Tuesday 8 July: Labour should ignore Lord Kinnock and steer well clear of a wealth tax

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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624 thoughts on “Tuesday 8 July: Labour should ignore Lord Kinnock and steer well clear of a wealth tax”

  1. Good morning all.
    A bright start to the day with a cooler 12½°C outside.

  2. Apropos Mr. Stanier's posting of "European democracy is in peril: failing, sclerotic elites are to blame"
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/05/european-democracy-in-peril-failing-elites-blame/ last night, still visible only a short way down yesterday's page, a BTL Comment:-

    Chris Hailstone
    16 hrs ago
    When the establishment (across Europe) does the following to a majority of the population then it's no wonder people are ceasing to believe in democracy:
    1) Undermine the native culture through a mix of far left propaganda dressed as education, and unlimited incompatible immigration.
    2) Allow the newcomers more rights than the native population
    3) Subvert democracy by continuing with their project regardless of the way the populace vote
    4) Create a two tier law enforcement process which takes a knee to some protests while bringing a heavy handed aggressive approach to native demonstrations.
    5) Tars anyone who disagrees with their agenda as either "racist" or "…-phobe" to shut down debate and try to control speech.

    Sadly the conclusion is that the west has signed it's own death warrant and is travelling headlong to a destination that none of the populations across Europe asked for or voted for.

  3. SIR – The Labour Left’s desire to clobber those it deems wealthy will bring negative consequences for growth, businesses and jobs.

    Wealth taxes haven’t worked elsewhere, serving simply to scare away entrepreneurs and investors.

    Moreover, imagine the level of bureaucracy and intrusion involved in calculating the value of an individual’s assets. Presumably Labour will have HMRC assessing every piece of jewellery, family silver, art and furniture.

    Mike Hughes
    London SW10

    Reminds me of what the Nazi's did to the Jews before they murdered them.

    1. That's the whole point of the wealth tax – they want a register of everything everyone owns.
      "You will own nothing" wasn't a throwaway comment, it was a statement of intent.

      Here is the first tokenised product – I hope people are not foolish enough to buy these worthless tokens. Today "You can buy an interest in private companies, just like rich people!" – tomorrow, "everything over a certain value must be purchased via token to prevent money laundering and crime yada yada"
      The token is a worthless digital position on a blockchain, the ownership of which gives you limited, defined rights over the object that the token is deemed to represent.
      But the actual ownership of the object remains with its original owner!
      https://dailyreckoning.com/tokenization-begins-a-new-way-to-buy-private-shares/

      1. If you remember Brown’s boast that 9 out of 10 people (edit: families) were on tax credits (during the last Labour debacle) and then recall the form you needed to fill in to get this money. It demanded details of all your assets and income. We wouldn’t have qualified but even if we had, I would have refused it on principle.

    1. 409028+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      Merde with royal seal, seemingly the fish does rot from the head down.

    1. Good morning.
      A bit cooler here 1st thing but forecast to be a hot'un.

      1. I think it is. But I think Blower is also being sarcastic, criticising the lack of effort which the French are putting in to stop the boats.

  9. Good morning all.
    The push for a wealth tax is happening across western countries – surprise, surprise…

    When there's loads of drama in the papers, one always has to ask what's happening behind the scenes. Apparently Harmer has just signed the Seville agreement
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7kB1pcy1dI

  10. Good morning, all. Grey start to the day. There WAS some rain in the night.

    1. Here too. My plants have doubled in size overnight. But the slugs have been out in force.
      I read that French marigolds can block couch grass (don't know if true or not) so I grew some this year. The plants are now about six inches high and bushy, with flowers. One of them was eaten down to a bare stalk by slugs in the night. Just gone.

      1. Last year I planted out 48 marigolds ("oeillets d'inde") around my tomatoes. They are excellent companion plants. The whole lot went overnight to slugs. I couldn't believe it – my first thought was that they had been stolen!

        And, of course, slug pellets these days are quite useless.

  11. Good morning, chums (belatedly) And thanks, Geoff, for today's new page. Wordle today was a Par.

    Wordle 1,480 4/6

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    1. Morning Elsie
      Wordle 1,480 4/6

      🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
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  13. By the way, if anyone saves Britain from digital slavery it might be the Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis – because all their wealth is in gold and silver which is exponentially harder to register and control than the financial system products owned by typical Britons.

    1. Those assets can be hidden in a hole in the ground. No electronic spoor tracing there!

    1. Hmm. So the Poles are quite happy to push the illegal migrants across the border into Germany, but not quite so happy when the German police shovel them back.
      Seems to me that the German police are not the bad guys here.

      1. 409028+ up ticks,

        Morning BB2,

        I believe that the Poles take heed of history and act accordingly,we really should be doing the same with the chaps coming via frogland.

        1. ogga
          the illegal migrants originated in Poland!! They just want to get rid of them to Germany. They should put them back to wherever they entered Poland from. If every country did that, the problem would stop.

          But no, they are feeding it by pushing them over into Free Money Tree Land.

          1. The money is not free – the tree was planted and tended by others at their expense. Our lawmakers simply manage it. Their mantra is "Growth", but whose growth?

          2. oh come on Jeremy the words “Free Money Tree” are never going to be said on this site without a hefty dose of sarcasm!

          3. I helped myself yesterday to some cherry plums that had just fallen off a tree by the road. All free, as it should be. Whoever or whatever planted that tree had the benefit of everyone in mind, not just those legally favoured. It is why I do not take the concept of a Free Money Tree with either scorn or sarcasm. I loved the benevolence of Oliver Postgate’s Soup Dragon, created by a national treasure very much on the Left of politics. Such benevolence needs to be rewarded though, not taken for granted or exploited for the unearned aspirations of favourites, who offer nothing to replenish the pot they’ve taken from, or even water the tree during a heatwave.

            I prefer to use the analogy of the Magic Fairy, with endless supplies of money, which is valued less and less by those in the know until even billions are chucked around like confetti by chancellors.

  15. Good morning, all. Sunny with a strong breeze.

    Came across this:

    https://x.com/EssexPR/status/1942300459886084477
    A Google search confirms Adam Brooks' claim. That's the thick end of a quarter of a billion pounds.

    More than 2,000 members of staff at Transport for London (TfL) earned over £100,000 last year, it has emerged. The number of employees on six-figure salaries in 2024-25 surged by 900 since last year, according to the network's annual accounts.27 Jun 2025

    900 increase last year, Tube drivers?

    Tube drivers earn around £64,000 a year, with added benefits such as free travel for you and a friend and discounts related to TfL and healthcare. In 2018, it was revealed through a Freedom of Information request that eight Tube drivers earned over £100,000 per year.7 May 2025

    1. This is not just a comment on the awful management of TfL, it's a reflection of how the pound is devaluing. Starving billionaires next!

      1. Last week I suggested that the pound buys about the same as the pre-decimal sixpence.

        When I saw that a bag of coffee was reduced from 227g to 200g and now retails at £6.25, when last year it was £4, and that a bargain sandwich from Lidl or Aldi that was 79p is now £1.29, with "meal deals" elsewhere double that, it seems that the pound is now approaching threepence in value. Both are twelve-sided coins.

        1. Yes. A pound used to be a gold sovereign. Even a threepenny bit was silver!

          One gramme of silver is 87p (today’s spot price for silver) – and that is grossly under its real free market value!
          So if we take the fake spot price, one pound should contain 1.15 grammes of silver.

          In 1918, a silver threepenny bit contained about 1.3 grammes of silver
          Britain went off the gold standard in the 1930s.
          In 1936, a threepenny bit contained just over 0.7 grammes of silver – the devaluation was already running – it went on roller-skates after WW2 and the start of the welfare state, of course.

          So there you have it, the pound today is worth the same as a threepenny bit from about the 1920s. But because the spot price of silver is kept artificially low, the real value of a pound is probably even less – about a third of the threepenny bit, which would be a penny.
          (my logic here is that the Chinese say they want to see the spot price of silver to be about 100 dollars an ounce, and they may shortly be controlling the price. It will still be fixed, just by them instead of the City of London/New York mafia)

          1. When I was a child in the 1950s a Mars Bar cost 5 old pennies. There were 240 old pennies to the pound but the old penny was replaced by a new penny with 100 new pennies to the pound. So in those days the cost of a Mars Bar cost the equivalent of just over 2 new pence. The price of a standard Mars Bar is 85 p.

            In 1950 the weight of a Mars Bar was approximately 100 g (according to the internet) – the standard size Mars Bar now weighs 51 g.

            So a Mars Bar of half the weight costs 40 times more. (= almost 80 times more with weight adjustment)

        2. Fabric softener! Used o get 4l for £3. Now you get 3l for £4.

          Coffee is £7 for a jar of nescafe. It used to be £4.

          Kit kat chunky's have reduced by over 70% and the price nigh doubled.

      2. From memory they work a 4 day week specifically so they can then claim the full 5-6 days as overtime, usually double time.

        It's absurd.

    3. The tube trains are filthy. The HamCit/Circle carriages don’t have graffiti but they’re still dirty. I find the graffiti covering the Central Line trains suspicious. The medium, style and content is uniform not random, as one would expect if it were the work of multiple hands.

      1. It's been like that for quite a long time Sue. We were in Singapore a few years ago. Not suggesting anyone would but, you could have eaten your lunch off the tube train floor. No guards or drivers fully automatic spotless and bang on time.

    1. This is a while ago, I think. Problem with today's officials is they've almost all received DEI training. Consultants must have made a fortune, public purse.

    2. Good God.
      Words fail me.
      So, if not to speak English (the most widely spoken language in the world), then speak what language, officer? Here in Norway, a country with three indigenous languages, I communicate with our Polish builder (aren't they all Polish?) in English, so we can actually communicate.
      I'm embarrassed to say, his English is better than mine, too. 🙁 I'm rather out-of-date.

      1. When we had visiting Polish artists while I was doing my Fine Art degree, I communicated with my Polish tutor in French. His French was better than his English and my French was a whole lot better than my Polish.

  17. 'Morning All
    Nicked
    I was thinking this morning, as I had a coffee break and ventured on to the internet, that the world is going so bat-shit crazy I can't take it seriously anymore. Labour Party top politicos and the Royal Family bleating about the tube bombings 20 years ago without mentioning Muslims or Islam once, hordes of undocumented, fighting-age young men coming over the Channel, and a sparkly, new definition of 'Islamophobia' rapidly being tooled up to push into law. It's so fucking extraordinary it's like reading a dystopian comedy novel'
    Problem is I ain't laffing………..

    1. I think it's always been so, Rik. Paul Foot used to report, decades ago. Now we have online and many bloggers, often reporting similarly so seems to be more of it.

    2. Agreed…..it ain't funny, these horrible bastards are doing this to try and cover up all their dreadful harmful mistakes, in order to place the blame on the British public.

