agree with HONDA, that civil war will finish off what the fools in government have so far implemented and finish off the government themselves, who will be hanging by piano wire all along Whitehall.

        1. Afternoon, NtN.

          IMHO I think that civil disobedience towards the Junta’s demands will come before really violent civil unrest.. It’s January and on sunny but very chilly days I’m seeing many more people about and more traffic. How Johnson and Hancock expect to keep people from the parks, open spaces and the coast when the daylight hours extend and the temperature increases I cannot imagine. The forces of oppression i.e. the police do not have the numbers to intervene if several million people decamp and head for recreation spots. If the police do try to intervene then that is when things could turn nasty. Massive disobedience could force the Junta to back right off but it will depend how hard Johnson and Co are being pushed by the globalists.

          If Johnson wants a fight he could very well get one and lose. Some European countries are showing the way and the unrest could go viral (pun intended). The unrest must be Johnson’s worst nightmare. How to contain it from happening here? Hancock ranting on about more mutants/variants and a very long, long way to go has, for me, a hint of desperation as Spring approaches. Can he see his sorry end? I do hope so.

          1. “Hancock ranting on about more mutants/variants and a very long, long way to go…”

            You missed out one of his longs. It’s a very long, long, long way we have to go, apparently.

          2. Thanks for pointing that out, SiaDc. Not that an omission of one, “long”, from that sleaze-ball makes me loathe him any less.

          3. “Hancock ranting on about more mutants/variants and a very long, long way to go…”

            You missed out one of his longs. It’s a very long, long, long way we have to go, apparently.

        2. 328828+ up ticks,
          Afternoon NTN,
          I do believe those four jockeys each sporting a suitcase nuclear device would / could make a very significant difference.

        3. Good afternoon, Tom.

          This ‘lockdown’ bollocks is precisely what the ruling establishment have started, for no other reason than to subjugate and utterly cow the hoi polloi into submission and subservience, followed by a cataclysmic reduction in numbers.

      2. And, a few years ago, the population of Europe (the Continent, NOT the EU) had leveled off and was starting a gentle decline to more sustainable numbers when the Powers That Be began a sham hysteria of “We need more people to pay for the current population when they get older” and opened the floodgates to meet their wishes.

        1. 328828+ up ticks,
          Afternoon Bob,
          The ptb were supported & voted for right up until 2019,
          that being the lab/lib/con
          mass uncontrolled immigration coalition.

          whilst the party that called repeatedly for controlled immigration was treacherously kicked into touch.

        2. As soon as they learned what a Ponzi scheme was, the politicians wanted to try it. They have the advantage that their schemes take 30 or 40 years to collapse on themselves and, of course, none of the perpetrators will be held responsible.

    2. I believe that has already started ‘across the pond’. And it seems to me that our box ticking public service including the police in this country have already geard themselves up for this.
      They are chasing the indigenous population in to predetermined corners.
      By deliberately ignoring the most obvious problems that are escalating on a daily level in the uk.

    3. 328828+up ticks,
      Afternoon H,
      Same as that,and that is what has been building for quite a while what with many a lucrative scam petering out ie the eu, wind turbines, etc etc, replacements must be found, there’s money in them there arms.

      Maybe Holland is the trigger.

      1. Afternoon O!

        It’s kicking off all over Europe as well as Holland…

        The media are keeping it mostly under wraps. It’s mid winter at the moment but even on a miserable January day…the temperature in London is a balmy 14 degrees.

        Days are getting longer and people’s tempers are getting shorter.

        1. Most revolutions kick off in the summer months (July is popular). Even the Octyabskaya didn’t happen in the middle of winter.

    1. Depends what you’re trying to achieve. As a means of crashing the economy beyond repair, rolling lockdowns as advocated by Klaus Schwab for that purpose, do work.

      3. I have a lot of sympathy with our politicians over lockdown. Without vaccination we are looking at a death toll of 500,000 over time; that is from simple epidemiology, not over cooked unreliable models. Further, it has been known from the start that this is a military virus, it is a variant of a commercial research virus developed in the UK that was transferred to Canada. Before it showed up ‘in the wild’ via the Wuhan not very bio-secure lab it had snake and bat DNA inserted at 4 symmetrical points. Only human engineering could have done that. That makes it clear that,
        1. This is a military virus.
        2. There is no history of how it mutates and it was/is very hard to judge how it might mutate. Unlike, flu, rhino and other covids which are fully familiar.
        3. It was clear from the beginning that it would not take much mutation to make it very dangerous indeed. At the moment it infects via the AC2 enzyme in the lung which there is more of the older you get. If it mutates to being genuinely airborne we are in deep trouble, it is thought to be fairly close to doing that.
        4. Currently it kills by provoking a fatal immune over reaction, mainly in the elderly as Spanish flu did in the young. As far as I am aware no one knows how far that is from provoking a more serious reaction and becoming far more deadly. It is a matter of great concern
        For comparison, Aids, which mutates infrequently, is reckoned to be about 20 mutations away from being an airborne, high R value, very deadly disease. Covid is making more than 20 mutations a week.

          1. If people think politicians are idiots for lockdown and vaccines should be avoided, then they need to be aware. BTW, back in early March when Covid first arrived in the US I was part of discussions on Breitbart and WUWT (which used to be solid science) and the consensus was that Trump’s reaction would cost him the election. It did.

        2. So, why isn’t this clear explanation offered by the government as explanation for their random lockdown-no lockdown actions?

          1. Do you think any govt. will say “This is a military virus, but don’t worry”? The FBI have a view on it, and Trump was talking about releasing their data in the final days, he did say that it proved conclusively that it came from the Wuhan lab, but was dissuaded from saying more, and the data was not published. Fair enough IMHO, it would have caused panic.

          2. Might get the population onside, and doing a reasonable job of not flouting the advice.

          3. Agreed, but the other side is that it would start a Diplomatic war that would get in the way of stopping the damn thing. I am confident of it being stopped BTW, The Oxford vaccine is basically constructed out of a ‘kill your local vaccine toolkit’ and will be adjusted within days to handle a new mutation when needed. Also we are a year into this thing and so far no mutation has been shown to have increased lethality, and they all are thought to be dealt with by current vaccines. The South Africa one is a maybe, and perhaps one of the Brasil variants. Two in two years would be easily manageable.

          4. Agreed, but the other side is that it would start a Diplomatic war that would get in the way of stopping the damn thing. I am confident of it being stopped BTW, The Oxford vaccine is basically constructed out of a ‘kill your local vaccine toolkit’ and will be adjusted within days to handle a new mutation when needed. Also we are a year into this thing and so far no mutation has been shown to have increased lethality, and they all are thought to be dealt with by current vaccines. The South Africa one is a maybe, and perhaps one of the Brasil variants. Two in two years would be easily manageable.

          5. Agreed, but the other side is that it would start a Diplomatic war that would get in the way of stopping the damn thing. I am confident of it being stopped BTW, The Oxford vaccine is basically constructed out of a ‘kill your local vaccine toolkit’ and will be adjusted within days to handle a new mutation when needed. Also we are a year into this thing and so far no mutation has been shown to have increased lethality, and they all are thought to be dealt with by current vaccines. The South Africa one is a maybe, and perhaps one of the Brasil variants. Two in two years would be easily manageable.

          6. Because “this is a military virus” is just a bit more internet conspiracy theory.. Exactly no evidence for this claim has ever been seen.

