798 thoughts on “Wednesday 1 January: A secret weapon to help the Border Force secure British waters”

      1. Morning Elsie. It is a sad reflection that the man who coined that phrase and was probably one of the greatest comedians ever to grace the television would no longer find a place on it!

        1. Morning, Minty (and a happy New Year).

          Very true, even if he only had seven fingers (and two thumbs).

          1. In an acquaintance’s workshop I once spotted a spindle moulder.
            “Oh” I said, “that is a dangerous machine”.
            His son chuckled as the father silently raised seven and a half fingers.

          2. Both my dad (a coal miner) and the dad of a girlfriend (a farmer) coincidentally had 7½ fingers. Even stranger was the fact that the ‘stump’ was the middle finger of the right hand on both men!

          3. There was a chap at school whose ancestors were from India who got concussed whilst playing in a game of rugby. The Deputy Head rushed onto the playing field, tapped the lad about the face a couple of times to bring him back to consciousness and then held up his hand in front of the lad’s eyes and said “How many fingers?”. Unfortunately it was the hand missing the larger part of one finger…. history doesn’t relate how the somewhat groggy lad responded to the question…..

  4. Good morrow one and all and a Happy New Year to you. By way of easing ourselves into a hopefully more congenial New Year, let’s see how they entertain themselves over the Atlantic:

    It was entertainment night at the senior citizens’ centre. After the community sing-song led by Alice at the piano it was time for the Star of the Show – Claude the Hypnotist!

    Claude explained that he was going to put the whole audience into a trance … “Yes, each and every one of you and all at the same time,” said Claude.

    The excited chatter dropped to silence as Claude carefully withdrew from his waistcoat pocket a beautiful antique gold pocket watch and chain … “I want you to keep your eyes on this watch” said Claude, holding the watch high for all to see.
    “It is a very special and valuable watch that has been in my family for six generations” said Claude.

    He began to swing the watch gently back and forth while quietly chanting … “Watch the watch – Watch the watch – Watch the watch”

    The audience became mesmerised as the watch swayed back and forth, the lights twinkling as they were reflected from its gleaming surfaces. A hundred and fifty pairs of eyes followed the movements of the gently swaying watch. And then, suddenly, the chain broke!!!
    The beautiful watch fell to the stage and burst apart on impact!

    “SHIT” said Claude.

    It took them three days to clean the Senior Citizens’ Centre and Claude was never invited to entertain again!

    1. Thanks, Nanners, and to you, too. A promising start to the New Year…keep up the good work!

  5. SIR – Why are people who have crossed the Channel illegally described as being rescued? Surely they are being arrested. Such obfuscation only encourages others to attempt the journey.

    Simon Davie
    London SW1

    A sixfold increase in boat crossings in 2019, only 125 of whom were returned to France. Pathetic.

    1. When you send out the very clear message that if you can make it to UK territorial waters you will be welcomed to the UK and will not be returned in spite of their illegal activity it has only one result and this is the middle of winter.Wait until next spring and summer there will be an armada of boats arriving

      1. there will be an armada of boats arriving

        There was a time when the rulers and people of these islands knew how to deal with an armada of ships. The people probably still do but the rulers have other ideas and only deal with a token number so as to appear to be doing something.

        1. Only 1 or 2% are sent back and they probably make another attempt and get to stay on the second attempt

          At present none of the countries they claim to come from are at war. There is some minor civil unrest but those countries are now safe. Any risk is not much greater than you would encounter in London. Any small amount of unrest in those countries as well is confined to very small areas of those countries. What we are getting is economic migration so they should be sent back

    2. Whoa there, Citroen, not so fast…surely we must wait for the wisdom of Jill Backson before passing judgement…

      Edit: And lo, just 3 minutes later, it came to pass…!

    3. Clearly theses ill-equipped sea-farers need to be rescued and to be returned to their point of departure. There’s a splendid organisation superbly equipped for maritime rescues – The RNLI – I can’t imagine our French cousins would prevent a RNLI boat with its volunteer crew from docking in France to repatriate “survivors”……

    4. For once, the description is correct – they are being rescued (and allowed to disappear, no doubt). Being arrested is what should happen.

  6. SIR – After reading your report and listening to the interview with him on Monday’s Today programme, I would like to wish Mr Carney, prophet of doom, bon voyage and good luck in his new job at the UN in New York.

    Rather than getting involved in bandwagon politics, he should have stuck to real economics and talked to industry leaders such as BP’s Bob Dudley more often.

    Let’s hope that the savvy people of the US see through Project Fear Mark Two, and that Mr Carney’s impact on investment and the economy is minimal as the world grows and has to support an extra 2 billion people over the next 20 years.

    W A Cross
    Sevenoaks, Kent

    The UN’s agenda is to use ‘climate change’ panic to destroy capitalism. Carney was a shoo-in for the job.

    1. Do they not realise that if there was no capitalism there would be no prosperity?

      Are we going to be expected to live in caves and mud huts?

  7. SIR – I accept that the Cabinet Office deserves some form of punishment for mistakenly publishing the private details of recipients of honours, but is a fine of £17 million appropriate (report, December 31)?

    Assuming that the Cabinet Office is financed out of the public purse then ultimately any fine will be borne by the taxpayer. Surely it is the perpetrators who should be punished.

    John Gibbs
    London W8

    I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the mandarins in the department imposing the fine claim a handsome bonus for their enterprise in generating an unexpected £17million of income.

    1. This regularly happens when large companies are fined for various misdemeanours. The company pays the fine and raises their prices to recoup their loss – so we the customers end up paying.

    2. “Surely it is the perpetrators who should be punished.”

      Come along now, Mr Gibbs; we are talking about Snivel Serpents here. And anyway, the public purse is bottomless.

  8. A very Happy New Year to all and every NoTTLers. I wish you all good health and prosperity. And a clean break from the EUSSR.

    Sunny and fresh in Laure Minervois. The village is completely silent at 08.15. And neither shop is open even for the sale of bread.

    Now, I must go and look at the New Years Honours list….that published last week was, of course, a fake!

    2. So you’re saying (© Cathy Newman) “Let them [the villagers] eat cake!” Happy New Year, Bill (and the MR) and all who frequent these pages. I hope we all have a really happy and fulfilling time in 2020.

    3. My French friend has just rung me up to wish me a Happy New Year and a successful Brexit.

  9. The Earthshot Prize

    Prince Wiliam has announced the Earthshot Prize the aim of which is to save our planet which is currently perceived as being able to last for just one more decade.

    The idea is to match President Kennedy’s promise to demonstrate American superiority by sending a human to the moon and sucessfully bringing them back.

    After listening to the BBC this morning, I get the impression that the Prince’s initiative is being seen as an MSM headline that just reinforces the deliberate international panic that Greta Thunberg has instilled to get capitalist global economic growth to be reversed to usher in a new era of philanthropic altruism.

    However, it is recognised that global prosperity has increased over the last decade precisely due to economic growth.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/12/31/prince-william-launches-earthshot-prize-prestigious-environmental/

    1. I wish the Royal family would keep to cutting tapes and planting trees – and avoid trendy thinking which will be out of date in ten years.

      1. If the younger Royals continue on their present path, I will personally roll out the tumbrils and oil the wheels.
        There are quite enough priggish pursy mouthed privileged pr@ts lecturing and hectoring us, without mini-Windsors joining the chorus.
        I am sick of people nagging me for daring to exist.

    2. Surely not that long, Angie? I recall some other eco-loon predicting that 6bn of this planet’s population will be dead by 2025.

      1. Morning, HJ.

        Is population reduction #1 on the elite’s wish list? Inciting mass immigration into the First (white) World from the Third World, demonising the eating of meat, I heard one eco-loon mention that on LBC yesterday during one presenter’s XR fest, and the rest of the elite’s ideas point in that direction. Engaging a young physically under-developed girl with mental problems to push their agenda: what could possibly go wrong?

        1. Remember that David Attenborough once allegedly made remarks about overpopulation in 2013.
          “Speaking (about famine) ahead of his new series David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals, he suggested that humans are “blinding ourselves” to the problem, claiming, “We say, get the United Nations to send them bags of flour. That’s barmy” ”
          And DA admires La Thunberg.

          1. Attenborough makes noises to please whoever is his audience at the time of his utterings.

            Not only did he make remarks about human overpopulation, he is a trustee of the organisation, the Optimum Population Trust, a charity devoted to combating (and warning against) the dire effects of the out-of-control surge in human population numbers.

            I feel that, at 94, he is beginning to lose the plot when forming a bond with idiotic hysterics such as Thunberg and her puppeteers.

          3. Is it dementia, Asperger’s, or some other manifestation of incipient senility – but the late Luvvie Dickie’s sibling is showing signs of intellectual diminution.

          4. Monomania?
            I’m afraid DA is more motivated by hatred of human beings than love of the planet.

      2. There was an Eco loon on the radio the other day claiming new homes could be super insulated for just £3000. Most house are now insulated to an adequate standard for our temperate climate. It will not say compare to Scandinavia but they have a very different climate

        The idea that gas boilers can be replaced is just lunacy. Yes you could use electricity but that cost a fortune and where would all the electricity come from.

        1. SKY news claims today that renewables produced more ENERGY than other sources in 2019.
          It may have produced electricity but not total energy – every car, bus & lorry depends on oil, gas produces some 40% of electricity……………….

          Renewables are, in the main unreliable – wind varies, sun is unreliable for at least half the day………..

          Increases in temperatures are more related to variations in the sun’s activities which could be reversed just as quickly or slowly – between 1400 & 1800 we had a mini ice age, 10,000 years ago my garden was under 1+ mile of ice – all before coal burning, cars & power stations emitting smoke.