    3. The abject refusal to say muslim terrorism (still continuing) and the insulting 'lost their lives', as if they'll find them soon and come back is egregious.

      It's just putrid: muslim nutters murdered 52 people and severely injured 800 more because they wanted to. It's as simple as that.

      While even one of them is here, we are not safe.

    1. All very amusing – but this proposed tax will afflict large numbers of quite ordinary people who have managed to put some money aside for their old age – and, even, for their grandchildren.

      The politics of envy writ large.

        1. In the current housing market doing so would be catastrophic. So much would be lost in tax it's not funny. Houses would be deliberately sold under he threshold just to avoid that, ruining the market.

          Then where do those folk go? There's not a glut of ground floor flats or retirement cottages because developers are building tiny 3 storey plots to pretend it's a 3 bedroom house when each room is 2m square and the hallway half a metre and the stairs nigh vertical to cram in just one more row of houses.

      2. The Higher rate of income tax would not have been paid by many not too many years ago. Amazing what you can achieve by manipulating monetary thresholds once the change has been introduced.

        1. It's truly egregious that once you reach a certain point tthe state decides to take half you income – because it wants to, because 'the broadest shoulders must bear the greatest pain.

          Why? I've worked damned hard for my salary. Why should I pay proportionally more than someone who hasn't? It is not my fault the state has made an absolute pigs breakfast of everything. I see no reason why I should pay the benefits of layabouts and wasters, nor for Wales and Scotland to continue their socialist decline.

          Taxes should be flat, at around 18% – no NI, no stealth taxes, no taxes on business. If big fat state cannot live on that then it is incompetent. It should be up to the individual to provide for their needs. Help people for a while due to misfortune, help those truly in need but otherwise you work. That should be the default.

      3. The Left seem to forget that there is already a wealth tax. It's called income tax.

    2. That is sad. He was a non-exec director of Selfridges when I worked there in the 80s and was often to be seen in the store.

      1. Working in the real world was his link to reality Obs.
        Unfortunately this has probably never happened in politics since.

      2. RIP Norman – the fact that he was so hated by the Left shows what a very good politician he was.

        The reason why many people support Rupert Lowe is because he only entered politics in his 60s having had a successful career beforehand.

  21. Morning All 🙂😊
    Lovely sunny summers day again, rain on the way, or so they tell us. I wonder how dissatisfied all the weather experts feel when they are continually wrong. 😏
    Who needs Kinnokieo interferring with anything, I saw that AH Blair being interviewed on tv yesterday. There is a whole line of these horrible people who didn't quite get their way, and now in the background still interferring. This is exactly why our country is in such a bloody mess.

  22. Morning, all Y'all.
    Sunny – really a very nice day. Anybody might be fooled into thinking it's summer!

    1. A politician has made it when he attracts the best political insult from his opponents. I particularly enjoyed the faint praise in the "semi" of Michael Foot's "semi house-trained polecat". Norman put it on his coat of arms.

  24. Mesopredator control

    SIR – The increase in mesopredators (Letters, July 4) was hastened by changes in shooting laws. It is now either illegal to shoot these animals, or else extremely time-consuming to get a licence to do so.

    In the 1950s, boys had catapults, which we used to control branchling corvids. Today, the possession and use of a catapult are frowned on.

    The moral of the story is not to interfere in rural systems, and to trust landowners, who mostly have a great affinity with nature.

    Angus Jacobsen
    Montrose, Angus
    ________________________________________

    SIR – Chris Packham's petition to ban grouse-shooting was debated by MPs on June 30. Supporters of country pursuits were delighted that the proposition was wholeheartedly dismissed by a cross-party alliance, which recognised the fallacy of the arguments put forward and focused on the ecological, conservation, social and employment benefits that grouse-shooting brings to rural communities. They are to be applauded.

    Jonathan W A Hall
    Oaksey, Wiltshire

    I missed the news on the grouse-shooting debate. Here's a report on it:
    https://www.countryside-alliance.org/features/tim-bonner-chris-packham-silenced-as-mps-support-grouse-shooting

    1. "Fallacy of the arguments put forward."

      Why is the same analysis not applied to the hoax of 'climate change'?

    2. Grouse and pheasants are raised for shooting. They would hardly exist otherwise. Problems do arise when heather burning gets out of control or predatory birds are deliberately shot to protect the grouse.

  25. Right, that's me off for the Transpeak to Belper and a haircut.
    TTFN

  26. As Advani, Bair, New Statesman and all the Lefty press are in favour of a wealth tax, why doesn't the government simply seize, say, 20% their property? Seeing the Guardian's outrage as a fifth of the capital of their off shore tax funding is simply taken from them, and Advani finds himself losing his house and having a permanent attachment to earnings would be hilarious.

    Then when there's shrieks of rage that they meant 'other people' to pay this tax we can all laugh.

      1. An associate, no doubt, of Tommy Robinson, real name Steven Yaxley-Lennon.

  28. The government is clearly uninterested in what people think and is committed to continuing with its policy of two-tier government, two-tier policing and two-tier law courts. I am sure that many of those who signed the petition about "ensuring penalties are proportionate and uphold freedom of expression" will have received this reply this morning.

    You’re receiving this email because you signed the petition: “Review possible penalties for social media posts, including the use of prison”.

    Dear Richard Tracey,

    The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Review possible penalties for social media posts, including the use of prison”.

    Government responded:

    The government is committed to ensuring penalties are proportionate and uphold freedom of expression.

    Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our democratic society. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to demonstrate their views, however uncomfortable these may be to the majority. The government is committed to protecting this right while also ensuring that laws are in place to address harmful, criminal behaviour.

    The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 (“the Act”) reflects this careful balance. It requires platforms to take proportionate steps to tackle illegal content and protect children from harmful material. At the same time, it has been designed to safeguard legal free speech, uphold privacy, and support innovation. The Act does not prevent adults from accessing legal content, nor does it restrict people from posting content that others may find offensive. It is not about individual posts. Instead, Ofcom will assess the systems and processes platforms have in place to manage risks and respond to harm. There are also protections against the over-removal of content, ensuring that lawful speech is not wrongly taken down.

    Where an individual is convicted for an offence related to opinion-based online speech, the independent judiciary are responsible for determining appropriate sentences based on the facts of each case and the relevant sentencing guidelines. The sentencing framework provides courts with a range of sentencing powers alongside imprisonment, including fines, community sentences, and suspended sentences. The law also makes clear that imprisonment should only be imposed where no other sentence would be appropriate.

    We are committed to ensuring that our justice system protects the public, upholds fundamental rights, and uses custodial sentences only where they are necessary and proportionate.

    Ministry of Justice

    2. "Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our democratic society blah blah…You're nicked!"

    3. Rubbish! Especially in the case of Lucy C. She did not incite violence and she deleted her post once she'd calmed down.

  30. An incredible ACE! I nearly didn't put it in because it had a double letter.
    Wordle 1,480 1/6

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    3. Great stuff, Per!! You really should repost this score with the Five O'Clock club, where most of us post…..

      It deserves another outing – I've never seen one before (although one word that came up I had previously used as a starter word – STARE – grrrrr…..

  31. Chasing the wealthy away, dear heavens above..

    Amongst the chased away wealthy will be philanthropists , those who have created libraries , museums , parks , civic buildings , schools , universities , scientific research , medicine , animal rescue centres , the upkeep of old machinery , cars, aircraft , works of art , orchestras, theatres, music , opera and all the things that provide most of us with joy .

    Money is good, the wealthy discard their bits and pieces , charity shops were full of fur coats , silk scarves , handbags in wealthy areas.

    With out wealth there would be no Waitrose etc or specialist shops , no choices , just bland bland bland shops like Lidl and Aldi , stacked high with goods , good and not so good , but similar to shopping in an Eastern European shop.

    (And no golf clubs to reward peace and quiet to much put upon wives )

      1. People do not understand wealth.. and how wealth works !

        We are not wealthy , we are just about getting by because of what unexpected events have thrown our way , but by goodness , wealth and security were always an aspiration , and there is nothing wrong with that .

    3. My wedding outfit: suit – a handmedown; shoes: charity shop; bag: charity shop……husband's suit: charity shop. Reception – in the garden.

      1. There seems to be an approximate inverse correlation between how lavish the wedding and how long the marriage lasts. Maybe because to the rich, it's just an excuse for a party, but SWMBO and I had a wedding similar to yours. Wedding dress made by her Father, for example. My suit from a cheapo shop. One night hotel honeymoon, the rest in my Parents holiday cottage in Brixham.
        Biggest extravagance was renting a car for the honeymoon, as we suspected that my old Mini traveller wouldn't make it, so we had the cheapest Metro around.
        That was 43 years ago in 2 days time, and I'm still married to the most wonderful person in the world.

        1. We had the honeymoon first – a holiday in Kefalonia, where he popped the question. When we got home I booked a slot at the Register office, which happened to be on my birthday, a few weeks later. They must have had a cancellation. The day was the hottest day of the year – we had a super day and lots of people came to wish us well – bringing food for a barbeque after we had lunch for about 25. It was a super day – and we're still here, still married, still in our same house. 28 years this year.

          4. Our anniversary on 27th July.. 57 years.

            Register office , was it 7/6d or was that the dog licence , reception in a Hampshire pub, one night in the Carey's Manor hotel .. first time we had slept together properly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            We both had work commitments, R was given shore leave , then back to his ship as a young Sub/Lt , we were 21 and 22 yrs .

            Our reception , Prawn cocktail / steak / or lobster / salads , summer pudding / wedding cake , champagne .. for friends and relatives .. cost £90.

          5. Your memory for detail does you credit, Belle.
            We had a Church wedding, reception (I remeber the food was the dullest ever), one night in local hotel selected on price, then drove in the hired car to Brixton to borrow Parent's holiday cottage for a week.
            I'd love to post a picture of SWMBO in her wedding gown, but don't have a copy on the PC.

          6. I'd love to see that. Could you maybe take a photo of yer ackcheral photo and email it to yourself?

          8. I still have the bill for my (first) wedding reception – it was around a hundred. Sadly by the time we'd been married 20 years I could hardly stand the sight of him. It was a big.mistake, though we had two children and I'm glad of them.

            He was good to my mother in her final illness so I couldn't fault him for that. I never had to confess to her I'd made a mistake.

            Anyway, we parted in 1990 and i divorced him after two years' separation. I bought out his share of the house (the deposit for which I'd paid anyway). Eventually sold the house after we'd moved here in '95.

          10. It would have been 46 years for us on 23rd July – the first Monday of the school holidays.

        2. We had to pay for our wedding ourselves, as my wife's parents could not afford it. Everything was done cut-price – e.g. the wedding dress was my fiancée's sister's wedding dress from three years previously. Reception was a buffet, no honeymoon.

          We celebrated our 47th Anniversary last month.