      4. Certainly everything Professor Schwab proposed is happening.

        I wonder whether that is a mere coincidence?

  48. UK diplomats told to cut up to 70% from overseas aid budget. 26 January 2021.

    British diplomats have been instructed to find at least 50% cuts in UK overseas aid in the next six weeks in advance of the next financial year, the Labour party has said.

    Sarah Champion, the chair of parliament’s international development select committee, said: “Our ambassadors have today been instructed by the Foreign Office to cut 50-70% from the aid budget.”

    Describing the speed of the planned cuts as catastrophic, she added: “There is no doubt that lives will be lost as a consequence and our global standing as humanitarians destroyed. Welcome to day 26 of global Britain.”

    Why are they asking diplomats? Just repeal the law that authorised it in the first place! As to Ms. Champion does she really imagine foreigners go around saying, “Those Brits, they are real Humanitarians.” Much more likely “Those Brits; what morons!”

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jan/26/uk-cut-overseas-aid-budget-costs

    1. They are asking the Diplomats because it has been decided that the cuts will happen. Given the history of our Diplomats the next step is to ask them to advise on cuts so they can’t go running to the Graun weeping “Nobody gave us any warning, there was no information”. It’s also a good way to ‘leak first’ as our wonderful Ambassadors love to leak.

      I think the law will be changed when that is no shock to anyone, and any Tory MPs who want to object (there will be some) will have shot their bolt long before.

      1. I think they are just trying to grab headlines that work well at home. Eventually they will say it was too difficult and expensive to implement and so we have decided to give even more money away.

        Redistribution of the wealth and all that….

    3. With millions of people out of work, businesses destroyed, young people’s prospects torpedoed, never has the phrase ‘Charity begins at home’ been more apt.

        1. Don’t forget the business flights and 5* hotels, plus lunch must be Michelin, or you won’t get the best people.

        2. The “charitable status” given to enterprises should cease. No tax breaks, no grants. Nothing from the public purse. They should be required to carry out operational, and value for money audits and publish them every year, at their own expense.

      1. No problems, it’s easy. They can stump up the differece, if it’s so important to them.

    5. I thought we ceased behind the World’s Policeman decades ago, so why do we still need to act as the World’s Nanny?

    6. I can’t see Parliament ever repealing the law which they stupidly passed in the first place under Cameron’s tenure. I’m pretty sure that if the public had been given a vote on committing .7% of GDP to overseas aid it would have been “no”. We should give aid as and when there is a natural disaster, as we used to.

      1. Are they counting all the ‘foreigner aid’ being spent on hotels and no doubt eventual access to healthcare, social care and benefits being dished out in and around the beaches of Kent?

        1. I was going to reply sarcastically of course not coz it’s supposed to be overseas aid! But seriously I presume not! Anyway We have plenty of money, Rishi is awash with it.

    7. There are far too many ‘humans’ sucking up far too much ‘humanitarian’ aid.

      Without it the lunar programme and nuclear capability of India will be up the Ganges.

  49. hello folks

    I trust you are all well.

    Nags have been keeping my pretty busy of late as they have been stabled – one with foot ailment and the rest because they have at last got the slave trained up.

    P

    1. Good to see you here – Citroen relayed to us the problems you were having with Nag’s foot. Hope he’s on the mend now.

      2. Yes – the foot seems to have resolved itself. I just wish the snow and Ice would behave similarly.

        Turning a barn sour horse out in the field today was the most risky thing I have done in a long while.

    2. KBO, Naggers. We miss your input.

      I know about slaves – Gus and Pickles have us trained, and they are not yet five months old!

    3. KBO, Naggers. We miss your input.

      I know about slaves – Gus and Pickles have us trained, and they are not yet five months old!

  50. 328828+ up ticks,
    May one say,
    Five million unemployed highest number in five years does rather fly in the twin faces of the tory party and the cry post referendum, “we have won, leave it to the tory’s”

    IMO there was only one party that called in vain for “total severance” whilst the majority via the ballot booth and the lab/lib/con coalition party were trying to achieve a credible
    believable cock-up, all the coalition could muster was a treacherous political 5 year ongoing brewers droop.

  51. I am off for a time. The local Arts Society (a highly commended outfit – with branches regionally) is putting out an online “guided visit to Venice” at 2 pm.

    Will let you know later whether the streets are still full of water….

  52. The row over Pfizer vaccine doses that the EU is threatening to sequester is interesting. I guess it will all depend on the precise ownership structure of the plant involved. If it is wholly owned, then the EU taking product intended for the UK will be simple theft. If the local company is set up with a fair bit of autonomy (unlikely with corporate America) then it might not be. OTOH vdL has shifted emphasis to saying that Astra-Zeneca vaccine bought and paid for by the EU has been mis-shipped to the UK because we paid more. That sounds like spin.

    Edit: Can I add to that vdL’s argument makes no commercial sense. Yes the EU paid a lower price (only slightly) but you protect the gross margin, not the price, and the EU order is huge, so higher gross margin. It looks like deflection to me.

    1. Well, the interesting thing is that VdL confirms what the South African (Professor and adviser to to SA government) chap said and that was that the European and other rich counties paid the vaccine businesses many millions in non refundable deposits. South Africa could not afford to do that.

  53. Nicked

    “We’re rapidly approaching the point when a British Citizen, arriving in the UK
    with a full British passport, will be detained and put through a period
    of detention with significant financial consequences.

    A foreign citizen arriving in the UK illegally however, will not be prosecuted for
    any offence, will be assisted to find residential accommodation without
    charge and allowed to protest and associate beyond current UK laws
    without sanction.

    The times we live in!”
    Had to steal it the “you couldn’t make it up files” insisted

        1. Where is the caped crusader when you need him

          or as it is in Wokengland

          Where is the caped *crusader when you need him/her/it/transhim/transher/transit/ etc

          * Crusader is to be taken in the Actor Parlance and will cover any of the 3,142 known genders.

  54. Russian biochemist who created NOVICHOK invents new drug to tackle Covid-19. 26 January 2021.

    A biochemist who helped to create Russia’s deadly Novichok nerve agent has invented a new drug to tackle Covid-19.

    Dr Leonid Rink was involved in the secret Soviet development of the chemical warfare agent allegedly used by Russian intelligence to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2012, and Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny in Siberia last year.

    Hardly a CV to engender confidence! They all survived!

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9188229/Russian-chemist-created-novichok-invents-Covid-19-drug.html

    3. All these people ‘who were given Novichok’ clearly weren’t. They may have been given a revised less deadly form of Novichok which western govts. decided it was expedient to refer as Novichok, but it wasn’t the real thing.

  55. There was a page on Breitbart yesterday, on the subject of the anti-lockdown riots in the Netherlands. BTL comments eventually drifted to discussing who were the most polite people in the world and it was suggested that the Dutch were strong contenders, however one poster said that the Germans were more polite than any, so I thought I’d give an example of German politeness.

    Hope I got it right or I’ll have Peddy on my case…

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cc9c41a5889e5120a0999d5ef36f6c99c469a6c0b5b3d38689a3ac36d8e372b0.png

      1. ‘Afternoon, Bob, since it’s concentration camp Kapo telling someone to, “Take your clothes of and get under the shower, immediately, fast, um, please.” It’s more likely to be auf Deutsch rather than in English.

    2. I say old chap. Would you mind awfully if we invade your country?

      No, not at all.

      And would you give us all your Jews?

      Yes fine. Will there be anything else?