          1. “…between 1400 & 1800 we had a mini ice age…”

            Warmists dismiss the idea that this was caused by reduced solar activity. They blame volcanoes for polluting the sky for 400 years.

      3. The Greens aim to be “carbon free” by the mid 2020s, so they are going to exterminate the lot of us!

    3. Didn’t his father give us 18 months before we all fried?
      Can’t remember when, so possibly we’re still waiting.
      I am a monarchist, but much more of this preaching and doom-mongering and I can see my views doing an 180 º turn.

    3. Happy New Year, Korky the Front Pager

      The print version of The Dandy ceased production on 12th December 2012.

      Wouldn’t it be splendid if The Dandy reappeared in 2020 and The Guardian went out of production?

      1. While the gruaniad is a tax exile it’ll continue to pump out gibberish.

        They key for Boris must be to go after them on that basis and cut off their funding.

  13. Smokers past and present ‘live in more pain’

    Given the scale was 0 to a 00 the difference is quite slight

    People who smoke, and even those who have given up, report living in more pain than those who have never picked up the habit, a report suggests.
    The findings are based on an analysis of data from more than 220,000 people conducted by UCL.
    The researchers say the reason why is unknown, but could include smoking causing permanent changes in the body.

    Scientists were analysing data from a set of online experiments in the BBC Lab UK Study, in which people took part between 2009 and 2013.
    They were sorted into three categories:

    never smoked daily

    used to smoke daily

    or currently smoke daily

    They were asked how much pain they lived in and this was converted into a scale from zero to 100. Higher scores meant more pain.
    Current and former smokers scored about one to two points higher than those who had never smoked, the study in the journal Addictive Behaviors showed.
    In other words, smoking was linked to living in more pain – even after quitting

    Dr Perski said the most surprising finding was that the higher levels of pain were found in the youngest ages groups (aged 16 to 34).

  14. Happy New Year to all NoTTLers!! Here’s hoping 2020 brings the best to each and every one of you.

  15. First failed missive of the year:

    SIR—Imagine the scenario. It is 1377 AD, in the midst of The Hundred Years War; King Richard II has just succeeded Edward III; Pope Gregory XI
    moves the Papacy back from Avignon to Rome; The Bad Parliament begins sitting in England; and fourteen-year-old Maria of Sicily succeeds her
    father, Frederick the Simple. Whilst all these events are taking place, unbeknown to all the star Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion, explodes
    in a dazzling supernova!

    It seems beyond astonishing that such an event from the Middle Ages may only now be visible from earth as though it is happening concurrently.

    A Grizzly B.

    And a happy start to the ultimate year of the second decade of the 21st century to one and all.

    1. Well said, Grizz, and a happy New Year to you. Call me old-fashioned but I, too, would prefer to see the end of this decade before we celebrate the arrival of the next.

    2. Are we in a decade which has one more year of decaying or a fully decayed decade?

      1. Only one thing is assured, Rastus.

        That is the irrebuttable presumption of fact that the human species will continue, unabatedly, to become progressively, exponentially and inevitably more and more stupid with each passing moment.

        It isn’t lemmings that are inherently mass suicidal, it is mankind.

  16. Corbyn is still in denial

    He should remember he is now the Caretaker Leader of the Labour Party and not try to set policy for whoever replaces him.

    Jeremy Corbyn has urged Labour to lead “the resistance” to Boris Johnson’s Tory government over the coming year despite its crushing election defeat.
    In his new year message, the party’s leader said it faced tough times ahead after its fourth defeat in a row but its movement remained “very strong”.
    He said there was “no other choice” but to continue the fight against poverty, inequality and climate change.
    Several Labour MPs responded angrily, saying Mr Corbyn was in denial.

    Neil Coyle, the MP for Southwark and Old Bermondsey, posted a message on Twitter with an image from ‘Allo, ‘Allo!, the World War Two sitcom set in France.

  19. 40 New Hospitals

    I see we are having the same claims being made over this as to the £350M claim on a bus. There will be effect 40 new hospitals this could be from new facilities on an existing site or on a totally new site. That decision is really down to the English NHS & Health trust(The 40 applies only to NHS England)

    Perhaps it would have been better to express it as the number of extra beds. Such a significant investment in new hospitals will almost certainly involve some reconfiguration of services so some existing hospitals might loose A&E for example as it would be move to a new hospital

  20. That’s the twenty-tens seen off then, but not, of course, the two-hundred and second decade of the Christian era.

    I’ll get me abacus.

  21. Sir—In response to the letters (December 28) from Commander Bill Nimmo-scott, Squadron Leader James A Cowan and David Taylor, discussing how to prevent peoplesmugglers from crossing the Channel, I would like to point out that the Royal Navy already has a number of suitable fast patrol boats available.

    There are 14 vessels of the Archer class (P2000), currently assigned to the University Royal Naval Units. These vessels are built to Royal Navy standards and have the necessary gun mounts – and, in some cases, weapons – already fitted.

    With a regular crew and a detachment of Royal Marines for boarding duties, these could easily be deployed to support the Border Force and, once Brexit is complete, to reinforce the Fishery Protection Squadron.

    John Warden
    Driffield, East Yorkshire

    Never mind the “fast patrol boats”, Where are all the WWII MTBs (Motor Torpedo Boats)?

    Sir Francis Drake didn’t have a problem with potential usurpers in the Channel. Neither did Lord Nelson nor Sir Winston Churchill.

    But—silly me—that’s when (as a nation) we possessed the three Bs (Brains, Balls and a Backbone).

    1. Yo Grizz

      and down at Plymouth, you have a squadron of RM manned Rigid Raiders, who would just love to do the job

    4. The last MTBs I saw were in a rather sorry state beached on the banks of the Medway at Cuxton in the ’70s as house boats.

    5. Why are weapons only fitted “in some cases”? What are they going to do, throw bread rolls at them (the Bullingdon RN Units, presumably)?

  22. Sir—In response to the letters (December 28) from Commander Bill Nimmo-scott, Squadron Leader James A Cowan and David Taylor, discussing how to prevent peoplesmugglers from crossing the Channel, I would like to point out that the Royal Navy already has a number of suitable fast patrol boats available.

    There are 14 vessels of the Archer class (P2000), currently assigned to the University Royal Naval Units. These vessels are built to Royal Navy standards and have the necessary gun mounts – and, in some cases, weapons – already fitted.

    With a regular crew and a detachment of Royal Marines for boarding duties, these could easily be deployed to support the Border Force and, once Brexit is complete, to reinforce the Fishery Protection Squadron.

    John Warden
    Driffield, East Yorkshire

    Never mind the “fast patrol boats”, Where are all the WWII MTBs (Motor Torpedo Boats)?

    Sir Francis Drake didn’t have a problem with potential usurpers in the Channel. Neither did Lord Nelson nor Sir Winston Churchill.

    But—silly me—that’s when (as a nation) we possessed the three Bs (Brains, Balls and a Backbone).

  23. A heart-warming tale for New Year’s Day.

    The village runs events – classes etc – for OAPs. Last year, an English woman was engaged to give English lessons.

    My mate Henri – whose only English words were, “Let’s go”….is now sending me e-mails IN ENGLISH. Remarkable.

    1. Yo Bill

      Happy New Merry

      It is amazing what teechers can do wiv yer Narfulk Lad, would it woke wiv yer Frenchies

  24. Toy Boy says:

    “The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union is a test for our country. I will strive to maintain a solid relationship between our two countries.”

    Sounds ominous.

    He also says that he will not give in on his pension reforms. Unions call it a “declaration of war”. I suspect that it means that Toy Boy will, er, give in.

  26. Child victims of mobile phone theft not reporting crimes to police ‘amid fears of retaliation’. 31 DECEMBER 2019.

    More than 500 children a day are becoming victims of thefts and muggings but the crimes are not being reported to police amid fears of reprisals, new figures suggest.

    Their fears are not the result of over imagination. No one should report any offence without the personal financial, emotional and physical resources to resist intimidation. This is the reality of the modern UK.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/31/child-victims-mobile-phone-theft-not-reporting-crimes-police/

      1. Do get with it Bill, no one uses a mobile to akshually speak to someone any more. They are stressed out because, when they lose their phone they might actually need to look at their surroundings and interact with live human beings by some means other than WhatsApp.

    2. There is no crime, on any statute book, known as “mugging”, and I wish the vacuous press would stop perpetuating it.

      The Theft Act, 1968, defines Theft as “the dishonest appropriation of property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner”.

      It defines Robbery as “A person steals and, immediately before the offence, or at the time of the offence, puts, or seeks to put, any person present in fear of being then and there subject to violence.”

      A very clear description of the difference between stealing something (from anywhere) and robbing a person of property by violence (or threats thereof).

      There is no need, whatsoever, to import idiotic and meaningless slang terms from America (such as “mugging” or “heist”) when perfectly good words with a backing legal definition already exist.

      1. Morning, Grizz and HNY.
        MB and I watched Billy Elliot last night and I thought of you in your pre-Ursine era.

        1. HNY Nursey.

          I’l watch it tonight (on iPlayer). Do tell me more about my “pre-Ursine era”.

          7. That’s the pikkie.
            My one January resolution is to call in pet computer nerd and get him to sort various glitches.

          11. Well, I think you were the one dancing on a village green rather than a decrepit village hall! 🙂

          12. Ah! [pfennig drops].

            I take it you’re referring to the Creswell Colliery police Morris-dancing troupe of 1984? 🤣

          16. Nicht pfennig? Vielleicht sie sind in Österreich.

            Afternoon, Peddy – no, it’s probably not haupt Deutsch but you know what I mean.