          1. Seems a definite inverse correlation between expenditure and longevity of the marriage.
            Perhaps, due to lack of the readies, one isn't dazzled by glitz and party, but by one's future spouse.

          2. Two of my wife’s cousins had lavish weddings – no expense spared. Within five years, both marriages ended in divorce.

          3. That's sad. There does seem to be a loose correlation, though: maybe the wedding is seen as an excuse for a massive, show-off party, rather than the important bit of plighting one's troth (whatever that might mean…) to another person "til death do you part."

          4. Too many people concentrate on the wedding (one day) and forget about the marriage (the rest of your life).

        3. Now that's a coincidence! It is our 43rd anniversary on Thursday as well!!

          Saturday, 10th July 1982 was a nice day here in the North-West and we had a cracking time with family and friends.

          Like you (I think) we have two sons, now aged 41 and 38 and a 7 year old Grandson.

          This also helped as a reminder to me (I'm useless at remembering anniversaries, birthdays etc) so thanks for that, I'll surprise her and actually buy something……

          Have a great day yourself!

          1. Envy you the grandchild, GGGaspar.
            Happy anniversary! I hope to make something happen…

          2. I suspect he might be my only one, Oberst – but, as you say, we are eternally grateful that we have him – we’ve got him this weekend as Mum is on a hen do to Croatia (!) and Dad is going to the Oasis gig in Manchester! They seem to do things to validate their lives on-line……

            I’ll let you know if I can come up with anything interesting (doubt it) – let me know how yours goes as well!

    4. This applies to all except Labour MPs, snivel serpents, quango rats and Lord Ali.

    1. What have we learned?

      The more you appease them the more they demand. It never stops.

  33. Andrew Gold’s “Heretics” podcast is with Ann Marie Walter’s and she comes across as eminently sensible. The btl comments all seem very positive, too.

  34. 409028+ up ticks,

    With the political demise of Mrs Thatcher / Norman Tebbit era truth and political integrity went out the window rhetorically so to speak, currently it is far more physical.

    Number 10 then could be seen as " the Alamo" whereas currently number 10 is more alined with the fuhrerbunker in late 1945.

    Lord Tebbit, pugnacious Tory who articulated the Iron Lady’s views to the man on the street
    He was nearly killed by the Brighton bomb, and his wife was left paralysed. He cared for her devotedly, waking twice each night to turn her

    RIP Norman.

  35. I wonder how much tax our useless government's have lost over the years to overseas countries as in Spain and Portugal Italy etc. Hundreds of thousands of middle aged to elderly brits now live in these countries 'for a better life' after buying new homes. And have managed to remove their financial assets abroad.
    Also including the very wealthy.
    How long in reality has this nose diving country of ours got before it's completely bankrupt ?

    1. My younger son has lived in Switzerland since 1999. He won't be back. Recently bought a house there after renting for 25 years. His work and taxes not for this country.

      1. What made him leave, N? We left for Norway in 1998 because of job opportunities here and that we could see the UK becoming an annoying place to be – and pay is better here, too, as is quality of life generally. Schooling good, although both boys are too old for that now, also the opportunity to become bi/tri-lingual.

      2. Our next-door neighbours daughter, husband and family live in Switzerland and run a hotel at a ski resort.

    3. It's like the blackwashing – so utterly preposterous it's not even funny. The hard Left keep rewriting history.

    4. The posters also look like they were drawn nh a 3 year old

  39. Good morning, everyone. 0730 dropped my wife at Day Surgery for a cardioversion. Returned to take desperate Springer for an hour's walk. Showered and had breakfast. Now awaiting call to pick up wife with a hopefully normally beating heart. Not out of the woods yet as she has a leaking valve in the heart.

    3. Fingers crossed for her – it worked for my OH. Next door neighbour had a pacemaker fitted last week.

      1. I had a pacemaker fitted last year. The worst part of it is that you can see it under he skin, all a bit angular, and you have to remember to tell security at the airport taht you shouldn't go through the whole-body scanner. I have a little certificate in my wallet as back-up.

    2. Trying to find British beef, is really difficult. You look for the red tractor logo and it's simply not on almost any packaging, nor does organic mean what you think it means any more.

      1. i shop at Morrisons and nearly all their meat is British – if it's not it is labelled.

        1. My mum says they are stopping their meat counter. She’s cross, because she swears by it.

        1. That's where I try to shop – deliberately. Even there, despite the labelling 'British beef' how many have been killed by the savage muslim method and how many humanely killed?

          If I'm going to eat meat, I want to do the best by the animal that I can, however pathetic that sounds.

      3. 409028+ up ticks,

        Morning W,
        We are lucky in that we have four butcher shops and can be independent of supermarkets although a tad more expensive.

        The one we use in the main is supplied via two local farms

      5. I buy most of my meat from online butchers. They name the farms and the farmers and the breeds.

        I don't trust supermarkets and the quality isn't as good.

        Open an account with several. Wait for the sales promotions and they normally offer free stuff on the first order.

        Normally spend of around £50 plus for free delivery.

    3. Where does all this hate come from? And, why? Whether it's farmers or anybody else, there seems to be an overwhelming surge of folk who hate them for whatever reason.
      It's really concerning.
      Maybe due to that people now haven't actually had much variety in their lives and just don't know or understand, and it's easier to just go wih a flow and hate everybody? I worked a few summers as a farmhand at a mate's farm, and have first-hand experience of the skills required of the farmer as well as the sheer, unrelenting work involved in mixed dairy & corn farming. Mustering at the tractor shed at 07:00 for the day's tasks, and clocking off when it was too dark to continue, seven days a week, then servicing the vehicles for the next day's work, has stayed with me so far all my life and stood me in good stead in my more office and site-based working life as a professional Engineer.
      Anyone who thinks that food comes from Tesco is seriously stupid, and needs educated into the realities of life ASAP.

  41. I can't manage a "Good Moaning".
    I'm upset at Lord Tebbit's death. I knew he was in his 90s, so it was not unexpected. I had also noticed that he hadn't produced a piece for the DT for a couple of years.
    Truly the end of an era. Has the Britain that he represented died with him?

    1. One of the very few politicians one could actually believe in.
      RIP, man.

    2. One of the very few politicians one could actually believe in.
      RIP, man.

    4. Hallo Anne! I used to enjoy his column. It was always good and wise advice. Thus it goes, all good things and people come to an end. I hope, at least, his last few years were peaceful.

    5. I am also upset to the core .

      He looked an attractive clever man , with integrity and wit .. I think I actually loved him .

      He represented everything that I considered important , good and wholesome .

      Best of all , he loved his wife , was dedicated to her .. and well, she was a lucky lady , and so was Maggie Thatcher , who was fortunate enough to hold onto him .

      Our country will be a lesser place with out men like Norman.

      The current pitiful evil bunch are absolute parasites, bad parasites , sucking the life out of our Sceptered Isle .

  42. Just been reading the tributes to Norman Tebbit. A giant of a man, with integrity and courage not seen these days.

  43. Pausing in my comments. In half an hour, two people are coming for coffee. One we haven't seen since our wedding, 30 years ago. The other the MR last saw more than 43 years ago. I have never met her. I expect there will be some changes!!

    2. My best mate sent me a recent photo of a guy we use to know over 60 years ago.
      He was bass player in a band. There is no way I would have recognised him.
      Time has a very strange effect on everything.

    3. When Henry went to UEA in 2013 my tutor, David, a Philosophy lecturer, still lived in Norwich. We had sent each other Christmas cards each year but had not seen each other since 1969.

      David became a good friend of mine when I was at UEA in the 1960s and though he had retired he was still involved in university life. We went to stay with him when we visited Henry and Henry and David became good friends and often went for a pint together and David and his wife came to Henry's graduation.

      And two years ago we went to see one of my best friends in Durham whom we last saw at our wedding in 1988. He had been my counsellor and closest friend when I took my first job as a teacher.

      Those people with whom you have a specially strong rapport remain your close friends for ever – even if you do not see them. And if you do see them you immediately find that the bond is as just as strong as it was before.

      1. My Supervisor from Cranfield, where I took my MSc and Ph.D became a good friend, even though he was 30 years or so older than me. Wih his guidance, I managed a Ph.D in two years rather than the usual 3 (funding issue), and a great deal of hard work – three hours thesis work in the evenings after supper, nothing on Saturday (rest & shopping), double helping on Sunday.
        Moved to West Sussex afterwards, but would drive back and visit him about four times a year. Sadly, he died of cancer about a couple of years after I graduated, in 1989. A great and modest man.

      2. I received a letter this morning from a friend I was at school with. We still keep in touch, albeit sporadically.

  44. Morning to all. Hope all are well or a facsimile thereof! Another nice day, Sunny but not to warm. Sadly the temperature begins to climb tomorrow and continue all the way through next week. Not good.

    Sad that Norman Tebbit has gone, another link to a saner past severed. And I see that Netanyahu has nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. No such luck. I suspect that Trump could solve every conflict in the world and he would still be hated. But good luck to him anyway.

  45. Hers is still covered by a plaster – she has to have it activated next week with a 'node' whatever that means.

  46. Yes – it was a job opportunity – he still works for the same company he went to then. Quality of life good too. He has spent several summer holidays cycling round Europe.

  47. It's a good quality of life there. I'm going for a weekend in early September.

  48. First of the initial skirmishes..

    China fires a laser at a German plane as it flew over the Red Sea.

  49. From Coffee House, the Spectator

    Marcus Fakana, a British 18-year-old, has been in prison in the United Arab Emirates since December. His crime? Having consensual sex with a 17-year-old British girl on a trip to Dubai. Now, thanks to the granting of a royal pardon by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Marcus has been freed and is back home in London. The merciful monarch did this as part of a tradition of releasing lesser miscreants during Eid, the feast that marks the end of Ramadan.

    Dubai comes with considerable risks – fun, fun, fun with a side order of mediaeval theocracy

    The freeing of Fakana is further confirmation – as if it were needed – that Dubai, the glittering city beloved by TikTok teens and influencers ‘generating content’, is a very peculiar choice for an earthly paradise, particularly for the British young.

    The Dubai influencer craze remains utterly baffling to me. Just what is the attraction? It has lovely beaches, yes, but so has Great Yarmouth, and at least there you have the advantage of not being clapped in irons for a perfectly healthy youthful romp, or for sipping at a port and lemon.

    The obsession with Dubai is also very much out of kilter with the other current teen manias. You can forget any LGBTQ-ing in the UAE. Article 354 of the Penal Code criminalises ‘indecent acts’, which includes consensual homosexual acts. Penalties can include up to seven years in prison, and cross-dressing or public displays of affection may also lead to legal consequences under public decency laws.