      Perhaps some Bratwurst and Sauerkraut on the side?

      And would you happen to have some change for the gas meter?

      Have a nice day !

    3. I’ve never found the Dutch particularly polite. The take a great pride in be ‘forthright’, which comes down to bloody rude. I would say the most polite people I have dealt with are the Germans, the Swedes and the Irish when they are being charming. The Spanish are pretty good, the Italians are not, the Austrians need a slap and the French have a concept of politeness that is all their own.

      1. Try walking down Drottningsgata in Stockholm, Rodger on a busy, sunny, Saturday and see how many Swedes actually avoid you rather than try to walk through you.

        My Swedish, ex-wife said she preferred me and most English people, because the Swedes are generally bad-mannered.

        The Japanese are by far the most polite and native Singaporeans aren’t far behind.

          1. I have found that many of the Far East Asian countries’ peoples are very polite and in my experience are slightly surprised, but highly appreciative if you are polite in return.

      2. I lived in the Limburg area of Holland for a couple of years, the only impolite people were the teenage yobs. As this was 50 odd years ago I expect those yobs have given birth to equally impolite brats

        1. The curfew is deeply unpopular, but a Dutch friend of mine reckons it’s “new Dutch” (Dindus) who fancy their own version of BLM rioting, hence the looting.

      3. Fully agree with most of that, except for the Swedes. If you live in Sweden, they are passive-aggressive to the point of being bloody rude.

          1. Swedes in this country are usually pretty friendly, as is the case with most peoples when abroad.
            My last encounter was with a Swedish nurse when I went for my meds review last September. I detected her accent after a few minutes, asked her, “är du svensk?” Her mouth dropped open & she nearly dropped her pen as she nodded. “Då kunne vi försätta endast på svenska.” She was delighted. She was very gentle when she took my blood sample too.

          2. Yes, the Americans overseas are extremely polite. That is perhaps because of they are aware of their reputation and are careful not to be that. In a social gathering with mainly Americans at the table, it is fun to stand up when a lady arrives. Point one, she loves it, and point two, having missed it the first time the American men will henceforth stand up every time a lady comes to the table.

            It actually puts the women in a good mood and makes for a very nice atmosphere. It is an old custom that I greatly approve of. I generally wouldn’t dare do it in the UK, there might be trouble, there would certainly be resentment.

    4. Basically correct but better as a reflexive verb & as we’re talking about politeness, remember that Sie takes a big ‘S’…

      Ziehen Sie sich die Kleidung aus, und gehen Sie direkt unter die Dusche.

      1. Vielen Dank! Ich bestehe darauf, dass mein Deutsch müsse korrekt sein, zu jeder Zeit und unter allen Umständen.
        ;¬)

        1. Gerne geschehen! Dann macht es Dir nichts aus, wenn ich eine kleine Korrektur anbiete…

          Vielen Dank! Ich bestehe darauf, dass mein Deutsch zu jeder Zeit und unter allen Umständen söllte korrekt sein.

  57. It is obviously my week for finding annoying articles.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/01/26/call-self-employed-pay-tax/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr

    My response is as follows

    Ok – so many of the self employed were left to fend for themselves throughout the Pandemic and now it is being suggested that they should pick up the bill.

    Why not just tax the online traders who have actually benefitted from the Pandemic and leave the self-employed alone – and whilst you are at it cancel IR35. How can it be just that MPs get second homes and travel paid for by the tax payer but Self employed cannot even offset such business expenses against tax?

    1. Good afternoon, Nags.

      One hopes that the Treasury/HMG
      is working hard to top the rape of our
      retail Country by initiating proper tax
      controls over Amazon etc.

    1. I have also read that the military is in control right now in the US and all will become clear after March 11. I have no idea now where I read this, it was only in the last three days and I read so much stuff now. I do not know what is significant about March 11.

        2. Thinking back, it was from a comment and not an article. I was not convinced at the time which is why I paid it only a scant amount of attention. Chinese whispers and rumours came to mind.

      2. ‘What is special about 11 March?

        History of World Plumbing Day

        And so World Plumbing Day was born, and it is big and getting bigger all the time. Today, on the continents of Australia, Europe, and Africa events are organized to mark the occasion and draw attention to the importance of good plumbing and sanitation.’

        Well, you did ask.

      1. I doubt if Biden will have the courage to press any buttons Bill with Killary in the wings. 🕛💥☠

    1. It should be but while we were in the EU it was useless because of rules of freedom of movement of capital. Look up the Factortame case.

  60. Can I just say it that it is a well known attribute of the French language that it it is very amenable to punning, and French humour is substantially based around the use of puns – which is why it’s not funny.

    We have left the EU. Please suppress your unfortunate compulsion to emulate the French. It is shameful.

    2. I always liked Beachcomber’s twist:-

      Sauté pour mieux reculer. Reculer in this context means to bring back, i.e. vomit. The original quote is: reculer pour mieux sauter, i.e. to retreat, all the better to advance.

    1. The first swear words appeared in less than one minute. I stopped swearing at 1 minute 42 seconds as I could not bear to watch any more idiocy…..

  64. Thirty days hath September,
    April, June and November.
    Unless a leap year is its fate,
    February has twenty eight.
    All the rest have three days more,
    Excepting January which has
    six thousand one hundred and eighty-four

    1. Thirty days hath September,
      April, June and November.
      Unless a leap year is its fate,
      February has twenty eight.
      All the rest have three days more,
      Excepting Black History Month
      which goes on and on and on …………

          1. The first announcement on day two was important.

            They reported that there was nothing further of importance to report…

    2. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have partnered with an LA research centre to ‘eliminate’ online hate speech.”

      I would have preferred the headline “LA research centre to eliminate the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”

      1. I read that as “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have parted…..” and thought, well, there’s a surprise…

          1. To be honest, I am surprised he hasn’t packed it in. I suppose it is because he is so dim, he cannot see how he is being used.

          6. Probably! He has a great interest/input
            into the problem of homeless veterans,
            amongst other excellent causes.

    3. They are annoying, but they have had a lot of mindless hate – you only have to look at any DM article on the royal family to see it. Hate = clicks though, which I’m sure Meghan is well aware of. Any article about her gets more comments than anthing else.

      1. But, but….there can’t be any articles about her – she has demanded privacy and has retreated permanently behind a high wall…….(sarc)

          3. She could always walk around to the dark side – then no-one could even see her by mistake.

          4. There would be a twotter post saying, “Stop looking at me on the dark side of the moon”.

      2. But anybody who has had to deal with children knows full well that attention seekers seek bad attention as much as they seek good attention.

  66. Gee Whizz.

    We had a live, conducted tour on foot of the eastern Dorsoduro by a lovely, amusing and informative lady guide. The sun was shining – the sky was cloudless blue. For the first time in nine months, and for an hour and a half, the MR and I felt NORMAL. One could almost smell the sea.

    And it was quite extraordinary to see Venice with almost no people – apart from locals, and children coming out of school. All shops, cafés, bars and hotels are shut.

    But just for a time…we were there. La Serenissima. Ah me – I wonder if we will ever be able to go there again.

  69. All we seem to see on the mainstream media from around the world are politicians all masked up issuing dystopian diktats and armed police / soldiers all masked up marching and beating ordinary people, the mask has become the modern day swastika, when you see one on someone in authority it is starting to look intimidating

    1. The intimidation is working. Looking at the two dozen parents who had come to collect children from the local infants school this afternoon. Outside the school gates (i.e) in the open air, two thirds were wearing face coverings (masks implies a degree of protection). One third were not wearing any face covering. Prior to the latest lockdown i.e before Christmas no more than 2 or 3 bothered with the face coverings.