      3. You are, as ever, correct, bu you must accept that we don’t all talk like police officers. If I say that I’ve been mugged, everybody on this site will know what I mean. (It’s like tailors insisting that what we call jackets are, in fact, coats.)

        1. Why can’t you simply say you were robbed? It’s a perfectly good English expression that has been in use for centuries that everyone knows.

          [Tailors also called waistcoats ‘vests’]

          1. I think there is a difference,. Robbery from a person is us sully without violence. Mugging indicates violence was used

          2. Are you completely devoid of sense? If you open your eyes, and mind, you will read the clear and easily-assimilated legal definition of robbery in the UK (posted by me, above), which clearly and unequivocally states that violence or threats of violence are a necessary ingredient for robbery.

            Your own warped and uninformed opinions do not come into it. And there is no offence of “mugging” anywhere on the UK statute books. No one can be charged with that “offence” because it doesn’t exist.

          4. “A mugging is a robbery which takes place in the street.”(?)

            If that is the case in the USA (which I doubt) please show me the authority that proves it. Robbery, in the UK, can take place anywhere.

          5. Generally in the UK it is a robbery if someone in the street has something stolen and no violence is used. If violence is used it is a mugging

          7. “A mugging is a robbery which takes place in the street.”(?)

            If that is the case in the USA (which I doubt) please show me the authority that proves it. Robbery, in the UK, can take place anywhere.

          9. Bejabers, Billy,

            And top o’ the mornin’ (and milk, and year) to your good self too.

          11. I wasn’t agreeing with you, I just highlighted your assertion of which I certainly do not concur.

            “Mugging” remains a vapid, banal and trite Americanism which has no place within the UK.

          13. Nearly right. The scientific name must be italicised and the specific and sub-specific components are not capitalised.

            Ursus arctos horribilis is the universally-accepted convention.

      5. Do you mean that you don’t know “mugging” means? If you do know, then it can’t be meaningless! It might be slang but slang is part and parcel of everyday speech.

        1. I know exactly what the word refers to, but it has no legal standing. No one has ever—or could possibly ever—by charged with such an offence since it doesn’t exist in law.

          My point is clear: why call a law by a silly slang name when no one can be tried at court for it?

    3. I was robbed once at knifepoint. Three young men. They got my watch and my wallet. Luckily my wallet only contained £10 for my taxi fare. I had to walk home. I didn’t bother reporting it either. Not for fear of reprisals but because it would have been a pointless exercise.

    4. And also the personal, financial etc resources to resist the legal consequences of resisting all the other offences. That mugger that you have fought off was probably a good boy who looked after his mother and was driven to try to mug you because of your wealth compared with his own poverty. Your brutal resistance will undoubtedly have caused him extreme stress to the extent that he is often unable to carry out his work in a charity shop. A small army of human-rights lawyers will be desperate to have you prosecuted.

  27. The Facts that the Echo Loons and Politicians dont want to tell you

    Average emissions per year for a car 4.75 Metric Tons
    Average Emissions per persons per year 19.78 Metric Tons

    1. So, the government’s going to hire thousands of catnappers. Let’s hope they don’t fall asleep on this very important job.

      2. Is that when you graze them with an airgun pellet as they settle down to a good cr@p amongst your petunias?

    3. Gotta look after our cats. So long as it doesn’t lead to having them on a national register and to paying for a cat licence.
      HNY to all cat lovers.

      1. Our old cats were chipped. Not sure if our new rescue cat is. I forgot to ask when I had her records transferred to us at the vets.

    5. If this is all ministers have to worry themselves with, then it’s really time they were pointed toward, oh, I don’t know: cutting taxes? Scrapping fuel duty? Stamp duty? Reducing civil service waste?

    6. I have always thought it unfair that cats aren’t treated the same way as dogs – make it an offence to run them down and scarper and ensure that they are microchipped and kept under control 🙂

  29. As the Strolling Bones used to sing – “It’s all over now”.

    For me, the Christmas period is usually a giant gust of wind on the motorway of life and it’s great when I start to get back control of the steering wheel.

    Out for a pint tonight, in lieu of last night, to celebrate the return of normality.

    Yabbadabbadoo.

    1. I agree about Christmas it upsets my daily routine.
      It’s like a whole week of Sundays….and I HATE SUNDAYS!!!!

      2. MOH was wishing to be able to go to sleep four days before Christmas and wake up on 4th January! Sleeping Beauty? Bah, humbug!

    2. In that the full-face veil is a manifestation of an ultra-strict form of Islam that disappears the individuality of women,…

      First time I’ve seen ‘disappear’ used as a transitive verb.

    3. Good article but I think that Devine was wrong in using the past tense in this sentence.

      Of course, most Muslims dismiss the violent passages as applicable only to the epoch in which they were written when Islam was in conflict with other faiths.

      With islam’s declared intention to take over (some claim to recover) the World for islam, it is clear that islam remains at war with all other religions and with those people without faith in a deity. Perhaps the disappearance of Christians from the Middle East and attacks on Christians, Bhuddists etc around the World have passed Devine by.It’s very much a them and us scenario with no end in sight.

      Conservative Woman

      1. Too much of the ‘moderate Muslim’ in this article. How do we know that they are moderate?

        2. Wasn’t it Erdogan who said there is no moderate islam, only islam? They want the World under their prophet’s heel and they will kill their way to achieve that goal.

        3. I suppose that the Saudi oncologist who’d worked here for 17 years and saved the life one of my relative’s could be described as a moderate Muslim.

          1. But why is he a Muslim? Why isn’t he just a Saudi? We do not describe ourselves by belief but by origin.

          2. The consultant had lived and worked in Blighty for 17 years.
            The relative who had just been given a devastating diagnosis wasn’t exactly minded to argue levels of religious belief with the one man who could save his life.

          3. You’re veering rather off the point. A large proportion of Europe’s population is described as Muslim yet comes from many parts of the world. The ancestral population is simply European of various nationalities. I went to RC schools but I don’t describe myself as a Catholic or a Christian. How many ‘Muslims’ are really Muslims at all? How many actually think it’s a lot of nonsense but are scared to say so because of the hold ‘the community’ has over them?

      2. Too much of the ‘moderate Muslim’ in this article. How do we know that they are moderate?

    4. -The name Lionel is a boy’s name of Latin origin meaning “young lion”.-
      Is this woman a man or is this man a woman ???????

          1. Young lioness?

            How can ‘Sam’, ‘Charlie’, ‘Robin’ and countless others be women’s names?

            How can Jocelyn, Hilary, Leslie, Shirley or Vivian be men’s names?

            But they are.

          2. Well, there’s that well known lady writer, Evelyn Waugh.
            And Shirley Crabtree could marmalise you with a half-nelson.

          3. Evelyn Waugh married a woman called Evelyn. They ended up he-Evelyn and she-Evelyn to distinguish themselves.

      1. The article is full of errors. Islam is a religion and not a race. The face veil has nothing at all to do with Islam it is a cultural practice

          1. Many Muslim woman wear it but it is not a requirement of Islam. It is just a cultural practice of some Muslim countries usually the more extreme ones

  32. Morning Each,
    “Let us bid farewell to the diversion, rancour, uncertainty
    that has held this country back for far to long”
    Words, lest we forget of a rubber stamper / party for four decades.
    Hope is not only the last thing out of Pandora’s box but seemingly the last thing many cling onto in regards to johnson doing the right thing, not certainty, but hope.
    Maybe a new species of Chameleon is coming into play
    as in shameleon.
    “Work his socks off” has a hollow ring
    after the ditch statement & following on from the past record of the parties fulfilment of vows,promises, pledges.
    My New Years wish is, he proves me wrong.

    1. Shaddup, you are driving us nuts, misery-guts.We have a new P.M. who for now at least is doing the right thing.The year is full of hope, wages are going up and Labour is going down. The vicious hate that is being thrown at Trump in the States has no place here. Everything in the garden is lovely.
      Go away from your prophecies of doom, Cassandra. You irritate us.

          1. T,
            We arrived at our odious state as a nation
            via peoples saying “lets hope for the best” instead of
            working / voting with certainty as the target.

          2. T,
            “Nothing to do with facts” ?
            Everything to do with facts more like, facts must be faced, do you find fiction more comfortable ?

        2. In fairness, ogga, it does get rather wearing.
          We could all do with a break and some hope.
          Mona Lott was only funny on the radio: ‘It’s being so cheerful as keeps me going’.

          1. Afternoon A,
            Many of us found in all fairness plus, the last four decades to be anything but fair.
            Continuing on a daily basis to get worse as each GE went by.
            Resulting in “HOPING”
            this Pm does the right thing, yes, that is HOPING.

    2. Let’s now ask ourselves – if the box contained all the woes of mankind then is hope itself a ‘woe’? A bad thing?

      Surely to live in hope and have those hopes continually dashed causes unhappiness and pain.

      Therefore folks, stop hoping. It is a bad thing.

      1. Morning W,
        Hope is in many cases fickle.
        Prime example is the voting pattern as in, voting in the same proven failures & expecting a different outcome.

  33. Grizz will be delighted. The beeboid toss-pot introducing the Narsty New Year konzert opened his comment by saying:

    “A decade ends and a new one begins…”

    1. A decade is any period of ten years.

      I will continue to regard the 20’s as the ten year period where the year is 2020, 2021 etc. up to and including 2029

      I’m not going to be persuaded that 2030 is in the 20’s nor am I treating 2020 as if it is in the teens.

      1. I care neither a jot nor a tittle. But am delighted that some NoTTLers feeling strongly!

    2. I’m neither delighted nor dismayed, Billy.

      I accept that the thinking power and rationality of mankind is in terminal and irreversible decline. I see the mounting evidence, every day, everywhere I look [Some of the posts, today, on this very forum are grist-to-the-mill].