    What Dubai does offer are the trappings of a luxury lifestyle. It is a city of gift bags, eye-wateringly high restaurant receipts and high-end consumer goods of all kinds against a backdrop of thrusting crystal stalagmites of tat that make Trump Tower look positively restrained and tasteful. The vast majority of its content creators celebrate beauty, fitness, fine dining etc. This is the polar opposite of the stylings of the horrible, muddy ‘Just Stop Oil/Queers For Palestine’ youth cult, but it is equally unlovely.

    It is supposedly aspirational – but aspiring to what? Luxury and status, presumably, to people who don’t understand either – neither the children lapping up this output on the socials nor the slightly older influencers serving it up to them.

    Young Westerners go to Dubai to – in that especially gruesome phrase – ‘generate content’. Anybody over 15 years of age who uses this term in earnest needs to be led gently away with a paper bag over their head, for their sakes as much as ours.

    Children and younger teens are attracted to glitter and glamour. And fair enough, this is hard to come by in Britain today. But all things are relative – I remember my father telling me how Cardiff was regarded as Sin City in the Wales of his youth because it had a cinema and a nightclub. And I found Hemel Hempstead thrillingly futuristic when I was six years old. I think it’s much the same dynamic going on here.

    But as the Fakana case shows, using Dubai for this purpose comes with considerable risks – fun, fun, fun with a side order of mediaeval theocracy. There is even a campaign group, Detained In Dubai, for people who find themselves on the wrong side of the penal code. (There is not, as yet, a campaign group called Detained In Lytham St Anne’s.) British citizen Laleh Shahravesh, for example, was arrested in 2019 for calling her ex-husband an ‘idiot’, and his new new wife a ‘horse’, on Facebook.

    How would you relax in Dubai? You don’t even know the laws or customs you might be transgressing. An acquaintance of mine was at a café in the Middle East and was getting dirty looks from all around. He eventually realised it was because he was sitting with his legs up, revealing the soles of his shoes – terribly bad form in the Arab world.

    The latest Dubai danger are events called ‘Porta-Potty parties’, secretive events organised by ultra-wealthy men who entice young female influencers with extravagant gifts, five-star hotel stays, and large sums of money – with absolutely no strings attached, obviously. Nothing good is going to happen at something called a ‘Porta-Potty party’.

    You’d think the incarcerations detailed by Detained In Dubai would be enough to put people off, but the lucrative lure of clicks, views and likes is too strong. Still, it is time for everybody, not just Mr Fakana, to ditch this dazzling dump and come home.

    Gareth Roberts
    WRITTEN BY
    Gareth Roberts
    Gareth Roberts is a TV scriptwriter and novelist who has worked on Doctor Who and Coronation Street

    1. It was the same in all colonial outposts , I can remember Khartoum where my parents lived for a few years , when my siblings and I were children

      Miscreants were sent packing , usually by the British embassy staff.. All Brits etc had to set an example , the highest .. affairs were frowned on , and manners mattered .

      Even overseas in the seventies etc , bad behaviour was frowned on .. and of course Jilly Cooper would have had a field day hearing about the horsey set on Army camps !

      1. It was the same in Nigeria in the 60s and 70s. There was even an unsalaried post called The Senior British Officer, who represented the Embassy, although an academic.
        It seems now a bit like a Carry On joke, how one behaved back then, but order was maintained and the flag flown high, showing an example to the locals. Especially now the "example" seems to be based on chav culture.

        1. When my parents moved out to Nigeria, my Father was horrified to be told by the SBO that it was required to have staff, paid for from your salary, in the house. He was the son of a mineworker from West Hartlepool, and the concept of having servants was an anathema to him – but the intention was that the wealth trickled down to the locals. So, he hired a cook, steward and gardner: Gabriel, Joseph and Sule. I remeber them still, good men, and kind to an awkward young child as I was (and still am, TBH).

    2. How would a bloke cross-dressing as an Arab women be identified as a bloke? I think it was John Simpson, when he was a war reporter in the region, who got out of trouble by cross-dressing his way through border control. He always had a goat to hand, just in case.

  50. 409028+up ticks,

    When the domino era kicks in as it surely must it will be beneficial to ALL parties outside of current parliament.

    I have great hopes that hancock will take the cup in the
    " grass of the year " contest knocking a great big political black hole in parliamentary attendees.

    https://x.com/TRUMP_ARMY_/status/1942243103403864268

  51. King to tell Macron: ‘No borders’ between us
    Plea for co-operation comes as Starmer fights to save migrant returns deal
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/08/king-charles-to-tell-macron-no-borders-between-us/

    BTL

    Once a meddler always a meddler.

    I am afraid that the 'Idiot King' will never learn to keep well away from the things from which he should steer clear.

    One of his problems is that he tries to be 'up-to-date' but he lacks the judgement to see what is bad and what is good for the UK today; he seems to think in clichés and platitudes.

        2. I seem to remember it being said at the time they became "public", that Diana was taller than Charles.

          1. She was, and how she relished wearing ultra high heels during the final breakdown of their marriage

    3. He should refrain from voicing his opinions on politics. He lacks the wisdom of his mother.

    4. He appears to see everything through rose-coloured spectacles. This is one of the disadvantages of the monarchical system – the inner-circle of the Royal Family is raised in a bubble, with little contact with their subjects. There are some, such as Princess Anne, who are more down-to-earth and can relate more to ordinary people.

    5. That's about the most spectacularly provocative thing he could say in the circumstances. He's nobody's King in any meaningful sense. King of the dunghill.

  52. What's all that hugging stuff? Would HM the late Queen have tolerated being touched in that way?

  53. Yes – it was but I married at 20 which was too young and we really weren't well suited. He also became violent at times when I didn't do as he wanted. Life's been a lot better since I escaped from him.

    1. Violence is not acceptable. Period. Good that you got away from that.
      We were 21 when we married – I was still an undergraduate. Young, but it opens for some record number wedding anniversaries… 😉

    2. Yep , J, things we will remember , not so far away!

      Then we will remember things we did today.

      I was also too young , but we grew up together , with space .. Moh was flying in the RN, then oilrigs for 16 years , 2 on 2 off , then the coastguard helo locally then retirement , so space and rest was vital, and now golf fills in the gaps .

      I had various jobs , and many commitments , so really , time has flown .

      1. Time certainly does fly. They say "procrastination is the thief of time"……. and I've always been good at that. There are lots of things i should be doing – but here I am – sitting here and tapping my keyboard.

        1. Ditto!

          Attended a meeting last night , finished at 20.30 , my mind chattered all night , cool night , but didn’t sleep very well .

  54. May be something to do with being Royal during the war? One has to grow up quickly and develop smarts in such circumstances.

    1. Princess Anne is discreet and doesn't broadcast her thoughts to all and sundry.

    1. He was a hard man, Philip. Naval command in wartime, knew when to STFU, the power behind the throne. One saw how HM the Queen changed when Philip died – no surprise there, but she became much more accommodating to BS than before – I attribute thata to the absence of robust advice from Philip.

    1. Like many animals in the country the wild porkers in Oz are not indigenous, they were brought in many years ago from the northern islands.
      They roam parts of the Bush and scrubland in various areas. 6 guys including myself use to stay on family owned sheep stations near Narran Lakes NSW. The three stations were around the size of Hertfordshire in total. During lambing season the wild pigs would sniff out the births and often kill and eat the tiny creatures.
      Helping out the father and two sons families, riding trail bikes we shot as many as we could. Our Dogs used to flush the pigs out.
      Quite we would find the remains of the pigs a few days later. They were also cannibals.

      1. Indeed. One of the stories of Oz – import species for which there is no counterbalancing species. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time, but later on …

        1. Camels, pigs, Brumbies (horses) goats, rabbits, foxes, rats, mice. Certain fresh water fish.
          Of course cattle And sheep but mainly under control.
          Worse still was the cane toad, especially when you trip over one of the huge creatures when you are going to the loo in the dark.

          2. Not quite Obs we were living In a caravan in a park in Gladstone working on the construction of the Aluminium Smelter at Boyne Island.
            I was going for a Jimmy riddle too much beer and launched the toad into the scrub with my right foot. They stank as well.

          4. Yes I remember seeing some photos of people with sticks and other wooden implements standing in a road playing like that.

    1. Well as the green blob and the US helpfully ensured that the UK and Germany have ridiculously high energy prices, no surprises there.

      1. How does the US ensure that the UK and Germany have high energy prices? And not, say, Spain Italy or France?

        Get rid of the all the taxes and fees, and UK energy prices would be sensible.

        1. Well in order to answer that, you have to answer the question “who blew up NS2?”

          The UK is down to the green blob. The word “respectively” was missing from my post…

          3. By the way, after NS2 was blown up, the Americans offered financial sweeteners to businesses in Germany to close and move production to the US.

          4. The British likely detonated Nordstream on behalf of the Ukrainians. The likes of Starmer and Zelensky are thick as thieves.

            Russia has repeatedly offered to re-supply cheap gas to Germany but has been rebuffed. Germany is presently led by morons just as is the UK. They are as stupidly “Green” as Miliband.

    2. Steel, energy, chemicals. INEOS warned the state. Miliband ignored him.

      This is the obvious end result of 'climate change': unemployment, poverty. Of course, when we need rocket propellant, bitumen, glues – we won't be able to make it.

      Lefties are morons. utter, utter morons. Milioaf should be slapped, repeatedly until he learns.

  65. They've had enough.. can't wait for stupid election cycle.
    .
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2fc0bedb8477c7acbe18399fc7543163d5d370426c1652861d6fccaa5662d795.jpg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYxFcUFAs0
    To dissolve the Dáil, the Irish Parliament's lower house, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) requests the President to dissolve it. If the Taoiseach has majority support in the Dáil, the President must comply with the request. Once dissolved, a general election must be held within 30 days.

    1. Just needs 1 x Southport, or another 7/7 or Manc Arena or Westminster Bridge or Bataclan..

  66. Just read the BBC article on Norman Tebbit, and it prompted the thought taht he clearly knew what he wanted to achieve, understood he wasn't going to be the "figurehead" who could achieve it and found another – Margaret Thatcher, who with his prompting and support, could lead enough people into achieving it.
    In other words, his goals were more important than himself. And it seems from history, he was right.
    Respect.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gk98ng4e8o

    2. Do not forget Airey Neave who first promoted Margaret Thatcher to challenge Ted Heath. He too was blown up by the IRA (lost his legs whilst in his car and on the ramp into the House of Commons car park).

      1. Good point, Corim. I had (shame on me) forgotten Airey. Thanks for the reminder.

  67. Just read the BBC article on Norman Tebbit, and it prompted the thought taht he clearly knew what he wanted to achieve, understood he wasn't going to be the "figurehead" who could achieve it and found another – Margaret Thatcher, who with his prompting and support, could lead enough people into achieving it.
    In other words, his goals were more important than himself. And it seems from history, he was right.
    Respect.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gk98ng4e8o

    1. Stupid.
      I think we've done Wales now.
      I would recommend Tenby, that might be the photograph.

      1. Had many holidays as a child in Tenby, Saundersfoot.
        Loved the place. Lots of happy memories – and learned to be cold in seawater, too.