    2. The intimidation is working. Looking at the two dozen parents who had come to collect children from the local infants school this afternoon. Outside the school gates (i.e) in the open air, two thirds were wearing face coverings (masks implies a degree of protection). One third were not wearing any face covering. Prior to the latest lockdown i.e before Christmas no more than 2 or 3 bothered with the face coverings.

    3. It is intimidating. That line-up of Democrats at the fake inauguration in black masks was intimidating – intentionally so, I am sure. It was intended to let the world know who is boss in the US.

  70. Walked down to the shop earlier on – a bit slippery in places but not like yesterday. Drizzly and not so cold – we needed some milk as our milko didn’t deliver last night (they did let me know this morning by email) probably due to the state of the road here last night. Anyway – that was my exercise for today.

      1. If I may make a correction, PM…

        Fauci should be forcibly retired with extreme prejudice. Along with Pelosi.

    2. I thought President Trump
      refused all of his salary …
      so yes, he would have been
      the lowest paid federal employee.

      This year’s federal payroll should make
      interesting reading!

    3. I see he’s now recommending people wear two facemasks, after originally saying they weren’t effective at all outside of medical staff using them in a strictly controlled medical setting, to any one face mask (amazing how all those Chief Medical Officers changed their minds with zero evidence in favour of them but after all the science and medical journals suppressed a Danish study that proved [again] that non-medical masks and used by the public were useless, all in the space of a few days) and now to two.

      How long before Whitty does the same? My money’s on within a couple of weeks this time – they don’t want to make it look too obvious this time.

      3. Don’t be too happy. Next up will be compulsory FFP2 masks.
        Don’t even bother to point out that they won’t be any more useful – you know as well as I do that that’s not the point!

        1. Oh I’m sure they’ll do this as people get fed up with one lot of scaremongering. In this case, it’s like the men’s razor manufacturers going to war on why having that extra blade on their razors makes all the difference.

    4. The average salary for their feds is just under $70,000 and I doubt that they received the benefits that Trump received.

      1. Richard.

        You are not speaking to the converted.
        Here, almost daily, we hear of benefits
        claimed by HMG and hangers-on while
        the General Public are expected to pay
        for their own additional costs incurred,
        while working from home!

        1. I will raise you one governor general. Forced into resigning at the weekend because of bad behaviour but still able to collect the normal GG pension of about $150,000.

      2. I believe that between diverting presidential meetings to his own premises (and charging top whack for doing so) and all the other benefits he has been given (he has certainly not earned) at least double the normal presidential income. Then there’s all the extra security costs that he has awarded to the children for the foreseeable future which would not be any part of a normal past-president’s costs.

        1. it wax just the lowest paid federal employee tag that got me. All of those admin staff will be way under $100,000. I found a chart showing base salaries that starts at about $20,000

          1. We get much the same here with the assumption that all public sector employees have six figure salaries and gold-plated pensions – which completely overlooks the fact that large numbers of them are street sweepers, school dinner ladies, etc and the average public sector pension (ie earnings related, not the state pension) is around £5,000.

            I think it has something to do with “damned lies and statistics”.

    2. So, why are the BBC presenters allowed to get their haircut and make-up applied before prancing infront
      of the cameras?

      Ooops One law for the plebs, another for Wokenglanders

      1. Good evening Sue – I see no harm in what they have organised. They need to keep smart and not have hair fashioned like the Derby Chief constable.

          1. Evening Duncan – I see she is the deputy chief. I cannot understand how she is allowed out in public like that.

          4. Didn’t someone, on here a while ago,
            tell us she is an excellent Police-Woman
            who protects her Staff and leads from the
            front?
            … Appearances can be deceptive.

          5. Standards must be maintained, especially by those at the top. I wouldn’t expect to see an Army officer – from the CGS down to the lowest “Rupert” – looking like a freak from a circus, as she surely does.

    7. Time, perhaps, for the police to go on strike for the first time since 1919 (even though such action is prohibited by law).

      That might give the ruling classes the kick up the arse they sorely need. Especially if the armed forces followed suit.

      1. The alternative is, like our local A&E, is for them all to hand in their resignation. One by one. A huge queue of officers quitting would concentrate the minds of the high hiedyins. And they could likely retract that resignation later.

        1. Or they could just accept that the laws which apply to everyone else, apply to them too. And pay up.

    8. Missed that, Belle – I did what I was instructed to, to try and get pics/links etc., but this one missed me (or rather I missed it).

      Would you be a sweetie and put a link, please?

      Hope you and R and boys (of all kinds) thriving. XX

        1. Thank you.

          KBO – we are made of tougher stuff than many in the youngest green, woke generation.

          XXX

          1. I wonder what Mustard and Cressida, the D!ck head’s, hair looks like. If only it would grow long enough to hide her ugly mug.

      2. 328828+ up ticks,
        Evening R,
        At this moment in time the governing overseeing group, plus the canteen menu.

    2. Like the end of the “Gypsies next door ” program last night, where the Roma woman says “Very happy” – and the girl says ” £500 a week “. Add the free NHS, Free police force, free fire service, free schooling ( if they went ) etc etc. And our pensioners get ??? for being born and bred here then working for 40+ years.

  77. Just had a msg from a mate in N.E.Derbyshire. He was going along a 30 mph road when he noticed the Van parked on grass at the side of the road. Flaps open at the back – as if the speed cameras were in use. He knows that to get above 30 on that stretch of twisty road would be a miracle. Only two lanes wide and it is a link road to the M1 so usually very busy. Then he realised what is more likely. . . . .

      1. Part of the system works on collecting/checking car registration numbers. Same as the ANPR cameras everywhere. Other forces have already done it apparently. They sit there and know who has been driving/breaking the lockdown rules. Check somewhere else later. and again and again. If the same numbers keep appearing . . .

  78. This evening’s PM’ programme on BBC’s Radio 4 started promisingly, talking of the need for ‘context’ in respect of today’s announcement (put aside for the moment arguments about the accuracy of that number) but then continued in the vein that we all know so well, although, with all due credit, rather more sensitively than some of the television broadcasts. A woman who had lost her sister early on and had spoken to the BBC (she read a poem of her own composition) was invited back. She spoke of the language of the government and reporters – “flattening the curve, squashing the sombrero” – and how insensitive it sounds to those who have lost relatives to the disease. She was right…but then…

    Her sister’s death was a personal tragedy but once again, despite its earnest attempts to do otherwise, I felt I was being manipulated and lectured by the BBC. All of the broadcasters have a difficult job with the situation but, despite one notable exception, they have been neither brave nor honest in their reporting, instead preferring too often to use emotive arguments. Depressingly, it appears to have worked on a majority of the population.

      1. I thought that was the march 2020 prediction
        for Christmas 2020 .. haven’t ‘they’ yet updated
        the fear scale?

        By the way: to where has Prof. ferguson disappeared?

    4. EU:

      “Sorry Nicola, we don’t really want a net taker, and we certainly won’t pay you as much as England did.
      The only reason you can join is to make life as awkward as possible for the rUK as we ship all our asylum seekers to Edinburgh.”