  34. Hydroelectric dams emit a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, study finds

    You get lots of methane from landfill and from arable farming as well as from woodlands and lakes and ponds and from composting. The amount of methane from cattle is negligible when compared to other sources inb fact arable crops produce more methane than cattle

    Impact of dams on climate change has been underestimated, researchers warn, as rotting vegetation creates 25% more methane than previously thought
    Global development is supported by

    Hydroelectric dams contribute more to global warming than previously estimated, according to a study published in BioScience.
    It appears that the current and planned boom of hydroelectric projects would double the current cover of dams in the world and will aggravate the problem.

    1. They also – fairly obviously – block off the water to other areas, destroying ecology.

      We need energy. That’s a given. However what we really need is a completely new energy generating system, such as hydrogen.

      1. Hydrogen is dangerous is one problem and to produce hydrogen you need vast amounts of electricity

    1. The fireworks are good when you have something to celebrate. Should have held it back until leaves. Can’t stand him.
      There seems to be only one English guy in the picture.

    2. For the best vantage points you have to buy a ticket, so the whole thing might be cost neutral.

  37. Can someone help me understand this campaign – for hetero people to have a civil partnership?

    This couple have spent five years – and Heaven knows how much money – so they can go to a Registry Office and, instead of getting married, enter a civil partnership.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/relationships/uks-first-mixed-sex-civil-partners-tie-knot-suggest-friends/

    An elderly lawyer writes: Thank God for idiots such as these – they keep us in business.

    1. I supported that campaign. I know a couple who for their own reasons do not wish to be married buy have lived together for years. They have no legal rights as things stand – if one is ill the other cannot get information as they are not legally next of kin – if they split up there is no protection for either of them. LGBT folk talk about equality – this actually establishes it.

      1. Bu there is no real difference between a Marriage and a Civil partnership. For all intents and purposes they are the same bar a few minor technical differences

        1. The CP just implies a contract and gives folk the same rights as the LGBT folk. Can that be wrong?

          1. What is being discussed is the differenc and for all intents and purposes there is no difference

          3. I thought they wanted the same rights as married people. That is/was there with religious/register office weddings. If we go on like this everyone will want their own law because they want something a little bit different.
            Dare I say that it’s a bit of a bu**ers muddle.

          2. Ah there is a gap in the market we need to come up with an Uncivil Marriage Ceremony may be with a 14 day cooling off period

          5. I’ve only had one, 52 years ago this year, and it has been and still is very civil. There is nothing major in my life that I would want to change.

      3. I still don’t understand it. You have to go to a registry office either to marry or to enter a CP. Almost identical formality.

        CP was introduced for gay couples. Fine. But now they can marry, which they could not do before.

        Just WHAT is the difference between marriage and civil partnership?

        1. Unlike marriage (though not ‘same-sex marriage’) Civil Partnership cannot be annulled due to non-consummation. Likewise no divorce for adultery.

          3. But that amounts to no real difference and in case the law is being changed to allow for no fault divorces

          4. If adultery is no longer grounds for divorce, that is a fundamental change to marriage – something that proponents of ‘same-sex marriage’ promised would not happen.

          5. The No fault Divorce Legislation was almost passed by the last government but the General Election held it up. It will be back in the new parliamentary session and is pretty much a rubber stamp job and should become law some time next year

          7. Exactly and why it lights my fire to hear people going on about “equal marriage”. It’s not even equivalent, let alone equal!

          2. I don’t know but I imagine it’s just sign here on the dotted line. Like buying a house. Maybe no divorce either. Just sign here and it’s over.

      4. Can they not take out LPAs to give them legal rights over financial and health decisions?

    3. The difference say between a marriage in a Registery office and a Civil partnership is to all intents and purposes zero

      On a marriage certificate at present only the fathers name goes on it but that is being changed. With a civil partnership you cannot legally refer to yourself as being married

    4. Apparently, marriage is patriarchal and some people don’t like that because it is not very woke. Although I thought the vows were the same for both parties in a wedding. Looks like another way of fleecing blokes (or laidees if you have lucked in)

  39. Good Morning to you all and a Happy New year. Let’s hope that 2021 will be above all peaceful.

      1. Well done – I am just looking a head – December 2020 is exit from the EU – so all hopes are pinned on 2021

    4. Our eldest granddaughter was 18 yesterday and today she’ll be bragging that she’s 20 next year. 😂😂

        1. Rotherham – even better – flatten it (and the inhabitants). Several problems solved at a stroke.

      2. It is a pretty small area that will be pedestrianized and much of it already is. I assume exception will be made for those that live in that areas as will as for deliveries and utilities etc

    3. Yes Grizz!

      As long as you’re mobile, York City Centre has never spread much beyond the medieval street plan so is easily navigable on foot.

      Not sure how these plans can be reconciled with any requirement for disabled access. Wheelchairs for anyone who can’t walk easily I guess.

      Park and Ride facilities already exist there, though I don’t think they were operating over Christmas which seems daft.

      1. York was built in the Middle Ages but made no provision for the Middle Aged. Or Ancient Britons.

        1. So few reached middle age it wasn’t an issue.
          Eleanor of Aquitaine made 80+ – despite 10 births, bloody minded sons, two husbands – but possibly good genes and an above average diet helped her.

          4. ‘Afternoon, Anne, from my family tree (generation 23) Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), wife of Henry II and mother of John (Lackland).

            I’m generation 50 (counting from Egil, King in Sweden, Uppsala 530).

          1. ‘Afternoon, Hat, 3 generations after Eleanor of Aquitaine – 1294 if I remember correctly, under Edward I.’Longshanks’

      2. The city centre of Cambridge is a nightmare it was never built for cars or buses of lorries

        1. The city centre of Cambridge is a nightmare it was never built for cars or buses of lorries but for Soviet Spies & BBC reporters ( who are interchangeable with Soviet Spies )

  41. There seem to be very few if any upvotes on anyones postings. Is this a technical problem or just arthritis ?

    1. Happy New Year, Tony! Have an upvote. (NYD concert from Vienna on BBC2 for those like me who like that sort of thing.)

      1. Happy New Year, Sue. I just watched a bit of that concert. Not music, dirges. Viennese concerts are usually superb, but I thought this was a funeral. Don’t they do cheerful any more ?

        1. Didn’t strke me as the most upbeat version either, but maybe I’m just getting jaded – I din’t think much of the the Last Night of the Proms repeated on R3 last night either.

      1. T,
        You like jokes then mr johnson
        is many peoples choice, he makes them laugh.
        Let us see if the laughing continues after the johnson type exit.

        1. I have a couple of bottles in the fridge; they have remained there during all the missed deadlines – by the time we actually get out, I’ll be too decrepit to open them!

    1. How lovely. Beautiful phrasing so that it all made sense – don’t get that much now. Thanks.

      BTW a Very 🥳 Happy 😃 New Year to one and all.

  50. Sooner or later, even Vladimir Putin’s luck will run out. 31 DECEMBER 2020.

    On this day 20 years ago, a somewhat reserved and undemonstrative technocrat became acting president of Russia, succeeding Boris Yeltsin, the very opposite in temperament. Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer chosen by Yeltsin to be his prime minister, stepped into the role that he has held ever since in one guise or another.

    This is one of four articles in the present DT about Vladimir Putin; all needless to say somewhat pejorative in tone. This is not an unusual phenomenon in the longer term. Three or four years ago when we all used to post our comments directly onto the papers website two a day was quite normal. I kept a list at one time and there were eighty in one calendar month alone. My interest here is not in the articles themselves, which are clearly commissioned and paid for by the Security Services, but the nature of the response to them.

    So far as I can tell, if they have had any effect, it is to have actually boosted Putin’s standing online. The number of his supporters has seemingly increased while support for the article’s viewpoints are almost non-existent and where it does, consists mostly of UK Government trolls attacking his adherents as citizens of the Russian Federation. Now I admit that this is just online and may even be the product of personal prejudice. It is quite possible that the general offline population are now rabidly anti-Putin though I personally can see no sign of it and opinion polls on the subject would be worthless. When his name has arisen in any social interaction at which I’ve been present the response has been total indifference.

    This is all by way of asking in a broader sense: is Propaganda dead? Not I hasten to say its physical manifestations, the newspapers, internet, television, radio, whatever; these will always be with us, but its aims. In the post truth world is it still possible to inculcate the population with the values and beliefs that the Elites want them to possess?

    I would venture to say no. The PTB can still produce the Big Lie (Weapons of Mass Destruction etc.) but even that had difficulties at the time and has been comprehensively discredited since. The False Flag Skripal operation that was intended to personalise the Russian threat to the British public is still limping along, mostly because its abandonment would cut a swathe through the present political class, while Multiculturalism and Cultural Marxism generally are affectations of the Metropolitan Elites. The people, the only ones who really count in the long run, have in my view; as the result of the recent General Election and this blog indicates, been permanently immunised against Propaganda!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2019/12/31/sooner-later-even-vladimir-putins-luck-will-run/

  51. Woe, woe and thrice woe

    With my 2020 vision I see the first step towards the Great Betrayal, mark my words Nottlers
    .
    To us low brow folk it’s either black or it’s white, in or out, not 500 shades of grey (gray for any Yanks).
    To me a Remainer is a traitor, someone who wants a foreign power to rule over us. You may have Remainer friends, colleagues or acquaintances who have insulted you for 3 1/2 years but I could not possibly tolerate them. The only one I know is a gym acquaintance and I just could not understand why he would vote Remain. So I totally ignored him. But then I found out he was changing his tune and he was born in… wait for it… Madeira. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm But I haven’t let on to him that I know this, why should I waste an opportunity to wind somebody up?