      2. As long as they don't make me pay extra for using the roads to get to places in England (and to go racing – if I'm taxed on that, I'll end my membership and save £366 a year).

    2. I'm afraid I support them as up here in Scotland the same tax is being considered, the money raised would go to improving the roads and facilities for the tourists who at the moment disrupt local traffic, leave their mess everywhere and crap in our laybys – our particular area the NC500, attracts the worst in driving, there are virtually no public bogs, campervans block the roads and dump their grey water at the roadside – it is overtouristed. The only people to profit from the tourists are the accommodations, not even campervans contribute to the local economy as they fill up with shopping and fuel in Inverness, they don't spend locally. They have no idea on driving on single track roads. I know from experience as a recovery truck driver

      1. Hear you, Alec x I'm a bit lower down. Basically, similar mostly everywhere UK, especially further South, and further still. Dismal:-(

        1. I believe Cornwall and Devon suffer too Kate – my daughter lives down there x

          1. Long time since I was there, Alec…bad enough then. Final straw outdoor pub lunch – young family came to sit at our table, Asian – father and young child (a girl) dressed Western style, a figure sitting slightly away head to toe in cloth – must have been sweltering. I pictured the girl in a few years, similarly attired. As to roads (narrow) and traffic (heavy, including ‘vans) …..no wish to repeat the visit x

      2. I agree but we all know the money won't be ringfenced and go where you want it to go.

      3. Well, hang on. You say they don't contribute but they are by shopping in those shops, by buying fuel. It might not be a lot, but it is some. Reduce it, drive it away and you've got less spent in the shops.

        Over time that's unemployment, which means more welfare demand.

        Neither Wales nor Scotland really pay those costs due to subsidy, so these 'regions' taxes will put someone on the dole and increase costs on England which really means more unemployment.

        If there's infrastructure needs why is regional government blithering on about pride and trans nonsense? Why is it not spending public money on shared, essential services and not wasting it on dross?

        1. They shop and fuel up in Inverness which is south of the NC500 – they do not shop in local shops nor do they buy fuel locally. As for your last sentence – you tell me

      4. “the money raised would go to improving the roads and facilities for the tourists”

        I have a bridge to sell you

      1. He's the odd one out – they are all screws except him – he should be screwed

    2. Non-cross head screws are the blasted bane of my blasted life. Not only do you have todig out the entire toolkil, but you're slipping and catching on the blasted screw head.

      They, along with non-ferrous screws should be abolished. Apple, I am looking at you.

      1. I hate Phillips head screws. When they get old, you are more likely to destroy the "cross" than actually get the screw out. I've done a lot of outside deck construction and repair, and I either use Torx or square drive screws.

      2. A round head brass screw with a dab of Vaseline or silicone grease is my go-to for fixing gutters, down-pipes, hanging baskets etc.

    1. Lies; damn lies; and statistics.
      Choose your dates. Choose your criteria.
      Robert's Your Uncle.

    2. Who here can join Caroline and me to say they did not have a single Covid jab?

      7. Neither Carol nor me took the jab. I spent about five years of my career designing laboratories and these included the Immunology & Signalling Laboratory at The Babraham Institute near Cambridge.

        I was aware that testing of new drugs involves extensive research and development. Testing is done using mice, rats and ferrets for the most part hence the description “transgenic mice” for example.

        The notion that a new drug, in the case of Covid a faux vaccine or gene therapy, could be assembled in less than a year was ludicrous. It takes from 7-10 years to bring a new drug to market.

        Those responsible for launching unproven and untested drugs on whole populations should face prosecution and have their assets seized.

        2. I had two AZ as it was clearly going to be mandated for travel. I had no reactions so it was probably saline.

          1. I had two of those about a week after the first one my Afib kicked back in. But settled down, after the second and the flu jab it kicked in again. And it stayed for two years.
            And all of our family had some form of Covid.
            I'm wondering if my recent knee operation might have been the cause for the Afib revisiting at the moment.

          2. No covid here unless that was the cold and cough we had in January 2020, but the last jab I had was the shingles one in 2021 – I didn't want another dose of that.

            OH had the Pfizer ones – then had a triple by pass for his 80th birthday.
            Never used to bother with flu jabs – but i was persuaded to have one in 2020. Not had any since. We haven't had any boosters.

          3. We were on holiday in Cornwall it was our middle son’s 40th birthday..
            They went on a boat trip and caught covid but their little son didn’t.
            It was like a bad case of the flu. I had to get my wife to drive all the way home. I felt rotten. My elder sister and BiL had every jab available but still caught it. Two of my very old friends died, but they had been ill for a long time. And out of the blue a fit and healthy local friend had a serious stroke, was taken to hospital and died within days of a heart attack.

          4. Oh dear – we got off very lightly. Though OH did have heart trouble later on.

          6. Had to be vaccinated in order to travel to Lithuania to have my knee replacement operation.

          7. I had a trip to Kenya arranged and twice postponed. We finally went in 2022 and needed jab certificates and a “Fit to fly” test which was a scam.

      8. Me.

        Despite regular requests from my GP's staff, who should know better as I agreed to have my refusal of the initial jab entered on my records, and the NHS to book my booster, I have ignored all their pleas to have my body violated by this potion.

    3. I said as much right at the outset. The not vaxxed till fourteen days after the injection rule was the most obvious fiddle but hey, I don't have a degree in medicine. The appeal to authority is the technocrat's hold on the feeble minded.

  72. Back home now and a bit light headed.
    Bus going was over 10min late, but the return trip was on time so I was able to catch the Bonsall bus from Cromford which saved me walking up with a rucksack full of shopping.
    Now sat with a mug of tea.

    1. Ah, Alec, reminds me of an incident many years ago, friend visiting an old female relative (in her 90s)…give no details except 'hey you don't need a man!'

  74. https://order-order.com/2025/07/08/junior-doctors-in-england-vote-in-favour-of-strike-action/

    Labour will, of course, give in. I'm more disappointed than angry. The unions are clearly exploiting a weak, hard Left government but worse, they're abusing those people who will pay their salaries.

    A doctor will go on to earn a comfortable six figure salary – rightly so in my book – from private sector referrals andso on. A checkout lass won't. She'll earn about the same 18-21,000 most of her life. She'll retire on a low pension as well. The doctor will retire on a generous defined benefit one.

    Without question, the skills levels are completely different but that's represented in the lifetime earnings potential. Junior docs are screwing the lower paid so they can have more at the start AND at the end of their careers. It's a break in the social contract.

    1. I think the doctors might be on defined contribution pensions, which was one of the reasons for removing the maximum amount (£1,073,000, removed by Hunt in 2023) and the taper rules (went from tapering at £150k to tapering at £260k).

      You might remember this government saying it is minded to tinker with the defined contribution pensions rules again so that e.g. doctors get more favourable rules than e.g. ordinary private sector workers. They haven’t done it yet, but i won’t be surprised if they do.

      1. I seem to recall TTK tinkering with the rules so that his pension was "improved"?

  75. Well, talk about a trip down memory lane! The two ladies – one is French who married an Englishman and has lived in Fakenham for 60 years; the other an Englishwoman who married a Frenchman and has lived most of the last 60 years in France! Both were colleagues of the MR in the early 1980s. A wonderful 1½ hours catching up.

    Not often that sort of thing happens.

    1. I gave up waiting to see him get off.
      The RAF were lined up the Roller was parked and ready and he must have been in the loo or something.

  78. Hello everyone! Happy to report that the cold snap appears to be over (for now at least), so various friends are emerging from hibernation.

    I had to go to Immigration early yesterday morning to renew my temporary visa for the next year. My brain was so worried about me getting up on time that it woke me at 4, 5 and 6 a.m. Was rather bleary-eyed yesterday. 🤣

    The silver lining was that when I gave up on bed at six, I went out onto the balcony to chat to the plants, and for the first time got to see my bats flying around! 🙂 Wishing you all an unexpected smile as big as mine was upon finally meeting them!

    2. Are they fruit bats, ashes? If so, I am sinfully envious. If not, I love all bats, anyway, but fruit bats and flying foxes are beyond.

      1. Fruit bats and/or flying foxes on the balcony would be a thing of wonder.

        Mine are little bog-standard creatures who can squeeze into the gaps in the armature of the metal blinds. Still amazing! 🙂🙂

        1. I know. We have them (British Bats) everywhere, apparently some threatened ones (which overrides any plans we have for our buildings) They are lovely! (Though a cause of marital strife) When I spent some little time in Singapore there was the most beautiful fruit bat hanging outside the back door= not approved by others

  79. Macron praises Starmer’s ‘willingness’ to improve EU ties

    Emmanuel Macron has praised Sir Keir Starmer's "willingness" to improve ties with the European Union as he arrived in Britain for his state visit. The French president said the Prime Minister had committed to "explore new means of cooperation" in remarks that will spark fears of Brexit being watered down.

    "The willingness expressed by the United Kingdom to strengthen ties with the European Union is a powerful signal – one that I welcome," he said. "It commits us collectively to explore new means of cooperation that respect our mutual interests."

    The French president and his wife, Brigitte, were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt in north-west London on Tuesday morning. They then travelled together to Windsor where they were greeted by the King and Queen.

    Mr Macron is being hosted by the King during his three-day state visit, which is the first by a French president since 2008. Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to use the visit to agree a so-called "one in, one out deal" with Mr Macron to deter small boat migrant crossings.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/07/08/emmanuel-macron-state-visit-king-prince-wales-starmer

    "One in, one out."

    Shakes head sadly and retires to dark room…

    1. Brexit watered down? It's not happened at all yet except in name only. Starmer is intent on taking us back in, that's what his co-operation means.

  80. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/08/britain-is-now-stuck-in-a-high-tax-doom-loop/

    Boiling frog is an apt metaphor except the frog does jump out. Our political class have screwed the lid on and the pot is boiling dry. Labour have just turned the heat up.

    Two of our customers have closed up this month. That's £1500 of revenue not coming in. We've ben offering lower and lower fees simply to keep the business but there's a ceiling we can't fall under due to tax – it's simply uneconomic to continue trading below a certain level.

    In prep, we're offering an on site backup/restore device as if we do go out of business we have to destroy every copy of customer data.

  81. 409028+ up ticks,

    Thr poofs have it, the poofs have it,

    Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
    The Brexit war is over: it’s time for Britain to embrace Macron
    A healthy equality has returned to cross-Channel relations. The UK must seize the opportunity.

    The thought of embracing the frog I will willingly leave to the likes of the king type chap, and the TOOL they are more well suited.