        1. Yep, anything to scratch the English a little, even if it causes amputations for Scotland.

  83. That’s me gone for the day. Still euphoric after our ninety minutes live in Venice – a Venice you will have never seen before.

    If anyone is interested, I can supply a link to the lady who does the tour.

    I can’t tell you the feeling of liberation that ninety minutes provided.

    A demain.

  84. BBC TV News at Six
    VIewers must be deemed to have completely lost their short term memory.
    They had to be reminded for a whole half hour that the UK COVID death tally had large number of zeros in it.

    Good news however that case deaths have reduced from one third to one fifth.

    1. No, it doesn’t have lots of zeroes in it.
      95 829 as of yesterday (with Covid on the death certificate). That’s 0.14% of the total registered population, and 2.6% of those recorded as infected.

      1. The latest from Worldometers.

        UK
        Total cases 3,689,746
        New cases +20,089
        total deaths 100,162
        New deaths +1,631
        Total recovered 1,648,218

        Active cases 1,941,366
        Seroius/critical 4,032
        Caes per 1M pop 54,190
        Deaths per 1M pop 1,471
        totsl tests 69,359,822
        Tests per 1M pop1,018,660
        Population 68,089,273

        1. My argument with these numbers is that how many countries have reliable and accurate statistics, properly collected and not manipulated to “save face”? That’s why I stick to Northern Europe’s data for the virus.

          3. I think that is the current rate, I was looking at the overall rate since March at the weekend… but of course I cannot find it again. ONS do not make their statistics easy to access.

          5. OK, it has come down quite a lot then. I clearly picked up the wrong figure on Sunday – probably because ONS stats are so hard to access.

            On the other hand it is still very high (much more than flu) and number with pneumonia have been fairly minimal since the advent of antibiotics.

        2. And so what?
          Large %’s of those who ended up in hospital with ‘flu or pneumonia also (used to) die.
          Covid is nasty, no question of that, but the figures are being deliberately juggled and confused to keep a subservient population.

      3. Also on the news today 2,000,000 people have died of COVID in the world.

        With a 2021 World Population at 7,874,965,825

        this makes 2,000,000/7,874,965,825 x100 % = < 0.025% of world population dead through pandemic.

        1. How many dead world wide (in the same period) from Malaria? TB? Seasonal ‘flu? (* Other causes of death available)

    3. Johnson is not very popular here:

      Johnson Slammed for 100,000 Deaths

      People are putting it down to incompetence and cronyism: I wonder what they would think if they knew the real reason. Time to reduce the PCT Ct number and get the ‘cases’ down, or better still stop testing people that are not ill and concentrate on those that are. The ‘science’ hasn’t worked and he stubbornly wouldn’t listen to alternatives. Time for the Bozo to be RESET.

      2. I found the best way to shut people up is to take full personal responibiity when things are perceived to be going wrong and he has jut done that.

        I suppose he could always blamed it on Larry who purred at his suggestions.

  85. SWMBO and me (or is it ‘I’) took a little trip to Skegness this morning

    The only shops Open are the likes of

    Home Bargains
    M&S Food
    Tesco
    B&M
    Wilko’s

    All the little shops, that make the town enjoyable are closed

    A real shame

    1. Our local town is like a ghost town – the only places open are Morrisons, Tesco Express and the Coop.

      1. We passed through the outskirts of Cambridge last week. It was nearly dead, no life at all, those we saw were dressed sombrely as they walked, stooped and heads bent, into the teeth of the north-easterlies. What have they done to us?

        1. Bill,I was trying to think of that post card,
          all I could think of was:

          ‘Bright and Breezy!’

    4. It’s much the same here. The little outfitters that used to supply country clothes has closed and the building has been let. I know the proprietor was thinking of retiring, but I expect Covid has made his mind up for him.

      1. Our local pub The Ship closed last October – I noticed a “to let ” sign there when I walked past this afternoon. Not that we’re pub-goers but they did good food and it was a viable business.

        Our local brewery is looking for crowd funding – it’s a dynamic and very successful business that only moved to large, new premises two years ago.
        It’s a very popular meeting place and they also did fresh pizzas on site.

        Pubs and cafes are still trying to do take-aways but they are all struggling. Other small shops are having to rely on online sales. It’s dire for any small traders.

    5. I’m fed up with supermarkets.
      I want to go to Laura Ashley. And Jaeger. And Sea Salt (at least the last one is still going!).

      2. Buy whilst you can. We will soon be a communist country with no choice, except for that which the state chooses for us. Stock up!

        1. In the Soviet Union pre-Glasnost’ the only place you could get luxuries was the foreign currency shops.

      3. I thought Jaeger had just been taken over. Laura Ashley was never the same after its eponymous founder fell down stairs.

    6. I’m fed up with supermarkets.
      I want to go to Laura Ashley. And Jaeger. And Sea Salt (at least the last one is still going!).

  86. From my journal:

    “Sunday dawns fine and I’m up early keen to enjoy the river whilst there’s no other traffic. I promised the bloke who moored in a converted 1930s lifeboat next to my boat the previous evening, that I would leave quietly in the morning. I needn’t have bothered. At 7:00 a.m. on this fine Sunday morning a council refuse pick-up truck arrives and the operative proceeds to empty the three rubbish bins, the last one directly alongside the converted lifeboat. Spotting me at the stern of Quidlibet he shouts out a cheery “morning” followed by a helpful: “Got any rubbish to go?” at the top of his voice. I practically whispered: “no thank you” but I suspect it was too late, there was absolutely no way the converted lifeboat-man would have slept through that exchange!

    It’s all quiet in the second lock of the day so much that a red kite swoops down and scoops a beak full of water before soaring away and coming to rest in an adjacent tree. Just as I left the lock landing stage, I had a sudden urge for a cup of coffee and a more insistent call of nature urge. It is a bit problematical when one is cruising a river solo. There’s on one else on board to take the tiller whilst you make coffee for example. The only safe thing to do is find a suitable mooring and tie up. The Thames of course is littered with ‘Private No Mooring’ signs. Not to worry there were some public moorings about a mile ahead. Start to worry I can’t see a space. Hang on, is that crew member on the wide-beam about to cast off? I begin a slow circle turn just as the wide-beam casts off and I slot into the vacant space. Talk about Providence. I had just finished boiling the kettle for that much needed coffee and emerged on deck, when I was approached by a local woman collecting mooring fees; I thought it was a bit steep being asked for eight quid just to spend a penny especially as I hadn’t been moored there for more than ten minutes. The local fee collector agreed – praise be to St Andrex”.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ccfcf9e1f5b6cea68453cba447c3d4e47c43e6049337eb4d1768e1d286bfe0c8.jpg

          7. What can I say, Bill? Let’s be positive; the dog is still going, I am still able to get out for a walk (although where we can go is limited due to building over the green fields and flooding) with him and I’m still clinging on to doing dry January by the skin of my teeth. Keep posting the pics of your cats – they are a joy to behold (and I’m not a cat person).

  87. Evening, all. Another day, another non-event. Only five more days to falling jumping off the wagon!

  88. OT – an apology. When I signed out, I was unaware that the MR had an hour’s skype for work….thus leaving me at a loose end….to make fatuous comments.

  90. 100,00- deaths from Covid Boris tells us, however none from

    Heart troubles
    Cancer
    Giving Birth
    Suicide
    Respiratory problems
    Road accidents
    Drowning
    Flu
    Old Age
    etc

    3. 100,000 deaths in the last 12 months in addition to all the normal deaths from all those things. 100,000 excess deaths above the five year average.