    “Boris Johnson urges Britons to ‘turn the page’ on Brexit divisions and make the 2020s a decade of ‘prosperity’ as he insists Remainers are just as patriotic as Leavers in his New Year message
    In his New Year message, the PM urges politicians and public alike to move on
    Mr Johnson also declares that he will make the NHS his ‘top priority’
    WMPs will return to parliament next week to press ahead with the EU legislation
    By Jason Groves for the Daily Mail
    Published: 22:30, 31 December 2019 | Updated: 03:32, 1 January 2020”

    To all those who want to see the back of me, don’t fret, I only came to see the level of your Johnson love-in-ness. Toodle pip. and mwaaa to my favourite Yank.

    But I’ll be back to say I told you so!

    1. Good morning Rainbow, Six

      I sometimes agree with you; sometimes I do not. Shouldn’t a discussion forum like this tolerate and encourage different points off view which are reasonably expressed?

      I share your doubts about Boris Johnson’s determination to take Britain fully out of the EU but for the moment I am trying to be optimistic even though ‘my reason sits in the wind against me’. I must say Johnson’s current sycophantic ‘sucking up’ to Remainers does not auger too well for the future.

      2. Good afternoon to you rastusctastey,

        Thank you for earlier comment. Obviously you are correct. I loved being on the Spectator during the referendum build up. No abuse, swearing etc.. just arguing your point of view. The only place I get that now is when I engage with Yanks on Breitbart after they have slagged us off for being finished. The Daily Mail was good before Greig took over and before all the adverts appeared affecting the speed of commenting.

        I don’t have any doubts, he’s a globalist stooge. All you have to do his analyse what happened from this time 2016 and it’s all there.

        There will never be peace between Leavers and Remainers until every Leaver over 40 has passed.

  53. Sir—George Herraghty (Letters, December 31) amusingly captures the futility of relying on wind power to replace fossil fuels.

    Instead, we should direct taxpayers’ money into harnessing the power of the tides that rise and fall around our coast every day.

    Tidal power generation would be more expensive to set up than wind turbines—but, crucially, it would never run out of “puff ” when needed most.

    Pat Cooper
    Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire

    I’m afraid you’re pissing into the wind with that letter, Pat lad (or lass). I’ve been proposing the development of technology to harness reliable tide (and wave) power for decades, but my pleas are invariably shot down by the Luddites who have no vision and insist on continuing to tilt at windmills”farms”.

    1. Tidal simply does not work or at least is not viable. Yes it can produce small amounts of poor at very high cost. The output is also highly variable as you typically get only two tides a day

      1. There are only 2 high & 2 low tides per day HOWEVER the tide moves turbines for approximately 20 hours per day – 4 hours with very little movement.
        As said above prototypes installed in the Pentland Firth, between mainland & Orkney – strong reliable flows.

    2. We’ve had tidal water mills for many generations, good on a small scale, but they’re really not practicable for large scale power generation.

      1. “…they’re really not practicable for large scale power generation.”

        Precisely, and in that they are like wind turbines and solar panels in which each unit produces tiny amounts of electricity from a low-density energy source – and not always when it’s most needed.

        Relying on the clock, the calendar and the weather for power is not a wise policy.

    1. Here’s an interesting piece from

      https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/dbnf/home/?cid=stelprdb5281464

      that explains the need for controlled burning to avoid catastrophic forest fires:

      Fuels in your National Forest

      Fire has been a natural part of this forest’s ecosystem for a very long time. Throughout time wildfires ignited and burned naturally through the forest. Some were caused by lightning and some were intentionally started by Native Americans. These low intensity fires in the past kept the forest floor free from the natural annual build up of tree needles, dead grass, thick brush, and dead trees. As a result, fire has shaped vegetation patterns and wildlife distributions in the national forests.

      The next time you are camping, hiking or driving in your national norest notice how much limb wood, brush, and dense thickets of small trees cover the forest floor. This build up of fuel feeds wildfires. Today, fires that are not caught when they are small quickly build in size and fire intensity into catastrophic wildfires.

      The Forest Service uses controlled burning as its way to put fire back into the ecosystem. As you read on you’ll discover the value of controlled burning in your National Forests.

      1. According to their logs, the crews of Captain Cook’s fleet reported seeing fires burning on the continent of Australia. Indeed, some indigenous species’ seeds will not germinate unless subjected to intense heat. It was the eco warriors who stopped the formation of firebreaks to control the spread of wildfires.

      1. Con permiso…

        Was he the chap who benefited from a good public school education?

        1. “We class schools into four grades: leading school, first-rate school, good school and school.”

          1. The Scholastic agents, Church and Gargoyle, to whom Paul Pennyfeather went having been sent down from Scone College at Oxford for indecent behaviour, classified schools in this way. Llananba Castle was undoubtedly in the ‘school’ class.

            (Don’t be stingy Bill – this surely deserves an uptick! Happy New Year to you and Carolyn by the way.)

            .

  57. A Happy New Year to all Nottlers!

    Cambridge always used to have the reputation for being the best university recruitment agency for spies.

    Oxford now wants to outdo Cambridge and encourage the enemy within.

    Oxford University is targeting imams in bid to boost applications from ethnic minority communities

    Prof Williams said that Oxford wants to target the “key influencers” behind teenagers’ decisions.

    DT Article – 31 DECEMBER 2019 • 10:00PM

    The university is designing a new scheme aimed at increasing the number of Pakistani and Bangladeshi undergraduates, according to its Pro-Vice-Chancellor for education.

    Prof Martin Williams, who oversees Oxford’s strategy work on admissions, said that plans are “under development” but will include launching a charm offensive to woo religious leaders.

    He explained that the university wants to target the “key influencers” behind teenagers’ decisions which, as well as parents and school teachers, can include imams.

    “We are particularly keen to focus on students of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage,” he told The Telegraph.

    “We are working on a scheme that would reach out specifically to those communities. We are aware that different approaches work for different communities.

    “We have long worked with teachers as influencers for all sorts of students. But for particular communities, we are aware that there are other key influences. I think in a lot of these communities the local imam can be very important in decision making and obviously parents.”

    Prof Martin Williams is the pro vice Chancellor of Oxford University
    Prof Martin Williams is the pro vice Chancellor of Oxford University CREDIT: JOHN CAIRNS
    Students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds now make up more than one in five (22 per cent) of Oxford’s undergraduate population, up from 18 per cent last year, the latest admissions data shows. Black students make up 3.1 per cent of Oxford’s intake, up from 2.6 per cent last year.

    “If you look at the numbers we are admitting compared to the proportion of the population, we have seen big improvements in the number of black Afro-Caribbean students,” Prof Williams said.

    “Pakistani and Bangladeshi students really is the group that is now the most underrepresented compared to what you expect. It is a generalisation but these do tend to be relatively underprivileged communities.”

    Universities are under increasing pressure to admit more students from deprived households. Earlier this year, Oxford announced it will offer places with lower grades to students from disadvantaged backgrounds for the first time in its 900-year history.

    Gowned students at a grand matriculation ceremony outside the Clarendon Building, Oxford University
    Gowned students at a grand matriculation ceremony outside the Clarendon Building, Oxford University CREDIT: APEXPHOTOS
    From 2020, 250 state school students will receive free tuition and accommodation as part of a multi-million-pound recruitment bid for disadvantaged students.

    However, 50 students in the new intake – which will include refugees and young carers – will be eligible to receive offers made on the basis of “lower contextual A-level grades” rather than the university’s standard offers.

    Prof Williams said: “We are very keen to reach out to anyone who can influence the likelihood of people applying to Oxford and make sure they really understand the options open to them, the opportunities that they have.

    “A lot of the information we want to give is to support people to make the right subject choice. We want to make sure people fully understand what it’s like to be a student in oxford, what the admissions process is like because there are a lot of misconceptions out there.

    “If you are working people like school teachers and imams, they are not just influencing one student, they are hopefully people who are going to deliver the message over a sustained period of time and really build a more positive message around the possibilities of applying to Oxford.”

    The education secretary has previously accused universities of “virtue signalling” over diversity while failing to attract disadvantaged students.

    Gavin Williamson said that institutions like to highlight the work they are doing to attract students from low-income families.

    But he said that he is “not seeing enough results”, especially given the “enormous amount of money” that is being spent on initiatives.

    5. If they acknowledge the need to lower the entry qualifications in order to achieve their aims, doesn’t that rather scupper the egalitarian myth?

  63. ‘Afternon. all.

    Nostradamus has predicted that 2020 will see the outbreak of global nuclear war, followed by the coming of the Antichrist.

    That aside, I wish you all a Happy New Year.

    1. Funny thing, I was speaking to Kim Jong Un only the other day.

      And a Happy New Year to you.

    3. Does that mean that Mark Carney will update his doom and gloom forecast on climate change? He sounds quite positive in comparison.

    7. I thought the antichrist was already here, several of them in fact. So just the heralds, then. So worse is yet to come.

      Happy New Year, Mr Mac.

    8. I hope we don’t get nuclear war. It’d muck up the holiday in the Lake District.

      As for the Antichrist, does that mean we’ll get new bank holidays?

      1. At his age he perhaps has arthritis and he was re-acting instinctively to the shock of the unexpected pain of having his hand and arm twisted. Not that I am a fan of this pope, but there again I am not one of his flock

      2. Don’t forget, Bill, when you’ve sold your house you’ll be driving on the left for most of the year.

          3. Judging by what one reads currently about Malta – “shady” is certainly the right word.

      1. That’s not why it is playing up, that is why it hasn’t been sorted! (Sorry, in mischevous mood!)

      2. It is a bit like talking to a brick wall .

        Have you had any probs with F/B.. I have been hacked more than a dozen times over the holiday period .. bad news because that is how I keep in touch re family and pals etc.