      1. For the frog to turn into a handsome prince, the woman kissing it has to be a princess …

    1. 409028+ up ticks,

      Afternoon WS,

      A rough end of a pineapple at the exit end, would have been more acceptable to many.

  83. It's a shame to hear that Norman Tebbit has died, he and Margaret Thatcher were proper Conservatives, selflessly serving their country through thick and thin, unlike the globalist disasters that took over after 1990.
    His contributions to the Telegraph comments sections before the Telegraph went downhill and behind the paywall were marvellous, he would even respond to those that posted replies by name.
    Politicians would not do that now, they just employ an army of gaslighters to respond on line.
    His detractors called him divisive and unpopular, for some reason, but they now attack populism as something bad, I wish they would make their minds up.
    He was most famous for his on your bike and cricket test speeches, all taken out of context of course, but they are still just as relevant to todays world.

  85. Britain is a third world country. There are no more ifs or buts, it has crossed the line now. People who live in quiet, prosperous areas can ignore the poverty and shit on the streets for a little bit longer, as long as they don't try to do something like found a company, transfer a property, build a house etc. As soon as you do that, you come across the spider's web of pettifogging regulations and extra fees that suck your energy and your money. Too many people work for the bloated state; they try to be helpful but all too often they don't understand the rules themselves and would rather do anything than make a mistake, so they simply reject everything.
    Compared to even ten years ago, it's almost impossible to get anything done now. The slide in the last decade has been astonishing.

  86. Labour always spout one-hundred-and-eighty degrees opposite of what they tout.
    Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander..

    "I think we want to tackle the misery that these very sophisticated criminal gangs are inflicting.."
    "Britain is getting value for money from the French", (after handing over £700 million)..
    “We’ll always spend our money in the public interest, in the national interest.." course you do.

    French police slashing a migrant dingy
    the action, performed in front of BBC cameras, was suspicious just days ahead of President Macron’s state visit.

  87. Junior Doctors in England Vote in Favour of Strike Action
    Junior doctors in England have voted in favour of strike action. The British Medical Association posted on X:

    “The results are in: we have a clear mandate to strike. More than 90% of you who voted in our ballot, voted YES. You’ve made it clear: enough is enough.”

    July 8 2025 @ 11:38

    James Eaton
    3h
    So the last bribe wasn't enough …. Great job, Wes!

    Bacon Cheesecake
    3h
    What a shocker: the huge increase in NHS spending announced a few weeks ago will be eaten up by salaries and pensions.

  88. Just spoke to Crazed Teacher friend.Amongst other things, she said that there is a lot more military activity round her – helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, on manoevres. Wondered if there is a war coming, or at least a unit going to Ukraine…

  89. OT – and in baking news…..the loaf baked yesterday using French T65 baguette flour did NOT go rock hard as predicted here (and by my elder son – an accomplished baker and francophile) – but is perfectly good today. I suspect that my standard addition to the mixture of 2 tablespoons of olive oil may be responsible.

    4. I always add 80ml of olive oil to each of my kilogram of flour mixtures.
      Based on the Paul Hollyood recipes. White and wholemeal
      All mine except the now needed are in air tight bags in the freezer.

  90. Labour Budget Inheritance Tax Architect Is UK’s Primary Wealth Tax Campaigner

    Any Labour consideration of a wealth tax is likely to draw on the work of the UK’s chief wealth tax campaigner Arun Advani. Co-conspirators will remember the economist/activist as the architect of the government’s disastrous Farm Tax…

    The wonk – who runs the high-tax campaign outfit CenTax – drew up extensive proposals for the IHT changes which appeared in the last budget. Some of the changes were based on comedically misguided analysis by Advani which claimed only 77 non-doms would leave the country as a result. He has now rolled back on his support for the discredited non-dom IHT changes of which he was also a key architect…

    Advani was also a principal contributor to the “Wealth Tax Commission” out of the LSE and University of Warwick which proposed in an influential 2020 report a one-off wealth tax bombshell to rake in “one-quarter of a trillion pounds over five years.” They advocate for one of two models: a “one-off wealth tax payable on all individual wealth above £500,000 and charged at 1% a year for five years would raise £260 billion; at a threshold of £2 million it would raise £80 billion.” The proposals would be given cover by the incoming director of the ‘neutral’ Institute for Fiscal Studies Helen Miller, who said: “The case for a one-off wealth tax is simple. If it were unexpected and credibly one-off this would be an efficient way to raise revenue and could be used to address existing wealth inequality.” As with all of Advani’s schemes there are major flaws. The report admits that “delivering a one-off wealth tax from inception through to full operation would be a major undertaking,” likely to take some four years. Many prospective victims would scarper in that period and few would believe that the tax would be ‘one-off.’ The greedy Labour left would be back for more…

    Arun has gleefully boasted of his links with the government – he said at Labour Conference last year that he was “optimistic” because the Labour government is “genuinely listening” to his ideas. The government has repeatedly failed to rule out a wealth tax after Neil Kinnock suggested it was considering one on Sunday. Expect them to be leafing through Advani’s one-off proposals as we speak…

    July 7 2025 @ 15:42

    stephen dean
    1d
    These people have a million ideas how to tax the life out of the country but are clueless how to generate wealth in the first place.

    nightbar
    stephen dean
    18h
    Advani was invited by the Treasury to speak to civil servants there.

    Freakybacon
    1d
    No one with roots outside this country should be anywhere near the government.

    Neil Parkin
    1d
    Always more tax, to pay for even more profligate spending. How about we just don't pee the money away on useless stuff..?

    1. If he is the advocate, then tax him heavily first. Just take everything he has – call it a 'Lefty levy' and when he squeals 'I didn't mean me!' point out his obvious hypocrisy.

      I'd also ask – why should 'wealth' be equal? If some layabout does nothing all day why should they receive the same pay I do? It is socialism. There are endless examples throughout history why it always fails.

      Why do these 'think tanks' (activists) and academics think it will?

    2. Nobody should take any notice of anything coming out of the LSE. They are a very left wing outfit (Labour's finishing school) and disconnected (as are the left in general) from reality.

      1. Jack – it's ok for you to say this, you live in a free country. We don't any more. The likes of these eejits now dictate even what we are allowed to think. I don't think you have any idea how bad it is, here, now.

    3. he is a very nasty, spiteful and incompetent piece of work indeed. In my opinion.

  91. Reeves Promoted Raft of Wealth Taxes Last Year

    Rachel Reeves promoted a pamphlet of hers which called for a series of wealth taxes in March last year. Co-conspirators may remember all the way back in October 2024 when Guido revealed the raft of tax rises proposed Reeves in a major report called “The Everyday Economy.” Reeves published her report in 2018 with the New Economics Foundation and promoted it. Two years later she would be in Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet…

    Today the Telegraph has finally caught up on Guido’s reporting from nine months ago to claim it can “reveal” the report’s contents. It proposed to among other things:

    Replace inheritance tax with a lifetime Gift tax.
    Hike capital gains tax to income tax rates.
    Halve the annual capital gains tax allowance.
    Overhaul council tax and replace it with a property tax that directly impacts property owners.
    Introduce a global wealth tax.
    Introduce a land tax.
    Cap ISAs with a lifetime limit and reduce the annual cap to £15,000.
    Set up municipal energy production and pension schemes.
    Limit higher-rate pension contribution reliefs and require that 20% of all contributions be invested in job-creating opportunities.
    Raise taxes on savings and investments of high earners.
    Force companies to report their pay ratios and the “differential between their highest and lower paid workers” in order to link this to the level of corporation tax they pay. Bye bye companies…
    Co-conspirators will notice a series of asset taxes there. At the time Reeves raged that “half of Britain’s wealth is owned by just ten per cent of adults.” She has never disowned the report…

    In fact Reeves promoted it just last year in her landmark Mais Lecture:

    “Recognising that even the most dynamic of industries must rest on foundations provided not only by businesses at the frontier but what I call the ‘everyday economy’.”

    She went on to mention the “Everyday Economy” two more times in that lecture in support of her ideas for economic policy. The embattled Chancellor may look to revive her foundational ideas when October comes around and she’s casting around for cash. Would be a crying shame for growth…

    July 8 2025 @ 15:37

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2a496066c4fda6707afb9c698dfdec03e8ede66a38bed73dfec6372f81077c4f.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d9fc9fb34d9d9182369b18b46e8d1e650e29213f1d65f899e14b86bf5f700186.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1f6c9be5c096294aa0da5ba6c6fa55f4af6de6276dd2cf0a989d1259f9707fca.png

          1. The only real concern that they have is keeping their sacred seats. And therefore keeping the expenses rolling in. Hardly any of them have nor could hold down a job outside of Wastemonster.
            The whole set up needs changing. As far as the average person who lives, works and pays taxes in any shape or form is concerned they are absolutely pointless and utterly useless.
            They never achieved anything that is beneficial for the people who are forced to pay their bloody salaries.

    3. There is a third system which is "Socialism for the Rich only" which is what we actually have, and it delivers the result in the bottom left hand corner of the graphs meme.

      It can be summed up as Privatised profits, socialised losses.

      1. Precisely. Our economic woes and enormous deficits date from the 2008 banking crisis, the supposed Brownian solution to which was the largest transfer of wealth from poor to rich in our history.

        Private debt run up by corrupt bankers was socialised overnight. No bankers were jailed or forced to pay anything back but instead, after an indecently short pause, were allowed to carry on with their irresponsible lending practices to this day.

        Rinse and repeat with other episodes such as the Covid money laundering scam so that we are now bankrupt and as Margaret Thatcher was wont to say the socialists have run out of everyone else’s money.

        One of the most evil profiteers, Rishi Sunak, wife and in-laws, has just returned to Goldman Sachs which says it all.

        1. A wealth transfer that was only surpassed in the next wave of money printing, which was covid of course. The Big, Beautiful Bill in the US will kick off another round in due course…

    4. I'd also point out that the reason the poor get poorer under high tax capitalism is because so much is taken in tax those taking all the risks shut up early rather than passing wealth down.

  92. I've just been through yesterday's comments and I remember someone say that he was taking his wife to hospital for a Cardio Version.
    But I couldn't find it, or was it today ?
    Does anyone know how it went ?

    2. That was me. It was successful and she is now home. A bit tired and woozy but we will have a better idea tomorrow.

      4. Good news. A scary thought, stopping and re-starting the heart, but it does seem to work! Hoping she's rested and the anaesthetic is wearing off.

  93. Wordle No. 1,480 3/6

    ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
    ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 8 Jul 2025

    Foreboding for Birdie Three?

    1. I didn't bode to well
      Wordle 1,480 5/6

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

    2. So close.

      Wordle 1,480 3/6

      🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Fortunate second guess nearly brought an eagle! I'll settle for a birdie…….

      Wordle 1,480 3/6

      ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
      ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      PS Per got an Ace earlier today – great stuff Per!!