      1. Rubbish.
        Of that 100,000, most would have died anyway this year, of exactly those causes.

        There was/is a huge backlog of very elderly people who lived beyond their wildest expectations.
        If that wasn’t the case, the average age of “Death from/with covid” would be lower rather than higher, than life expectancy.

        1. It’s better described in this article:
          https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40205465.html
          From about half way down the page:

          “Sarah Caul, ONS head of mortality analysis, said: …
          “For the best comparisons, we really need to look at age-standardised mortality rates.
          …
          Figures for age-standardised mortality rates in England and Wales only go back to 1981, when the number stood at 1,666.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
          The equivalent rate for England and Wales in 2020 is estimated to be 1,043.5 deaths per 100,000 population, according to provisional ONS data.
          This would be the highest mortality rate since 2008.”

          2. I think so, yes. Also, every time they post a photo of someone who has died in the Mail, they are always obese, poor souls.

          3. I have every sympathy for the poor sods that are being killed by the disease and even more for their families. My concern is that the cure is going to kill more than the problem ever would.

          5. they post a photo of someone who has died in the Mail,

            I hope he/she/it etc is not delivered to my house

          9. Yep, as the Australians discovered.

            The “real rural” people were over-ruled by the Greens as far as back-burning and firebreaks was concerned and we’ve seen the results.

          13. Be carefuk with deadwood

            my first christian name ends with a ‘D’ my middle name is Edward

          17. An oldie, but
            Why has Edward Woodward got so many Ds in his name?
            Because without them he’d be called Ewar Woowar.

          18. All this technology these days, super fast computer, state of the art technology and we can’t even add up how many people died over a given period that anyone can make sense of.

          20. Drink orange with any alcohol and get p1ssed, using PTB stats, Orange gets you drunk,
            It being the only Constant in their spiel

          21. All depends on how the numbers are collected.
            Radio interview from somewhere small in Africa:
            “Mr President, why do we not have Covid infections?”
            “We have no testing kits”

          22. Your comment was factual and did not warrant a downvote.

            The problems in defining deaths by Covid derive from inappropriate tests viz. PCR principally which as implemented outside laboratory controlled procedures gives almost 100% false positives and the alternative Lateral Flow test which gives a similar percentage of false negatives.

            The ‘scientific’ advisors retained by the government use the figures obtained from unreliable testing regimes to falsify the numbers of Covid-19 infections. They talk about ‘cases’ of Covid-19 for this reason.

            Usually when governments are in a deep hole of their own making they would stop digging. Not this bunch of charlatans however who continue digging a hole for themselves with a larger shovel.

          28. One man’s woman’s shite is another’s factual post as evidenced by the ratio of up-ticks to your single downvote. I forgive you; it’s no wonder you’re crabby if you can’t drink alcohol. At least I can get back to normal on Monday.

          33. It might be small consolation, but I spoke to Harvey this evening, he speaks highly of you.

          39. It’s okay; I upset peddy because I pointed out to him he was responsible for drawing attention to what Jennifer’s surname was. I can’t see who has upvoted him, but I can guess who it is.

          44. She doesn’t drink alcohol? I don’t believe it.

            I reckon she sits there, pouring flagons of the stuff down her neck and getting more belligerent as the evening wears on.
            :¬ (

          45. That is a very unpleasant comment.

            She only reacts like this when the occupational therapy batteries are flat on her rabbit.

          47. It’s what she claimed (and I have no reason to doubt it). No alcohol due to a medical problem. She was “envious”. Recognising envy is one of her problems is a step in the right direction, I suppose.

          52. Thanks, bb2. I fear your words will fall on deaf ears. Let her vent her bile if it makes her feel better. It’s like water off a duck’s back and it does her no credit.

          53. Conway is an honourable man and his posts are both interesting and informative. Like most of us he is feeling the effects of these lockdowns and the pressures they place on normal human activity and for what?

            We are being fed government and medico lies and disinformation by the skip load and most of us realise it.

          54. I just don’t like to think that anyone is feeling scared by headline figures that don’t reflect reality.
            We didn’t have a lockdown in 2008.

            Edit: I have to own up, there is slight history here.

          56. I agree. There is a sort of unreality or surreal comedic element to this Covid saga. Politicians shedding crocodile tears on the discredited BBC, whether celebrating a rushed and probably ineffective vaccine or else apologising for deaths of folk who would have died anyway at this time of year.

            The hypocrisy and peddling by fake medicos of a bald-faced lie is both sickening and insulting. There will be a reckoning in due course of that they can be certain.

          1. Sorry Ob, but those are bald statistics with no analysis.

            With your background, I would have hoped that you could come up with some analysis.

            Tell me, how many of those who “went” from covid would not have “gone” from ‘flu or pneumonia?

          2. Indeed, but you find the data. I can find it in Norway (a very open society) but not in the UK.
            There are interesting comparisons, too: Like :-
            2018 total deaths Norway 40,000 or 109.59 per day
            2018 all accidents Norway 2,000 or 5.48 per day
            2018 suicides Norway 673 or 1.84 per day
            2018 Influenza deaths Norway 1,400 or 3.84 per day
            2020 total COVID deaths Norway 544 or 1.64 per day
            EDIT: Space replaced with comma for thousands, comma replaced with dot for decimal. And I can’t be arsed to try to make it all line up nicely in columns. Sorry.

          4. Could you not just edit with commas for 1,000 one thousand and decimal place or full stop for % 5.4% or 5⋅4%?

          5. Sorry.
            :-((
            Standard setup is space for thousands and comma for decimal. Forgot to change. Mea culpa

          6. Which rather suggests that Covid is grossly exaggerated?

            And you have actually made my point for me. One can’t readily find the data.

          7. Yes, I believe the authoritarian response is grotequely exaggerated, and disproportionate, especially when you consider the economic devastation to come, and the “hidden” numbers of those who were neither diagnosed, nor treated, for cancer as a direct result of the focus solely on covid.
            A result of so few now having even a tiny education in numbers, added to a fear of risk: it adds up to a catastrope for those who work for a living.

          8. I believe so too, and I weep for my children and grandchildren.
            Though fat lot of good that will do.

            {:-((

          9. Kids adapt. They’ll be fine, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Stay positive, bro!

          10. I’ve been reading too many reports on mental health issues in children as a result of the lockdowns to feel even remotely optimistic.

          11. But, of course, the Norwegian figures are not all all similar to the UK ones, which show vastly more deaths – and only very few of them of people with less than 5 years (or a lot more) of life expectancy. People here don’t seem to understand that those who reach the age of 82 can expect a further 5 – 7 years of life.

            Which is not to say that I agree with the response – but lets not pretend that the fact of a truly terrible number of deaths in this country, doesn’t exist – as everyone here wants to do.

          12. I tried to find comparable numbers, and here hey are:
            …
            Nope, too difficult.
            Apart from 2018 influenza deaths UK in 2018: 64,157 to compare with Covid on death certificate 95,829 – up to 26 Jan 2021.

          13. Population of Norway = <5.5 million, SARS-CoV-2 deaths = 544 = ~ 0.01% of population

            Population of UK = ~ 70 million, SARS-CoV-2 deaths = 100,000 = 0.14% of population.

            There is no comparison.

          14. Yes, there is. The absolute numbers are of course different, but why is the proportion dying in the uk nearly 15 times higher?