          2. I don’t know then – perhaps use a different email address. I’ve not had a problem with it – or not recently, anyway.

      2. ‘Afternoon, Mags, we have several muntjac in the area – they used to use our garden as a rural highway but we have had to dog-proof the garden since getting Dotty.

        We often hear them ‘barking’ in the night.

      1. I expected something like that from you…….. but he’s not young so would probably be a bit tough.

        1. Only joking. We have a family of them that wander about on the embankment at the back. They can’t get into the garden but there is plenty for them to eat where they are.

  72. Good afternoon all and felicitations.

    So dull and gloomy here today. Tis dreich, for sure. I blame the glaikit Greta.

    1. Why wait until 9 pm, Peddy? I thought he would be safe once the sun has set in half an hour or so.

  75. THE son of Labour MP Diane Abbott appeared in court yesterday over an alleged string of attacks on NHS staff and cops.

    James Abbott-Thompson, 28, faced 11 charges including nine assaults.

    Thames magistrates’ court was told most were allegedly committed while he was being treated for mental health issues.

    He had been arrested after being released from Homerton Hospital in East London on December 23, the court heard.

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10649935/diane-abbotts-son-court-nhs-cops/
    He’s going to walk away scot free isn’t he,”mental health” the preferred out of Slammers and Dindus

    2. !! charge? It indicate then the treatment is not working and that he is potentially a danger top the public and should be detained in a secure hospital

      1. Dame Alice Owens, I think.
        My eldest brother went there in the 40’s when it was located at the Angel, Islington. It was supported by The Brewers Company.

      2. Worked for the Foreign Office too
        I wonder if “Mental Health Issues” was at the top of his CV
        ‘Morning Bob

      3. As in sperm donor or ever-present male taking responsibility for his night of passion?

    2. What is 12pm. Doesn’t, can’t, exist.
      Is the Equator north or south? Neither
      Is the Greenwich meridian east or west? Neither

  78. The Magnificent Seven is ending on BBC2 and I can’t face the thought of Welby’s New Year Message coming up so here’s something else to amuse and divert, an oldie from the inaugural edition of the Speccie’s US launch.

    Please America, take Meghan Markle back

    She has dragged across the Atlantic a garbage truck full of the most emetic US wokeness
    Rod Liddle
    https://3h7pwd17k2h42n17eg2j7vdq-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Meghan-Harry-1-820×550.jpg

    Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is suing a British newspaper for publishing a handwritten letter to her father. Prince Harry, for his part, has attacked the press for waging a campaign against his wife ‘with no thought to the consequences’. But it isn’t just the tabloid media that is turning on the American duchess. She’s turning into a royal nightmare. In the cover piece of the first US edition of The Spectator, Rod Liddle argues that the ‘Princess of Woke’ is rubbing up the British the wrong way. Please America, take her back?

    The great triumph of recent American politics is for the people of your fine country to have elected as president a man who is the precise embodiment of what supercilious Europeans think Americans are really like. Pig-ignorant, arrogant, jingoistic, contemptuous of foreigners, loud-mouthed, badly dressed and irredeemably bumptious. So consuming is the European antipathy toward Donald Trump — he’s never read a book! He eats steak with ketchup! — that it afflicts leading politicians across our continent, people who would be better advised to button it a while and show a little bit of diplomacy to the leader of the free world. But they can’t: the contempt always bleeds through.

    This is one reason why I have a little bit of time for this gift you Americans have bestowed upon the world, Mr Trump. He enrages the liberal cretinati — in other words, all the right people. And I sincerely hope you elect him once again.

    There are other gifts you have given us which, frankly, I would much rather had been FedExed to the other side of the world as the consequence of some human error or computer glitch. Pre-eminent among these is Meghan Markle. Thank you very much for the thought — but would you now please take her back? We’ve had enough and the maintenance charges impinge heavily upon such a small satrapy as the UK. We will of course chip in for the flights — by private jet, naturally, although Elton John will personally pay for the carbon offset.

    Markle is a nightmare. At the time of her engagement to Prince Harry — hitherto a genial if somewhat dim young man who occasionally enjoyed Nazi dress-up for parties — we were all enjoined to believe that this was Britain’s ‘Obama Moment’: i.e., a rather wonderful thing to behold. It was an Obama Moment because Meghan was — is — of course black and was joining the royal family, which has been pretty resolutely white these last thousand years or so, unless you count Greeks as black. Meghan’s admirable blackness was trumpeted from the rooftops by the liberals who could show you racism in a handful of dust. None of the rest of us cared in the slightest about her skin color or provenance, and still don’t. Truth be told, her skin color is the least objectionable thing about the woman.

    It’s the rest of the stuff we don’t like — although when we point this out we are invariably accused of racism. No, what Meghan has done is drag with her, across the Atlantic, a garbage truck full of the most emetic US wokeness and deposited it on our front lawns. She has brought with her the infantile identity politics of Hollywood and US campuses, with all its non sequiturs, its bizarre obsessions, its mutual contradictions and its self-evident hypocrisies. The politics of Taylor Swift and Robert Downey Jr. The sort of stuff which, in the end, convinced your people to vote for Donald Trump, as a kind of blessed relief, a form of deliverance.

    She lectures us Brits on poverty and how awful it is. Well, indeed. I say beware of being lectured on poverty by a woman whose engagement ring cost almost $370,000. Beware of being lectured on poverty by a woman whose house was refurbished by the taxpayers at a cost of $30 million so that she could have right-on organic paint on the walls and bring up her child in a ‘gender-neutral environment’, whatever the hell that is. Oh, and also bung in two orangeries and a ‘floating floor’. The two of them then announced with ineffable sanctimony to the world that they would be having no more than two children, because that was the socially responsible thing to do — failing to understand that our birthrate in the UK is stable or actually in decline and that the people who need to be told about family planning all tend to live in sub-Saharan Africa or the Asian third world. But to mention that would be politically incorrect, one assumes.

    Then there’s the climate change stuff. She has urged all of us to ‘do our bit’. She’s done hers. Countless trips across the world in private jets — four in 11 days at one point — leaving a carbon footprint equivalent to personally strangling 42,000 polar bears or clubbing to death 500,000 seals. But the sheer hypocrisy does not begin to register with the woman.When the double standards were pointed out in the media we were told that her reaction was to ‘rise above it’. Yeah, in a 19-seater Lear jet, with a lackey pouring you an Aperol with kale juice.

    The Duchess of Sussex, to give her the proper title, was invited to guest-edit British Vogue and indulged in a magnificent spate of virtue-signaling. On the cover she chose photographs of ‘inspirational women’ who almost all seemed to have been chosen for their ethnicity, celebrity or progressive opinions and almost all of whom were utterly devoid of talent. There was no room on that cover for her grandmother-in-law, the Queen, who has presided over our nation for nearly 70 years with consummate dignity and reserve, like royals are supposed to do. But dignity and reserve are not part of Meghan’s political lexicon: instead, it’s all about ‘me’,a liberal narcissism dressed up as compassion.

    More Meghan? There’s always more Meghan, pouring out of the newspapers on a daily basis. Meghan’s personal team, for instance. She doesn’t need a personal team because the royal family does all that — an established firm, the royals, tend to know their stuff. But presumably as part of the growing feud between Meghan and Harry on the one side and the rather more circumspect (and royal) William and Kate on the other, Meghan has ditched their joint press officer and is now employing American Sara Latham, who did such a brilliant job as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign adviser. Meanwhile, Harry has been landed with another former Barack Obama aide as his private secretary, Heather Wong.

    All of this stuff, this leftish and repulsive political grandstanding by people who are as rich as Croesus, will not be new to you in America. It is a fugue of self-serving imbecility which accompanies you every day, I suppose, from an unimaginably affluent elite which simply has no conception of how ordinary people live their lives.

    The extent to which it grates on the populace can be seen by what they do, the thicko voters, once they make their way down to the polls. My suspicion is that for every celebrity video decrying Trump as a white supremacist scumbag, the Republican vote inches up by a few hundred thousand. The message being: we will watch your TV programs and films and listen to your music, but when you lecture us on politics we will either ignore you or use your views as an indication of what not to think.

    For Meghan, though, the problem is a little graver. The royal family is supposed to be above the political fray. The Queen of England rarely ends her tweets #MeToo. Indeed, she tends not to tweet. Meghan, though, is palpably not above the political fray, except that I suppose these hyperliberals, as the philosopher John Gray calls them, do not think they are ‘political’ at all, simply that they are totally right about everything and that any and all objections to their vapid pronouncements must come from one or another deeply regrettable condition — racism, for example, or sexism or homophobia. Meghan, in attempting to be the bastard offspring of Rosa Parks and Bono, is alienating the commoners, the very people who are usually most supportive of our monarchy.

    Anyway, perhaps we will be in for some respite, sooner or later. Meghan and Harry have let it be known that they are thinking of moving to Hollywood. Good. The woman has already blurred the lines between what she thinks a royal should be and what she knows a celebrity should be. In truth, although there may be some faded, fusty glamour attached to the British royal family, like a slightly foxed first edition smelling faintly of corgi urine, it is light years from Hollywood celebritydom: in a sense it is the very antithesis of it.

    Either way, take her back, will you, before we become a republic.

    1. That’s just it….it WAS an Obama moment. What you didn’t realize was just how bad Obama was…..

      1. Some of us did, we recognised immediately that he was Blair in black, a totally hypocritical snake oil salesman only interested in wealth creation for himself.