    5. Well done, same here.

      Wordle 1,480 3/6

      🟨🟩⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  94. Block foul mouthed ToryDJ
    25m
    Only Starmer would lay on this Bread and Circuses Event, for an EU snake who has waged war against the UK, for daring to vote for Brexit.

    Robert jones
    33m
    Why is this Government and country welcoming someone who has done absolutely nothing for the UK and has done everything to try and punish us for Brexit ?

    Block foul mouthed ToryDJ
    16m
    BrokeBritain Mountain?
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/35843d9463d0b06be9aea8c80205b3fa2bb1113e682b022f9158f8811e0ef686.png
    Au Revoir
    28m
    Has he had a good slap yet? #jesuisbrigitte

      1. "Coupling", that was a series we got here on PBS. Episodes with the "Welsh" guy were a lot of fun, the others less so.

        1. I don't know it, but then I watch virtually no series nowadays; in fact "virtually no" might be a numerical overstatement.

      1. Cheapest available in light grey from a cheap suit shop. Neither of us remember the name.

    4. Congratulations on your anniversary! You look so happy! Hope you have a wonderful day!🍾🥂

      1. Thanks, Sue. Thursday is the day…
        Would have had a nice party for 40th, but it was mid-Covid and we were emptying and selling Mother's house in Wales to pay for her nursing home, so we just forgot, it was so busy.
        Hope we make it to 50th, so we can do it properly. Only 7 years to go!

        1. Convid actually saved us from a Ruby anniversary 'party' that would have organised by the 'Canadian branch' – they planned on coming over for the occasion. Lucky escape!

          1. It might be lack of observation on my part, but have you been away?
            Good to see you back.

          2. Good morning and thank you. Not away, just finding life tricky. I have popped in a few times, just to keep up with Nottle, but mostly just up-ticking.
            Away? Chance would be a fine thing! Not counting the most unpleasant 25 day visit to 'the Canadians' in summer 2022, our last time away/holiday was for a week in Sept 2017 when we went to Rhodes with our son and his now-ex-wife!
            We had holidays planned for 2020, but we all know what happened then!
            2023 was not an option as I was having multiple surgeries, including a couple of big ones (aftermath would have looked appropriate for Halloween!), for skin cancers.
            I had hoped we could go to Crete for my 70th last month, but as I was waiting on test results and potential further investigations, travel insurance was a problem. And MH wasn't keen anyway.

            Nottling is good for the soul!

          3. More than your fair share of miseries.
            I hope things are getting better for you now.

          4. I think so – apart from having received confirmation of flight bookings for ‘them’ coming over next month.
            Last time they all came (2019), I was left traumatised one evening by the pair of them, and would have called the police if I could have got to the phone. They even blocked the door so they could carry on literally shouting and screaming at me. MH did nothing, but he finally felt the reality when he was also targeted for some abuse when we went in 2022!
            Son came with just the children in Spring last year, and that was mostly alright.
            This time, I have my dear best friend ready to call me if (and I hope the need does not arise) I feel in danger again. I am to send a text, then she will call me to say she needs me for urgent support (she has terminal cancer, and does sometimes call me to go there).
            At least we’ll get time with our 2 granddaughters and I’m hoping the parents will beggar off on their own some days!

          6. I honestly think that if it wasn’t for the children, we wouldn’t have much contact at all. As it is, it’s sporadic from son. Ah well, c’est la vie. Worse things happen at sea – my old Dad was in the Royal Navy in the far East during the war, and that was one of his favourite phrases. He also joked that he wanted us to have ‘For Those in Peril on the Sea’ at our wedding. Nope, wasn’t happening, but we had that hymn at his funeral.

          8. You knew my dear late Dad, and I claim my £5!
            That was the other hymn he suggested for our wedding. He lost. 🙂
            I have fond memories of singing these and so many other hymns at school assemblies and during my teenage years in the church choir. Happy times.

          9. Oddly enough, if you read the words as a committed Christian, which HG is, it’s entirely appropriate for a wedding.

      2. Thanks, Sue. Thursday is the day…
        Would have had a nice party for 40th, but it was mid-Covid and we were emptying and selling Mother's house in Wales to pay for her nursing home, so we just forgot, it was so busy.
        Hope we make it to 50th, so we can do it properly. Only 7 years to go!

    5. To clarify, I look like a 64-year-old, with lots of scruffy grey hair and beard, SWMBO looks no different..!
      She always was, and is, a good-looking and smart lady.
      Just saying…

      1. Sounds a bit like me this morning. My Mad Scientist look has been shed!

    6. Congratulations to you and your good lady. What a good-looking couple!
      44 years for us next month.

    7. Congratulations.

      Looking at my birthday list you were born in June 1961 which means you must have been about 21 when you married.

      I was nearly 42 in 1988 when Caroline and I married – nearly double the age you were when you married your Rider Haggard heroine!.

      How lucky we both are to have such happy marriages. Maybe it's not just good luck but a bit of good judgement too!

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8ac223741ee8186adb826f9c35650ad6440f724851af889690c59c7449b05a8d.png

  98. Evening, all. Have had a busy day after the physio poked and prodded me ("does this hurt?" – yes it damned well does!). Have moved my desk up to what was the shack to make room for a sideboard, which is a more appropriate piece of furniture for the dining room. Of course, when you start moving things, there's always something else that needs to be done.

    Why is Kinnochio a lord anyway? Ignoring him seems to be the only sensible thing to do.

    1. In fact, that's quite likely me driving, as I always liked to leave the cylinder cocks open to properly drain and generate atmospheric steam clouds – these worked especially well in a warm (!) humid day in September.
      IN any case, the face you can see is Arvid, who often fired for me – when I wasn't firing for him.

    3. Looks like fun. Here's our local historic:

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b59dbba8d43ccba985077941191ac004081ac6df48d94aa118aa468c69a8d50c.jpg

      A Mallet 2-6-6-2. Mallet's have high pressure cylinders which exhaust into low pressure cylinders. '

      We can get a foot plate ride – v. expensive, but definitely no driving or firing. About twice the tractive effort of the well known BR standard 2-10-0's. Definitely a big 'un. Next step up would be a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. Of which Union Pacific has restored one to running order – there are a few others on static display. They are monsters, which were designed to haul heavy freight over the Rockies.

      1. And no doubt all built by black African engineers who were formerly slaves or children of slaves…

        1. The only think black about them is the shade of the crew after a long run.

  100. That's me for this remarkable day. The two visitors, the MR and me have 321 years between us!!! It was extraordinary to talk about things that happened nearly half a century ago. We all agreed that we should try to meet again before another 30 years have passed!!

    Time for a drinky-poo. Have a spiffing evening.

    A demain

    3. Average age, 80 and change. Another 30 years is rather optimistic?

      As i said to my daughter the other day, when she was talking about long term plans, "from where I sit, the long term is not that far away".

      1. My M-i-L is 99.
        No medication, eats a diet that would give Grizzly conniption fits, lives on her own, still walks to the shops.
        Good for another 10 years I would not be at all surprised.
        So there's hope for the old Billy goat yet.

  102. At least the temperature is a little better today – 31C as against 36 yesterday.

    1. Warm… nice! Really cold Guinness is good at those temperatures, as the heavy beer not only tastes but conveys coolth to the throat.

      1. Have some in the fridge.

        Really annoying, I used to be able to easily get Fullers ESB, Abbot Ale, Bass and Boddington. Can only get Bod these days – probably not enouugh demand in this area for anything else. Locals either drink US beers or vodka as far as I can tell.

        1. Ooo… ESB! Excellent ale!
          Local pub here in South Norway gets London Pride, and has a huge expat following as a result. But, ESB… sigh

          1. There's a pub in Cupertino not far from Apple et al, The Duke of Edinburgh, which has a good range of bitter, etc., plus English pub meals – fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, etc. When I was out there evaluating start ups, it was my "go to" evening spot, good to know it's still in business. http://www.theduke.com

          2. There's a pub in Cupertino not far from Apple et al, The Duke of Edinburgh, which has a good range of bitter, etc., plus English pub meals – fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, etc. When I was out there evaluating start ups, it was my "go to" evening spot, good to know it's still in business. http://www.theduke.com

          3. ESB 5.9% bottled or draught.
            When we arrived back in 1980 a 'arrange' for my wife to take me to a Fullers pub in Finchley for a couple of pints of ESB.
            There's an advertisement on the net for 8 bottles of ESB for sale £16:00..

          1. It's a long time since Bass produced Draught Bass. They gave Marston's the contract to brew it about 20 years ago and for more than 20 years before that it hadn't been fermented in the unions that gave it that unique taste (and high yeast content!). Marston's have also retired their unions and now ferment it in Yorkshire squares.

          2. Thank you William. I didn’t know they had done away with the connected casks. All good things and all that!🙄

          3. I was lucky enough to visit Marston's in 1980 when their unions were still in use. We had Pedigree in our student bar at Nottingham.

          4. I was lucky enough to visit Marston's in 1980 when their unions were still in use. We had Pedigree in our student bar at Nottingham.

      2. Have some in the fridge.

        Really annoying, I used to be able to easily get Fullers ESB, Abbot Ale, Bass and Boddington. Can only get Bod these days – probably not enouugh demand in this area for anything else. Locals either drink US beers or vodka as far as I can tell.

  103. Does anyone else think the silence around the Kent shooting and the claim that it was just a "normal" execution of a warrant and most certainly not terrorist related more than a little suspicious?

    1. According to Meridian South-East News, the man came out of the house clad in body-armour, wielding a chainsaw and with an item suspected to be a bomb.

      1. In which case, hopefully the life-changing injuries will have been caused by the chainsaw falling on him, when he was shot.

    3. I guess they must be far-right extremists and the MSM are covering it up?

    4. No name mentioned 24+ hours after the event.
      His name is unlikely to be Smith.

      1. Glad you didn’t mention “Ashes” what with her and her plumber…!!!

  107. Utterly off topic.
    Normally we only eat soup in the colder months and make it ourselves from fresh ingredients.
    I like Gazpacho and spotted a soup in the bio section of the supermarket.

    The brand was "Alvallé" and they had a few different variations on the Gazpacho theme.

    Absolutely delicious, I think we'll try some of the others.

    1. Rook a look at their web site -they have a US version but the "where to buy" is missing, compared to other country web sites.

  108. Carbon capture project 'to boost hundreds of jobs'
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7lpg859pjo

    When I read reports like this I begin to despair. The nation has a financial and economic crisis and yet Max and his company of gimps propose to throw £60 million at a scheme to pump CO2 from a cement factory into depleted gas fields.

    Reeves: "We're modernising the cement and lime industry, delivering vital carbon capture infrastructure and creating jobs across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the North West to put more money into working people's pockets."

    In other words, an expensive unemployment benefit scheme.

    Justin Rowlatt: "If cement was a country, it would be the third biggest source of emissions after China and the US, responsible for 7.5% of human-made CO2."