          15. Sorry, not making myself sufficiently clear. Disqus was making typing very difficult… it still is.

            There are several obvious reasons:

            Population density is far, far higher in the UK and bugs spread much more quickly and easily in dense populations.
            There is much more poverty in the UK – yes, I know it is fashionable here to pretend that there isn’t, but there are a great many people nowadays in the UK who are genuinely very poor, and getting poorer. Which invariably means poor nutrition, and people who have poor nutrition get sick and die when a virulent bug comes along.
            Poor housing. I suspect that there is little or no poor housing in Norway. Here the sell off of council housing means that those who are poor (it’s all the same problem really) have to rely on an unregulated private renting market. Landlords (not all but far too great a proportion) neglect the properties, simply because they can get away with it and it makes them more profit.

            A lot of poor people, packed close together, in poor housing. Probably accounts for 90% of the difference between Britain and Norway and explains why Germany with a larger population than Britain has only half the number of deaths.

          16. Sorry Jennifer, didn’t see you’d commented until checking notifications.
            I’m thinking that higher population density expoes more people to the virus, and so more (and more decrepit) folk get ill. I’m not aware of the age profile, but there’s less obesity in Norway than the UK (measured by eye) and more outdoors activity (the same, although I’m trying to redress the balance here), so one would expect perhaps a worse %age outcome for the UK – but I’m still astounded by the 15x difference… that’s quite shocking.
            BTW, there’s some pretty dismal housing in Oslo, still with shared lavatories per floor in the older apartment blocks.
            I would have thought, though, that would explain a higher %age arriving in hospital, but from there on, there should be a similar outcome (both countries being in the developed West) – and my spreadsheet shows 27,7% deaths for those who enter hospital in the UK as opposed to 23,3% in Norway – maybe not so different after all.
            I think I’ll stick to maintenance engineering & consultancy – it’s easier! Hope you’re keeping well, and in the sunlight.

          17. Didn’t come on site till fairly late.

            There’s no question that the factors I outlined are the main ones. (I include obesity as part of poor nutrition). As you say there is much less difference once they reach hospital – and Norway has probably not run its hospitals into the ground they way we have done with too many of ours.

            Sunlight – it’s raining again. And we are back on the flood alert list (we’ve only been off it for 2 days).

          18. It’s worse than that because most here seem to think that “post-lockdown” deaths are the correct number to use despite the whole point of lockdown being to prevent an even higher death rate.

          20. “…most here seem to think that “post-lockdown” deaths are the correct number to use…”

            Do they? Why do you say that? And which lockdown? The first was not responsible for the fall in deaths.

          21. William, Covid is infectious. It isn’t rocket science to recognise that if you reduce the opportunity for people to meet, infections decrease. Personally I don’t support lockdown, but many of the claims I routinely read here are ignorant (and that’s putting it politiely).

          22. That doesn’t answer my query about “…most here seem to think that “post-lockdown” deaths are the correct number to use…”. What do you think they are saying?

            Plenty of research has been published since last spring doubting the effect of lockdown for controlling the spread. The summer fall was simply the seasonal effect.

          23. Except that doesn’t work because Sweden with hardly any lockdown, though far from perfect, has done better than the UK.

            So I’m afraid your theories just don’t add up as usual.

          25. Just post a comment mentioning the number of covid deaths, the immediate response is to question if it is of covid or with covid.
            For some reason covid has become politicised, on the left we have black death 2, on the right it’s no worse than a cold.

          26. “Just post a comment mentioning the number of covid deaths, the immediate response is to question if it is of covid or with covid.”

            And what is your objection to this query?

          27. If Jennifer had written many instead of everyone, it would have been an accurate assessment.

            To continually downplay the effect of this virus by stating that it it is not the only cause of death appears to be an attempt to down play its effect.

          28. I am only looking at the total deaths number. I don’t trust the deaths ascribed to corona.
            Of course, the total deaths now include suicides, cancer patients whose treatments were postponed, people who didn’t go to hospital for fear of catching corona etc. 🙁 🙁

          34. I should add “but not to me”. I could see it happening to other people. I have had a lot of practice at anger management.

        3. Two DRs. had to sign the death certificate, since Corvid it was reducd to one. How many died with Corvid and how many died of Corvid. Its all about control of the people not the health of the people. They only care about the health of the NHS.

    4. I see they’ve dropped the usual ‘died with COVID mentioned on the death certificate’ caveat.

    5. So right, OLT. Hoist with his own petard because he agreed to publish inflated figures i.e. died with cv-19 as opposed to of cv-19. He did this to push the fear factor up to suit his ulterior motive. I read earlier that the “cases” have today reduced to around 22,000: due to either cutting back on the number being tested or reducing the PCR Ct rate?

  91. I really AM going now – the MR says that I can eat while she listens to the work webinar.

    This, my lips are sealed!

    A demain, encore une fois.

      3. Me too. I’m not that bothered, but it is a bit of a pain not being able to write on other sites like CW. But not that much of a pain…

    1. 328828+ up ticks,
      O2O,
      Got to be Fox or AM Waters, all the other
      leaders are carrying to much treachery baggage, party herd OK, leaders highly suss. leaving a great deal to be desired.

  94. https://twitter.com/webcamsdemexico/status/1353953314963075073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1354018260019249152%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefaultf%3Dgoingpostalcomt_i%3D5943720https3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F3Fp3D59437t_u%3Dhttps3A2F2Fgoing-postal.com2F20212F012Fthe-shetland-bus2Ft_e%3DThe20Shetland20Bust_d%3DThe20Shetland20Bus207C20Going20Postalt_t%3DThe20Shetland20Buss_o%3Ddescversion%3D27ab44a041dc84db869d374a58d82edf

      2. Global warming causes heating of the upper troposphere. This disrupts and weakens the lower levels of the jetstreams which makes them wavy. You can see that they are not in a nice tight zigzag around the world on the Greenland to UK latitudes as they should be. They are up over the North Pole, making the Arctic warm, and reaching far south as low as Mexico. Hence they drag cold air masses with them and bring brutally cold weather to places that are not used to it.

        Spot the deliberate mistake.

  95. I was just reading the DT article on how the EU has phucked up their virus response. A man needs light relief after supper. BTL there is a post from one Soren Bonde, opinionated Danish twit:-
    “You are wrong. Denmark has the highest vaccine rate pr 100.000 eventhough we started 3 weeks later than UK.

    You are just trying to steer the spotlight away from a failed government in a soon failed (remember the seventies?) state i.e. UK which isn’t exsisting in 10 years when Scotland has gained independency and NI has joined ROI”.

    All fall down laughing. According to https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations as of yesterday, Denmark has vaccinated 0.09 doses per 100, the UK has administered 0.55. Ah but … but this is the EU and Denmark really really has vaccinated more because they have vaccinated the *important* people, see! The rest shouldn’t be in the figures, obviously.

    The rest is a mish mash of ignorance and political certainty. I do like political certainty, it is a synonym of naivety, professional politicians never indulge in it.

    1. I recognize the certainty that our dear Canadian PM has once again made enough a pigs ear of it to make your lot look competent.
      Gung-ho for the Chinese vaccine until they reneged on the deal, then as a late comer to the party he ordered vaccines from everywhere but the US. Our leader doesn’t seem to realise that there is a difference between ordering and delivery.

      This EU snit means that Canada gets a big zero doses this week, it may stay that way for a while and they are only halfway through vaccinating those in care homes.

      God don’t you love a truly incompetent socialist luvvy. .