  79. Just returned from a lengthy and enjoyable annual lunch with Tartan Pimpernel …

    The main topic of conversation was Other Nottlers !!!

      1. Yes, I’ve been thinking the same. Another one I haven’t seen for awhile is Lottl, any news from her, does anyone know?

      2. Fear not. She gives tongue (that’s an expression from the hunting field) several times a day BTL@DTletters as ‘J Wilson’.{:^))

          1. Ahhh. I thought that BTL comments on all Premium DT articles (including the Letters) could be seen by all. If that is no longer the case, I will try to remember to copy ‘n paste a few gems by NoTTLers.

          2. It’s probably my out of date browser on my slow on laptop, but I can’t open most of the premium articles these days. If they do open, I can see the comments, but I haven’t been able to get into Letters for months.

      3. Thanks Sue. I have a new avatar, as you can see. Lacoste is trying to talk me back…

        2. Coooeee TP! You’re more fun when you’re here rather than there (i.e. DTletters) Boom boom.

          4. And there is somebody else on there called William Thomas, who is a retired surgeon.

          6. Small world “our” Bill’s a retired surgeon too.

            He extracted money from wallets and the patients never felt it going until the reckoning!

    4. Good evening, Sir and a Happy New Year to you.
      A lovely lady!
      I hope she was not too uncomplimentary about me!

    8. Have just logged in again and just before I did so I was wondering what had become of TP. I trust she is well?

  80. Good Afternoon. I appear to have missed the morning. I love it when family turn up unexpectedly at 00:15 AM with only an hours notice and you are already stabled for the night. 🙂

    I have just read last nights comments and Mahatma put up the introduction sequence from The Man From Uncle with David McCallum playing Illya Kuryakin, and it reminded me of something from another favoured series called NCIS where he plays “Ducky” the forensic pathologist. In TV shows and films they sometimes have things called “Easter Eggs” which are in-jokes for the fans, and there is a very good one in NCIS about David McCallum.

    It is only New Years Day, and it is a bit early for Easter Eggs, but here is the 40 second clip which ends with the character “Di’Nozzo” laughing out loud to underscore the joke. 🙂 Now for some early evening breakfast.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFp-rsQEpxM

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b349c96cbb13aebe7c2f2916bc4ea4cfa6c18aeed127d31e51872c864c9573f6.jpg

    1. I enjoyed ‘Man from U.n.c.l.e’.

      Caramel choc hot cross buns were selling in Sainsbury’s today.

        1. I didn’t get any joke books for Christmas. I’m just naturally funny. Go chew on a Trombetti.

          1. Let me recommend: The Nightshift before Christmas” by Dr Adam Kay “Diaries from those Christmases spent on wards removing babies and baubles from the various places they found themselves stuck” and attempting to restore patients to the original ‘factory Setting”…

    3. I’ve just watched The Magnificent Seven (for the first time) on BBC2 this afternoon. It featured Robert Vaughn who, imho, was miscast as one of the seven. Napoleon Solo, yes. Albert Stroller, yes. He was also the last of the Seven to pass away.

    4. I was studying Russian at about the same time as this series was on. It always annoyed me that Ilyà has the accent on the final syllable (and only one L) 🙂

    5. I concur. The P taking and banter is top quality. The comedic aspect of Commasario Montalbano is also pretty good too.

    2. I cannot think of a single overseas aid type charity that has in anyway improved the country they are working in. In general the countries they work in have got worse

      Take water aid. How long can WAyer Aid spend putting in a water pump in every African village. In fact why are the Africans not doing it themselves. All the charity should be doing is providing a bit of technical support. In general you dont need much money, You need Labour and Africia has plenty of that

      The other favorite of the charities is to inoculate people against what is the current disease . It is not particular expensive and it does not need highly skilled staff. Any nurse should be able to give inoculations in fact you could easily train almost anyone to give inoculation with a few hours of training so why is Africa no doing this ?

      1. We just had a Save the Children ad on, for street kids in India. Maybe the Indians could divert money from their space programme?

        2. WE are far to trusting of Charities for our own good. If someone is collecting for a charity the assumption is it must be doing good and the money must be being well spent. Well sadly the opposite is the case with nearly all charities. People as well will often buy so called Charity Christmas cards. There is no real legislation with regard to these and most are just a marketing ploy with a fraction of a Penny going to charity

          2. Well you cannot expect the CEO’s to work for a modest rate. They compare themselves with the best and want the best pay and conditions. Some charities even help the CEO with their mortgage and school fees any charity paying over about £80K a year is paying to much

          3. They probably think “If you can give your money away to hedgehogs, you give some to me”

          5. All the proceeds of our hedgehog cards (after printing costs) go to pay for the care of the hedgehogs.

          6. We switched our donations to small local charities such as yours, N. MiL is a gundraiser for local charities & RNLI in Devon, and we see the effort required to bring in £20, yet these CEOs have half-million salaries… Bah! Away with them.

          7. Will the RNLI be using the guns raised to see off all those intruders crossing the Channel?

      2. Being blunt, if the Africans want to lay water pipes they can foot the bill.

        They don’t bother though. Same for the innocluations. What’s funny in a not at all funny way is that this is intruding in the African’s right to live how they want to – with droughts and disease.

        By providing these things we force our way of life on them. We also keep them alive when normally they would die, controlling the population.

  84. That is me for New Year’s Day.

    We have a new jigsaw – a real pig. I reckon we’ll still be doing it when we finally move out. Google “Magna Carta Map”. The picture on the cover is too small to read! So it is all done by feel.

    A demain, one hopes

    3. We had a new jigsaw, it’s a double sided one with a picture of a house called Falling Waters in Pennsylvania, with the plans of it on the reverse side. Not sure about it yet.

  85. Labour disconnect with most of its electorate

    There is a huge gulf between most of the Labour MP’s and the party membership with no signs of that gulf being closed

    The current Labour party just represents London and probably Liverpool but no where else but there is no sign that they recognize the problem

    They seem to think Brexit was the problem , Within London Brexit probably was the major issue but outside of London it was just one of several issues and Labour also failed to understand that outside of London most of those that voted to remain accepted there had been a democratic vote and that we had to leave the EU . Labour was stuck to the 52%, 46% argument

    1. Next year’s a bit far into the future.
      What Local Elections are taking place this year?

        1. I need to check if it has the right date for the May bank holiday. Lot have the wromg date

          2. Ah it is wrong it has the May Bank holiday as the 4th May when it is actually the 8th May

          6. Happy Wednesday Jules, I still have several bank branches with ATM’s near me & there are ATM’s at some local shops and a local mini-shopping mall . I was referring to the atrocious state of UK banking with its regular computer breakdowns & closings of ATM’s.

            We have not suffered any of that here with our banks in Israel although bank branch numbers have been cut over the last decade – I personally had the branch I banked at for 25 years close, then they moved me to another branch which 15 years later closed so since last year I am at my 3rd branch which by a strange coincidence is much nearer to where I live than my previous 2 branches ! Not that it matters as I do most of my banking on-line nowadays!

          8. Likewise our Canadian banks seem to be immune to the ills of the UK banking system.
            There doesn’t seem to be the same rush to close rural banks over here. Our little town of 20,000 still has full service branches for three of the major banks.

          13. So far so good! But we had a good old-fashioned bank robbery here not so long ago.

          16. I don’t use much cash but there are times when it’s useful. Also as a small charity with a stall at local events we can only take cash.

      2. Thanks for posting Hatman. As a boy I used to watch my local football club and although at times the football was forgettable, this music is not. It was always played prior to the match and hearing it takes me back nearly 70 years.

        1. Happy New Year to you & family VVOF . As a lad I went to football either with my next door neighbor who was an Arsenal supporter or my cousins who were all Spurs supporters !

          1. Happy New Year to you and yours.
            As a child my father used to visit his brother in London. We always took the opportunity to see a football match when in season.
            Watching the great Jimmy Greaves play for Spurs against Man U with Bobby Charlton and George Best will always stick in my mind.
            I also remember Arsenal v Man City on one occasion, a thrilling 0-0 draw! (Sarc Meter Off)

    2. A real trombetti fan would have celebrated the new year with a little midnight snack.

  88. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope yours has started better than mine (problems with a broken drain and the builders don’t go back to work until next week, alas) 🙁

      1. I am sure after a year of prevarication the DBF will come up with a non-solution.

        Happy New Year, Geoff.

        1. Thank you Bill, and the same to you and the MR. It’s rather annoying; the system was largely renewed around five years ago (although some of the rads date back to the late 19th century. We had a leak a couple of years ago, which turned out to be a faulty new pipe fitting, and the manufacturer picked up the bill. This time, it’s the replacement which has failed. I smell a rodent, I think…

    1. He tapped the back of her hand in a bit of a huff. The headline makes it sound as if he slapped her round the face.

    2. Pope breaks away from mad woman (who may have been armed).
      Queen Elizabeth breaks away from mad woman (who may have been armed). (OK, not actual, but may happen on a walkabout)

      Both heads of their respective churches. Any difference (apart from the difference in sexes)?

  91. Should UKIP and The Brexit Party Merge assuming the Brexit party or Reform party carries on. Nigel has been very quiet on that front

    To make am impact they need to have a serious go at the various local election in May. Just coming up with candidate a couple of weeks before hand will not cut it

      1. T,
        To be more of the same then is it ?
        What has brought about all this
        new found trust in a segment of the 2019 lab/lib/con coalition party ?

      2. Local council dont have much power and most local council be they Labour or Conservative are not very good at managing the powers they do have There is a need for another party to try to keep them on their toes at present most local councils are very complaisant and have low grade local politicians

    2. Hi Bill, its time for UKIP & Brexit party to Disband and join the Tory party to make sure they keep their promises. Nigel deserves a knighthood & should stand as a Tory candidate at the next by-election!