    He's certainly been captured. He's the BBC biggest source of emissions – but of a different kind.

    Miliband: "This landmark investment will catalyse our carbon capture sector to deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs and growth across our industrial heartlands, as part of our plan for change. Workers in the North Sea and Britain's manufacturing heartlands will drive forward the country's industrial renewal, positioning them at the forefront of the UK's clean energy transition."

    I can't satirise this. I'm stumped by it.

    1. A layman's guide to carbon capture:

      Dig up coal, sell it to those needing carbon credits, bury it.

      Pocket loads-a-dosh.

  109. After playing with the chainsaw for a couple of hours, I've been up sorting out some of the logs produced and getting some of the brash I had to shift to get to some of them into a mini bulk bag.
    Filled bulk bag duly dragged to beside the repurposed oil drum for burning the contents thereof.
    Mahler's 9th on tonight so I think I'll be sat here a while once it starts!

  110. DEI Keystone Cop farce continues..

    "He said his glasses were knocked off his face and without them he could only see at arm's length."

    Just the right guy for firearms duties at airports then. LOL
    Or perhaps a DEI sniper?

    1. "What a sh1tshow. A catalogue of errors.. In a country that's gone through endless terrorism, mass murder, butchering.. where the state is complicit with its enemies, where 40% of them openly supported terrorism.. the cherry on top is we have the worst police ever. We had three coppers in that video in an airport where terrorism occurs and we've got Mr Magoo and two dwarfs."

      Matty Taylor

    2. All three of them were a joke – not just the women – the slammer was punching like a faggot, and they all went down like a sack of shite.

      They were a disgrace to the Force (if that actually matters any more!)……

  111. If you can find it, it’s worth a try.
    Looking at the ingredients for our version they look OK.

  112. I simply cannot believe that the leader of a country that is allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to be channeled into our country causing terrible damage to all our our economy and public services, while putting our people at risk of rape, violence and robbery is being so feted and lauded by our establishment figures, treating him as an ally and a friend, it feels like our country is under occupation by an globalist elite that has captured all our institutions and is actively destroying us before our very eyes

    2. I can understand Macron wanting to do that, what I can't understand is Starmer allowing it.

      1. Once you realise that Starmer hates this country and wants to see it destroyed, all should fall into place.

        2. Why would he, Conway…he’s done quite well here, professionally…and doubtless in line for a plum job EU. He’s quite weird, perhaps that’s it.

          2. That’s true. Do his colleagues not see it…maybe they all hope to land plum jobs EU. I don’t see anyone or any party I really want to vote for, that would have been Thatcher and that’s a long time ago. I’d like to give up voting completely, but I know I shouldn’t..suffrage etc…

          5. The jobs on offer in the European judiciary and its UN affiliates are much better remunerated than the British version.

            The Hague, for example is a much better place for work than the shithole our once beautiful City of London and Westminster has become.

          6. Well yes I can believe it having been told Europe is better than the UK in every way and why would I vote Brexit…thankfully don’t live in London but I’d have thought UK politicians in charge there and not the EC. Guessing Premier Khan has an agenda.

  113. New washing machine arrived this afternoon – what a nightmare! The instruction manual (ha ha) is useless and confusing and I was expecting to be able to put it where the old one was (in the garage) however the lead is 18" shorter than the one on the old machine and won't reach the socket. I will have to make a short extension lead (which they tell you not to use) or re-wire the garage. A complaint has been fired to the manufacturer. It was also damp inside but I guess, in the absence of replacement packaging that this is residue from a post manufacture test.

    1. Eeeek, I know nothing about leccy, Alec (other than the cost) but we have a few of those extensions that take two or three plugs, they sit on whichever flat surface…do you know the ones I mean, might one be an option…sorry…x

        1. Just paid my bill – it's nearly doubled from last month! I'm only using the same appliances.

        2. Very much so, Rastus..thanks 😀 I remember decades ago buying some plastic inserts for wall sockets – was reported some toddlers had been electrocuted sticking things into wall sockets. My babies never went near them, more interested in their usual toys 😀 (good to see Clapton part of this feed, btw..was watching Cream footage only the other day).

      2. Yes I know the ones Kate – I'm going to make my own short one as I don't want a lot of extra wire hanging about . off to t'pit now G'night x

        1. Sleep well, Alec. Off to mine now, too, when taken doggo out, have to wake her first….see you tmrw? x

    2. Our washing machine and dryer have been plugged into an extension lead socket for at least 20 years. No problems at all.

  114. Rodeo rider meets horrific fate at hands of bull he was trying to mount

    Hey Phizzee I hope you're OK!

  116. I have written another letter to the DT.

    My letters never get published .

    This one was almost a copy and paste , like an AI.

    Dear sir ,

    Angela Rayner's determination to smother the countryside with new homes has consequences .

    Does she understand how much water is required to build a new house ?

    How much does it cost to build a house in 2025? | Homebuilding
    Building a house requires a significant amount of water, with estimates ranging from 8,000 litres (2,100 gallons) for a brick and block house to potentially 20 cubic meters (20,000 litres or 5,300 gallons) for a detached, block cavity wall house. This water is primarily used for mixing concrete, mortar, and plaster.

    Sounds unbelievable , doesn't it , now think about her plans for the construction of a million new homes .
    Where is the water coming from?

  117. I see the wonderful Gregg Wallace (dontcha just love the double G – I'm very partial to G's….) has finally been pinged by the BBC after the small matter of an additional 50 complaints over smutty suggestive language, exposing himself and groping.
    Apparently Huw Edwards had the casting vote, Jimmy Savile was unavailable for comment.
    Dont worry, your licence fee is not being wasted, they're all having a bloody good time, thank you!

    1. Never a fan, but really he Probably didn't fit in with the "do you know who we are" bbc snobs.

      1. Possibly, but that ultimately does not excuse the fact that he was a monumental pervy bastard who deserved a bloody good slap….

    2. Wallace actually looks like a groper. He has that cocky + smug countenance that turns stomachs.

      I once designed some parts for Marco’s Kitchen which was set up in a large TV Studio in the East End from memory. My part was the fabrication details for some large shaped suspended ceiling rafts hanging from gantries above the work and restaurant areas. The CEO of the shopfitters I was contracted to told me that Wallace was a very forward character but amusing. He likened the CEO to a character out of some gangster movie.

      Expect more exposures of BBC favourites. Stuart Hall, Jimmy Savile, Huw Edwards and lately Gregg Wallace were just for starters.

      Edit: Wallace tried his hand as a restaurateur somewhere in East London if not the City but it proved an abject failure.

  118. Goodnight, all. I'm going to have an early night. I've taken some strong painkillers to try to get a good night's sleep. I'm nearly out; I have ordered a new prescription and it's ready – I just haven't managed to pick it up yet. Must do that tomorrow.

    1. Good night Conners – and Kadi and Winston. Hope your prescription helps when you collect it tomorrow.

  119. Taking my leave for today, not been feeling well at all. We had a nice chat with number three son in Dubai.
    So I'm orff until the morrow.
    Good night all Nottlers.
    😴

    6. Hope you sleep well. A peaceful night makes so much difference. Goodnight.

  121. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has suddenly proclaimed that the Pension Triple Lock is forecast to be three times higher by the end of the decade than its original estimate…. well, who's fault is that? I would hazard a guess at the OBR, but then I'm just old-fashioned….
    Nonetheless, I wonder what the Government will do now?? Who knows?? Maybe they'll stop giving immigrants billions of pounds to balance the books…. What?

    1. More likely they'll stop paying pensioners. Or scrap the triple lock and we'll all have to starve.

      1. I understand that we have one of the worst State pensions in the G20 and the triple lock was originally put in place to address that and, over time, bring our State Pension more in line with our G20 neighbours.
        Apparently now it’s more important that we provide a four-star welcome to savages that hate us and want to kill us, so we will have to live with our older generation being impoverished….. seems fair…..

      2. Useless eaters can go kill themselves nice and quickly. Bet there is no problem getting a doctor’s appointment for that.

    2. I believe the Reeves plan is to limit the personal allowance increase until the tax-free sum is way below the concurrent state pension. That way despite having the lowest pensions in the western world we will be taxed on the excess from our pensions.

      I say the Reeves plan but everybody knows by now that the foul woman is merely reciting the ideas of some twat from the London School of Economics, always a hotbed of zany “progressive” ideas since the days of Ralf Dahrendorf.

      Reeves, Starmer and the rest of the collective idiots have never known hardship and can never know the damage they are inflicting on our elderly. To those wicked people all that matters is the political narrative and their own personal incomes and wellbeing.

      1. I agree cor but it does seem counter-intuitive that a Labour Government would clobber pensioners, perhaps the lowest earners in the land. Unless…unless…. most of them vote for right of centre parties dont they? Ergo… F*ck 'em…. pay the immigrants more, they vote for us dont they? Well, they do for now…. but not for much longer….

    3. I believe the Reeves plan is to limit the personal allowance increase until the tax-free sum is way below the concurrent state pension. That way despite having the lowest pensions in the western world we will be taxed on the excess from our pensions.

      I say the Reeves plan but everybody knows by now that the foul woman is merely reciting the ideas of some twat from the London School of Economics, always a hotbed of zany “progressive” ideas since the days of Ralf Dahrendorf.

      Reeves, Starmer and the rest of the collective idiots have never known hardship and can never know the damage they are inflicting on our elderly. To those wicked people all that matters is the political narrative and their own personal incomes and wellbeing.

  125. Well, chums, my bedtime has arrived. So Good Night to you all. Sleep well, and I hope to see you all early tomorrow morning.

  126. I've just been watching Live Aid 40 yrs on.
    Where has all the money gone, from that, from the record, from Comic Relef, from Children in Need, from Government Aid, from Oxfam, from SF, from the Smile Train, from Water Aid etc ad infinitum.

    I said it a few months ago but are there really any villages left in Africa without a tap?

    2. If there were, then the charities would be out of business, and no organisation is ever going to put itself out of business…

  127. I've just been watching Live Aid 40 yrs on.
    Where has all the money gone, from that, from the record, from Comic Relef, from Children in Need, from Government Aid, from Oxfam, from SF, from the Smile Train, from Water Aid etc ad infinitum.

    I said it a few months ago but are there really any villages left in Africa without a tap?

  128. Greg Wallace says he has recently been diagnosed with autism.

    How convenient.

  129. Awake early , lovely sunrise .

    Peace and quiet , and put the TV on , some lovely 1960s pop , oh my goodness how that era sped through so quickly , and growing up just accelerates .. yep through the decades and now here I am at 78years, I could dance , wiggle around , shake my head , move , and enjoy all music..

    No one warned us that time moves on so quickly, well it does when you are busy .. Thank goodness for the wonderful opportunities and choices that many of us were offered , and took.

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