      1. Trudeau Jnr struck me as deeply un-impressive from the off. A cute drama teacher who women voted in because he’s lovely, and his father was competent.

        1. some would question his fathers competence.

          Scary thing is that even though the liberals are up to their eyeballs in corruption, out of their depth with covid and have lost their ability to blame everything on Trump, they still lead in opinion poles.
          A photogenic idiot seems to be all that it takes, he should get on well with Biden.

      2. While we are talking, what is your view of western separatism? I am told there is a fair bit of support in Alberta, not much in Saskatchewan, but it seems to me that without British Columbia it doesn’t work, and BC is dominated by Vancouver and Vancouver is totally no. Outside Vancouver of it does seem to be that the wider population is deeply hacked off with the Toronto – Montreal axis and the govts. they choose.

        1. there is a definite split. Alberta is much more conservative than the east, that caused the last split in the conservative party.

          Trudeaus response to Biden cancelling the pipeline has further harmed cohesion, it really is an east vs west schism. I see more talk about western separation nowadays than I do about Quebec independence.

          If only it wasnt so cold out there I could be tempted to move.

          2. No, they are into the green party and the left wing ndp.

            There might be a different story up in the mountains but the majority is left.

          3. Good, because I would not want to see Canada split up. It might happen if the Toronto-Montreal axis keeps electing dis-unity govts., because that will eventually lead to a deep feeling of estrangement in the west, but I would not welcome it.

      3. While we are talking, what is your view of western separatism? I am told there is a fair bit of support in Alberta, not much in Saskatchewan, but it seems to me that without British Columbia it doesn’t work, and BC is dominated by Vancouver and Vancouver is totally no. Outside Vancouver of it does seem to be that the wider population is deeply hacked off with the Toronto – Montreal axis and the govts. they choose.

    4. Lovely little birds, Maggie.

      Unfortunately our garden has the ugly relentless croaking of magpies and crows, which frighten the little birds away. I wish I knew what to do to try to dissuade them…

  98. Evening all.

    Does anybody know if other countries are incessantly bombarding their people with instructions to “stay home, save the …, save lives?” Or is it only the U.K. government? It is inescapable, relentless and totally over the top.

    2. A colleague of my son’s was on holiday in one of those central Asia states beginning with K the other week. He said that nobody really knows or cares about covid-19 there.
      There’s a lockdown in Zimbabwe, I think, and the virus is quite widespread there (anecdotal).

    3. Ours copies yours, you are not unique.
      Every news program for the past year includes the latest horror stories, they have even started recycling news from a year ago when the first case was detected in Canada.
      What gets me nowadays is when they interview those responsible for the vaccine rollout there is never a hard hitting question, just praise for what a wonderful job they are doing.

    4. In Bavaria, there is a curfew and shops are closed, but the grapevine says that there are a lot of private gatherings. People are allowed to go out – the Bavarians cherish their walks in the mountains. Skiing is closed.

      1. Middle of February when that farce they call an impeachment trial is run.

        The republican party either gets behind him or throws him out completely, otherwise they lose several elections.

        1. Correction: if the GOP throw President Trump under the bus they will never assume power. If however they develop testicular strength and back him they will assume power for decades.

          The American people have spoken: 79,000,000 for Trump and a mere 68,000,000 for Biden (and that vote for Biden was before the investigation into Hunter Biden was made a matter of record).

          1. I prefere people to answer rather than vote down its just not cricket you know.Its like a hit and run.

          2. just look at some of the attacks on centre right comments and ask yourself why people just downvote rather than reply.

            Differing views are allowed.

          3. Of course they are and I asked myself why, and they just cannot be bothered and that is allowed too.I just gave my view thats all as I thought that was allowed too.

          4. is that how Biden got more votes than trump?

            They either get behind Trump or go the traditional way and win back the middle ground, there is no half way.

            Its like when the Canadian conservative party split, the liberals took over.

      2. I agree. Trump has exposed the Democrats as profoundly undemocratic, communistic and fascistic and the RINOs as traitorous.

        President Trump is the most exceptional president since Reagan. The others are just charlatans snd chancers ‘on the make’.

        I doubt that the US Army and armed forces will put up with much more Bidenism.

        1. Could you provide a timetable for the pro-Trump Court cases you claim will now be launched now that the election result has been implemented? I believe you, falsely, claimed the other day, that Trump’s legal action to date hadn’t succeeded because the SCOTUS wouldn’t be prepared to consider a case during the period before inauguration (despite the fact they did exactly that in 2000).

          2. Mid Feb i am informed, if it goes that far. Its just so pathetic like silly children.

          3. there is a doj investigation into allegations that the white house tried to replace the Attorney General as a way to get a case forced onto the Supreme court.

            If the dems had any sense they would convene an investigation now to look at all of the realistic allegations, allowing recommendations to go out to the states before the mid terms.

        2. many of those charlatans and chances were behind Trump for a long time, they have now slithered off to where they see advancement for them.

          In the meantime their country is split in so many ways that it is difficult to see any reconciliation.

          3. McConnell and Pelosi, they have all been playing games.

            Trumps aggressive style hasnt helped, he didn’t need to make friends but he did need to work with others to reach a concensus.

            We do forgive Trump for insulting Trudeau, in fact we applauded there.

        3. 328828+ up ticks,
          Evening C,
          As in a prior post he could very well be playing the long game, he has unmasked the masked internally & externally enemas.

          In the UK the lab/lib/con coalition are so arrogant and confident of the herds support they have gone full treachery.
          We are as a nation a prototype of how to lose a Country via the polling booth.

  101. All I can say, is thank whoever is your God, that the shower of incompetents running the majority of
    of countires in the world, were not about when we had ‘proper pandemics’

    The BLM Death
    El Spanisho Flu
    and all the later ones

    It is not the disease that is killing us and wiping out our way of life, it is the speed
    of passing (doctored?) information, worldwide, for the PTB to control us with

      1. 328828+ up ticks,
        Evening JN.
        Over the last three decades & via the polling booth it does seem to be with the peoples consent JN.

  103. Disqus: is anyone finding that the input box appears to have all but seized up? Typing is incredibly slow. I’m having to cut and paste from Word.

    2. I thought that it was my internet connection running at sub dialup speed. Apologies to the ISP (not really, they are terrible)

      1. Same here, and I’ve got fibre to the house. Everything else is fine. Disqus is terrible unless I refresh every 5 minutes.

  105. I am sure Boris is very sorry, but he is destroying our country. he cannot play God and has to take very difficult decisions to open up the country again before its too late.

    1. 328828+ up ticks,
      Bloody hell JN, this make believe ( and many do ) tory party have been trying their damnedest to hand the Country over to foreigners, plainly openly, since the major reign until the real UKIP stopped their treacherous little tap on the 24/6/2016.

      1. Sadly people just didn’t believe the strength of this virus .

        No matter who is in charge of the country , it would have all gone wrong .

        We have a huge diverse population of people who just don’t engage their brains .

        Afzal has lost family members .. the unacceptable face of diversity.

      2. The lawyers will be ‘warned off’ by the globalists, if they themselves are not globalists. It is Ferguson, Whitty and Vallance who should be investigated. I suspect they will be distancing themselves somewhat from this mess now.

    2. Thankyou Geoff ,

      Watching Miss Marple on the box , really ought to go to bed though, the film will go on for ages .

      These mysteries just draw you in , nothing like a good who dunnit 😉

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