  93. DT Leading Stories

    NAPA ‘RAPE’ CASE
    ‘The place isn’t safe’ Boycott Cyprus, says mother of British teenager found guilty of lying about being raped
    Woman said her daughter is suffering PTSD and hallucinations and now needs to ‘totally rethink’ her plans for university

    Cyprus attorney general urged to overturn conviction

    The Cyprus rape case tells us as much about how we judge victims, as attackers
    GLENDA COOPER

    How can any one of us know the truth of this matter? However we do know that certain parts of Britain are not at all safe from stabbings and rapes.

    1. i put something about this a little while ago, but there is something wrong with Disqus that prevents most people from seeing my postings.

      1. You had some replies – people are seeing your postings. However not everyone scrolls back to earlier ones.

          1. Hi Tony,
            Happy New Year.
            With regard to your recent post about that woman stuck in Iran, I feel sorry for her daughter and family but the West has very little leverage with s*hole countries, which are often theocracies or kleptocracies.
            She escaped and then returned, bad mistake. Also, she married abroad and had issue with a Christian, another minus point.

    2. 1) she is not a victim as there was no rape 2) she is an out & out liar and fantasist 3) feminist groups & corrupt Human Rights UK lawyers are using her to make money and push their agenda & a compliant UK globalist media is spreading the myth of female victim hood to make it the norm irrespective of the facts.

      1. I cannot say with any conviction whether or not she has been raped: I do not know; I cannot judge.

        1. It depends on the definition of ” rape “. When we were young it was indeed terrible. Now anything counts that will keep the lawyers happy.

          2. This did not happen in this case she had consensual sex with 4 of the teens & lied about the other 8 being in the room. At 19 years of age she is an Adult not a teen & all the boys were between 15 -18 .

          3. You must see different reports from what is available here.

            The reports I have seen spoke of bruising commensurate with a struggle and that she objected to being filmed. If she said stop, and they carried on then that becomes rape.

            I am reasonably sure that she initiated the sex, but the whole thing stinks to high heaven.

          5. I don’t know. The whole thing stinks and I don’t trust either sides’ stories. I’ve seen suggestions that there were several lads waiting outside the hotel for their turns.

            The descriptions I have seen strongly suggest that the forensic examinations would not pass muster in the UK and I suspect that would also be the case in Israel. Ditto the due processes on interviewing etc.

            I’m pretty old fashioned about casual sex and relationships and I would be delighted if they have all caught some unspeakable veneral disease from each other.

          6. Kaypea posted a very interesting link on Jan 2nd which appears to show that your sources are better than anything I had seen up until now.

          7. Amongst the instances of young footballers having their careers destroyed when guilty of rape, I seem to recall one case some years back where the complainant willingly went to a hotel room with a number of the team and quite happily dropped her knickers for three of them.
            When the 4th lad began shagging her she decided she’d had enough and told him to stop.

      2. She let the lads pick her up and was really just there to have a bit of ” fun “. She was just a promiscuous chav and may indeed have bitten off more than she could chew. But she asked for it.
        This isn’t a ” rape ” that should end up in court. It’s just a personal matter.

        It was investigated and dealt with by the police and courts; The Cypriots know what these kids go there for, and it isn’t archaeology.

        1. Arguably, anyone going to Ayia Napa goes there for one thing; two if you count the booze.
          Greek Cyprus is part the EU and EAW; according to our government, that means its judicial system is on a par with ours. Surely Treasa wouldn’t have signed this country BACK into anything dodgy: would she?

  96. Civil servants ‘could be forced to sit exams to prove competence’ under sweeping reforms of Whitehall

    Civil servants could be forced to sit regular exams to prove they are competent to work in Whitehall under “seismic” changes being planned by Downing Street, the architect of Boris Johnson’s manifesto has said.

    A (Welsh) couple of points

    Who would set the exams and mark them and who sets their exams??????

    Would the exams go as high as the Minister in charge of a department, and of course all the high ranking Civil Servants

    Would there be an exam to initially join the Civil Service,

    Would the requirement to be able to speak English made mandatory

    Exams are wonderful things, but not for determining competence. Giving the ‘Correct’ answer is totally different to you implimenting that at work

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/01/01/civil-servants-could-forced-sit-exams-prove-competence-sweeping/

    1. And why not? I have to keep my professional qualifications up to date, so should they.

  98. The lights just went out. The whole street – the whole area – pitch black everywhere – just came on again. Not happened for years……….
    Russians ? Chinese ?
    There was loud cracking noise and for a moment I thought the computer had blown up ……..
    Terrorists ? Maybe a practice run ……..

    1. someone plugged in two battery powered cars at the same time and overloaded the grid

    2. That happened here, yesterday. Just off long enough to screw up the router, the printer and a few smart switches. Still, things have improved in the 14 years I’ve been here. Have a rusty Chinese generator outside, in need of a recoil starter. Probably won’t bother repairing it.

        1. Ho Ho. Power cuts were a regular occurrence. Now – not so much. You may have a point, though. Parts for Chinese ‘honda’ clone engines are plentiful on Ebay.

    2. Yo JB

      Wales has lotsa Jones, Williams, Davies, Thomas, Evans, Roberts, Hughes, Lewis, Morgan, and Griffiths.

      {Fifty-five percent of the Welsh population has one of these 10 surnames }

      You are right, Wales has a big shortage of Foster Families

  100. Potential candidate to be an MP will in future need to pass an exam before they can stand as a candidate

    1. How very northern hemispheric! In Australia, all thoroughbreds have their birthday on 1st August 🙂

      1. Yes. There’s enough left for tomorrow. I think I’ll add a little more seasoning & reduce the juice.

        1. A bit hotter than a Hedgehog calendar!

          My uncles and aunts appreciated their hog cards. Thankyou.

      1. Not just a male sperm donor (Thinks – is there any other kind?) but one that think he’s a woman.

      2. Further down the article…

        “It […] felt uncomfortable and made us sad because it was happening at such important times when we were going to see our baby. Both of us just wanted a normal experience ” !

  110. BBC seeks to settle equal pay cases ahead of Samira Ahmed tribunal verdict

    What a mess the BBC have got themselves into. Maybe pay will now fall to more sensible levels across the board

    The two programs though are not the same. One is a mainstream program on the main BBC channel the other is a minor program on the BBC News Channel./ There are vast differences in audience size and one of the BBC’s main criteria on pay seems to be the ability to attract an audience

    How much the presenter comes into it with attracting an audience who knows. I suspect if Jeremy Vine was hosing the BBC News night program the audience would not be much higher and if Samiar Ahamd was hosting Point of View the Audience would be a lot lower. I think the audience a program attracts is a mixture of the channel it is on and the host. Pay on TV has never been based on the normal sort of job criteria

    Logically I would say Samiar pay is on the high side although it is not clear how many hour she has to put in for this program. I is hard to see how it can be more than about 3 hours, Vine is also very over paid in my view

    Soi lets say £300 a program for Samiar and £600 a program for Vine

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/bbc-seeks-to-settle-equal-pay-cases-ahead-of-samira-ahmed-tribunal-verdict/ar-BBYwhQU?ocid=spartandhp

    2. Interesting mental image of ‘Jeremy Vine hosing the BBC News night programme’!

      1. Yo and HNY Vom

        ‘Jeremy Vine

        May I point out a teensey weensey Typo please

        It is Jeremy Whine

    3. I don’t understand why his being a man and her being a woman is remotely relevant.

      There are many variables – the screentime they share, the experience they have, their difference in training. If that is identical then yes, pay them the same. Yet I’d doubt they are.

      1. I think women should be paid less than men anyway. Give them more and they get uppity.

        (runs for his life)

  112. Goodnight all Nottlers, possibly tomorrow the staff at Disqus will be back at work after the new year holidays & might even fix the problems on the other hand they may not as its a probability that Disqus will either be closed down or sold off by Zeta in 2020 and there will be additional job losses at Disqus as there were before the channels were closed down!

  117. This has been the best year of my life.
    So it can only go down from here.
    Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
    Oh what fun it is to see,
    The Villa win away! 1959 the last time we won at Turf Moor and AVFC are arguably in the top six of English football clubs
    I’ve just proved once again how us low brow Chavs are easily pleased with our kick-about with a wendyball and our inane chants and songs.
    Just think if we were intelligent, we’d have voted to Leave in 2016 and for the Tories in 2019. You know what you say, put a red rosette on it and we’d vote for it.

      2. This is being “fixed”, in their own good time, by Disqus.

        You can get an update by going to your Disqus home, to settings and help. On the help page, scroll all the way down to where it says “Status” and you will find a message dated 31st showing they have been messing about on this since the 27th.

        Sorry, but the only way I can find to keep track is to keep scrolling the pages looking for my posts and seeing what has changed.

  120. Whitehall is woefully unprepared for Dominic Cummings’ true plan to reform the state

    I know it will come as a surprise to the PTB, but not all ‘civil’ servants work in Whitehall.

    Even with government, there is life outside the M25.

    The problem with the Civil service (CS) is that it is institutionalised, ‘same old faces, in the same old places’

    There is no guarantee that what Cummings sees as the ‘problem’ is not just a symptom, which normally is what management try and fix.

    This cannot be a one-man-band fix.

    Civil Servants , at all levels need to be behind the changes.

    Change for change sake will not solve anything or you will end up with problems like what Royal Mail had when it was decided it should be called Consignia.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/01/01/whitehall-woefully-unprepared-dominic-cummings-true-plan-reform/

    1. Yes I’m about to go to war with one of them, the misandrist CMS or whatever they are called now.

Comments are closed.